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Buying Your First Condominium - 02 |
Skyrocketing property prices over the past few years have also prompted unmarried couples to buy real estate together in a desperate bid to get a foot on the property ladder, despite the potential risks should their relationship sour.
Michelle Lee (not her real name), a 27-year-old consultant for one of the Big Four auditing firms, said she and her 26-year-old boyfriend bought a new 798 sq ft condominium unit in Puchong in 2011 for RM270,000, splitting the cost equally. Their joint monthly earnings were RM7,000 at the time.
“Took the dive early before marriage because with the property market at the insane rate, it was hiked up year-on-year,” Lee told Malay Mail Online.
“If you waited for anything, you still wouldn’t be able to afford it. Inflation on property was moving much faster than anyone’s salary could grow. The risk of a couple breaking up was far outweighed by the risk of not affording to purchase and own property, which is why most people don’t even buy with their girlfriends or boyfriends, and instead form investment clubs with their friends,” she added.
Physiotherapist Geetha B. Anbalagan, 26, said she and her 34-year-old boyfriend — who have a joint household income of about RM6,000 — bought a RM328,000 sub-sale 800 sq ft condominium unit in Old Klang Road last year because rental often exceeded what they would be paying if they had bought a place instead.
“Can go to court to prove that we both paid or contributed to the house repayment and therefore, if we wanted to sell it, then the money would be divided appropriately,” Geetha told Malay Mail Online, when asked if she was concerned about the property should she and her boyfriend break up.
Living on credit
Financial counselling agency AKPK said in a fact sheet last January that the number of counselling cases it received increased from 4,368 cases in February 2014 to 6,581 cases in January this year.
More than half, or 56 per cent, of those who enrolled in AKPK’s debt management programme by the end of last year comprised young adults from age 20 to 40.
About 83 per cent of those who took part in the debt management programme have a combination of debt comprising housing loans, car loans and credit card debt, according to AKPK.
Trish (not her real name) said she and her boyfriend used to go out on dates three to four times a week to places like Starbucks before they moved in together to a sub-sale condominium unit in Shah Alam last year that they had purchased jointly for RM380,000.
“We’ve reduced our outings a lot since. We’re saving on unnecessary entertainment. Now, after work, both of us look forward to watching TV and cooking,” the 27-year-old woman, who works in the entertainment industry, told Malay Mail Online.
Trish said her 28-year-old boyfriend took a RM50,000 personal loan to pay for the down payment and legal fees. Their household income is about RM9,000 a month. Their savings were used to pay for renovation works that cost about RM30,000.
His monthly repayment for the personal loan is RM1,400 over five years, while she takes care of the RM1,700 monthly installments for the 30-year housing loan. He also pays for the utility bills and condominium’s maintenance fees that amount to about RM350 a month.
Trish and her boyfriend also pay RM700 and RM500 monthly in car loans for their Suzuki Swift and second-hand Honda respectively.
“It was hard to find property around RM300,000; it’s usually too far and the area security isn’t good. So, pay a bit more and get a property closer to town,” Trish said, citing Cheras as a too-distant location.
Trish’s previous lifestyle of frequenting cafes that charge about RM13 for a cup of coffee is shared by Jeya ‘Ganes, who says he used to go to Starbucks every day last year before cutting down to once or twice a week nowadays.
“I pay for everything using my credit card,” Jeya ‘Ganes told Malay Mail Online, adding that he tries to pay at least half of the bill every month.
Image is very important to the 27-year-old businessman, who drives a RM100,000 Mitsubishi pick-up truck that costs him a RM1,200 loan repayment every month, and who has an office located in the Intermark, a high-end mixed development in the city centre.
“It makes a good impression,” Jeya ‘Ganes said about his business address.
He also has a gold-coloured iPhone 6 that cost him RM1,500, the latest model he bought in a succession of Apple mobile products starting with the iPhone 3GS.
“Right now, everyone’s taking personal loans. It’s expensive to live in KL,” Jeya ‘Ganes said.
Source: TheMalayMailOnline
