Personally I actually wanted to rate a 4 stars but due to the current construction on-going on Mezzo and the convention centre site, residents might need to endure some noise due to site construction. (of course they shall stop after office hour) 

I would give the same comment as Mezzo as well. Good side of Waterside Residence? Beside the new / upcoming Mall; bad side of Waterside Residence? also beside of Mall. Because some people like to stay beside a Mall due to its convenience and potential capital appreciation while some people don’t like. it Simply because of the traffic itself due to the Mall. 

One slight benefit compared to Mezzo is that Waterside Residence is having lower density of 256 units, almost half of Mezzo total units and of course low density definitely means higher maintenance fees. (Mezzo @ RM 0.27 psf ; Waterside Residence @ RM 0.36 psf) 

I’m just gonna be very honest that the first impression i have when stepped into the 2 bedroom it is really …… small. But with some decoration, interior design or proper planning everything is just fine, sufficient for small family. 

If you have a bigger family let’s visit 3 bedrooms.

Overall, above average workmanship and quality A-ok. Let’s arrange a visit 

Due to current economy and Covid-19 issue, I would say now is not a great time to buy new project and flip the property. More speculators are on-hold and window shopping. Definitely unable to sell and realize a great profit for now. 

Furthermore, property market in Penang no longer act like past 10 years, not everything you buy will go up easily. If you were to buy and hedge against inflation I would say A-OK for now. And also it’s good to have some speculation elements against the upcoming Mall and Convention Centre which is just within walking distance and will be completed around 2025. 

In short, if you were to ask me “ok ah?” “good for investment ah” , my answer is good for hedging against inflation and still better than Fixed Deposit (FD) rate. When the Mall is ready, yes the chance is higher to realise for profit and since there’s no more nearby residential development other than Mezzo in the foreseeable future, yes you can have some optimistic expectation for the future capital gain. 

If you were to buy and realise the profit within 2 to 3 years I would say unlikely. If you want to flip, just go to auction or secondary market.

Waterside Residence PSF around RM 700+ psf onward. Please don’t ask me exactly how much PSF, I cannot answer you because I can find you RM 1,200 PSF unit also from secondary market. All I can say is RM 700 psf onward.

Current ROI for rental rate is 2% – 3% for condominium at Penang Market. If you can secure @ 4%, congratulations. lesser cash outflow. 

(Same comment from Mezzo)
How about ROI for capital gain? I’m glad to tell you, I don’t know. Because I don’t do over-promising. When I heard other agents selling other Seafront projects, said you can easily secure the rental rate at RM 3,000 and above, I really laughed so hard. 

Just so you know, some seafront projects now renting at RM 2,000+ with fully furnished……. if you’re the owners of those property, you get what I mean.

But again for the long term, I do believe that Mezzo and the Light Collection series will prove its value when the economy is recovering and the Convention Centre and Mall is ready. Just need some patience

Means to say if you are ok with buying a property at RM 8xxK – RM 1 million+ and rental rate at RM 2,000 – RM 3,000 per month then you can proceed for the deal. Can you secure rental rate at RM 4,000 or above ? Sure you can. Just do a 5 stars furnishing and renovation and prepare 2 months+ commission for agents then I would say possible. 

That’s current trend for property market for rental rate and please don’t misunderstand that it’s IJM or Waterside Residence’s problem, it is overall market trend. For instance, if you’re lucky, you can find RM 1,200 rental deal with fully furnished at Sungai Ara condo (Priced around RM 500k – RM 600k) 

You might be saying “that’s quite low, how can I invest?” . Well I would say, as at July 2021, it’s still better than FD rate because your rental rate at 2% to 3% but the only difference is you have cash outflow for the principal (out of monthly instalment of loan) and maintenance fees for your condominium. 

So, if you plan to sell in the future, you must factor in the interest that you paid over the years and some capital gain / return you target for to make the investment worth for you. 

Therefore, do you think Waterside Residence can be a great investment? The Mall and Convention Centre will prove it. Let’s see.

As an agent that used to focus in Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas area. I would say, Waterside Residence would be easier to sell in the future but it still depends on dear landlord/ owner, how much you plan to sell? 

I’ve seen so many high density condo with 600+, 700+, 800+ and even 1,000+ total units that owners want to sell but couldn’t sell within short period of time. Simply because of the high density itself. 

We are a consumer also therefore we will compare, when there’s 800 units condominium, say only 200 units are investors, consumers are having 200 choices. So when things are similar, what would you opt for ? Of  course the cheapest. 

If you’re one of these owners/ investors, you would feel lucky if you can even breakeven (no gain, no loss). Personally I feel pity to some owners also where they prefer to open and show the unit themselves where every time got agent wants to show clients for the unit and every time also they got the feeling of tired and “why still can’t sell ya”

Don’t get it wrong, if you have limited budget for property investment, no choice you gotta go for high density development to hedge for inflation or you can choose to go further out of town. Some people can still make profit from out of town property just so you know. Also high density also means for low maintenance fee.

Overall same comment as Mezzo:

• Reclaimed land ah? Aiyo Feng Shui cannot la.
  • If cannot accept then let me know lo I have other projects not reclaimed land. Quayside @ Tanjung Tokong, Queensbay Mall, E-gate there all reclaimed for your information. Developers still want reclaim at these area, you tell me, if no demand why developer build. Sohai meh = =.
• What if Tsunami comes ?
  • #YouAreNotAlone
• Logical part?
  • IJM is building the Convention Centre, Mall and office tower there, if you ask me foundation strong or not, will collapse or not? My answer is if collapse, what do you think gonna happen to IJM ? (I have no idea and I can’t answer that) 
• Overall, I like the environment right now regardless Mezzo or the Light Collection but it could have some traffic there once the Mall and Convention Centre complete. 

There’s good and bad side of every development, human beings not even perfect, so don’t think too much. Let me know what’s your thought and I propose you some potential options.

Overall I pretty much like it if it were for own stay / own usage purpose. You can hardly see any cracks and of course not possible for me to take a look at all units, I took some random visit to some units and literally can say 0 crack. It’s safe to say that don’t have major issue and don’t be picky come complain say door loose or wall not flat those kind of minor thing. If you’ve seen worse, you will know.

Overall, nice quality, low density. quiet place but not during the construction of Mezzo ya.

Currently not that convenient for food because you have to travel out of the Light City for food but once the Mall is ready, imagine the convenience.