From Mr Lee, a viewer who wrote in by email
Mr Lee is 35 and has worked in Singapore for about eight years. Gains from shares during COVID went mostly into a Singapore condo whose rent covers all its costs with a little to spare. He also has several hundred thousand ringgit in cash and savings earning interest, and wants to move back to Malaysia and stop working.
Is it a good plan to buy three RM300,000 condos in Kuala Lumpur with RM200,000 down on each, borrowing only RM100,000 apiece, and live on the roughly RM500 a month each would leave?
“Use credit to buy properties, not use capital.”
No. Putting RM600,000 in cash into three condos for about RM1,500 a month is a poor return; the same cash in fixed deposits at about 3% earns that without tenants. Buy with loans while he still has a salary to qualify, keep his capital invested, and don't stop working altogether.
Why
The cash would take decades to pay back
RM600,000 for RM1,500 a month takes 400 months to recover. At about 3% a year, the same RM600,000 in fixed deposits pays about RM1,500 a month with no vacancies or bad tenants.
RM300,000 condos are the wrong stock
At that price in Kuala Lumpur, Sean says, you are mostly looking at welfare-type apartments, which he would leave alone.
Loans need an income
Malaysia lets buyers borrow up to 90% and still find units whose rent covers the instalment. That needs a salary or declared income to qualify, so buy before quitting rather than after.
Interest is a cost against rent
Loan interest can be written off against declared rental income, which is one more reason not to pay down so much up front.
What to do
- Keep the cash in fixed deposits or the investments you already know well.
- Buy one ready-built unit of around RM600,000 whose rent covers the instalment, and try it before buying more.
- Sign for any properties while still employed, then leave the job once the loans are approved.
- Take three to six months off before deciding what to do next, rather than retiring outright.
- Find work you would do even unpaid; Sean argues life is only stressful when you do what you dislike.
Editorial Note: Summarised from Sean Tan's full episode. The quoted answer is in his own words; the rest is our paraphrase. Figures reflect the recording date, so check current rates and rules before acting on them.
ASKING SEAN #280 | WHY CASH BUY PROPERTY FOR CASH FLOW?
Sources & Verification Data
Summarised from Sean's full English captions for Asking Sean #280. The quoted answer is verbatim; everything else is paraphrased. Figures are as stated in April 2025. Sean recommends buying through FAR Capital, a bulk-purchase club he is a member of, not its owner, and the episode links to it. The episode is sponsored by The Makeover Guys, a renovation company.
