Little House : Buying your first property

I bought my first apartment in 2012.

During that time, my salary was RM 2,000 and the apartment I bought was RM 150,000.

The apartment is a low-density type, around 1080 sq ft, corner unit with extra windows, located on the first floor, fully tiled and grilled. Other than helping my mom, I love the apartment and it's a nice investment. So even though I was single, 25 and was not ready - I bought the apartment.

It is located in Seri Kembangan, in a small peaceful neighborhood where I grew up,
it is quite far from the city center.

How?

• I applied for "Skim Rumah Pertamaku" and got 90% bank loan for 30 years, I'm currently paying around RM 700 monthly. Much cheaper than renting a decent apartment in a nice environment. 
• There is also monthly maintenance fees : RM 90+, and for me personally, I like how they take care of the building, all the plants are nicely groomed, the corridor's lights are all lighted, the security guards are always there, the floor are mopped weekly, all clean and nice. So I don't mind paying the maintenance bills. 
• At this moment, my family is still living with us. So I divided the monthly fees to 4 of us grown-ups. *that's like RM 175 for us. Two of my younger siblings are still living like parasites until they finish their studies by the end of this year.
• When I first bought the apartment, I need to consider 2 big things regarding the money. Use this calculator to estimate what you will need to spend : 
• The 10% down-payment, which I haven't paid to my mom because I promised that I'll pay when I live there fully. So I haven't paid it yet. 0-0 *bonus point for me.
• The legal fees and SPA, I have a travel-saving that I planned to use for my Euro-trip back then. But I cancelled it and I bought the apartment. It costed around RM 8,000+ for the legal fees and SPA. I used it all up. T^T
• I didn't buy a car because I think it is the worst investment for people with low-monthly salary. I pay my PTPTN loan for RM200-500 each month. So other than bills and insurance, I didn't use up my salary at that time. It was cukup-cukup makan, but enough. I still don't own a car though. 

These days, the price went up to RM 210-250k for these apartments *even in this short 2 years time. If I include the loan + the interest (RM97k) for 30 years, the apartment would cost around RM 230k. With the high rise of property's prices, I think this is the greatest investment I made when I was 25. I'm not sure what will happen in the future, especially when the 2nd MRT is fully done in Seri Kembangan area :D

I'm thinking on buying the second property with AF.

I love the extensive research and all the possibilities. With property's prices go up to being almost-ridiculous, I think what we can do is find something small and nice enough place for a good investment.

As I told my colleague,
"buy a property now, when you don't have other responsibilities and loans".

Tips :

• If your salary already reached RM 2,000 per month, you can consider finding a small flat in the city or an apartment a bit farther from the city. You'll be paying more or less the same as your rent anyway.
• Don't buy car, yet. Use public transportation or motorcycle. I used to walk over 3km daily to work. It's a nice exercise.  
• Live a frugal life, especially when you just starting up your life as an official adult.
• Work as a freelancer. 
• Read useful articles on financial planning, ie : iMoney

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