From YX, a viewer who wrote in by email
YX is 30 and single, earns about RM8,000 net from her job and declares about RM5,000 a month from her own marketing business. She shares the loan on a landed own-stay home with her sister and bought a second landed house at auction for RM560,000, financed by an insurer whose loans don't appear in CCRIS, so she still has one 90% loan left. She has RM200,000 to RM300,000 in cash and is a member of a property investment club.
For her third property, should she use cash on a subsale or auction unit with 10% down, or buy new or through bulk purchase, and save her cash?
“Use as little of our money as possible.”
Keep the cash and use credit. Sean has no favourite channel; he buys wherever the best deal is, but with her aim of letting the property pay for itself, new launches and bulk purchases fit better than subsale or auction, and her savings are worth more as runway for her business.
Why
Less cash in means more options later
A subsale bought with a bigger down payment may give RM500 a month of positive cash flow, while a new unit with a larger loan may only break even. Sean still picks the one that ties up less money, and spends the difference on furnishing the unit so it stands out to the best tenants.
A bigger discount beats a standard one
Developers give everyone the same standard 10% or so. A bulk purchase with a 20% to 30% discount lets you own the unit, furnish it and still leave your savings untouched; any spare cash can sit in the loan to cut interest while staying available.
Auctions carry hidden problems
She was lucky with a landed auction house. Of ten auction units Sean has heard about, one or two had problems, and high-rise ones bring questions about arrears, whether the developer still exists and whether the strata title has been issued.
Her business may out-earn her job
If her side business grows from RM5,000 to RM15,000 a month, it may be time to focus on it. With living costs of about RM4,000, RM400,000 in savings would let her quit and build the business on her terms rather than take every job just to survive.
What to do
- Make sure the property itself makes sense before choosing how to buy it.
- Compare the same project across all four channels when they overlap, such as just after completion when unsold, subsale and auction units all exist.
- If you have paid for an investment club, use its research and advisers before comparing deals yourself.
- Keep your savings as an emergency fund and business runway rather than spending them on down payments.
- If you are a first-time buyer, stay away from auction high-rises until you understand their risks.
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 #306 | DECIDING BETWEEN DIFFERENT CHANNELS OF BUYING
Sources & Verification Data
Summarised from Sean's full English captions for Asking Sean #306. The quoted answer is verbatim; everything else is paraphrased. Figures are as stated in January 2026. Sean is a customer of FAR Capital, the property investment club YX belongs to, not its owner, and he says he is biased towards its bulk-purchase deals. He also recommends a contact for insurer financing in the video.
