An ideal home is one that allows the family to spend quality time together in a safe and nurturing environment.
When it comes to owning a home, one of the primary decisions to make is whether to buy a ready-built house or embark on the journey of building your own.
But bear in mind that designing and building a dream home from scratch is known to be an extremely daunting, time-consuming, costly and laborious task. Building permits are required as part of the initial planning stage for home constructions, even before suitable land is found and bought.
Unless one is flushed with cash, finances for every aspect – architecture, interior design, amongst others – of constructing one’s dream home need to be sorted out beforehand to ensure enough funds are available for a smooth process.
Additionally, there is the looming possibility of corner-cutting by the builders to save on costs due to rising prices of building materials.
According to the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda), building material prices continued to rise as developers reported more than 10% annual increase in average price for sand and concrete as at the end of December 2023.
The above are just a few factors that prompt home-buyers to opt for ready-built homes by reputable property developers.
This is because purchasing ready-built properties significantly shortens the house construction process, reducing the hassle of worrying about workers’ wages, sourcing raw materials, and engaging architects, engineers, and more.
Love thy neighbour
For seasoned travellers Gary Lee and Cyndy Loh, a safe neighbourhood with good neighbours is a top priority when purchasing a home. They believe that the significance of having good neighbours is often easily overlooked in today’s fast-paced world where digital connections take precedence.
Sharing a thoughtfully designed space with your petcan bring an abundance of love and joy into afamily’s daily life.
Lee and Loh, who are big fans of the evergreen sitcom Friends, said they hope to find neighbours that can be great best friends when they purchase a place of their own – just like how Joey and Chandler, and Monica and Rachel were in the show.
“We travel often for leisure. Thus, it would be nice to belong to a community that looks out for one another. Good neighbours keep an eye on your property, alert you to any suspicious activities, and work together to ensure the well-being of the neighbourhood,” says Lee.
Loh adds that the sense of collective security fosters peace of mind and a sense of shared responsibility.
“Knowing that there are reliable neighbours who look out for one another contributes to a safer community,” she says.
The pair, who is renting a landed property in Petaling Jaya, shares that they were initially the type that kept to themselves. However, this changed after some neighbours thwarted a burglary attempt at their previous rental location.
Recalling that the couple that had “saved” them were in their 50’s, Lee shares that they called the security guards to check things out when they saw some men sneaking around their backyard-turned cooking area in the middle of the night.
“After that incident, we started to appreciate having good neighbours who cared for the community and we began to do the same,” says Lee.
Fur-ever homes
As an animal lover, Robyn Goh’s dream home would be one that has a large room for fostering stray dogs and cats that she saves from the streets for capture and release (spaying and neutering) or rehoming.
“It would be much more convenient to save more animals, especially cats, if I had a bigger space for my fosters. It would be even better if I had separate rooms altogether for them as I’m actually allergic to their fur.
“When I can afford it, I’d like to have a double storey house. The plan is to build a proper room for a ‘pet hotel’ at the bottom floor so that the top floor, which will only house my bedroom and bathroom, can be fur-free,” says the writer who currently stays in a studio apartment with only one bathroom.
A good childhood is where children grow up in a green and healthy environment – playing outdoors, enjoying natural light and clean air. – UnSPLaSH
Goh’s childhood friend, Janitha Segaran – who has two golden retrievers – shares the same idea.
“The weather in Malaysia is too hot for animals with thick fur like my Millie and Mollie to stay outside.
“Currently, I have to let them into the house at all times. This can be a little troublesome when my elderly parents and grandparents come to stay as the dogs can get too excited and jump on them.
“I’m saving up to buy another property so that I can build a nice and cooling space to keep my goldies in when the elders come for a visit. This way, they would not be knocked over by my fur babies that weigh around 30kgs each.
“And of course I will allocate an extra guest room at the ground floor for the elders as well! I did not forget about them,” quips Janitha, a medical professional who resides in a single storey house in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Nurturing environment
As soon-to-be parents, it is only natural for Nurul Arina Hamzah and Reza Othman to want only the best for their first-born.
Hailing from underprivileged families, Reza managed to obtain higher education and is doing well for himself in the IT industry, while Nurul Arina works in the sales and marketing industry.
They both want their child to grow up in a nurturing, safe environment - one with plenty of natural light and space to bond as a family.
“We (Reza and Nurul) do not want our child to grow up lacking many things, which I had experienced. We both want joyful experiences, a sense of belonging and a conducive space for our children to grow healthily – physically, mentally and academically,” said Reza, who had to work really hard to put himself through university.
Pointing out that a good childhood begins with a good home in an environment close to nature, Nurul Arina shares that the pair want a property with good interior design that can seamlessly connect to nature.
Recalling her many adventures hiking in the great outdoors while growing up, she says that being “one with nature” provided clean air as well as a sense of calmness and peace.
“It would be the ultimate dream to get to design a contemporary, comfortable, and efficient home with a private or internal garden space.”
“Besides the above plan, we would love to have a playroom that doubles as a library or study room. It was something I always wanted as a child but could never have. I would like to make it happen for my children and also for myself—I love books!
“Imagine if we could have a garden space in a library, how awesome would that be? We are working very hard to save up for a house like that,” she says with a laugh.
She adds that a priority for her ideal property includes a child focused space which can also reflect the personality of its occupants.
“We want an environment that allows the children to grow up in a green and healthy environment – playing outdoors, enjoying natural light and clean air,” says Nurul Arina.
Curating property landscape
As an innovative and forward looking property developer, Gamuda Land plays a vital role in developing homes tailored to the needs of Malaysians of all backgrounds.
Delivering innovative and sustainable developments since 1995, Gamuda Land which is considered one of Malaysia’s top property developers has been intently listening to consumers’ needs and wants through its studies and surveys.
Gamuda Land has been creating living spaces that become generational homes for families and nurturing holistic township communities with environmental sustainability and community at the heart of its operations.
A significant aspect of Gamuda Land’s approach involves addressing the evolving needs of future homebuyers, which often entails challenging conventional norms and infusing fresh ideas through modern design and sustainable architecture that can be seen in a wide range of Gamuda’s development projects, from Kota Kemuning and Valencia, to Gamuda Gardens, Gamuda Cove, and twentyfive7.
What should one consider when constructing your ideal home? Click here (https://forms.office.com/r/Y4bX0xKB3E) to take the Gamuda Land survey to let us know how we can build better homes that stand the test of time.
This article is brought to you by Gamuda Land.
