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BlueDuck - Financing Option for Landlord?

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Best time of the year, every day every month!

Hello quackies, did you know we had a major celebration for getting the 1st place of the 1337 ventures X BNM's | Alpha startups X MyFintechWeek 2022 back in February?

Very proud and we’re celebrating all the small wins that we have and again, this couldn’t be done without teamwork and to those who said YES on this journey with us. Watch our celebration video here: https://youtu.be/-AiuFOs6SD4

It was a rapid growth for our company and we are motivated by it. We have grown from building an in-house tenancy system -> insurance -> payment services -> eKYC -> financing (YESS!)


BlueDuck - Fintech in Real Estate

From the start, we manage to officially kick-off our business by having the our famous, and fabulous product on Zero Deposit that aims to unlock cashflow (which is our mission). We had it covered for residential properties from unit to room then to commercial units for shoplots and offices rental range between RM1,000 to RM12,000.

Followed with our payment services – BD Pay, a FPX auto debit recurring system on rental collection, then eKYC on tenant’s profile to increase transparency during rental transaction.

It’s been our best interest to always, provide value-added services to our stakeholders and YES we’re now offering financing services to landlords!

You heard it right – for landlords!

TenancyCash - Cashflow for Landlord

While we were searching for ways to unlock cashflow, we realize that financing is one of the best options. People apply for financing for many reasons. It could be for home remodeling, subsidizing for wedding costs, medical, emergency funds or even for traveling! But is there a financing option cater for landlord? Now you have it 😊

3 Main Reasons to say YES to TenancyCash

  • No collateral/guarantor is needed
  • Loan up to 80% from your active tenancy
  • Interest is as low as 3.99% p.a.!

If you are a landlord, and having an ongoing tenancy. I mean, hey yeah, it's for you! 

We were so excited to bring this to the table the past months and today, finally the day we've finalized and it will be officially launched in June! 


So excited!

Quack.

Cassandra,

Chief Revenue, BlueDuck Malaysia.

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Tracking your tenancy details with a BlueDuck Landlord Portal

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Did you know that as a landlord, if your property is insured with our BlueDuck’s Zero Deposit insurance in partnership with Liberty Insurance Malaysia, you can actually have total control over the details of your tenancy?


When you register as a landlord in our website blueduck.my, you will be provided with a landlord portal where you can see the details of your property. In the main page, under ‘My Properties’ it includes the property address, the agent managing your rental property (if you have appointed one to do so on your behalf), the name of the owner of the property (obviously it’s you…), the tenant’s name if your property is currently rented out, if it’s currency vacant then the name of the tenant will not be visible, it’s tenancy status, whether it is available for rent, or currently being rented out and if it’s rented out then the tenancy period (for example 31 May 2021 until 30 May 2022. It also shows the date of the last payment made.


If a tenant opts to use our BlueDuck’s Zero Deposit, they are required to use our BDPay service, which is a recurring direct debit service using FPX where tenants can opt to pay their rental to you through their bank savings or current account or their credit or debit cards. They will be prompted to set a recurring date every month, usually on the first of the month where the rental amount is deducted from their savings/current account or their credit/debit card direct into your account. The service fees for such a convenient and hassle free service is only 1% per month. That means, if the rental amount is RM1000 per month, after the service fees deduction you will receive RM990. 


Another benefit of this direct debit service is, all payment records are kept on our system, and in the event of a payment default or runaway tenant scenario, these rental payment records are then sent to the insurance provider, accompanied by a police report to file for claims up to the amount of the sum assured. 


In the landlord portal's main page, if you click on any one of the properties you have keyed in, there are several options for you to choose. First there is the ‘View’ button where, when you click into it, you will see further details about the property listing, such as photographs, which you or your agent had uploaded earlier into the system, the type of property and its address, as well as the rental amount. It also details the amenities and facilities. Down below there is also a location map. You can use the url of this property listing to send to agents or interested tenants and they have an option to leave their contact details such as name, email and phone number as well as viewing and estimated move in date so that you or your appointed agent can arrange for a viewing or prepare for the tenancy. 


Another button allows you to view the payment history of the tenant via direct debit, such as the payment date, payment amount, status, type and action. The status is either ‘transferred’ or ‘received’ for successful transfers. In ‘Action’ you are able to download the transfer receipt to save into your pc. If the property is currently vacant, there is an option to re rent it (yellow button). 

There is also a button for you to download the tenancy agreement to view or save into your pc. You can also add and view utility bills, the purpose to add utility bills is to both have a copy for recording purposes as well as have it handy to claim for unpaid utility bills in the case of a runaway tenant as the zero deposit for residential (whole unit) provides for this. The limit for unpaid utility bills depends on the plan chosen, ranging from RM1,000 to RM2,500 between the lowest and the highest plan.


The benefit of having this landlord’s portal is so that you have full control over the property and tenancy details of all your properties which are protected under BlueDuck’s Zero Deposit. 


Why not give it a try? If you have properties to rent out and would like to consider BlueDuck’s Zero Deposit as an option, do browse our website https://www.blueduck.my/ and click on I am… it will pull down 2 options, tenant or landlord. Click on the yellow ‘Join Us Now!’ button in yellow or scroll down further to ‘Sign Up As Landlord Now’ button in blue and you will be taken to a sign-up page to fill up your full name, email address, password and contact number then click on Sign-Up. Alternatively you can opt to sign up via your Google account. 


You will then receive an email from our team. In the email we will require you to send us your IC number as a last step verification process for us to approve your landlord’s account with us. Do reply that email with your full name and ic number to start using your BlueDuck Landlord Portal. We are excited  to have you onboard on your Zero Deposit journey with us and we are looking forward to welcoming you as part of the thousands of BlueDuck Zero Deposit landlords family. 


Do get in touch with us via email at hello@blueduck.my for any enquiries or feedback you may have regarding setting up your landlord’s account or on Zero Deposit in general. We are always here to support you.

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What Does a Security Deposit Cover?

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Security Deposit


Usually before moving into a rented property, a landlord would require you to put down a deposit. Today we would like to share about what types of deposit is required when renting a residential property. Generally there are two types of deposits required when renting. One is a security deposit, the landlord would typically ask for two months of security deposit. This is used to guarantee against whatever damages caused to the property by the tenant or betterment cost required to be paid by the landlord to return the property and its contents to its original condition to be able to rent it out again to another tenant. 


Under normal circumstances it is not intended to be a cost to the tenant, as technically the landlord is required to return this sum of money to the tenant when the tenancy period ends if there is no repairs or betterment required for the property. Some landlords may even imply that it is required as a security against runaway tenants to cover for rental loss should the tenant actually ‘run away’ within the tenancy period but it should never be the case. So for example if the rental of a residential property is RM1,000 per month, the security deposit required to be paid is RM2,000 on top of the RM1,000 advance rental for the month the tenant is moving in. This security deposit of course is refundable when the tenancy period is over. 


Tenancy period is usually for 12 months or 1 year but is stated in the tenancy agreement as 1+1 years, what does this mean? It means that the active tenancy period is 1 year with an additional 1 year option to renew should both parties mutually agree upon it. If both parties agree to renew the tenancy agreement, they will enter into a new agreement with agreed upon terms and are required to sign a new tenancy agreement document. 

Utilities Deposit


Another deposit usually required by a landlord when executing a tenancy agreement is the utilities deposit. This deposit is usually 50% of the monthly rental. If the rental per month is RM1,000 then the utilities deposit is RM500 and is held in trust by the landlord until the end of the tenancy period. This is to guarantee against any unpaid utilities bills such as electricity and water bills, which are services usually incurred by the tenant while staying in the property. Other expenses such as maintenance fees (high rise and strata buildings), security fees, assessment bills and other taxes are borne by the landlord and are usually not charged to the tenant during their stay. 


Repairs to the property for wear and tear are usually the responsibility of the landlord, such as changing light bulbs and electrical fixtures, leaky faucets and drain pipes and are not deducted from the security deposit unless there is proof that the tenant deliberately and maliciously damaged these items during their stay. However if the tenant attempts to fix these things themselves, they should take a photo for proof that they have fixed the items and attach other documents such as receipts to claim against such repairs from the landlord either in cash or to be deducted from the monthly rental sum.

Booking Deposit


When a tenant has decided to rent a property and both the tenant and landlord agree to initiate a tenancy, a booking deposit (or some may call it an earnest deposit) is collected from the tenant on behalf of the landlord. In normal circumstances if the services of a property agent is used to execute the tenancy agreement, it is collected in cash, cheque in the name of the real estate agency or transferred into the bank account of the agency, never into the property negotiator or agent’s personal bank account as this is illegal. An offer to rent form bearing the agency’s letterhead is signed by both the tenant and landlord with terms and conditions for the tenancy laid out inside. This forms the basis of the tenancy agreement document to be signed by both parties later on to be stamped by the stamp office of the Inland Revenue Board. 


Thereafter the remainder of the refundable deposits are paid by the tenant to the landlord via the agent, which is the balance of the 1 month security deposit and the half month utilities deposit. As mentioned earlier this 2.5 months deposit is held by the landlord until the end of the tenancy period and is refunded back to the tenant if there are no damages to the landlord’s property nor are there any unpaid utilities bills. 

Other Rental Costs


Other costs involved are usually for the admin cost of the tenancy agreement as well as the stamping fees at LHDN (IRB). If the landlord uses the professional service of a real estate agent to execute the tenancy agreement, the landlord is required to pay the agent a commission equivalent to 1 month’s rental. Although this usually comes from the monies paid from the security deposit and advance rental, landlords cannot assume that the security deposit is intended for this purpose and deduct it from monies paid by the tenant. It is a cost that the landlord must bear to acquire a tenant for their property if they use the professional service of an agent for this purpose. 


If you are a landlord or even a tenant, would you like to know if there is an alternative solution to all this? BlueDuck is in the business of Zero Deposit rentals, which means we are here to revolutionize the rental market by doing away with security deposits. 2 years on and 3 thousand tenancies down the road, we are proud to announce that this idea is actually catching fire throughout the country and has been on the upward trend. To know more about how you can benefit from it, do visit us at www.blueduck.my

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Why Do Fresh Graduates Need BlueDuck Zero Deposit?

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What a great feeling it is, finally graduating from college or university with that degree/diploma after putting in all the hard work for the past 4 years completing assignments and coursework, studying until 3am for final exams and waking up early to go for classes at 9am in the morning. But it’s totally worth it. Now you can move on to your next adventure in life which is to prove to the world what you as a high achiever can do. 


All of a sudden you are an adult and armed with an overwhelming sense of independence and determination. The whole world is yours for the taking. Suddenly reality starts to sink in very fast. To achieve your big goals and dreams you need to be where the action is, and where the action is are the big cities like KL, Penang, JB, KK, Kuching (to name a few lah, there are a lot more big cities in Malaysian) And if you are not from those cities, you may need to rent a place to stay when you get your first job in the big city. Even if you are from those places, now that you are all grown up you may want a say in how you live everyday, how you decorate your house, the rules you set for yourself in your own house. That is where renting your own place comes in. Now comes the dreadful part, having to pay security deposits to move into a new room or that condo with awesome facilities you have been eyeing for a while. 


With a RM3,500 per month starting salary, suddenly a RM1,500 per month brand new fully furnished studio apartment with 24-hours, 4-tier security and an Olympic sized swimming pool on the 50th storey rooftop overlooking the city skyline isn’t really out of reach after all. What could sweeten the deal is if you could only pay RM1,500 and move in right away instead of RM5,250 upfront. RM5,250 upfront??!! That is absolutely absurd! Where do I find that kind of money when I’m just a fresh graduate? Of course I can afford the RM1.5k a month, that would come from my first salary when I start working, but to pay so much upfront when I still have a RM50k study loan to settle with PTPTN on top of all my expenses, to have so much money upfront I would need to borrow from my parents or start a crowdfund from friends and relatives, both might not get me the money anyway. My parents would ask me to just stay at home and save the money because they don’t have it and my friends or relatives would ban my number from their phones or WhatsApp and I will never ever be able to contact or talk to them again!


The Solution!

The solution, you might be surprised to learn, is an open secret which many people have known for years. It’s called zero deposit renting and thousands of people have been benefiting from it for at least 7 to 8 years it has been in the Malaysian market. Overseas in Europe and America it is something commonly practiced in the tenancy market especially in the UK, Germany and Switzerland to name a few. 

So what is this all about? Zero deposit, as the name implies, gives you the option to pay zero security deposit to the landlord of the unit you wish to rent to move in. However you still need to pay the advance rental though. It’s the rental for the current month you are moving in. Which in the case of the unit we were talking about earlier, it’s RM1,500 to move in. So what about the security deposit? This one gets covered by a zero deposit insurance policy purchased to cover the property of the landlord in which you intend to rent from. Sounds interesting?


BlueDuck, a fast growing Fintech start-up, utilizes technology to bring you this Zero Deposit (ZD) solution to your security deposit woes by partnering with leading insurance provider Liberty Insurance Malaysia. ZD policies start from RM450 per annum for whole unit rentals up to RM3,500 per annum. What does paying RM450 per annum get you?


What Does It Cover?

For starters it covers 2 months of unpaid rental, unpaid utility bills and malicious damage to the landlord's property. Now I’m sure you are a good person who would never think of defaulting on a tenancy, or incurring high utility bills and refusing to pay for it when you move out from a rented property or worse, damage your landlord’s property intentionally but as the saying goes, you never know. Sometimes things happen beyond our control. Like you suddenly get terminated from your job because your company is relocating to Cambodia for cheaper labor or goes out of business. Suddenly your seemingly affordable RM1,500 per month condo becomes a liability to you and you lose the ability to buy instant noodles, let alone pay for your expensive rent.


You can check out the packages we offer here: www.blueduck.my 


As a start your potential landlord needs to offer Zero Deposit as an option. For this to happen, it is up to you, as the tenant or your real estate negotiator, to ‘sweet talk’ your landlord or persuade them that this is a viable option to consider for them to rent out their property to you. However, based on our experience with ZD and over 2,300 tenancies over the last 2 years or so, many landlords are aware of this option and many of them are also very receptive of this idea to execute their tenancies. 


However we do have some terms and conditions laid out in order to make this ZD happen for you. First of all you need to sign up for a Tenant Profile, which is like a CV you send to a prospective employer when applying for a job. It shows your personal details, employment status, credit score from CTOS, whether or not you are a bankrupt or have any special attention accounts from outstanding loans with banks. This can be purchased from the BlueDuck website for only RM15. Show this to your potential landlord to gain their confidence and trust. Then you need to also sign up for BlueDuck’s BDPay which uses direct debit via FPX to deduct rental payments every month to be credited to your new landlord’s account on a fixed date every month so that you don’t need to remember to bank in your monthly rent. This service only incurs a transaction charge of 1% every month for successful transfers. 


Now you can choose your preferred ZD package from BlueDuck’s website and you are on your way to renting your first home without paying any security deposit! How awesome is that? Learn more at www.blueduck.my or visit our YouTube channel or Facebook page to get more information!

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Security Deposit: What is it?

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Security Deposit

What is it?



YES! As a landlord it is really important for you. Property rental security deposits can save your property in the event of damage by the tenant or the tenant who has expired and doesn't want to continue it.  


In general, a deposit is a security deposit whose amount is in accordance with the agreement between the landlord and the lessee.  This money is paid by the lessee before the start of the lease term.  If there is damage caused by the tenant, the deposit money will be used to repair the damage. If there is absolutely no damage or the condition of the house being rented is safe until the rental period ends, the deposit will be returned in full to the tenant. 


Security deposits or also called deposits have various amounts according to the provisions made by the rental owner.


For example, the rental price for a property is RM2,000 and usually the landlord wants a deposit of 2.5months from the rental price, which means a total of RM5,000 as the deposit fee. If at the end of the rental period the table provided by the landlord is damaged and requires a fee of around RM2,000 to repair it, the tenant's deposit will be taken/deducted, and the remaining deposit shall be returned to the tenants.



Benefits of security deposit for landlord

From the side of the owner/landlord, of course there are factors that the property he occupies is not safe from damage or even outstanding billings (indah water, electricity). For example, especially if a tenant brings a small child, there is a high possibility of accidental damage due to the actions of the tenant's child.  In addition to external factors such as leaking water lines or other disasters beyond the control of the tenant.  Worried that if an incident like this happened, there would be a rogue tenant who just ran away after causing damage to the unit. This deposit pays for all the damage so that it does not burden the repair costs that must be incurred by the unit owner.


What about the tenant?

Most tenancy requires a 2.5months of deposits as a commitment or a show of ability to rent the units. For most people, it is a burden to start with. A property with RM2,000 of rental, a tenant shall fork out RM5,000 + advance rental of RM2,000 to rent and yet to include miscellaneous costs like tenancy fee or deposit for access cards. With the current pandemic conditions, many are more aware of the alternatives of deposits.


This is where BlueDuck Zero Deposit comes in as a solution for the current rental market. With the ease of signing up, many tenants opt for buying a package instead, which landlords gets to rent out their units easier. With both tenant & landlord’s consent to proceed, an agent is now close a rental deal by attracting tenant faster, and landlord is now risk-free from irresponsible tenants. 


Find a replacement for your rental deposit today. Create a win-win situation for all parties involved. Buy online today thru www.BlueDuck.my and find out more from us via bit.ly/heyBD.

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Where to rent in the Klang Valley and how to go about your tenancy the new age way!

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KUALA LUMPUR: If you do not own your own home, you are probably renting one from someone else. Having been a tenant ourselves we understand the challenges faced by every tenant in Malaysia. Before I moved to my own house 15 years ago, I have moved a total of 20 times over the past 13 years before I bought my own apartment. One of the challenges include anticipating rental increases after renting the same property from a landlord for a few years and in my opinion this is inevitable. So, the options we are faced with is to either bear with the increases and if it becomes unbearable, move to a new place. But where?

One of the ways of researching highly searched rental locations are to read articles written by property listing portals such as PropertyGuru, iProperty, PropSocial and the likes. These property listing portals deal with big data from search result history of users browsing their websites to search for their dream home, be it for sale or for rent advertised by property agents and negotiators. Some portals and websites also have properties for sale by owners (FSBOs)

The Top 10 Most Searched Areas for Rent in Malaysia in 2020

According to an article in iProperty.com.my (https://bit.ly/3MD8Rnd) by author Rebecca Hani Romeli, the Top 10 most searched areas for rent in Malaysia in 2020 are (in descending order):


10. Bukit Jalil (search percentage 7.8%)

9. KLCC (search percentage 8.1%)

8. Subang Jaya (search percentage 8.3%)

7. Ara Damansara (search percentage 8.5%)

6. Bangsar (search percentage 8.5%)

5. Ampang (KL) (search percentage 9.0%)

4. Mont Kiara (search percentage 11.8%)

3. Petaling Jaya (search percentage 11.8%)

2. Cyberjaya (search percentage 12.2%)

1. Cheras (KL) (search percentage 14.1%)

The article states the top 10 most searched areas to rent in Malaysia but we feel a more suitable title would be the top 10 most searched areas to rent in the Klang Valley as 10 out of 10 areas in the list are in the Klang Valley. We guess the high concentration of searches in these areas are because these are where most of the jobs and businesses are and because tenants don’t own the properties they wish to live in temporarily, there is greater flexibility for them to choose to live nearer to where they work instead of having to travel 50km a day to and from work if you had bought your dream home somewhere far FAR away like in Semenyih or Seremban!

Of course, searched locations may not be the one they eventually rent at because rental prices in some areas are ridiculously high beyond the expectation and affordability of tenants searching for a place to stay. Property portals are unable to record such rental transactions because they are only a property listing portal and the rental transaction is usually conducted offline after the tenant has contacted the property agent for a viewing, paid the security and utilities deposit as well as the advanced rental, execute the tenancy agreement and get the keys and move in the actual property.

Certain Properties Command Higher Than Average Rentals

Three out of ten of the areas listed in the iProperty article are relatively high end and commands higher than average rentals, they are Bangsar, KLCC, Ampang (KL) and Mont Kiara but that is not saying that other areas are cheap to rent. Locations such as Bukit Jalil, Ara Damansara, Subang Jaya and some parts of Petaling Jaya are seeing increases in rental asking prices in recent years due to healthy rental demand for these areas partially due to the improvement in public transport, the development of newer and nicer high rise residential buildings as well as its proximity to amenities such as international schools, colleges and universities, shopping malls, hospitals and ever growing commercial developments in those areas. These are the pull factors for tenants looking to rent in those areas.

However, the sad reality is, when demand increases, rental prices increase as well. This would go on and on until a certain area becomes inaccessible to the ordinary citizens and only the more well-off ones are able to rent properties there, or in the case of Mont Kiara and Bangsar, only expatriates and corporate executives, professionals and those corporations renting for their top management staff.

Another reason why asking rental prices for new properties even in second choice locations are sky high is because of the high acquisition costs of some new high rise residential properties with all sorts of high-end facilities and close to amenities. We’ve seen an 800+ square feet 3-bedroom 2 bathroom newly completed serviced residence in PJ sell for RM800k. That’s about RM1k per square feet. A 90% loan at 3% for 35 years would set you back RM3.1k per month in instalment payments. How much would you need to rent out that property in order to pay your mortgage every month?

Checks on iProperty reveals that the particular property we were talking about rents for between RM1800 to RM2600 a month. As the owner, that’s RM500 to RM1300 a month extra which you need to fork out to settle your home loan after your tenant has paid you rent. This is not including around RM300 more per month you need to pay in maintenance fees. Well, that’s the landlord’s pain which they must bear for the next 35 years of home ownership.

What is your pain as a tenant?

What then IS your pain as a tenant? Is it paying 3.5 months every time you move into a new home? So, say the rental is RM1800 per month, the upfront cost is RM6,300 (RM1800 x 3 + RM900) that’s akin to purchasing a brand-new high end gaming laptop in cash! The 2.5 months deposit or RM4500 is held by the landlord for 1 year (or whatever duration you plan to stay in their property) and is returned to you when the tenancy ends IF you did not damage anything inside the property or owe the landlord any utilities bills. That’s quite a sum of money to be entrusted to someone for a long time without knowing how much money you would be getting back at the end of it all.

But we guess it’s a fair trade-off. The landlord entrusts you with their brand spanking new RM800k property to stay in for 1 year or more and you entrust him or her with your RM4500 security deposit both assuming that they would get back what is rightfully theirs at the end of the agreement period.  

What if… there were no more rental deposits? That was the idea that we BlueDuck had in mind when we co-developed the zero-deposit rental insurance product with Liberty Insurance Malaysia way back when we were incorporated in 2018. Liberty Insurance Berhad, formerly known as Uni.Asia General Insurance Berhad was launched in 2015.  


BlueDuck & Liberty Insurance? Who Are They?

Liberty Insurance has 5 regional offices and 25 branches in Malaysia and 638 personnel, and its distribution network also includes 10 mini branches at Puspakom, POS Malaysia’s approximately 700 outlets, 4 franchise holders, 119 dealers, and a 1,800 strong agency force. The company is a MYEG Insurance Partner and a bancassurance partner of UOB Bank and Bank Simpanan Nasional.

On the other hand, BlueDuck, incorporated in 2018 is a fast-growing fintech company and a licensed insurance agency in Malaysia transacting on Zero Deposit Insurance recognized by MDEC, MAGiC and a few renown venture capitalists and in early 2022 won the first place in Alpha Start-ups at MyFintechWeek 2022 an event organized by Bank Negara Malaysia together with 1337 Ventures and supported by MDEC.


The Zero Deposit Solution

A zero-deposit solution which is widely gaining popularity in Malaysia as well as in other parts of the world like the US, UK and many countries in Europe including Switzerland and Germany. Here the tenants purchase a zero-deposit insurance policy to replace the traditional security deposit usually paid before moving into a rental property. Here if the tenant defaults on rental payments, utility bills and causes malicious damages to the landlord’s property, the zero-deposit insurance pays out for the losses suffered by the landlord up to the limit of the sum assured stipulated in the insurance policy.

Although this does not eliminate the risk of tenants running away, owing thousands in unpaid utility bills and damaging property beyond repair or betterment, it gives landlords a certain degree of assurance and peace of mind knowing that if such unlucky incidents were to happen, they would know that they would get fair and adequate compensation equivalent to the risk they are taking renting out their property to a tenant they barely know.

If you are a prospective tenant looking for your next place to rent and call home, or if you’re a landlord who have just gotten your keys to your brand-new condo and want to rent it out as fast as possible or even if you’re a property agent who would like to offer your clients a new age solution, do check the zero deposit insurance packages we have on offer for whole residential units (house, apartments, condos) to individual rooms and now EVEN commercial units like shop lots and office spaces. Hit us up at https://www.blueduck.my/ we are pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

 

©2022 BlueDuck. All rights reserved.

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