H Residence MT Haryono is a midrange apartment complex featuring 1 tower of 22 floors for a total of over 360 units. Built on 1,6 hectares of land by HK Realtindo, it also includes the 3-star Harper Hotel.

I stayed there for a few days and this is my honest review of it. If you know about this property, please add your own comment and rating at the end of the article.

Location:

Neighborhood

In which neighborhood of Jakarta is the complex located?
H Residence is on Jalan MT Haryono, at the border between Cawang and Jatinegara. Both of these districts are residential, with mostly low-rise accommodation belonging to the Indonesian middle class. There are a few high-rise towers as well, in particular along the toll road Grogol-Cawang.

By car, with normal traffic conditions, how far is the complex from:
– Jakarta Airport (CGK): 80 minutes
– Jakarta Airport (Halim Perdanakusuma): 25 minutes
– Grand Indonesia Mall: 50-70 minutes
– Kota Tua: 70-90 minutes
– Kemang: 60 minutes

How does it look like around the apartment?
The residence is surrounded either by large roads or by houses. It’s not particularly interesting.

What are the important landmarks nearby?
Nearby, there are a handful of landmarks you can go to:

Malls:
H Residence doesn’t have a mall nearby. A few of them are within 10-20 minutes by car: Mal Cipinang Indah, Mall Bassura, Lippo Plaza Kramat Jati, Kalibata Square, and Pusat Grosir Cililitan. They are all targeting the middle-class.

Supermarkets:
There are a few available supermarkets within 10-15 minutes by car: Carrefour in Cipinang Indah Mall and Carrefour MT Haryono are the best ones. For fruits, vegetables, fish, and meats, you can go to the local market Pasar Jaya Cawang Kavling (500 meters away).

A smaller supermarket, specializing in fruits, Frestive, is on Jalan Otto Iskandardinata (Jalan Otista) only 1 kilometer away.

Restaurants:
The choice is poor. You have a coffee shop in Harper’s Hotel and a few warungs in the ground floor of the residence. Nothing extraordinary but more venues might open in the future (there are still some available empty spaces).

Bars and Nightlife:
There is no nightlife in this area of Jakarta. You will need to go near Jalan Sudirman for that.

Universities:
The only major university nearby is the campus B of the Universitas Kristen Indonesia.

Schools:
Only local schools: SMA, SMU, TK, etc.

Preschools:
There is a Kidea Preschool about 2 kilometers away. A bit further, in Tebet, you can also try Kinderfield Preschool and NTO International Preschool.

Hospitals:
RS Tebet is about 15 minutes away by car. It is a general hospital for the low to middle class. Another one, RS Premier Jatinegara is about 20 minutes away.

Closer to H Residence, there are also some specialized clinics like Rumah Sakit Pusat Otak National (for heart strokes), Rumah Sakit UKI and RSAU dr. Esnawan Antariksa (for the military).

Parks:
The park Taman Honda Tebet is 15 minutes by car from the complex.

Offices:
There are several office buildings along Jalan MT Haryono, up until Jalan Gatot Subroto, and on Jalan D.I. Panjaitan. However, the real Central Business District of Jakarta is further away in Sudirman, more than 35 minutes away.

Transportation

What are the main roads or highways nearby?
H Residence is 300 meters away from the very strategic Cawang interchange, which is at the intersection of several important roads:
– The Jagorawi Toll Road to Bogor and Ciawi
– The Cikampek-Bandung Toll Road (through Bekasi and Karawang)
– The Jakarta Inner Ring Road (to West and North Jakarta)

Unfortunately, things are not as easy as they seem. To go to the Cawang interchange from H Residence is actually quite difficult. You’ll need to go through smaller streets for several minutes.

What is the traffic situation near the apartment?
At the moment, this is a particularly difficult area for traffic jams because of the construction of the new LRT line (Light Rail Transit). You can see that in this picture of Jalan MT Haryono I took:

Naturally, once the project is completed, you can expect that the situation will improve.

Is it easy for taxis/GrabCar to find the location?
Honestly, it is a bit difficult because the residence cannot be accessed from the main street. You need to go through the back, via Jalan Cawang Baru. You will probably need to explain it to your taxi if you don’t want to wait for hours.

Is there a Transjakarta bus stop nearby?
There is a bus stop nearby, Halte BNN, but still, you need about 8 minutes to reach it. You will have to climb some stairs in a dirty area which is really unpleasant:

Halte BNN is along Jalan MT Haryono and from there, you can catch several lines:

• 9,9A, 9B, 9C, 7, 5C, 5D, 5E, 7: Those lines with a dedicated corridor go to Pinang Ranti, PGC 2, Kota, Pluit, Bundaran Senayan, Kampung Rambutan, Kampung Melayu, Ancol, PGC 1, Harmoni, Ancol.
• 9H: Taman Mini, Grogol (without a dedicated corridor)
• B11, B12, B21, B22: Bekasi, Ciputat, Tosari (Suburban lines), Pasar Baru, Tanjung Priok

Is there a train station nearby?
Cawang station is 2 kilometers away (10 minutes by car). There you can get the red line from Kota to Depok and the yellow line from Jatinegara to Bogor. It is quite convenient to reach the Central Business District as there are stops in Karet and Sudirman.

How about the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) or LRT (Light Rail Transit)?
An LRT line is planned on Jalan MT Haryono and it should be completed in 2019. I believe that an LRT station should be positioned at the Cawang interchange, therefore near from H Residence.

Are there sidewalks? Is it possible to walk around?
There are poor sidewalks around. Walking is possible but difficult.

Building Quality

Building and Architecture

What is the reputation of the developer?
The developer was HK Realtindo, a subsidiary of the state-owned company Hutama Karya. The latter is a large contractor, involved in many big infrastructure projects like the Jakarta MRT.

HK Realtindo is relatively new as it was created in 2010. For now, they have only developed a handful of projects, such as H Residence Soetta, Kubikahomy in Tangerang, or H Tower in Kuningan.

It is a bit early to talk about their reputation. However, based on my experience, government-owned companies are generally not the ones with the best management.

Who is the architect?
I don’t have this information.

Who is the contractor?
I don’t have this information but it might have been Hutama Karya.

What is the situation with the land certificate?
The developer has a Hak Guna Bangunan Murni, which means the property was built on its own land. As an apartment owner, you get a Strata Title di atas HGB Murni.

Design and Appearance

How does the building look like?

From Outside (Facade)
The tower is L-shaped, with rather large windows and a small balcony. I don’t really like the design, but at least they’ve tried to come up with something original.

Entrance and Reception:
The entrance to the residence is not nice. While the Harper Hotel has a proper lobby and a drop-off zone for cars, H Residence only has a small door with a tiny reception.

Landscaping:
The garden and the swimming pool are on the lower floors, above the parking. The area is narrow, with just a few plants. The pool is almost entirely in the shade. I didn’t find the area very enjoyable.

Corridors:
The corridors look fine, with ceramic tiles on the floor and a false ceiling. The wall painting is well-done.

How spacious are the apartments?
The apartments are medium-sized, in line with the standards of a midrange property:

– Studio units = 37m2 (1 bathroom)
– 1-bedroom units = 46m2 (1 bathroom)
– 2-bedroom units = 64m2 (1 bathroom)

Materials, Equipment, and Finishes

What is the quality of the materials, furniture, and equipment used in the construction?
This is an evaluation of the quality I observed (ranked from 1 – worst – to 10 – best):

Tiles Lobby: 4
Tiles Corridors: 4
Tiles Apartment: 4
Painting: 6
Lighting: 5
Doors: 5
Ceiling: 6
Elevator: 5
Gym equipment: 6
Pool equipment: 5
Furniture: 4
Artwork: None

Overall Quality: 4,5/10

What is the quality of the finishes?
Good quality.

Comfort

Facilities and Services

What are the facilities provided in the property?

– Swimming pool: It is not very big, with a tiny kids pool attached to it. Unfortunately, the water is very cold as the water never gets any sunlight!

– Gym: I couldn’t go inside because it was reserved to apartment owners only (not renters). I saw from the window that there was quite a lot of equipment, but that the quality of the machines was average.

– Kids’ Playground: It’s only a few kids games.

What are the services available within the property?
Very few services were available: Laundry, minimarket, ATM, a few restaurants,… Maybe the reason for that is because it is a new property and that they haven’t filled all the shops yet.

Are there issues with the electricity supply?
Not that I know of.

Are their issues with parking?
Not that I know of.

How many lifts are there in each tower?
There are 3 lifts per tower.

Does the apartment have centralized hot water?
No, you will need an electric water heater.

What is the air-conditioning system used?
There is no central air-cooling system so each unit has its own individual electric AC.

Atmosphere

Is the property busy?
It was not very busy when I visited. I guess the occupancy is still low.

Is it noisy?
Yes, it is a bit noisy from Jalan MT Haryono (if your unit is facing the South). Also, you currently have a construction site next to the residence (on the East side). Finally, if you have an apartment facing the North, you will hear a mosque.

What is the background (ethnicity, social status) and attitude of residents?
Most residents are Indonesian Pribumi. There are very few expatriates.

Management

Maintenance

How old is the property?
It was completed in 2015.

Are there visible damages?
Not too many, except at the entrance where you can spot some water stains on the ceiling (see the picture above for Entrance and Reception)

Cleanliness

I found the property to be clean.

Gardening

The garden is small and not very impressive. Its maintenance is decent.

Security

– Guards on duty at the gates and reception: 24/7 (officially but a few times, the guards were missing)
– CCTV cameras: A few
– Access card: Yes, you need an access card to enter the lift area.

Hospitality

Nothing special.

Rooms and Prices

Prices at H Residence MT Haryono may vary depending on many factors such as the floor, the unit type, the room condition and the furnishings.

Be aware that you may also need to pay for additional fees: Service charge, parking fee, electricity and water bills, etc. Here are a few examples of prices and ratios for this property:

1-Bedroom Type (46m2) – Well-furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 90 million (or 7.5 million per month)
• Buy: IDR 1,150,000,000
• Break Even Point (Buying Price/Gross Annual Rental): 12.7 years
• Average buying price/m2: IDR 25 million/m2

2-Bedroom Type (64m2) – Well-furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 114 million (or 9.5 million per month)
• Buy: IDR 1,350,000,000
• Break Even Point (Buying Price/Gross Annual Rental): 11.8 years
• Average buying price/m2: IDR 21.1 million/m2

Which units are the best?
Even though you can hear the sound of a mosque from there, I would recommend the units facing the North as you have a better view of Jakarta. These will also allow you to avoid the noise and pollution from Jalan MT Haryono.

Investment Potential

Is there a potential for a price increase in the future?

A normal price increase would be around 5% per year. Here are some of the factors that may affect this rate:

– Factors pushing the prices up:

• Completion of the LRT project with a station near Cawang Interchange.
• Development of Jalan MT Haryono as a secondary business district

– Factors pushing the prices down:

• The poor architecture of H Residence (swimming pool in the shade, hidden entrance, narrow garden, etc).
• A lot of potential competition nearby as there are many empty plots of land.

Overall evaluation of the price: Would I buy here?
The apartments in H Residence are rather pleasant (especially the floor-to-ceiling glass windows) and their price is reasonable (both for buying or renting). The location is also quite strategic, though it isn’t sure yet whether it will be easy or not for residents to reach the LRT station by foot.

My main concern before buying would be the reliability of the developer. I wonder if they will keep maintaining the property in a decent condition even after all the units will have been sold. Furthermore, the facilities available are not very good and I’m not sure it would really attract renters.

Overall: I would not buy.