A "New" Washing Machine

I needed a new washing machine to replace my old one.  Unfortunately, because of the space constraint in the kitchen that is designated for the washing machine, I can only choose top-loaders.
I have had my National washing machine since I first moved into my apartment.  It had to be serviced several times but it is still a hardy, working horse.

My trusted working horse

But now it is time to replace it and we choose the "same" brand again, Panasonic, to match the size closely.
Being an avid property buyer, I have had experience buying used washing machines and learnt that actually some people sell pretty new ones at good prices, because they were moving houses or leaving the country.
So I got mine today which is about 1 year old, at a bargain.

"New" model

Why didn't I just buy a new one?  Because I want to save money to buy a front loader when I move house in 2-3 years' time.
The catch is: we have to transport it on our own.  So I asked Rohaniah Noor, how she also used to transport a washing machine into her rental property. She told us we could transport it by putting it on its side in a car which you could fold down the backseats. That gave us some confidence. And we did it. J and I were the coolies.

Aircond con-man

Today I discovered that I have been conned by the aircond repair guy.
On Saturday, the company that I called sent 3 guys to service my airconds at Shang Villa, and discovered that 1 compressor is not working and needed replacement.  One guy called me and said that a replacement would be about RM400 inclusive of labour.  I asked when this can be done, and he said that I need to make another appointment with his company before they can set a date for me.  I decided to call on Monday.
Then yesterday (Sunday) I went to the condo to repair the minor things like the bed and the leaky pipe.  While that was going on, 1 of the 3 guys who repaired the aircond showed up and said he was going to change the compressor now.  I was surprised because he didn't call me to make an appointment, but since the tenant recognized him as the guy who came yesterday, I didn't suspect anything.
He made repairs and in about 30mins, said that he has completed the job.  We left the aircond on to test it, meanwhile the guy collected the money for repairs and for servicing the other 2 airconds on Saturday.  He even went downstairs to his car with the money, came back to write me a receipt and put his handphone number on the receipt, saying I was to call this number for a 5-month warranty.  Then we all went home.
At night, the tenant called to complain that the aircond wasn't cold at all, the replaced compressor did not make any difference.
So today (Monday), I called the office to complain.  I got a shock when the office receptionist said they did not send anybody on Sunday, because they don't work on Sundays.
Then I called the number that the guy wrote on the receipt, and a guy answered and said this was for a massage parlor service!
When I related to the office about the whole incident, then they realized what happened.  Indeed that guy was one of the workers of this aircond repair company, but he was terminated for dishonest behavior on Saturday.  My condo was his last job under that company.  So this guy had actually came in his personal capacity to collect the aircond service money from me, giving me bogus receipts and all.
At the end, to cut a long story short, the company's boss called up personally to apologize for all that has happened, and asked me to install a new aircond instead of trying to replace another compressor, giving me a discount, so that when I calculate the costs of aircond replacement plus the servicing (that the company didn't receive a cent for), both the company and I more or less broke even.  The only person who "untung" was that con-man, who earned from me and the company.
Anyway, as this is a blog of gratitude, I am posting this here because I am grateful for a few things:
1. The company dealt with this incident professionally and honestly, without demanding that I pay them the rest of the service money.
2. New Fujiaire aircond was installed the next day, with warranty card and all, and tenant was very happy with the service.

3. At the end of the day, I didn't "rugi" a whole lot, just learnt a lesson on safety as well.
So I will continue to use this aircond servicing company.   I learnt that aircond companies do not let their contractors contact client personally for service appointments, all of that has to be done with the office.  Anyone wants a reliable aircond contractor with professional and responsible services, here it is:  Fine Air Services, Sri Kembangan, tel: 03-89482213.

When Verbal Agreement is Not Good Enough

I was told this story by a real estate negotiator (REN), C.  They were in a co-broking deal.  One prospective buyer wanted to buy an office, and said that after the SPA, he wanted to move in and rent from the owner as a tenant.  The owner's REN said, that is of course not a problem; in fact, the owner would even let him use the office for no rent since he was the buyer and it was only for a few months. Based on this, the buyer was very happy, he didn't even negotiate the price very much, and then booked the unit with his deposit.

Then when the SPA was about to be signed, the owner refused to have the buyer move in with the so-called "no rental" before the completion of the deal. The buyer was disappointed, the owner was adamant with his decision, so much so that if the buyer refuse to sign the SPA, the owner can then forfeit his 2% deposit.  The buyer then confronted C (the co-broking REN, not the one who promised the free rental deal). C then spoke to the owner's REN and asked about this breach of promise. The owner's REN said, "Well, nothing can be done, there is nothing written on the agreement as conditions to the sale".  C was furious, and told him: "Look here, although it was not written, you said it, the buyer heard it and I was there. How can you do this?  Try to persuade the owner."

At the end, the owner still refused to allow early entry into the office, the buyer had no choice but to wait out the completion of the sale (because he didn't want to lose his deposit).
C, from then on, was very careful who he co-broke with, and tried to look after his client's interest rather than go through with any difficult deal.  While there are 2 types of RENs, the ones who don't care about anybody other than themselves, and the ones like C, who would really look their client's interest.
The lesson for all of us here is, whatever is promised, get it down in writing.

Hard Working

Today I learnt something about entrepreneurship from a taxi driver, Omar.

While in his taxi today I overheard him cutting a deal for RM150,000. So I asked him what he was selling.
He explained that he acts as an introducer in land deals.  Besides that, he also provides extra service like running to the land office to check titles and making sure the deal goes through.  He also explained that because he is not a licensed agent, his introducer work is governed by legal agreements and also options. Based on his introducer fees, he could earn as much as 2% of the sale price.
I asked him why he was still driving his taxi when he could be full time in this land sale business.  He said he is building his network, for example, while talking to me, perhaps I also have a piece of land that I could ask him to sell.  He further explained that he has to be hard working, he has 5 children and the eldest in studying Islamic Law in Mecca, and the second child will enter university soon.
I told him that as long as we are hardworking, there will be opportunities, to which he said "God willing."
I admire such enterprising people who would work hard to change their fate, all contributing to a better life and a better world.

Experience of a Tenant in Cyberjaya

Recently I met a new tenant through word of mouth by ex-tenant.  This guy is an Asian expatriate and had been in Cyberjaya for only 1 week, having arrived to work at his company.  Through company contacts, he ended up renting a middle room in one of the other Cyberjaya apartments.
The rental that was told to him by the landlord was RM1,150.  When I heard this, I thought it was for the whole apartment, but he clarified to say that it was only the middle room.  Then he realized that the price was too exorbitant, so he negotiated with the landlord and the rent came down to RM850 (which I think is also not a normal rate).  There was never any tenancy agreement, and the instructions kept changing.
The other part of the story is the apartment does not even have a washing machine.  The laundry service at the apartment had washing machines with coin slots.  It was RM3.50 per wash, and the machine only took 50sen coins.  So he said that he had not done his laundry for many days since it was very difficult for him to collect 50sen coins.

Image from: http://simplywash.com/doing-laundry/

Generally he had a bad impression of the landlord and the place.  Stories of how the landlord is not responsive but only delivers a one-sided instruction to the tenant on what is required, and landlords not returning deposits when the tenants move out were things that he was worried about.  He was very grateful to move out of that apartment after one week, and grateful that he is now finally able to wash clothes.