Security and Accessibility for a Home

I wasn't planning to buy my current house. My original intention to visit this housing development was to find out about shop lots at this location. I wanted to compare the shop lots with the shop lots at my previous housing development. The prices were similar but here, the available shop lots were at the end of the housing development which made them not attractive. While the better located shop lots facing the main road were already sold out. The shop lots at my previous housing development is located at the main road. In addition, the shop lots at my previous housing development are located in a more matured surrounding.

In my first visit to this housing development, the main roads were only consists of single lane in each direction. I was shocked to learn the strategic shop lots had already sold out. But, the sales girl told me that the developer is doing pre-launch last phase of the housing development. She invited me for a tour. When I asked what is so special about the housing development, she informed me besides the security guards, the housing development has swimming pools and gymnasium. Since my wife was tagging a long, we decided to take a look even though it was not our original intention.

The last phase of the housing development consists of cluster and semi-D houses. The club house has sufficient space considering there are only about 550 houses. The swimming pool is large enough for many people to use at the same time. There is also a small swimming pool for children under 10 years old. Now, an access door is installed so that only the paid home owners can use the facilities and also ensure added security.

The fence is secured with tall and strong fences. Barb wires are also installed at the top of the fences. The housing area look fully secured. Some housing development were proposed on full fences but they were still under development. As a result, there are some security risks. After living here for more than five years, the committee decided to add CCTV at each main roads especially at each junction.

My wife main concern was the main roads were only single lane in each direction. But, we realized that the developer will be forced by the municipal to develop two lane roads in each direction which is confirmed by the sales girl. Since the traffic was not heavy in the vicinity, the road planning should be sufficient. Based on the distance, the housing area is only about fifteen minutes to my working office.

One year after I lived in the new housing area, there was rumor a new highway exit will be developed. This should be a bonus to us. Accessibility is always one of the main concern among the neighbors. It took another two years before we finally can use the new exit highway. This is better than some housing developments where the promise for a new exit highway was not fulfilled. The existence of a new exit highway cut travel time, gas cost and human energy in many directions significantly. The new exit highway also helps to reduce or assist traffic flow in the surrounding areas.

Living in this new home really taught me many important factors when purchasing a new house. Security and accessibility are crucial.

The bad news was the moment the new exit highway can be used, the municipal almost double the exit tax (cukai pintu) of my house!! This also means the value of my house is double from the purchase price.

Based on the selling price, it was impossible for me to buy the house and a shop lot at the same time. Fortunately, I did an extensive calculation to find possibilities to buy both properties at the same time, the danger and mitigation plan. All of these were done in a spreadsheet with many tabs.

DIY Grass Cutter Machine

My son wanted to try cutting the grass by using my DIY grass cutter machine. Below is the video of his action.

A hand drill can be used to become DIY Grass Cutter Machine. It saves a lot of money. I can cut the grass anytime I want. The cost to build is very low. The hand drill cost is also low if a wired hand drill is used. The hand drill wire is short. So, wire extension is used. It is cheaper to buy or build an extension wire than to buy a cordless hand drill. However, the wire of the hand drill should be hold a few feets to avoid accidental cut.

Warning:
1. Do not cut any grass during raining to avoid electric shock.
2. You should wear safety google to avoid any flying debris.
3. You should wear a long pants to avoid itchy due to the grass debris.
4. And, it is advisable to use a boot to avoid the grass debris from hurting your foot.

Unless you are an electrical engineer or know well to protect yourself, you should not cut any grass outside the building during raining. I tried to cut the grass today although it was drizzling since two days ago and today. I have to put extra protection to my wire extension and also my hand drill before I dare to cut any grass. I have to cut the grass today because the grass already tall as tall as in the video above.

It is a good exercise, and saves money. In fact, the last time I pay someone to cut the grass, they also cut my needed trees especially my vegetable and herbs trees. So, it is better for me to cut my own grass.

Have fun!

Living in Gated Guarded House versus None

Whenever we mention a gated guarded housing development, high maintenance always come up in our mind. For those who never live in such housing development, they rarely spent some time to do logical analysis. Most of the time, people think irrationally and strongly influence by their emotion. Since, I have been living in a gated guarded house for the past two and a half months, it is time for me to make the comparison between the two type of housing development.

My previous house is a none gated nor guarded housing development. But it has been in existence for the past twenty years. The area has been expended from merely hundreds of population to become more than five thousand people. When I moved in the house, there were about five blocks of shop office in the area. Now there are almost twenty blocks of shop office in the area. Two more blocks are in the completion process. In addition, there is a shopping complex now known as U-Mall. Initially, the businesses were struggling in the mall. There were many empty spaces. Now, business are prospering and well known brands are around such as miniplex, Mr DIY, First Lady, Giant, and others.

The public enmities are also good today. The mosque can be filled by about one thousand and five hundred people. The mosque is systematically managed especially during important periods such as Ramadhan, and Hari Raya Korban. There is one big public complex in development process next to the mosque. There are two main playgrounds with good facilities. The sidewalks are constantly being upgraded to provide better service to the pedestrian. While the bus service is always available.

But the most important thing why I bought the house is because it is very close to my work place. It took between five to ten minutes to reach my work place. The distance and traffic flow are important to save fuel consumption and travel time.

If the place is so good, why I decided to move in to a new house? I don't feel secured anymore living in the place since 2012. Granted, after two months I moved in the house in 2000, my house was broke in during daylight. My sister in law was robbed. But she was not harmed. The area safety was stabilized a couple of years after that. In 2011, the number of houses break in keep increasing again. The final straw was when a house of ten graduate students were robbed in 2012 while it was still early at night. It was about 10pm. Since that day, I determined to find a better place to live. I decided to find an affordable gated guarded housing development.

I love to plant trees and vegetables. The previous house is an intermediate terrace house. But, there are empty land at the front of the house. I successfully planted a few trees such as Kuini and Rambutan. I wished my to buy a house with a lot of extra land to plant fruit trees, vegetable and most importantly herbs. Since, I already turned into 40's, it is important for me to learn to cultivate herb trees which can treat my previous and foreseeable future illness.

It is harder to be active in sport when you are aging. But, I love to swim. It is good for health without endangering your feet and knees. 10 minutes swim is like 30 minutes jogging. It is very good for the lungs. I also wish to teach my children to swim. It is for basic survival needs. These are the reasons I always opt for hotels with a swimming pool.

Those were my wish list regardless whether I can afford it or not at the time. Looking back at my income at the time, I definitely cannot afford it since my mindset at the time regarding a gated guarded housing development was almost the same like other people. But, you cannot achieve anything without any dream. Like Martin Luther King said, I have a dream.... where now almost all his dreams were realized by his next generations. I also have my dream house. Whether I can achieve it or how to achieve it are different issues.

We  must always dreams for a better life and work for them!