SpeedRent – Linking up Landlords and Tenants

AN online platform, Speedrent, is available in Malaysia for landlords and tenants to deal directly with one another. “The app connects the tenant directly with the landlord. The tenant does not need to pay a deposit,” says founder Wong Whei Meng. On the website, it says “Speedrent makes home renting DIY easy!”

Traditionally, he says, tenants who rent a place for RM1,000 monthly through an agent would have to pay RM4,000 in total – a two-month security deposit, one month utility deposit (both which are refundable) – and the one-month advance rental. But with Speedrent, Wong says, the tenant pays RM2,000 upfront (RM1,000 for the first-month rent and the other RM1,000 goes to Speedrent.)

“So this is 50% less in terms of upfront cost for the tenant.” He says the landlord will also pay Speedrent the equivalent of a month’s rent. In return, the landlord will be covered by an insurance policy if the tenant bolts before the one-year tenancy is up. This, he says, is in partnership with Allianz General Insurance. “Traditionally, if your tenant runs away after six months, you get the five months that he paid, and you get to keep the three months security and utility deposits.

“But with Speedrent, if the tenant defaults on payment or goes MIA, then the landlord will get the six months’ rent. And he will get another two months rental guarantee from the insurance plus RM15,000 and RM1,000 as an inconvenience benefit. “So in total, he gets about nine to 10 months of rent.” The app generates a tenancy agreement template for both parties to sign online. This is sent to Inland Revenue Board for stamping, making it legal and binding.

Speedrent also does a credit check on the tenant so that the landlord will know whether he has a good credit score. The rent goes through Speedrent, which tracks the tenant’s payment record. If he doesn’t pay up but continue staying at the home, Speedrent will talk to him. If that fails, they will get lawyers to send out a letter of demand and an eviction notice.

“Based on our statistics, most tenants would opt to leave by the stipulated date.” And if they do not, Speedrent will give their names to CTOS to be blacklisted. “So far, we haven’t had to blacklist anyone yet,” says Wong. If the landlord is the one who is problematic where the place rented out is bad with problems such as bed bugs, Speedrent will remove his listing and ban him from their app.

Wong says Speedrent which started in 2015 matches about 50 to 60 landlords with tenants each month. High-end units move slowly but those within an affordable range rental between RM1,200 to RM1,500 get taken up fast, he adds.

My Puppy Bit off the Wire

I should have tied Leia, my puppy to the cage instead of allowing it to roam about in the room, biting off my file corners and then the wires with splitter to the fax machine and internet line. Luckily I have a spare wire to connect directly to the internet and now the fax machine / phone cannot be used. She is still not toilet trained yet but is more obedient when sent to pet shop / hotel for a stay or 2. Now my internet can be used already with the direct connection to the socket and I took the opportunity to update this blog once every 2 – 3 days. Readers and visitors hardly comment but some are stalking this blog. The ubiquitous Google also checks for porn pictures or any illegal content like gambling, etc. 3 things are a no-no to talk about here:

1) politics
2) pornography
3) gambling / smoking

According to the internet, Queen Victoria had many Pomeranians which originated from Germany and then spread to UK. The famous scientist and late painter Micheal Angelo also owned Pomeranians like the breed of my puppy. It is more costly than Poodles that require high maintenance to trim its fur.

NAWEM – Inspire Women in Business

I was browsing around when I found this website that inspires women in business – NAWEM. You can visit their site at https://www.nawem.org.my/. They have organised several workshops and seminars for business women. Just the other day, I was reading the Straits Times and the government had helped a woman bumi earning from barely $1k per month to making $1 million in revenue every month simply selling babies’ diapers and exporting to Indonesia, Philippines, etc. Even her trip and hotel stay at the first attempt were all paid for! So easy peasy for bumis to get started and connected with the right channels, if only they are willing to work hard and put in effort.

The learning curve is cut short very much unlike for others who have to slought it out themselves. We may not even have the financial means to do so and even have to learn from trial and error. As it is, I have a booking site that is still not ready even after 2 years of hosting and it has not brought in any business. If only I have a mentor to guide me through how to strike it out on my own on a part time basis, as I have a full time job at home, I would gladly grab the opportunity.

Hope to Attend Star Fit for Life Tomorrow

I am in KL now and we managed to secure a project. After dinner at Da:men, my partner banked in a cheque and then we headed home to rest. For me, it is to update this blog. I hope to attend tomorrow’s event, Star Fit for Life of health and fitness, sports, leisure, beauty and wellness. Touted to be Malaysia’s biggest Health & Wellness Fair, it is sponsored by Star Media Group, Great Eastern, Nestle Omega 3, etc. It is held from 21 – 23 April 2017 (Friday – Sunday) from 10:00am to 8:00pm at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

There will be free gifts for first 1,000 visitors each day and tomorrow being the last day, I hope to get something too and not be too late for it. In the car enroute to KL, I managed to redeem Manis App for free voucher of RM 10 online for a Papadelivery cheesecake. You have to purchase the 1kg cheese cake online and enter the Manis code of CHEESECAKE10 that is available only in Klang area and we shall collect it ourselves from PapaDelivery.my around 5:00pm before they close at 6:00pm on Sundays.

There are 4 types of cheesecakes and I chose Oreo cheesecake, all priced at RM99 for 1 kg. With the voucher, you pay RM 89. It is not cheap but to justify the many snappings of receipts, this will make me satisfied and an incentive to keep snapping for more free vouchers such as this. It is my third redemption with the first being RM 20 bodyshop products purchased online using a code and the second one being a physical RM 10 MPH voucher that was posted to me.

I also borrowed some cash from my boss to pay for expenses incurred by credit card since my cash was put into Fixed Deposit. Next month May, he will deduct my income for the cash borrowed like he did for all his other workers who may need to borrow money now and then.

The Fate of the Furious 2017 Movie

Dominic “Dom” Toretto and Letty Ortiz are on their honeymoon in Havana when Dom is challenged to a street race at an auto show by local racer Fernando. Dom races for Fernando’s car, intending to give it to his cousin, while wagering his own show car. After narrowly winning the race, Dom allows Fernando to keep his car, earning his respect, and instead leaves his cousin with his show car. The next day, Dom is approached by elusive cyberterrorist Cipher, who coerces him into working for her.

Shortly after the encounter, Dom and his team, comprising Letty, Roman Pearce, Tej Parker, and Ramsey, are recruited by Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs to help him retrieve an EMP device from a military outpost in Berlin. During the getaway, Dom goes rogue, forcing Hobbs off the road and stealing the device for Cipher. Hobbs is arrested and locked up in the same high-security prison he helped imprison Deckard Shaw in. After escaping, both are recruited by intelligence operative Frank Petty and his protégé, Eric Reisner, to help the team find Dom and capture Cipher.

Deckard reveals that Cipher was the mastermind of previous encounters with the team, such as employing his brother Owen Shaw to steal the Nightshade device and orchestrating the attempted theft of God’s Eye, Ramsey’s software program. The team tracks Dom and Cipher to their very location just as they attack the base and steal God’s Eye. Roman wants to call Brian because he would know what to do, but Letty doesn’t want Brian and Mia get involved. When Dom begins to question Cipher’s motives, she reveals that she has held Dom’s ex-lover and DSS agent Elena Neves – as well as their son, whose existence Dom was previously unaware of – hostage in order to keep Dom loyal to her. Elena tells Dom that the child was born as a result of an unintended pregnancy, and that she wanted him to decide the child’s first name, having already given him the middle name Marcos.

Cipher then sends Dom to New York City to retrieve a nuclear football held by the Russian Minister of Defence. Dom manages to evade her for a short time through a diversion created by Fernando, allowing him to meet with and persuade Deckard and Owen’s mother, Magdalene Shaw, to help. The team intercepts Dom after he steals the nuclear football, but Dom escapes, shooting and apparently killing Deckard in the process. Cipher facilitates Dom’s escape by hacking into all of the autonomous cars in the city and reprogramming them to auto-drive, wreaking havoc throughout the city. Letty catches up to Dom, but is ambushed and nearly killed by Cipher’s enforcer, Connor Rhodes, before Dom rescues her. In retaliation, Cipher has Rhodes kill Elena in front of Dom.

Dom is then sent to Russia to use the EMP device to disable a nuclear submarine, enabling Cipher to hijack it and attempt to use its arsenal to trigger a nuclear war. They are once again intercepted by the team, provided with modified vehicles by Petty. Meanwhile, Deckard, who had faked his death and been extracted by Tego Leo and Rico Santos, former members of Dom’s team, infiltrates Cipher’s plane to rescue Dom’s son at Magdalene’s behest, with the help of Owen. Once Deckard reports that the child is safe, Dom turns on Cipher and kills Rhodes, avenging Elena’s death, before rejoining his team. Outraged, Cipher launches an infrared homing missile at Dom, but he breaks away from his team and maneuvers around it, causing the missile to hit the submarine instead. The team quickly forms a vehicular blockade around Dom, shielding him from the ensuing explosion. When Deckard reaches the front of the plane and confronts Cipher, she makes her escape by parachuting out of the plane.

Petty and Reisner visit Dom and his team in New York City to report that Cipher is still at large. Hobbs is offered his DSS job back, but he declines in order to spend more time with his daughter. Deckard then arrives to return Dom’s son, putting his differences aside with Dom and Hobbs in the process, and is accepted into their family. Dom decides to name his son Brian, after his friend and brother-in-law Brian O’Conner, and they celebrate.

Children’s Colouring Contest

Children's Colouring contest

Above is a snapshot of Children’s Colouring Contest in the A category at Straits Quay where I went yesterday to buy a pair of branded Nike shorts for RM 15 only, a marked down price of almost 70% or less. If you buy 3 pieces, you get the 4th piece for free. But I am not really a shopaholic and a dollar saved is a dollar earned, so to speak. I may be a sucker for free stuffs, but not when it comes to expenditure. It was held at the first floor of Event Hall, on the right side of Star Bucks. The 4 days sales was over yesterday on Sunday

The colouring contest put up for St. Patrick’s day is really colourful and the talented children deserve a clap and their works put up for public viewing and admiration.

I also stayed a while a Quayside Condo to nap after lunch at James Foo Restaurant and then swam 1 round in the swimming pool. There is also a covered jacuzzi where I also went for some water massage with the powerful water jets coming out to de-stress.

After a shower, we rested a while and then had our dinner at Paparich, Straits Quay before I went to the Event Hall for a quick check up on the clothes sales. As I have limited space in my condo, I don’t have a habit of overbuying to store up clothes in my wardrobe. This also saves me money in the long run.

children's colouring contest 2

Since I have to work hard for my keep, don’t try to cheat me of hard earned money by having the perception that I am “rich”. Whoever is following my blog, you know who you are and don’t try to con me over and over again for something that was paid for 1 year and before that 1 year was up, you try to get me to pay again in my busyness of work. I store up information in my hard drive; hence you cannot deny that I did not pay nor the expiry date is up!! And I find it strange that every 2 months or so you used to bill me for lack of space of this hosting, every minor excuse, etc. as long as you can squeeze more $$ out of me.

This hosting is supposed to be the cheapest, which is why I hosted 4 domains with you. But that does not mean you can take advantage and try to bill me every 2 months for something that I have already paid for 1 year. Honesty is the best policy and when you are found out to try to cheat, you lose customers and goodwill. You know who you are! With that said, I am more cautious now. There are many options of other hosting companies that don’t anyhow charge and play by the rules.

Start A Travel Blog That Will Pay For Your Travels and WordPress Plugins to Have

Travel the World

Now you can earn free travels by starting a travel blog through FlyMe360 at http://www.flyme360.com/start-a-travel-blog-make-money/ The details are in the link above where you can click to find out more on how to get started with step by step methods. It would be lovely if you are single and unattached, to travel the world and experience local cultures, food, buildings and the people.

There are a few travel bloggers who get their travels overseas all sponsored provided they blog about it and share their many travel photos. This takes lots of writing, photo taking, and much more work. As they say, travel while you are young and able; for when you are old and can no longer walk, you may be bedridden and no longer have the strength compared to your younger days.

On a side note, some WordPress Plugins that you need to have are listed below:

1) WordPress SEO by Yoast – This plugin is one of the best SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plugins available out there. It does this by adjusting permalinks, sitemaps, indexation, robots meta, rss, internal links, and more. In simple terms, this plugin will help your website to be found easier on the web, bringing in traffic and money!

2) Akismet – This will reduce the Spam comments in your blog.

3) W3 Total Cache – this plugin will help your website to load faster.

4) Conditional CAPTCHA for WordPress– Akismet is good at fighting spam comments and bots, but sometimes it will need help too. This plugin will produce captcha clues to help differentiate bots and humans.

5) WP touch – makes your blog more mobile friendly

6) Contact Form 7 – Allows you to install a simple contact form so people can email you through your site.

7) Digg Digg — Displays social media icons on a floating sidebar, making it easy for people to share your posts.

8) Zemanta – places related posts at the bottom of the current post being read.

With that being said, I will explore some of the above-mentioned plugins in my free time and select those that I find may be useful for this blog on business and the working life of the blogger. Being single has its benefits as you are not tied down to family commitments and have more freedom to do the things that you love.

Of course, I am also concerned about my old age and who will take care of me. But I shall leave that to God to find th right person to come along my life and take care of me in my twilight years or better still, golden years.

MBI : Management Buy-In

MBI Tedy Teoh

MBI is now a well known acronym in Penang, partly due to the success of M-Mall in Penang Times Square. When I took a Grab car taxi, all the drivers have heard of MBI. The other day, dad asked what MBI stands for and I could not answer. So I google that up and out came this : Management Buy-In of big companies by rich investors like Teddy Teoh of M Mall. Yesterday, the new supermarket which is higher end compared to Sam’s Groceria at Straits Quay was opened at Times Square, formerly occupied by Sunshine Supermarket which left and 4th floor was left vacant for a very long time.

It has 4 restaurants including a sushi counter bar, juice and mushroom soup restaurant, rest areas and many seats with more than 30 Chinese edition newspapers for the tourists from China to rest and relax. They sell high-end products that you consume daily like Nestle Omega-3 powder milk that I take every morning. A packet cost around $42 which is much cheaper than a tin of Ensure for $70. Moreover, it has ingredients that helps to prevent heart disease which was its selling point compared to other brands of milk powder.

It also sells Japanese seaweeds of different flavours, canned drinks, tit-bits, fruits such as bananas in a blue Austin Mini made famous by Mr Bean, other types of fruits and vegetables and sofas like those of Starbucks serving only coffee and breads. There’s also Kit-Kat by Nestle, my favourite snack in beween meals.

Now I am going to take a short break, bathe and go donwstairs to 4th Floor Galleria which is the new high end supermarket. I shall take fruits for dinner to lose more weight. I am not on austerity drive but need to maintain a healthier BMI in order to continue working for a long time to come.