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Expats Edition: Steps in Buying Malaysia's Property



Buying a property is a stressful phase of your life. Purchasers, especially expat purchasers in Malaysia, need a basic overview before stepping into the field. If you are an expat and wish to buy a property in Malaysia, here is a complete guide to assist you along your path to becoming a property owner.





Malaysia: Affordable Place To Buy A Property

Malaysia -- considered as super affordable when it comes to buying properties when compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. The country has seen rapid growth in the last two decades, and it has still managed to maintain its low buying costs. That's why a lot of expat buyers (especially buyers from Hong Kong, USA, Singapore, and Japan) tend to buy a property in Malaysia rather than other countries.


When an expat buy property in Malaysia, the benefits are:

  • Easily to take loans from banks

  • No restrictions to exchange funds from other countries

  • Low Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) – need to hold the property for more than five years


Types Of Properties That Foreigners Can Purchase

After fulfilling some minimum conditions, homeownership in Malaysia is comfortably easy for expats.

Based on Malaysia law and restrictions, an expat cannot own a property as below:

  • Properties on Malay Reserved Land

  • Properties that cost less than RM1 million

  • Properties that are of Bumiputera interest in any developmental project

  • Properties like low and medium cost residential units



Steps To Purchase A Property

How expats' buy property in Malaysia? Here's the following steps:

  1. Need to sign a form - developer’s sales form or the offer purchase form. This form will be given by the seller for sub-sale transactions.

  2. Apply for a loan (if necessary).

  3. Need to submit relevant documents such as a photocopy of passport, contact number, address, income tax number, and the place where the tax is submitted (applicable for sub-sale purchase only) – to the legal representative.

  4. Within a couple of days from the date of form signing, they have to finish signing the SPA, mutual covenant (if needed), and other transactional documents.

  5. 10% of the deposit needed to be paid to the vendor within a few days.

  6. The solicitor will ask for state authority consent, and the buyer has to provide relevant documents in the meantime such as SPA copy, a foreign purchaser’s passport, and more.

  7. Okay, then it is time to pay the balance purchase price as per the rules.


If you have any inquiries about buying property in Malaysia, we are here to assist you, click the button below, we will get back to you as soon as we can.





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