Tuesday, March 17, 2009

KLCC - Idaman Residence in pictures

NOTE: First of all, warning to anyone who uses my pictures without permission - especially estate agents. I will not hesitate to sue you.

TA Properties' maiden project in the KL city center area is finally delivered in March 2009. There has been multiple ads in the classifieds ranging from RM860psf to the dream heaven RM1200psf. Which means this golden project can be acquired for under RM1million in the heart of KL, in direct competition against Marc Residence, KL Parkview and Meritz. The smallest unit is the 929sf 2 bedroom and the largest goes beyond 1700sf.

The building in its white splendour and marine design reminds me of TTDI Plaza Condo at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. There is also an upcoming project in Mutiara Damansara with a similar design. Wonder if it is the same designer or architect.



The developer has made a good job with the lobby with it's contemporary retro design.

The pool is on the ground level, along with a very small gym.

A water stream runs on one side complete with waterfalls and flying metal birds.


There are 2 lift lobbies, each with 3 lifts serving 4 and 5 units per floor respectively complete with the trade mark retro style grills and designer ceiling.

The smallest unit, type H is 929sf facing the afternoon sun and has the not so impressive view of the Jalan Ampang Malay graveyard... It consists of a large living room and master bedroom, a very dark and small 2nd bedroom, bathrooms and kitchen. The 2nd bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms are facing the inner court of the building with very little natural light. I personally do not like these type of designs because this is very hard to maintain and you never know how other tenants are going to handle their hygiene. One such apartment is Villa Putra near PWTC. The inner court is dark, dinghy, damp, oily from all the cooking debris and lots of rubbish which includes used tampons hanging all over the place. Will Idaman Residence get there? Hope not... but you never know... Luxurious condominiums can also turn into horrible places like the example of Menara One in Masjid India area.






The larger 3 bedroom units actually look much bigger than their size probably due to the corner layout and the clever alignment of the rooms. The large windows create this sense of space, with a bright and airy feel. Unfortunately the corner windows of this unit are all facing the graveyard which may be a Feng Shui issue for some... certainly for me.



The other side of Idaman Residence is truly city living. Although facing KLCC and the morning sun, the views are pretty clogged with neighbouring buildings close by. As seen from the living room of this unit, it's easy for the occupants of Menara TA offices to peep in. Despite this inconvenience, I actually prefer this view because it gives me the feeling that I am present in a big city... which is clearly what city living is all about.





In direct contrast, the units facing west has unblocked views but may well have to put up with the upcoming construction of Berjaya's project beside Concorde hotel. If Berjaya's track record is any to go by, it will take them ages to complete it. So you might well get a very dusty eyesore for the next 10 years.



Another kink about this project is the entrance. Although less than 500m from the KLCC Twin Towers, the entrance is narrow, made narrower by cars parked haphazardly and the night clubs down below may pose a noisy problem. Many tenants living in Marc Residence and KL Parkview has complaint about the noise which goes on till the wee hours of the morning during weekend


I personally like this project due to the location, the building facade, design and facilities. However, the layouts of the intermediate units are not so impressive and the western view faces a graveyard. The other potential problem with this project is due to the large number of speculators. The timing of the delivery in the middle of our global recession is not good news to them. Although many advertised with their sky high dream of more than RM1000psf, the reality is none has ever been transacted at this level. Many desperate speculators are trying to let go well below this value, as low as RM800psf. The 1st wave of buyers purchased at around RM650psf, so they can well afford to do this. But the next wave of buyers actually entered at around RM850psf.

So, with the small 2 bedroom units valued at around RM1million each, and the going rental for 2 bedroom units going at about RM6000/month provides approximately 7% returns. However this is really unusual times... tenants are hard to come by and I have heard of many desperate owners who are willing to rent well below RM4000/month just enough to cover interests rates. If you are keen in this property, I would watch it for a while... with the unusually large presence of speculators who bought into this project, it will be a matter of time before a fire sale comes by.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the great review. I walked past this condo while I was staying (short term rental) at Parkview) and was very impressed.

I think the rental expectations of RM 9,000 (which is what I heard a few months ago) for a 2 bedroom are unrelealistic in these recessionary times, but at a more realitic rent it would be a great place to live for those who want city living. Much better facade and design (at least from the outside) than Park View.

sinleong said...

Word of caution for those considering Idaman Residence. The layout of the apartments are such that the main bedroom and living hall are facing the view of the unit while the kitchen and smaller bedroom actually faces a narrow central airwell. There are about 280 units in Idaman and on average, each unit has 4 airconds. The aircond compressors are all installed inside this narrow central airwell and hence one have to imagine the noise and heat generated when Idaman becomes fully occupied and all the airconds are turned on especially at night. This is a huge design flaw which I believe TA Properties overlooked in their maiden KLCC project.

Aki said...

I have read through this great site as a reference to consider my new condo to live. I'm Japanese living Villa Putera, which you mentioned about inner court here. Yes, it is dirty, dark, wet, refrect noises all over... Luckily my unit is above 20th floor, the court is wide and maintains good distance to opposite unit. I wonder how can residents in lower units stand rubbish thrown by irresponsible people in upper units.

This condo was popular among Japanese until Yaohan was next door. As Yaohan's gone, many Japanese have gone to Mont Kiara. Tenant mix has changed here. I may be the only left over here..haha.

Idaman looks very nice. I also hope this Idaman won't lose current luxurious status.

sinleong said...

thanks for your feedback.. yes, i've been to villa putra. the inner court is dark and dinghy... smells also of cooking oil. i hope idaman residence does not become like that. some of the units' kitchens' exhaust flow into the inner court. it is also possible t climb into your neighbour's unit....

sinleong said...

with the prices now hovering around RM800psf (20% drop since vacant possession), I thought I might be able to negotiate something out of it. Despite the misgivings, poor layouts etc, I still think Idaman Res has a good location within a stone's throw from KLCC. My only concern is the noise from Aloha and Rum Jngle next door. So, I arranged for a midnight viewing last night. And oh my god.... the noise was totally unbearable and apparently it would go on till 3am. Next door's Zouk was totally silent despite being busy. If Zouk can run a nightclub with zero environment noise, why not Rum Jungle and Aloha? DBKL should shut them down!

Anonymous said...

Idaman Residence having great location with above everage Interior compare with other nr by project. For 850psf to 900psf still it is still value for $ compare with current new launch projects.

No matter how Investor have to understand & accept bulding material had been increase at lease double or triper. Currently most of the newly completed projects at KLCC selling at very low premium due to over supply. Now is time to grab completed property, just keep for 2-3yr time you can see the handsome premium.

Idaman Residence - Interior Details
1) Electrolux kitc Appliances- hod, hoob, 2 door fridge, washing/m, dryer,(other brand) waste disposal & gas detector.

2) High Gloss Mannance Press kitchen cabinet with solic surface
3) Sound proof glass with quality assc.
4)Branded tempered glass shower screen with raining shower hard.
5) European brand bath room assesories.
6)Full height marble wall & marble floor at master bath(much batter than Sunrise project still using ceremic tiles.
7)Black granit basin top at master bath.
8) 20mm 2x2 marble floor at living & dining (must login Defect - Marble Polish)
9) Ceiling air/cond at Living & dining area.
10) Sound proof glass - v expensive. (found air leak on all the windows due installation problem but can be solve)

sinleong said...

i was there midnight friday night. the glass definitely NOT sound proof!

sinleong said...

i was there midnight friday night. the glass definitely NOT sound proof!

jamie said...

I live in Idaman and I'm lovin it - the location is superb, couldn't be better, a stone's throw from Petronas Twin Towers. The pubic areas are wide and bright. I live in a luxurious 3 bedroom unit facing KLCC and everything's perfect. I feel like I live in the city among the clouds! I have no problems with the noise. I can hear the drift of music, yeah, but it is happy merry making, and I know I am in the city, and will never ever feel lonely. The music has never bothered me - if I want to shut it out, which I have never wanted to, I can close all the doors and windows, draw the drapes, switch on my aircon, and I am insulated. I consider myself fortunate to be living here.

Anonymous said...

I agree with most of what has been said here in relation to the Idaman Residences.
One point which is of grave concern to me, and I hasten to add that I am a resident here having rented an apartment here a few months ago for my my family and I from o/seas, is the horrid disco noise till all hours of the morning. The disco bass sounds from Run Jungle Disco vibrate the building well above the 20th floor.
Constant police motorbike sirens are a pain.
Two things should happen now, 1) An environmental noise assessment should be made & 2) a law needs to be passed whereby agents & owners alike must advise prospective owners, lessors of the issues facing the Building such as noise pollution.
I guess the second point will never occur.
So, beware.

sinleong said...

yes, i try to warn everyone about the disco noise. the noise affects parkview, marc residence as well as idaman residence. in fact, i have my estate agent to thank. when i was about to place the booking fee, he asked me to be sure and he said he would take me to idaman at midnight weekend. what i experienced was totally unbearable despite all the windows closed. i read in the star few months later that city hall was clamping down on the disco noise. but i guess it's back. this is malaysia. enforcement can be bent with some justifications and inducements.

Anonymous said...

I live in a 3 bedroomed apt at Idaman and the noise from the discos is unbearable at night. Can feel the beat of the bass in my bed. If you expect to have a decent sleep here, don't bother

Anonymous said...

Anyone else having a problem with the floor traps at Idaman residence? I live in an apartment here and it stinks horribly everytime it rains. Apparently it is a construction defect which management is having difficulty fixing despite my trying to have them do so for the last few months. Anyone else have this problem?

Anonymous said...

Staying in the Parkview at present in a unit facing the Idaman and furthest away from the nightclubs. It is now 2.12am on a working night and I am still awake and writing this because the bass noise from the clubs vibrate my bed. I do not know how people even closer can cope!

Anonymous said...

Developer rectified most of the floor traps defects so the smell is no longer an issue now. I stayed in Idaman Residence Type I and G. The noise is not an issue for me. Maybe both the units are facing away from the pub and disco. Both are facing the Ministry of tourism