Just like many Malaysians, there was a time when I was waiting for the perfect property to buy. In 2003, after deciding that I needed to buy my first property, it took me 6 months to actually sign the Sale and Purchase agreement. The second property (Penang condo) took 3 months. The third property (KL condo) took 1 month. The 4th property (KK condo) took just 24 hours. Was I rushing then? Since my first till my 4th property showed a reduction in duration to buy? Perhaps it’s because the first one took me 6 months…
By the way, that 1st, 2nd and 3rd properties have all been sold…over the years. On average basis, the selling price was 2.38x the purchase price. So, now you understand why I blog about property investment? 🙂 As for that yet-to-be-sold 4th property, it has a double digit rental yield even today… Somehow doctors love the unit. Here are the learnings for everyone to also gain from my own property buying decision.
#1 – Waiting for the Perfect Property Price? It’s usually found 20 years after it was sold. Below RM300,000 for a landed property within a mature neighbourhood with a good location and full of amenities TODAY? Well, 20 years ago, I am very sure anyone being asked to pay RM300,000 would be laughed at. TODAY, that person who bought it for a low six figure could now sell it for 7 figures. We NEED to be able to understand that there’s that thing called ‘Future’ as well.
#2 – Waiting for the Perfect Property Location? This is also usually found many years later. Sometimes, 10 years or more. Think Damansara Uptown? There were NO rows and rows of fully-occupied shoplots when it first started. There were no such thing as banks, cafes or anything you think you needed when the location first started. Further away, one could think about Puchong perhaps? It was all about mining lands long time ago yeah. We NEED to be able to also start understanding about the development’s phases and act accordingly. We can buy at the end, of course, but be prepared to pay the highest yeah.
#3 – Waiting for the Perfect Size within Perfect Location and Perfect Price? Haha. This is like winning a lottery yeah. These days, we want bigger units BUT today, if developers were to build bigger units in some of these awesome locations, there’s no way they could price it anywhere near a price which most of us could afford. Thus, they took an obvious way out. Build it smaller so that even at a high price per sq ft, at least the final price looks achievable to many who just want to stay in that location. Or they built it further away… It can be a perfect property to buy, whether smaller or bigger.
#4 – Waiting but not preparing. I have too many friends who continue to ask me where to buy but at the same time has taken no action whatsoever where savings are concerned. We need to save money while we are waiting yeah. There’s no such thing as I found the property and then only I start saving money. Well, for many of my friends who continue to say they will buy soon… They needed to spend those money on something else, somehow. Thus, that savings never happened and of course the prices kept getting ever more expensive…
Conclusion
These are the 4 reasons why it’s super tough to wait for the perfect property to buy. Super tough is not impossible but it becomes impossible when we do not follow up our thoughts / waiting with the earning and investing action. Home prices wait for no men. Perfect property to buy meanwhile depends on action. Do not just look at Malaysia. Look at Singapore, Australia, London and more.
Drawing a trend line over 20 years for example and we will see property prices rising. It’s only a question of whether it’s above the inflation rate or below the inflation rate. Oh yeah, occasionally a crisis comes to open up a window of opportunity. During the crisis time though, I am just worried that many people during those times are scared to buy. Then, they may say that they could not buy because banks refuse to lend. I rest my case. Happy waiting.
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