Taman Lembah Permai @ Bukit Mertajam, Penang

Phase 6, the phase now on sale, has 55 homes: 24 three-storey bungalows and 31 three-storey O-Lot homes. The developer’s advertisement and the government register give the same total.

The estate as a whole has 185 landed homes on the register — 62 from the first phase, 68 in Phase 5 and 55 in Phase 6 — plus a separate nine-storey block of 70 flats filed with the first phase.

Yes, according to the developer: the Phase 6 advertisement filed with the housing register states ‘hakmilik kekal’, which is freehold, and records no encumbrance on the land and no restriction of interest.

The homes are sold under Schedule H, the strata form of agreement, which is how gated landed estates with shared facilities are usually titled. Your solicitor’s title search at signing is the final word on all of these points.

Three bungalow types: Gembira at 500.07 sq m built-up (about 5,383 sq ft) on land of 521 to 869 sq m; Gemilang at 506.20 sq m (about 5,449 sq ft) on 521 to 628 sq m; and Mewah at 811.67 sq m (about 8,737 sq ft) on 1,042 to 1,179 sq m. All are three storeys with six bedrooms on the register.

The 31 O-Lot homes come in two layouts, also three storeys with six bedrooms and five bathrooms: Mesra, 28 homes at 393.32 sq m built-up (about 4,234 sq ft) on land of 299 to 309 sq m; and Ceria, 3 homes at 398.71 to 406.68 sq m (about 4,292 to 4,377 sq ft) on land of 450 to 664 sq m. These are the figures printed on the developer’s filed advertisement.

Yes, for the non-quota lots. Seberang Perai’s minimum for a non-citizen buying landed or landed-strata property is RM1,000,000, and the Phase 6 permit band starts at RM2,000,000 — the band on the advertising permit, not the price of any unit. Sixteen of the 55 lots are Bumiputera-quota lots and are closed to foreigners.

A foreign purchase needs state consent, carries a 3% state levy on approval, cannot be resold for three years, and since 1 January 2026 attracts a flat 8% stamp duty for non-citizens. I can walk you through the consent application before you commit to a lot.

The developer’s advertisement gives July 2029 as the expected completion date. Construction had not started when I read the register on 5 October 2026: the status was ‘belum mula’ and no sale and purchase agreement had been recorded. The advertising permit runs from 26 August 2026 to 25 August 2029.

Contractually, Schedule H requires vacant possession within 36 months of the date of your agreement, so the expected date is a target and your agreement date sets the deadline. Phase 5 was certified more than seven months ahead of its limit.

If you need to move in soon, ask about the six Phase 5 homes the register still shows as unsold — three semi-detached and three detached, already certified. If you can wait and want first pick of position, Phase 6 has all 55 lots open.

Within Phase 6, the 28 Mesra O-Lot homes are the entry point; the 3 Ceria homes have almost the same floor area on much larger land. Among the bungalows, Gembira and Gemilang are nearly the same size, with Gembira’s land running up to 869 sq m, and Mewah, with only three built, is the rarest. Ask for the site plan to see which lots face the park and which sit by the main road.

The only public price information is the Phase 6 permit band on the register: RM2,000,000 to RM5,482,900 across the five house types — the band on the advertising permit, not the price of any unit. I do not repeat figures from property portals.

The developer has not published the monthly maintenance charge or sinking fund that pays for the guards, the park and the community building. Message me and I will get the current price list and the charges in writing.

Both are gated, strata-titled estates of three-storey landed homes in Bukit Mertajam, 3.7 km apart in a straight line. Sentrino has 80 semi-detached houses of about 3,900 to 4,040 sq ft, completed in 2017, so it is a resale market. The Mesra O-Lot homes here are a little larger, at about 4,234 sq ft, and brand new; the bungalows start at 5,383 sq ft.

Choose Sentrino if you want a finished, established semi-detached house in Alma today. Choose Taman Lembah Permai if you want a new building, a bungalow-sized home, or the town-side schools 180 m to 1.8 km away.

For schools it is hard to beat in Bukit Mertajam: SJK(C) Beng Teik (Pusat) is 180 m away in a straight line, SMJK Jit Sin 1.2 km and Jit Sin Independent High School 1.8 km. Billion Shopping Centre in Kota Permai is 794 m, Bukit Mertajam Hospital 1.6 km and KPJ Penang Specialist Hospital 3.3 km.

For commuting, the Juru toll plaza is 3.5 km and the Penang Bridge 12.2 km in a straight line. As a rental, a six-bedroom bungalow has a narrow pool of tenants — mostly company-paid senior staff — so buy this to live in, not for yield. I do not quote rental figures.