Belvedere Condo Sunway

When I was told recently that we can get a brand new condo in Sunway for under RM300k, I almost couldn't believe it. Until of course, when I found out that it is not quite a condo but a medium cost apartment with a pool.

Also, the location is a bit dodgy.... Sandwiched between the up-market Sunway South Quay and the down-trodden Lagoon Perdana. Belvedere, like Lagoon Perdana was a project by Talam Corp, the developer everybody loves to joke about quality issues. Somewhere along the way, Talam got into financial trouble and abandoned the Belvedere. That's probably the best thing Talam can do to any of their purchasers as later, developer IJM came along to take over the project and is now completing it for vacant possession end of 2011.

This is a 22 floor building with 500 units built around a U-shape. There are also 16 units of shops on the elevated ground floor - which means it is unlikely to attract any external walk-by customers, thus relying on internal business. There are basically 4 types with the majority being Type A. All of them are around 970sf to 1000sf.

The type D probably has the best layout, being corner units. Unfortunately, both corner units faces the sewer and at the time of visit, I can hardly stand the smell let alone live in it. All the other units are really about the same. The put-off is mainly the back bedroom and the kitchen yard which faces an internal void. Therefore, they are dark and dinghy and as we know in the Malaysian high-rise living culture, these voids will become rubbish dumps with black mouldy and oily walls in the years to come - not to mention, noisy aircon compressors humming at night.

So, that leaves us only the Type A end-lots at the top 2 head of the U-shape. One unit faces the South Quay lake which is largely blocked by the Nautica Suites (below). You also get the noisy Kesas Highway view.

At the other end of it, there is the Lagoon Perdana view... which I don't think is very nice... Then there are the 2 in the middle facing the inside of the U with the pool view. But the pool deck is so narrow, you can throw pebbles at the units opposite you. Lack of privacy here. So, Belvedere is not going to be reknowned for its view...

Typically, every unit have a very narrow living room like this one...

The rooms are also tiny.

The master bedroom has an attached bathroom.

While the other 2 room share a small bathroom.

In terms of layout, it is quite functional. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and the kitchen has a yard. So this is really for a small family or as usual in this area, rented out to students from nearby Sunway College and Taylors.

How does the RM300k price tag justify? It's Leasehold, medium cost rating at best, high density at 500 units and especially with Lagoon Perdana right opposite where one can still get a renovated 3 bedroom unit for under RM200k.

Well, the only difference really, is the facility deck. This is where I get a bit nervous, as Malaysians are generally not very good at maintenance. With 500 units, competition is going to be very aggressive but will probably attract many tenants who wants to get out of Lagoon Perdana. IJM is also a reknowned developer with good ratings and relatively better quality than the predecessor Talam. Now it really depends on how well this building is maintained and the demographics of the tenants.

Bandar Sunway is generally a very good place to live and value is holding out pretty well, despite the Leasehold status. Although the traffic jam here is terrible, Sunway is self-contained. They have an amazing mall, a medical center, schools and some of the best colleges in the country.

Main developer of this township, Sunway Group has also pumped in some serious investment in the South Quay area, basically an old mining lake with multi-million Ringgit condos and bungalows surrounding it. Belvedere is right adjacent to it but then again, so is Lagoon Perdana...