By Datuk Chang Kim Loong
WHILE guaranteed rental returns (GRR) could be very attractive, investors need to know that the scheme is not as simple as it seems, much like the weight loss, get rich fast and lottery advertisements.
Call them what you like: leasebacks, buy-to-let, cash back, own-for-free developers have come up with creative plans to woo investors with GRR on yet-to-be-built properties.
Developers would agree to pay buyers rentals ranging from 8% to 12% per annum or a proportion of the purchase price, for a certain length of time.
This kind of purchase, which has become increasingly common judging from the press advertisements, sounds enticing to investors who do not want the trouble of managing their own investments. You buy the property, and you get the rental returns thrown in.
Realistic rentals
If a developer is offering GRR, the buyer has no way of knowing whether that property will meet the said expectation in the open market. The developer may not be able to get the guaranteed rent or the property may not be let out at all during the guaranteed period.
Pitfalls to the scheme
Generally, GRR are best for laidback investors. Some people will value the “simplicity” of the deal. However, there are issues that buyers need to be aware of and comfortable with before entering into such agreements.
A typical mortgage lasts 20 years. If you have a guaranteed rental for just three years, what will happen for the next 17 years? You are left to sink or swim on your own.
A typical table of returns will show potential buyers a surplus income. A potential investor has to take into account the cost of maintaining the property, taxes that come with being a property owner, the cost of maintaining the mortgage and all other fees related to acquiring the property.
Under most GRR schemes, you will need to buy furniture and fittings package with the apartment and commit yourself to the management charges and sinking fund of the building, on top of the regulatory quit rent and assessment tax. These will often take a substantial bite out of any rental money left each month.
GRR is specifically aimed at selling units to investors, so you may see a situation of 500 apartments all going to the rental market rather than owner-occupiers at the end of the scheme.
You will need to consider how many people will be chasing tenants at the end of the guarantee period, particularly how many prospective tenants there are. In areas of high competition, landlords will have to reduce the rent to attract tenants. Consequently, the market value of the properties will go down rather than up.
If you decide to sell, you will also be limited to buyers who will also be mainly investors. Sellers will also find themselves competing with developers who are offering higher rental returns with new developments.
Overpricing is another issue
When supply is more than demand, developers always look for ways to avoid having to reduce prices. While GRR may offer attractive secure returns, it will be a false economy in the long run if the buyer ends up overpaying for the property.
A guarantee is only as good as the company who underwrites it. Even if the GRR seem reasonable and offered with honorable intentions, investors need to be sure the developer would be able to sustain the returns if the rental or sales market were to take a turn for the worse.
If developers were to default on the payments due to buyers, these buyers will likely default on their respective loan repayments, thereby setting off a chain of events with dire consequences.
Terms and conditions in GRR agreements are not regulated by law. As such, the inexperienced investors may not understand that the fine prints are often written in the guarantors’ favour.
Example of such clauses as follows:
“Provided always and it is hereby agreed between the contracting parties hereto that the developer reserves its right to terminate the GRR agreement for any reason whatsoever by giving two months written notice to the Purchaser wherein such a case the Developer’s obligation to pay the guaranteed return to the Purchaser shall cease from the date of such termination. Such notice is deemed to have been received within three days from the date of the letter”.
Purchaser’s nightmare
Sometime ago, we received correspondence from an observer who was at a developer’s office. He narrated this incident where he witnessed an elderly man who had just taken “vacant possession” of his investments, comprising four units of apartments with a GRR scheme.
He was demanding that the developer “take back” the units and give him a full refund on the purchases.
The buyer had discovered that the four units he purchased under the developer’s GRR scheme had depreciated in value by 25%.
Adding insult to injury, the developer had terminated the GRR scheme as allowed in their agreement, leaving the buyer frustrated with his “failed” investment.
The elderly man wept in full view of all present at the developer’s office! Did the “generous” developer give the old man any refund? Your guess is as good as mine.
In another case reported in the local papers, a group of investors filed a legal suit to claim from a developer whom they alleged had breached their agreements. They were practically throwing good money after bad. Win or lose, lawyers collected their fees upfront.
Buyers beware
The rental market is volatile, depending on current competition and market conditions. People investing in these schemes are not just buying properties that they hope will increase in value in time, but also using “other people’s” money (from rentals) to pay for the purchase. It is, however, a cyclical market, and one is subject to the laws of supply and demand as in any other sector of the economy.
GRR offered to investors should be checked carefully against the local market and competition. A simple survey within the location will give an investor a fair idea of the state of the local market. If market prices are lower than the proposed rent, incentives and discounts being offered to woo the buyers, then this are issues to be considered.
If guarantees of rentals are higher than the existing market rate, then a rent decline after the end of the guarantee is likely. It is a classic case of caveat emptor rental guarantees can sometimes guarantee investors nothing but heartache.
Anyone who has any real estate experience knows there is no such thing as a guaranteed rental. Real estate, as with any other type of investment, has its ups and downs.
There are times when one cannot rent out. Any developer, investors club or any person (mind you) who says that he is able to predict the future is “bluffing.”
Our economic cycle goes through changes that responds to economic and other happenings in, as well as, outside our country. Projected monetary returns that cannot be guaranteed (or self-guaranteed) are doubtful in nature.
Had it been so profitable, don’t you think that the developer, their shareholders and related companies would have snapped them up before being available in the market? Why don’t they keep it for themselves? Guaranteed returns should be accompanied by documentary proof of a trust account, nothing more nothing less. – May 31, 2021.
Datuk Chang Kim Loong is the honorary secretary general of the National House Buyers Association (HBA), which is a non-governmental, non-political and not-for-profit organisation manned purely by volunteers.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
