The locations we considered for the farm land and why we deviated from our original plan.
We started off with a few locations and there were some locations that fit our size requirements and budget. However, we took a step back and explored a few other locations. Upon seeing a larger land, we decided that it may be worth buying a larger land to fulfill our dreams of having a small farm. Below are some locations we have considered, and some background stories on each.
Option 1: Kuala Kubu Bahru
We checked out the Kuala Kubu Bahru (KKB) town and we love the quaintness. Small and cozy. It was a mere 45 minutes from our current home, so the distance was perfect! There are quite a number of tourist attractions in Kuala Kubu Bahru and we figured that it would be great if we are keen to do a rental in future. It is a small town with all the amenities we need hence we felt it was great for retirement. A plus point was also the KTM station in KKB as an alternative public transport, should the need arise.
We found a place called The Karun Forest Retreat & Spa Villas which had individual-titled land for sale. It is just beside KKB Heights, which is home to a few high-end nature-inspired homestays and resorts like Sarang by the Brook. We visited the place a few times and found land with prices ranging from RM140K to RM250K. We liked a piece of land that was approx 7,000 sq. ft. going for RM170K and we were ready to place a booking fee for it. The real estate person we spoke to was kind of wishy-washy – delaying giving us details about the land, and the exact price. Finally when he gave us a ‘price list’, the land was way much more expensive than what was advertised and what he told us. The new price for the same piece of land increased to RM240K. I decided to forgo the plans to purchase because we didn’t feel comfortable with the person we were liaising with. As always, follow your instinct hence we walked away although we really liked the town.
Subsequently we found other individually owned land in KKB but they were either too large (for our budget & requirements), too deep inside (land tier 2 and 3) or they were leasehold land (which we had earlier agreed on to only consider a freehold tenure for land purchase).
Option 2: College Heights, Mantin Negeri Sembilan
Then we went the other direction of the town at Mantin Negeri Sembilan and found College Heights. College Heights is a gated and guarded homestead land that is over 20 years old. Although fully sold, most of the land is undeveloped. When we visited the place, we found some of the facilities vandalized because the area was large but there were very few houses. It was not a deal-breaker for us as we were looking for peace and tranquility.
After looking around, we settled on a precinct that is at the fringe of the area. The land was in the range of 7,000 to 9,000 sq. ft and it was fairly priced. The land we were keen on had a keen seller and it was offered to us at only RM81,000 at RM9 per sq ft! We were intrigued but as we were also viewing other land options, we held onto decision making till we had viewed all the potential options. We did not select College Heights in the end as we preferred a larger piece of agricultural land that gave us the flexibility to do more.
Option 3: Bukit Beruntung
Nearer to home, we also looked at Bukit Beruntung Golf and Country Club, a guarded bungalow land area in Selangor with prices in the range of RM300,000 to RM400,000 plus for half an acre of land. It is very near to where we live, approx 30 minutes or less away. It is individual-titled freehold residential land and very close to to the city, hence we placed that as one of our consideration.
We did not consider Bukit Beruntung or its vicinity areas as it was pricier as it is a bungalow lot. Residential-titled land are pricier so it is understandable.
Option 4: Perak
We went further to also look at Perak, and the one that caught my eye was Diamond Creeks. An individual-titled gated and guarded bungalow lots with possibility of even owning a land with a small stream/river behind it! There were land going in the range of half an acre at approx RM18 – RM20 psf, so that is approx below RM400,000. Everything was ideal, but it is a leasehold land. The distance to the city was about 90km, hence still not too far from the city. It was a no-go for us, as it is a leasehold land plus it is a residential area so I’m not sure if the other neighbors would be pleased with us having lots of fruit trees?
We also took at look at some land in Tanjung Malim and Slim River. One that caught our eye was a piece of unused ex-rubber plantation land but the access road was kinda wishy-washy as it was a Tier 2 land. The supposedly right-of-access road is fenced up by the first tier land owner (though he is not supposed to as it is a free to access road) and we had to go into the land via another access road courtesy of the land owner. I don’t feel comfortable owning a land with no proper access road, hence it was a no-go.
Option 5: Selangor
We did an initial research on the land in the outskirts of Selangor, eg. Ijok, Rasa, Batang Kali, Kuala Selangor, Rawang, Hulu Langat but we found non suitable for our budget and requirements. Most were either large pieces of land or too steep for our budget. Hence we had to forgo land in Selangor as an option.
We finally settled on the land of our choice
Thankfully, we were going through this process with our two other brother-in-law and their family so we had more than 2 heads to think over each location. We finally settled on an agricultural land in The Valley at Karak, Bentong Pahang after going through our key considerations when considering our dream retirement land. A land that is slightly more than one acre it meets most of our requirements, and we are in love with it!