One of the things that conspired in my mind during Chinese New Year... Operasi beli rumah.
A church member who lives in Kepong is migrating to US. He is selling his house for a little over RM200k.
I have been toying with the idea of staying in Kepong. First of all, it's very near my church. Secondly, it's midway between Selayang and Taman Paramount, so I won't have to travel so far to meet Mei Yee. Thirdly, I may have a stronger chance to get myself transferred out of SMK Selayang Bharu. Fourthly, I have a feeling that Kepong is a safer neighbourhood to be in. Fifthly, non-kosher food abounds.
Since I've been thinking about shifting there... Why not buy a house there?
No way I can buy it on my own. I'm not entitled to get a government housing loan yet. Even if I am, I can't afford to pay off more than a grand every month on house installments alone.
Talked to my father about it. We hit a great idea: He buys half the house, I buy half the house. He buys as an investment, I buy to stay. When the price of the house appreciates, we sell it and split it 50-50. It's better for him to put the money in a house than in fixed deposits.
It all sounded pretty fine and dandy. But after thinking about it one sleepless night, I realized it's not such a good idea after all.
My father's motivation and mine are different. He's buying to invest. I'm buying to stay. Let's say he wants to sell it after 5 years. I have to move. If I don't, my father will be cheated.
That means, from the moment I step into my new house, I have to start thinking of acquiring a new one. I have to be continuously saving up for that bigger, better house. So when the time comes, I can sell it and move. Where is the peace in that?
Eventually, when I do get a bigger, better house... That will also mean I'll have bigger debts to pay off until an older age. Where is the sense in that?
And while I'm staying in that bigger, better house, I'll have to pay installments for two houses. Until I can find someone to buy my "old" house from me. How long is that going to take?
For a person of my vocation, what does buying a house in Kepong mean?
Getting that house in Kepong will mean putting a lot of attention into acquiring wealth, only to move to another new house, and plunge myself into a deeper debt. Surely I have to find a lot of side income to keep my head above the installments. Whatever extra income I may earn no longer becomes a bonus. It becomes a need. I have to keep working harder and harder. I won't own the house. The house owns me.
I fail to see the logic in that.
So, operasi tak jadi.
Calculator in hand, fast-forwarding myself into the future. To spare you the calculations, here is the result: I won't be able to afford a RM200k house on my own. I can only hit the RM100k-ish bracket. You're not looking at freehold, landed property in that kind of bracket. You're looking at an apartment. A small one.
What can I do until I can buy that small apartment?
Continue renting a flat for RM350 a month.
"If you're gonna be paying RM350 for a flat, it won't be too much to pay an additional RM250 for a RM600/month installment for an apartment of your own, isn't it? Why pay rental to other people, when you can be paying installments for your own place?"
Of course it won't be too much. If I accumulate the amount of rental I would have paid over 3 years, I would have enough to make an initial payment for an RM100k apartment. But where am I going to stay for the next 3 years?
Hence, the necessary evil of renting a place instead of buying one.
Since I'm at it, I may as well toy with the idea of never owning my own place. Why?
Because there are people who actually get by that way. They may not have their own house. But they are not in debt like those who do. They are not enslaved by the very thing they stay in.
By the way, this world is not my home. Why should I be so preoccupied with making my home here, when it isn't? I would rather be found busy in the house of the Lord, than to be caught struggling to maintain a house I can't comfortably afford. And thus pierce myself with many griefs.
Instead of asking God for a house in this world, I'd rather ask Him to continually remind me not to love it. If I can shift my paradigm, I can shift my goals. If I shift my perspective, I shift the place where I want to build my home.
Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, "Who is the Lord?"
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9)
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9 comments:
Amen!! I've been into this financial craze lately and found this: daveramsey.com!!
We don't need to have house or car payments!! The road to financial peace so you can give to be a blessing!!
hmmm... have you discussed these thoughts with mei yee?
i don't think it's too early for u two to talk about such matters (though i may be wrong). she may have a different perspective on things, for you to take account of. i probably would have bought a house much later in life (or not at all) if not for chen may...
our (chen may and mine) house cost about 181k... we paid 30k down payment (parents helped) and took a loan of 151k. our monthly payments are slightly below 1k...
but our house is in seremban. klang valley prices are much steeper...
Grace Ausley: I did Dave's financial check up. I'm super healthy! :) Perfect match with Dave's projected amount.
Sieh Jin: Wah, so now you travel to Seremban to stay there, then go to work in KL?
I'm the one with the steel rice bowl. Hers is paper rice bowl, so cannot factor in the calculation.
If both got steel rice bowl, then it's a different matter.
But as her mum says, "If head not so big, don't buy such a big hat". Dunno how to say it in canto. I keep forgetting...
Lei geh tou mou kom tai, mou tai kom tai geh mou.
You head not so big, dun wear a big hat.
Direct translation.
Ha! Correct! Correct! It sounds something like that :)
haha, i did the dave financial checkup and i matched his projected amount to the dollar, too! =)
ya, i'm staying in seremban and working in kl... travelling is tiring, time-consuming, and expensive; but unless one of us were willing to change jobs, we saw no better compromise. i try to redeem the time by reading on the bus. currently working through 'prayer' by philip yancey.
i'm not only referring to the additional income that meiyee may bring to the table, but also her opinion and feelings about the matter. to have a home of one's own is often something that women yearn for very much (but maybe she is an exception - i don't know, which is why i suggested discussion). and, as long as such desire is tempered with the correct understanding that such a home is temporary only and that our true treasure is in heaven, i think it is a legitimate need/want.
ya, don't wear too big a hat. something like a 3-room apartment would probably be within your means; landed property would probably be very difficult/impossible to afford in the klang valley.
Don't forget land tax, property tax, taxed when you finally sell the house, upkeep costs to maintain the house all nice and pretty, economic slump...
Sieh Jin: I don't wear hats. My geek-meter is amplified by headgear.
Scott: My colleague said the security guard in a Jinjang school lives in the security pondok itself. No land tax or property tax. But got different kind of tax...
From the RM700 he brings in, RM500 goes to "hantu Genting".
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