Vantage Lifestyle stamps mark

Yuri Ong (right) and another company director James Keet with a model of The Serai

A NEW property development company, Vantage Lifestyle Sdn Bhd, is going all-out to stamp its mark in the competitive Segambut high-end residential market with its maiden project, The Serai.

Not only is its pricing about half that of similar upmarket homes in neighbouring Mont’ Kiara and Segambut, it is offering The Serai to be assessed by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore under its stringent Construction Quality Assessment System (Conquas).

As Vantage Lifestyle (a member of 3i Properties Sdn Bhd) director Yuri Ong Wei Meng said it was better for a professional third party to judge The Serai’s quality than “blowing our own trumpet.”

“We believe we are the only small developer that will be assessed under Conquas,” he said during a tour of the semi-detached showhouse in Segambut recently.

The Serai (lemon grass), a gated and guarded freehold development, comprises two units of three-storey bungalows priced from RM3.2mil, and 28 units of three-storey semi-detached houses priced from RM1.65mil each. The bungalows, on land sizes from 7,912 to 7,632 sq ft , have about 6,000 sq ft of built-up area with their own pool.

The semi-detached houses have land sizes of about 3,200 sq ft and a built-up area of 4,632 sq ft. Monthly maintenance charge is RM350.

The luxuriously furnished showhouse is available for sale at RM2.65mil after a 3% discount.

The double-volume living area enhances the perception of grandeur with the right furnishing and curtains. There are also a lot of thoughtful details, some of them too small to notice.

For example, external metal louvres on the upper portion of the tall tinted glass panels cuts off excessive sunlight. Double-section sliding doors are used with tiny slots to drain off any rain water collected in its tracks.

Top marks go to the huge master bedroom and ensuite master bath with shower area, deep long bath and double basins that occupy 840 sq ft of the top floor. This does not include two timber deck areas and balcony.

There are three spacious bedrooms on the first floor and two more on the ground floor, including a maid’s room. In all, there are five bathrooms and a powder room.

Besides the current 3% discount and about RM60,000 in interest savings from a 10:90 payment plan, buyers also get extra features worth over RM100,000, including three-phase power supply, pneumatic booster pump, automatic gate system, plaster ceiling, hot water system, Astro points to the living room, family hall, master bedroom and master bath (where you can watch TV in your long bath), and tempered glass shower screen in all the bathrooms.

These homes are ideal for people in their 40s and 50s with two or three children. The guest room on the ground floor can be used for the elderly or as a study.

About 60% of the 30 homes have been sold since the project was soft launched on Oct 18 with most of the buyers being upgraders from around the area.

Although it may not have the prestigious Mont’ Kiara or Sri Hartamas names, it is actually quite accessible to these areas via Jalan Segambut and a proposed link to Mont’ Kiara via Persiaran Prima Pelangi.

Several new developments have been completed, under construction as well as being planned in the vicinity of The Serai. Across the road from The Serai are some newly completed terrace houses and further away are the newly completed Anjung Tiara semi-detached homes on a hillside, some shophouses and the freehold Bukit Seri Bintang (nearing completion) project by Ipoh-based Total Resources Sdn Bhd.

Bukit Seri Bintang comprises 26 units of 2½-storey terrace houses priced from RM638,000 to RM988,000 and six semi-detached houses priced from RM928,000 to RM1.4mil.

The upmarket Desa Parkcity, on the other side of a hill, forms the backdrop for The Serai.

“Since we bought our land, the land cost have shot up by 40%. The price of land is now about RM100 psf,” said Ong, who plans to do similar developments in the Klang Valley. His two other partners are brothers Bernard and James Keet.

Looks like the trio have done their homework well which is based on what Ong described as building for a target market.

By The Star (by S.C. Cheah)