Here’s the part 2 of the Eco Forest at Broga by EcoWorld you guys have been waiting for. Trust you all are ready with your cuppa. Now sit back and enjoy the rest of the review shared by the PROPCAFE guest reviewer Mr Tengster. If you have not read part 1 and would like to do so please click on here .
Eco Forest Price – Price for Stripe (the entry level) is about RM331 PSF for fully GnG, higher specification for finishing, higher percentage of green, lower density, etc. Is this price range reasonable and easy to be swallowed by home stayers/upgraders?
Note: Cradleton (entry level terrace) in Eco Majestic was launched at RM290 PSF in mid 2014. Upon VP, several transactions were completed at 10-15% higher than SPA price despite the lackluster property market and also extremely tightening credit (from the legalised ah-loong aka banks).
Eco Forest Current offering :
– 3% + 2% early bird special (The 2% is special discount for those who can sign the SPA within 14 days)
– Additional 2% for EW repeated buyers
– Free legal fees and stamp duty on Sales & Purchase Agreement (SPA) and loan agreement
– Booking fee is RM5,000
– Balance of down payment can be paid via credit card one time off or via instalment with zero interest with selected banks (Maybank, Affin, Hong Leong and Public Bank)
– MOT is borne by purchaser (this may be needed to be paid upon VP or subject to title issuance)
– Zero furnish
Timelines or Milestone
EcoWorld has been launching their products since Q3 2013. They are pretty much on ‘steroid’ firing all cylinders to acquire land and then launch, and then click REPEAT. What are happening in EF? What are their timelines and milestone?
- As of now – Many activities are happening at site.
- September 2017 – They launched the Artisan Home and Garden Home. There is a total of 685 units.
- By Q2 2018– Launching of Rumah SelangorKu. Construction period will be from 2018 till 2021.
- Lake Forest Park is scheduled to be completed in 2020 or slightly earlier. The Labs concept will straightaway to be brought in.
- Possibly by 2020, some 300+ apartment and 60+ shop buildings will be completed to support the community.
- The SJKC TonFah in Eco Majestic may start their school session in January 2020.
- Second access via south side of Eco Forest? No committed date. One still need to keep rubbing the crystal ball.
With the milestone in place, it seems that they are pretty much hitting the spot. They are building the green environment, live-life balanced community and businesses via Labs to make Eco Forest a self-sustainable community.
What are the USPs for Eco Forest?
- A fully Gated and Guarded (GnG) township with strata title and adequate allocation for green area (I was told the green area ratio is slightly higher than Eco Majestic due to the theme of Eco Forest).
- An almost self sustainable township with 515 freehold land. This may take awhile as the other two giant developers have yet to go all out in developing their land.
- Proper road system with provision for landscape and also walking and cycling path. Their proposed 132’ and 100’ roads are with provision of proper landscape, walking path (about 1.2 m) and also walking cum cycling path (of about 3.0 m width).
- The 25-acre Lake Forest Park is something that one can hardly find in any townships within Malaysia. 25 acres is about 5% of their total land in Eco Forest. Just to give you the size perspective. The 25-acre Lake Forest Park is estimated to be the size of Setia Walk Puchong plus Tesco Puchong.
- Labs concept in Lake Forest Park. This new concept basically revolutionized the concept of space, utilizing containers and refurbishing them to be the finest play space for growing retail and F&B brands, including co-working spaces. Such people oriented place will be a fantastic catalyst for young entrepreneurs to realize their entrepreneurship.
- EcoWorld Community Apps will be fully utilized in Eco Forest. This apps is pretty convenient to pay maintenance fee, send notification (such as Lost & Found, fogging time, etc.), register your guests/visitors, book a visitor car park, file a defect, put up your comments, communicate with the management office, etc. This could simplify all the processes in a digitalized manner.
- Located nearby to Broga Hill, a hiking cum picnic place. I won’t mind retire in Eco Forest as cardio exercise is part of my routine. The fresh air and also the slightly lowered temperature will be a plus point.
- Notthingham University can be indirectly a USP due to constant pool of professional staff and also students (5000+) with deep PAMA fund and purchasing power.
- SJKC is not coming to Eco Forest but then a revamped SJKC Ton Fah may be relocated from Beranang to Eco Majestic which is a 7-8 minutes drive away. When? At present, it is still a drawing board stage and the forecasted milestone will be sometime in 2020 (hope this ain’t sound like our ‘Wawasan 2020’).
What are the major concerns?
- Single access scenario – At present, there is only one access to Eco Forest. To me, I think this is a very challenging and imminent concern. How and When would EcoWorld will start working with the neighboring to create a one plus one equal to more than two situation. No one can answer the question at the moment.
- Minor soil settlement on filled land area where this could potentially cause uneven and minor to moderate soil settlement. My take is that EcoWorld team is probably have had enough nightmare or experience during their initial project in Setia Alam. By now, they should be on top of this issue, hopefully. To date, there are hardly any complaints in Eco Majestic. Both Eco Forest and Eco Majestic are former palm oil estates which probably have the same soil profile. Note: Plaster crack on the wall doesn’t really mean soil settlement.
- Flood exposure – The entire Eco Forest is located out of 500-Year flood zone as per recognized global flood map. At the most southern tip of Eco Forest, it is still approximately 700 meter away from the 500-Year flood zone. What does 500-Year flood zone mean to laymen or potential house buyers? Basically it means the probability of flood occurring in 500-Year flood zone is about 0.2%. Thus, in short, flood exposure in EF is relatively remote with the exception of technical/man-made problems such as clogged culvert or improper drainage gradient causing backflow.
- Is there a designated dog park within the Central Park in Eco Forest? – At present, there is no provision of designated dog park. I tried many times to convince them that a project of such size will need a proper designated dog park to stand out of the crowd. And yes, Eco Forest will have two reputable neighbors (Mutiara Hills by Boustead and Unknown by I&P) beside them. These two developers can really have the ‘dough’ to give Ecoworld a run for their money. I will explain why designated dog park is important in later section.
- Increasing maintaining fee – Similar to Eco Majestic setup, most of the money guzzling items such as the lake, parks, etc. are located outside of respective phases. These will be eventually hand over to local council. Since the developer still has land to develop, it is natural to continue to upkeep this place (including those hand-over items) to be at tip top condition.
- New proposed high tension cable – This is a surely a ‘curveball’ came out of nowhere. Only recently, they get to know that there is a new proposed high tension cable (on pylon) that will run by at the far east side of EbonyLane. This realignment of high tension cable is initiated by local authority. Preliminary information showing that, the spatial separation is about 50 – 60 meter. A magnifier glass should be utilized to investigate more on how the proposed high tension cable could affect EbonyLane in particular. The next question, what can be done from the perspective of the developer?
- Cemetery land (Tanah Perkuburan Broga) – At present, there is a small plot of land that is used as cemetery land. It is located east side of Eco Forest. Is think a concern? I personally think that we can live with quiet neighbors for sure. Quiet neighbor is always better than ‘noisy and nosy’ neighbors. The only problem with the location of cemetery is that it may create traffic congestion during certain weekends in the period of ChengMeng (All Souls Day). Consolation is the cemetery land is relatively small (i.e. about 11 acres) as compared to the three giants (namely Nirvana Memorial Garden, Nirvane Memorial Park and Semenyih Memorial Hills) located at Jalan Sungai Lalang, Semenyih. These three giant players have a combined land area of 800+ acres (estimated from WikiMap). Tengster’s late papa and mama are resting in Nirvana Memorial Garden, I think the traffic in Jalan Sungai Lalang is really horrible during All Souls Day period. So, is this a true concern for Eco Forest to have a small cemetery land prior to their main access?
- Where are the kebangsaan schools and Chinese school? – Similar to Eco Majestic, at the time of writing this review, there is no verified news about Chinese school. In fact, at present there is no provision of land in Eco Forest which is earmarked for Chinese school. The only so-called confirmed news is SJKC will be constructed in Eco Majestic (as part of the relocation program). However, there is a plot of land at the south west side allocated for kebangsaan school. “Heng ahh”. At least, there is a school in Eco Forest. As for international school, I can’t see anything on the masterplan and I didn’t get any hint that there will be one in Eco Forest. Don’t hope too much but live with it.
What do others think?
(Below are the actual words from some of the purchasers and someone I have interviewed.)
Why will I choose to stay in Eco Forest (Broga)?
Their proposition does not show a clear edge from the existing and upcoming properties around the area. However, the deal breaker is the location and access – there is virtually nothing going on in Broga to set it apart from other developments. There is the University of Nottingham and this may be a double edged sword in itself but the bottom line is we do not wish to deal with Uni/College areas. Lush greenery is a plus but getting in and out on a daily basis is a foreseeable royal pain with the nearest highway (LEKAS) about 8-10 km away and you would have to cut through other dense catchments along the way. Ditto for public transport as well with the nearest MRT being in Kajang and you would still need your own vehicle to get there. (Sent in by Mr. Aceson).
Living in Semenyih/Broga
It has been 9 month since me and my family moved in to Semenyih and almost 4 month to our new home in Eco Majestic. Overall it is a great experience and it would be my pleasure to share it with others.
Me and my partner works in Kuala Lumpur city centre. The distance from Eco Majestic to my workplace is approximately 37 km. The journey starts at 7.15 am and using Waze to navigate through the traffic, I can reach my workplace at 8.30 am. The journey includes a 15 minutes detour to send my kids to their kindergarten. For those who opt to use the MRT, the nearest station will be the Kajang Station. If you leave at 7.15 am, it will take you about 25 minute to reach the station. The MRT will take you
another 45 minutes to the city centre. Once there was a dedicated non-stop Rapidbus to go to Pudu Central every Monday to Friday. It will leave from Semenyih Central to Pudu Sentral at 6.30 am and from Pudu Sentral to Semenyih Sentral at 6.30 pm. Due to the MRT, I’m not quite sure whether this service is ongoing or it has been discontinued.
Grocery, market – The nearest hypermarket would be Tesco in Pelangi Semenyih and The Store in
Semenyih Sentral. Others will be Giant Hypermarket in Kajang Perdana and Billion Supermarket in Bandar Teknologi Kajang. You can also find lots of small grocery shops, and other shops like 99 speed mart and 7-11 around Semenyih to cater for your daily needs. There is a farmers market at Pekan Beranang on every Wednesday and Saturday morning. You can find fresh fruits, vegetables, chicken meat and beef, local delicacies and even a local coffee supplier. There is also a wet market in Pekan Semenyih.
Hospital, clinic, medical- For private hospital the nearest one would be An Nur Specialist Hospital and Az Zahra Private Hospital in Bandar Baru Bangi. As for the government hospital, it would be Kajang Hospital. If the condion is not so emergency, I would suggest to go to Serdang Hospital, Putrajaya hospital or HUKM as these hospital are much bigger in term of the facilites. As for private clinic, the choices are abundance.
Facebook Group – I would suggest to join the kami Penduduk Semenyih facebook group as you can find lots of information and services in Semenyih. No doubt it is a facebook group and sometimes the information can be misleading but I find that the group is a good alternative to have.
Mosque – The biggest mosque in Semenyih would be the one in Kem Batalion 4 PGA Semenyih near the Tesco Pelangi Semenyih. As a muslim, we have to register our Khairat kematian to the nearest mosque/surau. Khairat Kematian is a process of registering Muslim individual to a mosque/surau in case of death occurs. This is something I need to search for and definitely will share it with others fellow Muslim once I got the information.
Food, restaurant, fast food – McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Subway and Secret Recipe are all in Semenyih. There are also many other restaurants serving western food and local food around Semenyih.
Harapan dan hajatku – Semenyih currently is a mix of small villages and township. If you go around, you can see some part of Semenyih is still a village, and this village have been here since many years ago. As a new comer, I really hope that we can respect and tolerate with all the residents in Semenyih in order to have a harmonious living. (Sent in by Encik H)
Me and Semenyih
My experience with this small town is pretty short at the moment. I purchased a property and will be looking to move in soon. Hopefully. [Intended fraction]
I have only heard of the name Semenyih a few times before and only got a bit more acquainted with it years later. I think i might have passed by it a few time too during some of my earlier work assignments. Now I go over there almost every weekend to do a quick check on my property.
Semenyih can be considered a small town. It reminds u of a chinese new village setup. Probably some parts of Semenyih is a chinese new village. In saying so, Semenyih appears to be developing rapidly with new residential as well as commercial properties within its surrounding area as well as within its close proximity. Semenyih is probably well known because of d famous and yet very congested Broga Hill as well as the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus which is thriving.
One thing for sure is that if u r a KL person and living in KL, the words “Very Far” is first comes to mind. It is about 40 to 50 km from the centre of kl, any which route u might decide to take. I still think it is far but I have grown used to it by now and it is not really a concern for me anymore.
The times that I have been to Semenyih, food is something to think about. I haven’t really checked out the places to eat but what I gathered from my neighbors and friends is that there is abundance of nice good food of various varieties to experience there. Actually google also returns a good many search result and suggestions if u fancy to try them out.
How is the food pricing you would wonder. Well I have tried some normal ‘makan places’ and I would say that it is slightly actually only slightly cheaper than KL.
Semenyih might not be such a small town when you can find a Tesco Semenyih around. Therefore, cost of living can be actually similar or just slightly lower compared to KL.
There is nothing really lacking in this small town. You can find just about anything from wet market to hypermarket, schools to banks, kopitiams to cafes, home cooked food to fast food, service stations to petrol stations, you name it. If you can’t find it then there is always Kajang town nearby.
Why you wonder anyone would relocate from a big city to a fairly small town by any standards, well I am also not sure. But for me, I like to have a balanced fast paced city working life as well as a slow paced after office life.
There is still a lot of development to come from Semenyih and I will be eagerly waiting to experience it. This is just my 2 cents worth. (Sent in by Mr. F)
Question & Answer
What happened to the landscaped roundabouts when the traffic is too high to cope with?
There are quite a number of landscaped roundabouts in both Eco Forest and Eco Majestic. Typically, when the traffic volume is getting higher, the authority will then propose to conduct traffic study. Once the study shows that the landscaped roundabout could not cope with current traffic volume, they will then propose to convert them into a busy junction with traffic lights in order to enhance the traffic flow is not affected.
What type of buyers will buy into Eco Forest properties?
There are various types of buyers for Eco Forest. Who will buy and who are not that gung-ho?
- First time buyer – This group of buyers would exchange travel time and also part of their salary for a well balanced life and to live in a cosy home (not house).
- I love the show house – This will be categorized as the emotional buyers who had a crush and love at first sight. Surely nothing wrong with this category. We buy what we love.
- Broga Hill aka Green lung lovers – This category could be retirees or also some would have perfect skill to adopt work life balanced with proper exercise (such as hiking or trail running).
- PaMa Fund – The rich parents would love their kids to stay nearby with them. They chose to fund part of the property prices. In laymen terms, they sapu-ed several units for their loved ones.
- Investors/Flippers – This will probably be the least percentage in the buyer profile as they would have known such development may take slightly longer time to realize their profit considering the economy situation and also tightening liquidity in the market.
The above is basically my tikam-tikam guesstimate based on the preferences and risk appetite of various type of buyer profiles.
Why all units in Eco Forest are only North and South orientation?
The sun rises at East and sets at West. Theoretically, the hottest time (as per air conditioning heat load design sifoo) of the day is about 3 pm when the sun is heading to the ‘set’ direction. Meanwhile based on the wind chart, the wind in our country normally blows at east and west. With both elements in mind, north south orientation will be most energy efficient direction as it could avoid the heat yet retaining the chillness inside. Comprender!
Okie now, I can sidetrack a bit and ‘goreng’ some on another point why most buyers choose south facing units despite having to pay slight premium. This point is purposely goreng for the Chinese buyers. North South orientation is deemed as good as it is ‘Chour Park Heong Nam’, which is literally translated from Cantonese. It means ‘your back sitting at south with front facing north’. Actually, there is no one perfect direction for all people. It is very depending on individual ‘Bazi’ (Chinese astrology) but then the overall perception in Malaysia is that South is sure win direction. Nothing wrong with paying slight premium for the orientation you wish to get. In fact, for flippers, south facing is the only way to go in my two cents.
Which layout is your preferred?
This is solely my opinion based on my preference. My pick is Garden Home Collection Type Layer 30×62. Apart from the practical layout and the eye catching façade, the side terrace which may have a collapsible glass panel/fixed glass panel (to be installed at own cost) will be the most captiva-Teng feature to me. The collapsible glass panel can be opened up to make it like open terrace and have your coffee/wine/whisky/Puer. Apart from that, being a cat and dog person, that 10 feet green area will be a good place for the pets to run around. The second pick will be Gable with a double volume living hall where a drinking bar can be setup.
What is actually Labs?
Labs are pretty much like a living laboratory to test out something new. In a blunt word, it is like white mice test laboratory. But then these labs are more for F&B or any other retail businesses. By conceptualizing such labs concept, it make good the usage of space within the people area in which in this case, the epic center will be at Lake Forest Park. For a start, they will be utilizing cabin method to build something practical and yet mesmerizing. Labs is a perfect stepping stone for someone to start up new venture be is a ‘cloud swallow noodle’ stalls or small shops (let say 100 -200 sqft.) selling compost/enzyme or running shoes or even a bike shop. If there is a designated dog park in Lake Forest Park, it will be worth looking into setting up some pet related one stop center (such as hotel, grooming center, shop, etc.),etc. Below is an image about the proposed labs in Eco Ardence when one can visualize better. For more information about the labs, feel free to check it out. Click Labs.
Can Eco Forest compete or complement with Eco Majestic?
I am going to compare them with some facts and also educated guesses. My answer is YES. Eco Forest and Eco Majestic are complementing each other rather than competing. Below are the whys? Perhaps some can agree and some can disagree:
Size – Eco Forest (515 acres) versus Eco Majestic (1089 acres). Does size really matters in term of development? I would say a BIG YES. With the excitement create in Eco Majestic, I am sure some may begin to know what is this township is about. Perhaps, there is a market for those who like a bit more serene environment (no shopping mall and club house) but closer to the green lung (Broga Hill). On top of that, Eco Majestic is surely complementing with the development in EcoHill 1 & 2 (which have a combined area of 1700+ acres). Somehow, this reminded me of Setia Alam (SP Setia) and also Bandar Bukit Raja (by the sleepy giant Sime Darby).
People – The people effect is mainly on the team handling Eco Forest now who already had a fantastic journey in learning the ropes since Northern Hammock Estate days. Some of them begin ‘crawling and walking’ since 2004 when SP Setia began to launch in the siberh-far land in Setia Alam with a single access at Jalan Meru. Probably some of industry peers would have thought that the ‘tua-taukeh’ (big boss) had a knock on his head before acquiring that estate. Time flies and here comes Eco Majestic in 2014. Majority of team members handling Eco Majestic are now supporting Eco Forest. Pretty much in short, they don’t have to reinvent the wheel but spend more quality time in enriching the ideas of transforming the township to stay coherent with the green environment.
Infrastructure – I tried very hard to find what kind of infrastructure that Eco Forest can offer to the community or Eco Majestic. I really can’t think of anything. Perhaps the only thing that Eco Forest can offer is their ’Green-frastructure’ i.e. the green environment (inclusive of the 25 acre Lake Forest Park) and Broga Hill. But on the contrary, on this part, Eco Majestic will be able to complement Eco Forest in a much better way. Firstly, there is SJKC TonFah and international school (in EcoHill). Secondly, the proposed commercial area (with shopping malls) will be a great positive factor to EF. Thirdly, the club house (in drawing board stage) will be able to complement the EF community.
Can the developer deliver the concepts shown in the sales gallery of Eco Forest?
This question is a bit tricky. Expectation management is a soft skill that one hopes to acquire and master. Not many would have thought that the strong and mighty Italy Football Team could FAIL to qualify for 2018 World Cup Final in Russia. As for Eco Forest, I would suggest to those who this question in mind, to check out Eco Majestic sales gallery and have a drive through the township to evaluate whether Ecoworld manages to deliver their concepts over.
What is tengster’s dream list in Eco Forest?
When Olympics first allowed the USA professional B-ball players to participate in the Olympic, they (the Americans) had a dream team that comprises of the best point guard, power forward, 3-point shooters, clutch shooter, huge tall clumsy center (with a consistent hook shot) and coach. In Eco Forest, I took the opportunity to present my dream list. I am not going to teach their grandma how to suck eggs as it is like showing Michael Jordan how to do a fake pull away jump shot. Their planning team is possibly 1000 times smarter than what I think/know. This is perhaps my 2 cents. To me, nothing is always the best, there is always better. And only the better one stands out of the crowd.
- An alternative access – This group of buyers would exchange travel time and also part of their salary for a well balanced life and to live in a cosy home (not house). An alternative access with a timeline will be a comforting feeling when you sign on the dotted line (of SPA).
- Acquire the neighboring land (nothing less than 500 acres) – Develop part of the land for commercial use and some other phases for residential. When the land is larger, perhaps it is time to plan for more schools.
- Champion a MRT station – Defy the norm. Let’s tweak the rules and make people forget that Broga/Semenyih are god-forsaken places. Make them remember ‘MRT udah sampai kat sini’. Ini bukanlah pekan kechik yang asyik terpinggir seperti dulu.
- Adopt Broga Hill – Maintain the hiking routes, create a small campsite for study purpose (noncommercial type) with classrooms, cultivate awareness of the importance of having more green in our environment, etc. Can also work with Notthingham University students on certain pertinent programs.
- Practice a strict but volunteered 4R program – 4R stand for Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose & Recycle (in random manner). Beside putting the recycle boxes, work closer with the community to cultivate more awareness of this program. Put up a plantation that solely use compost materials from the community or collected elsewhere. By doing so, we can live harmoniously with the environment which in line with Eco Forest theme, and most importantly everyone can do their part to protect our Mother Nature. Broga was once earmarked as the proposed location for a gigantic incinerator in which some of the residents fought relentlessly and won the battle. There is no more proposed incinerator in Broga. Live the moment, cherish the environment.
- Regulated and designated dog park – Being a dog and cat lover myself, I wish to see such park exists more in new townships. I have seen enough signboards of “No Dog Allowed” in running park but then we can have a designated park to let the pets run freely and communicate with others. Is this a pull factor in township? Maybe one should ask why BU and DPC have their so-called designated dog parks? Do they really generate revenue as compared to a 50,000 sqft commercial area? Imagine how deep are the pockets of the owners of the Great Dane, German Shepard, Husky, Poomerang, Dalmatian, etc. Look at those related shops (pet hotel, pet shop, pet grooming center, etc.) that are mushrooming here and there. There are everywhere because of demand and supply. Full grooming for a mid size dog could easily cost RM100 whereby my own haircut probably only cost RM18. Now we can imagine what kind of purchasing power can be brought into Eco Forest? Having a designated dog park aint about just the pet? It may generate intangible benefits in very subtle manner. Can Ecoworld be bold enough to be a trend setter in this case. Time will tell.
Bottom line
This integrated development is located in a sleepy town of Broga with single access (at time of writing this review). The launching prices are pretty much at market for stratified GnG properties in such economy situation. Can Ecoworld work out their ‘magic’? Will the adjacent land owners/developers work hand in hand to grow this place? What can Broga offers to the home buyers/purchasers? With the single access scenario, how could Ecoworld and other developers improves the connectivity.
Who is Eco World?
EcoWorld’s vision is far from being a builder. Our vision is to create world class eco living in all our developments. The best way to predict the future is by creating them, which is why we hold true to our dictum of “Creating Tomorrow & Beyond”.
At EcoWorld, we are driven by the mission of feeling for humanity and nature, where our developments progress towards a World Class Eco Living standard. We are inspired by people and only deliver the best quality for our customers and our environment. Our developments will be known as an inspiration of innovative eco product positioned to take global centre-stage as a true icon.
Advancing ahead, we are spreading our wings from Kuala Lumpur to the whole of Malaysia, venturing into many more developments including townships, integrated commercial developments, high-rise residential and business parks. With ever growing presence in Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and Penang, EcoWorld is set to become a benchmark property developer in Eco development. (source – EcoWorld website)
Where is the place I can get more information?
EcoWorld Gallery @ Eco Forest
No. 1 Lingkaran Eco Forest 1,
Eco Forest
43700 Beranang, Selangor DE, Malaysia
T +603 8723 2255
F +603 8723 2225
GPS Coordinates: 2.9314174, 101.8948716
Mondays to Fridays – 9am – 6pm
Weekends and Public Holidays – 10am – 6pm
reviewed by tengster 2017 – an owner of 2 dogs and 6-8 rescued cats.
(Contactable via tengster@yahoo.com for any queries)
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