Good Feng Shui?

A reader, who wished to be known only as Hsiao Ching, commented today that I forgot to mention about one of today's most popular topics when buying a house - Feng Shui - in my posting about Imperial Villa yesterday. He also wondered if Imperial Villa has good Feng Shui.

Well, first of all, thanks, Hsiao Ching for your valuable comment. You see, I did not mention about it due to two reasons. Firstly, as a Christian I am not supposed to believe in Feng Shui and, I may as well add, fortune telling. Secondly, I don't know much about Feng Shui anyway, except that the term mean Wind and Water. I take that to mean that if you live on a high ground (where there is plenty of wind) or at least a windy place with a nice view, and you can see water (e.g. sea), then you have good Feng Shui. Even then, I may be wrong!

I therefore cannot answer your question as to whether Imperial Villa has good Feng Shui, although I am sure if you ask the developer they would say yes. However, like what I wrote yesterday, I did visit the place (seeing is believing) and to me (if I have the money) I would not hesitate to buy a unit there. This is because apart from the reasons I already gave yesterday, Impeial Villa is on high (but not too high, just a few feet above the road level) or elevated ground and I would imagine that it would be flood-free. The place seems to be windy too and therefore you already have 'half the Feng Shui'!

By the way, yesterday I forgot to mention that Donggongon is also the administrative center of the Penampang district since both the District Office and the District Council (local government, which controls housing estates) are housed there. This should be another plus point for Imperial Villa.

In conclusion, just like the saying "Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder", what may be good Feng Shui to me may not be so good to others and vice-versa. At the end of the day, it is up to the individual or potential buyer to decide if the place has good Feng Shui, after they visit the site, of course.

Thank you.

Welcome to Sikmading's Property

Yes, welcome to Sikmading's Property, but not my personal property. It's merely my new blog about realty - property, housing development, real estate, etc - in my home state, Sabah in general and its capital Kota Kinabalu in particular. This new blog is in addition to my existing blog, Sikmading's Sabah, Malaysian Borneo (http://sikmading.blogspot.com)

Why did I start this blog? Well, it's simply because for the past seven years my work has had something to do with the housing industry in Sabah - a nice break and refreshing change from politics which I had been indirectly involved in for more than three decades. Since I like writing, I just want to do justice to Sabah's housing industry (which looked after my rice bowl) by reporting on property development, seen through my eyes, without bias or favour. After all, the property market or construction industry is often seen as a thermostat to the state of the economy and is an important component of the stock market index.

For my first installment, my offering is the Imperial Villa housing development project. Before I go into the details, why did I choose this project as my first posting in this new blog? This is partly due to the fact that before one book a yet-to-be-built house and committed to a bank loan, one has to look into the reputation or trust-worthiness of the developer or else one's hard-earned money may go down the drain and the hope of owning one's dream house dashed. In case anyone think I work for the developer of Imperial Villa, no I don't, I work for the government.

What attracted me most about Imperial Villa is that unlike other developers, this company is not owned by an individual or a family business. Instead, the developer of this project, PCCCI Corporation Sdn Bhd, is a joint-effort by members of the Penampang Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCCI), some of whom are already established or experienced housing developers. I have every confidence in this project because, in the words of PCCCI president Datuk Kenneth Yen, Imperial Villa must succeed otherwise the good name of PCCCI itself would be at stake. "When I say succeed, I do not just mean delivery on time but also quality finishing," he stressed.

Imperial Villa, according to the project's brochure, is "3 mins drive to Donggongon township", the main town or 'heart' of the Penampang district. But I would like to think, after a field survey, that it is actually closer than that. One to two minutes would be more accurate, I think. Infact it won't be ridiculous to call it a 'stone's throw' from the nearest shop in Donggongon, assuming the stone-thrower is a sportsman.

The second reason why I chose Imperial Villa is again because of the location. The trend today is to stay not too close to the city because of traffic jams as well as noise and air pollution and Imperial Villa, located in the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu city, fits this bill. Though being suburban, Donggongon is a self-contained town with two banks, a well-stocked supermarket, a public library, and several restaurants including seafood ones. Infact, even the headquarters of the Sabah Credit Corporation and the branch campus of the Tunku Abdul Rahman College are in Donggongon. An added attraction of Donggongon is the unique weekly Tamu which falls on Friday but by Thursday the tamu ground is already teeming with activities. Among the items that can be purchased during the tamu are fresh and cheap vegetables and fruits as well as fish and meat, as the tamu is next to the market.

Another factor which I took into consideration was the fact that Imperial Villa is a Gated-Community housing estate and the brochure promised "Free First 5 Years 24 Hours Security" which I think is quite an attraction, considering the number of house-breaking cases reported in the newspapers lately. And of course if you are a Bumiputra (native, Pribumi in Indonesia) you get a 5% discount with 30% of all units reserved for Bumis.

The only 'minus point' about this project is that it is 'high-end' and not meant for the ordinary income group. All houses are three stroreys high, with either terraced or semi-detached as the only option. But as the Chinese saying of "one cent money one cent goods" goes, you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

In conclusion, there is no need for me to go into too much details as the images above speak for themselves. For a larger view, please click on an image. I have also omitted the prices here because I am not their salesman and also because the prices may change. For further information and pricing please contact PCCCI Corp at phone nos. as published in the brochure.