Meet Sharmistha Hussain, her husband Abid Hussain and their beautiful daughter Sophia. They are expatriates in Malaysia and have chosen Armanee Terrace as their home. Sharmistha is a Business Director of Advertising and her husband is the Vice President of Network Creatives in Astro. What they shared with me during our interview will certainly benefit people who are looking to buy or rent a duplex apartment in this prestigious development.
DP: Can you share with us what attracted you to invest in a duplex concept apartment, specifically Armanee Terrace, as oppose to a landed property?
Armanee Terrace is a unique blend of a 2-storey townhouse, with impressive condo facilities. Landed property is limited in terms of facilities like pool, gym, security, etc which are a priority to us in terms of living. Additionally, unlike row houses, or semi-d’s, we are able to get the privacy of a bungalow, along with a garden, due to the architectural style of this condo, unlike other places.
DP: Can you tell us a little more about the unit you have purchased?
We live on the 15th floor, corner unit, a deliberate choice that allows us extra balcony space, both upstairs and downstairs (up to the 14th floor, the space is slightly less). In effect, we have 3 balconies, overlooking the city vista and the mountain. In addition, instead of traditional furniture, we have renovated the house to resemble a Balinese Villa including the landscaping of our large garden space, to include a big fish pond. With large French windows that open out to the garden and the city, we have used egg-white to highlight color via the paintings and other buys, from our travels around the world. The unit has 3 bedrooms, 1 study, maid’s room, family den, living room, dining space and ample storage space.
DP: The official Armanee Terrace Condo (ATC) community website indicates a large number of complaints from residents mainly that the workmanship at ATC is rather mediocre, if not poorly done, causing continuous renovations and replacements. What are your thoughts on this?
This was initially true, when MK Land handed over the property a few years ago. However, most of the units like ours, have been bought and renovated extensively by purchasers. As such, most units, especially the corner units which are most popular to expats have all been fixed in terms of tiling, plumbing, walls, leaks, garden waterproofing, flooring, etc. Thus, future buyers face the advantage of not having to redo or make do with the poor performance by MK Land. Additionally, the Armanee Terrace Condominium JMC is committed to liaising with the Developer to ensure corrective measures are taken with regards to the facilities, security, etc.
DP: The Balinese theme in ATC is something to be admired, how do you find the overall landscaping, facilities and aesthetics that ATC has to offer?
So far, I have seen many condos in KL, and Singapore. By far, the one reaction that I get whenever guests visit Armanee Terrace, is that they are ‘impressed’ with the overall theme, the individual gardens for each home, the 2 pools with salt water treatment rather than chlorine (hence healthier for kids), etc.
DP: What advise can you give to the two type of buyers deciding on purchasing ATC for different purposes, first an investor looking to generate rental income and second a person purchasing for own stay?
We have bought our corner unit with the dual purpose of investment and personal stay. My advise would be to buy units which have been pre-renovated and also consider their life-stage. For example, in terms of investment, I find that being expats, we are more willing to invest in corner units, since we will be living here for quite a few years. When we do decide to sell, we know that there will be other expats more inclined to buy the corner unit to avail of the natural space for their kids. Both in terms of investment and own-stay, ATC is ready to buy, and not cluttered like places in Mont Kiara and Hartamas. Moreover, Damansara Perdana is booming and with the proximity to Curve/IKEA, it’s a good choice.
DP: If there was anything you could change about ATC, what would that be?
I wish that our beautiful, green hill on our front could have been saved, since it was similar to living in a hill station during rainy days. However, once the hill villas come up, the entire landscape will be beautiful once more.
