[andyk2]

Originally Posted by ExpatNick

If there was a choice, and you could only afford one and not both, which would you all prefer to invest in, Malaysia or Brazil, and why?

Hi Nick,

I´m not suggesting you will get one from me, but you are asking this question on a forum that has 10.000 agents with an interest in selling property in Brazil and none from Malaysia.

Two years ago, I would have said Brazil was the best option despite the lack of finance, lack of knowledge that we have now thanks to forums like these, and hints of corruption.

Now, I couldn´t touch it with your money.

The value has gone, everything that is being offered has "potential" capital growth and rental yields and we know a) how difficult it is to get your money out of Brazil and b) there definately is more than a hint of corruption.

I could bark all day about GNG and The Banana Club, but what good would it do? There are probably a couple of investment options that are still worth considering, but when the market picks up again, will they still be there?

Malaysia, and particularly Kuala Lumpur has the cheapest property like-for-like in SE Asia. Rental yields are proven as is capital growth. There is a strong domestic market (which is why you never see new releases advertised internationally - the developers don´t need to) and money is pouring in from Korea, Singapore, India and Pakistan. There is also an element from Dubai and The Middle East who are looking to take their profits out of the Emirates while they can.

Just to clarify, I´m not talking about the Banyan Curves and Gold Coast Palms (all though there is nothing wrong with these), I´m looking at mid-high end serviced apartments in KLCC, Johor and Penang.

The reason you probably won´t get a balanced view on this thread is that property in Brazil offers commission to agents of up 20% (that´s the highest I´ve been offered anyway), whereas commission in Malaysia is capped at 2% and most new developments won´t offer more than 1%.

So, IMHO, Malaysia because there is an established (domestic) market, you can get in and out without restrictions, no CGT, and finance up to 80% if required.

Interested to see the Brazilian agents views of my arguements!

Suerte,

Andy