Before I got married, my parents and my wife’s parents “forced” me to buy a home even if it was a small apartment of 700 sq ft. Of course, way before that it was always, ‘when are you getting married?’ I think my parents and my in-laws are visionary. Their view is that everyone must own a home. To be very honest, I would have preferred a bigger car instead of my father’s Nissan Sunny 130Y at that time. After using all my savings for the new home and renovations plus a monthly mortgage payment, it has sapped all my wants for a new car. At that time, I was looking at Nissan Sentra 1.6, which was slightly below RM90,000. My apartment? RM123K. Haha. Choice is clear today but it was blurry then.
What would have happened if I had gotten that car instead? Well, it would be 10 years old today. I would have finished paying for it 3 years ago. I think I would not have been able to buy my second property which sparked my property investment journey. I still save and have unit trusts, stocks and even a tiny bit of gold. The gold is just for fun. The others are mostly to ensure I am more diversified and not overly reliant on just property. I do not think I can sleep easily today if I over-stretched myself with only properties. It’s too sticky during bad times. I can easily understand why some luxury condos are sold lower these days. Here: Luxury condominium oversupply in Kuala Lumpur
During Chinese New Year, the singles would always get asked when are they getting married. Seriously, a more responsible question may be, have you bought a property yet. If the answer is no, it’s best to stay single. Just my personal opinion. To those who argued that money is not important, then understand that the most major reason for arguments in marriages are almost always about money. A property guarantees nothing beyond that the couple can have something which will tie up some of their funds into an appreciating asset. I think this reason is already enough to push all couples to get a home. As for those intending to just rent, don’t worry too much. There are still lots of properties for rental today, owned by couples who believe in ‘getting married? Better with a home, please.
written on 22 Feb 2016
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