1000sq aprtment for family of 4

[fonfukajoe]

Hello, first time house buyer here. Need advise on whether i should buy this apartment.

I plan to get an apartment around Kajang area about RM400k+- for 1000sq with 3bedroom.

Im interested in the area because its next to the MRT/KTM station and also a Government school. Currently im working in Ampang while my wife works at Nilai so Kajang seemed like a nice middle spot for both of us. Also both our family lives around Bangi which is also a plus.

However, after discussing with my peers and family they mention that 1000sq is abit too small for a family of 4 with my kids being 5 and 2 y/o currently. Thus my first delimma is whether is this even a good option to consider as a first living house.

Since this is a financial group i'll add that i plan to stay around 8+- years at this apartment until the kids go to secondary school and hopefully they get into a boarding school to which im free to find another place to stay if needed.

So my second dilemma is, if 1000sq is livable for 4 people, for such a long stay would it be better for me to just rent a unit there if so or continue my plan to buy a unit there? I know its a renter market but staying for 8+- years is pretty long time to rent and i think im having FOMO that i feel that this place will increase in value after few years due to the strategic location.

My last dilemma is if the apartment is no good, with a current salary of 8k (excluding wife) would it just be better to buy a subsale landed house around (around Bangi and hopefully near a school) or just rent it for the next 8+- years.

Sorry for the long post.. Ive been living with my wife parents for long enough (about 5+ years) and feel like its time to move out (as i seldom get into disagreement with them due to different lifestyle approaches that its become mentally tiring) but im having so many dilemma on how to proceed. Any advise is appreciated. Thank you

 

[doctored]

@fonfukajoe

However, after discussing with my peers and family they mention that 1000sq is abit too small for a family of 4 with my kids being 5 and 2 y/o currently. Thus my first delimma is whether is this even a good option to consider as a first living house.

The way to solve this is to have a minimal lifestyle. Small space requires less stuff.

 

[fonfukajoe]

@doctored Yep, been watching a lot of these 'minimal' apartment lifestyle to mentally prepare myself should we proceed to buy/rent an apartment.

Thanks for the input

 

[chase1635321]

@fonfukajoe No, you wont be able to sustain a family of 4, maybe 5 in the future in long term with 1k sqft. Look for 1.6k sqft at least.

Had a friend with this type of lifestyle, before his wife delivered a twin. Lived in a 1.2k sqft apartment and my goodness the space is so suffocating.

 

[fonfukajoe]

@chase1635321 Yep, my peers living in an apartment mention that 1.6k sq is recommended also. Even they living in 1.6k sq apartment with a family of 3 feel its not enough.

I figured if the kids needed space they could just run around the amenities provided by the facility but again with no prior apartment living experience. It's all just theories for me.

Thanks for input

 

[chase1635321]

@fonfukajoe Yup. I'm not going to say a lot on the minimalistic lifestyle but with 2 kids you're not going to be able to afford to do that. You're not going to bring them out all the time to run around the facilities. I am sure of that.

Just look for bigger space bro. You're never going to regret it.

 

[lynq]

@fonfukajoe Just like money, you will feel like you always need more space. Like you said that's what those amenities are for.

 

[agadfly]

@fonfukajoe First of, 1000 sf is pretty good enough considering your children being 5 and 2. Each of them having a room of their own. So, don't listen to your peer. If have more income then go for 1200 sf but the only difference is you'd get a bigger living hall. Most rooms are about 100 sf in size. Master room being slightly bigger and 3rd room smaller.

Is your 400k a newly launched project? You save quite a bit if buying new projects as some expenses are beared by developer.

For the subsale landed property, you may/may not have to pay commission. KL and Selangor often the seller bear the total 2% commission. If the seller doesn't want to bear all, then you have to pay 1% to your agent. Legal fee you have to bear it since its subsale. Take into consideration how old is the property? Above 20 years, usually need to change water pipes as some units may have blockage, low pressure, rusty pipes. The pvc pipes used back then are easy to crack/burst. So if you notice the unit having water issue, then you need to standby 6-15k to change all the main water pipes and maybe do some waterproofing on the bathrooms. You need to keep an eye on the top floor of the property and check if there's any yellowing on the ceiling for leakage or seepage. It may be an indicator of roof issue.

I usually will recommend new project for first time buyer as there might be some special discounts. Also can save on legal fee as will be using developer's lawyer. Some more often developer only as for 2% down-payment as they will discount 8%. While if you buy sub sale, you'd have to fork out a bigger chunk of money on 10% down payment and legal fees.

 

[fonfukajoe]

@agadfly Alright, yeah I'm no handyman. I am very concerned about the possibility that I will make a lot of poor decisions should i decide to find a subsale house and need to do a lot of repairs.

For a beginner, a new property really sounds like an easier barrier of entry to start.

Thank you for the input

 

[josh437781]

@fonfukajoe Seems enough. I think it depends on the house layout too. Have you check their showroom? See if you can build cabinets and hidden storage. I think 3 bedroom is just nice for your family. Each kid get a room if they are off opposite gender. If same gender then they can share if you need the other room for storage. Also check comments above, smaller space will adjust your live to require less stuff. After all, they are just stuff ya know.

 

[fonfukajoe]

@josh437781 They are the same gender (boys).

Im not too worried about the master bedroom, more of the 2 other smaller room.

Planned to give them their own room. At least i hope each room could fit a single bed, a bookshelf, a desk table and a wardrobe.. May consider to combine them like those hidden storage suggestions and plan vertically.

Will take it into consideration if we opt for them to share a bedroom instead.

Thanks for the input.

 

[ellevehc]

@fonfukajoe for the size is ok lah.

but get a 4 bedroom unit if can.

one for u n wife, two for your children, one as office space.

i would highly recommend if you can get a unit with a seperate store room.

living in an apartment, is ok la. size is not that large but more manageable if you limit the number of item in your house.

 

[fonfukajoe]

@ellevehc The unit does have a very small "pantry" but the layout will not fit an office room which i'll have to make do if decide to take the apartment unit.

Thanks for the input.

 

[seanh43]

@fonfukajoe I lived in a ~1100sqft 3 bed 2 bath for three years with my wife, with the amount of things we have it was barely enough for the two of us and I can assure you we were not hoarders.

The master room can fit a queen sized bed and a couple ikea wardrobe because of the shape of the room, if you put a king sized bed in the room you won’t have much space to walk around.

The two remaining rooms can each fit a queen bed and a small cabinet, nothing more.

The living area can fit a small maybe 6’ couch and a TV cabinet, the dining area can probably fit a table for six, and that’s about it.

If you have spare bedsheets, towels, luggages, work items to store, 1000 might be a bit tight for a family of four. We moved to a 1400 and it’s comfortable.

One thing when you visit showrooms, they will put unrealistically small wardrobes and storage area to convince you it’s a liveable space, think about how much (or little) things you own and decide for yourself.

 

[jodi1028]

@seanh43 I agree to this. For long term I think at least 1200 sqft should be the minimum for 4 people. Is 1000sqft enough? Enough. But is it comfortable? I am not sure.

 

[seanh43]

@jodi1028 It’s… adequate. It’s a place for you to call home and that’s about it

 

[fonfukajoe]

@seanh43 Yeah spare bedsheet and towels will need to be of a minimum if so..

Generally, if we were to replace the queen bed with a single bed will the 2 smaller bedrooms fit a single bed, a bookshelf, a desk table and a wardrobe or am i being too ambitious aha..?

 

[seanh43]

@fonfukajoe You may have to consider one of those bed with the mattress on top and study below, then it will be okay I guess. The main concern for me is the usable space after all the furniture and stuff, my kids are young so they are often on the floor so I have to take that into consideration.

It also depends on the layout of your unit, some people can be very creative with space management but keep in mind that also takes effort to maintain.

 

[mariauk]

@fonfukajoe For RM 500k you can get a place in Setia Eco Park Semenyih for a landed property. 1000 sq ft will quickly run out of space with kids around. Why specifically apartment though?

 

[fonfukajoe]

@mariauk Not really specific must be an apartment, but it's due to its location next to MRT/KTM Kajang and next to a primary government school, so my future commuting to school and work after sending my children once we arrive at that "phase of life" is more manageable.

I looked around for new landed project but all seem to go around 600k+ and it's very far from schools.

I admit that i haven't been looking further enough and only surveyed around Kajang and Bangi areas.

Thanks for the input, will take a look around Semenyih area and see if its suitable for my current situation.