Set Yourself You Up For The Future With ONE Good Property Decision
[Full Disclosure: I’m a licensed real estate salesperson with PropNex. Updating and maintaining this blog helps me condense and express my thoughts about the real estate scene in Singapore. Hope you enjoy the read! Feel free to ask me any question here, or drop me a DM on Facebook.]
Buying a property is one of the biggest financial decisions most people will make in their lifetime.
If you do it right, just one good property decision can set you up for the rest of your life.
📍 You get to profit and take home a nice sum (even after paying back CPF accrued interest)…
📍 Or perhaps upgrade to a home with more space…
📍 Or move to a more premium and convenient location.
If you make a really good property decision, you can even end up leaving a nice-size inheritance for your loved ones (even if you didn’t start with much)…
Or you can end up achieving what I call the “Ultimate Freedom”.
Most people are satisfied if they can do what they want to do.
But if you ask me Ultimate Freedom is the ability to choose to not do what you DON’T want to do.
This only happens when you have fulfilled all your basic living requirements (and have a nice sum of extra cash).
❌❌ But if you make a bad property decision, not only can it wipe out years of potential capital appreciation (money that could have been yours)…
You could also end up having to (or already have been) paying cold, hard cash out of your own pocket.
So don’t think a poor property decision only means you didn’t get to profit…
There are also REAL capital losses incurred.
This is why just one poor property decision can easily set you back years, even 1 to 2 decades.
I wrote about why and how this happens in one of my previous articles. In the article, I went in-depth on a real-life case study on how someone lost $400,000 over a supposedly “sure profit, won’t lose money” kind of property. You can check it out here.
So now the question is, how do you make a really good property decision so you
- Won’t lose money from owning a new property
- Get to profit and have more cash after selling or get to upgrade without eating into your savings
- Not only have enough money to fulfill your basic needs but also have excess for more (like the Ultimate Freedom)
After spending 12 years in the industry and having done more than two hundred transactions, I have come up with a property framework called the 7M Property Framework to help each of my clients make the best and most suitable property decision for them.
Through the 7M Property Framework, I have even helped clients stay in a Singapore property at a 20 year ago price tag.
If you would like to know how you can do so, you can contact me at +65 84845484 or thomastongs@gmail.com. You can also receive more real estate advice from me via Facebook and Instagram.
But if you would like to do your own “homework” first, then here are 3 things that you as a buyer can do to help yourself make a better property decision.
There are many things to take note of, but I chose these 3 because these are those that you as a buyer can definitely do.
It doesn’t touch on any technical expertise nor require you to have any experience.
But don’t be fooled by its simplicity.
You may think these points seem too obvious or simple — but it’s precisely so that’s why these points tend to get overlooked. You will be surprised how many buyers miss out on these 3 critical points when purchasing a property.
1) What’s A Good Property TO You?
First, you need to establish 🖐️YOUR definition of a good property.
To some people, it’s a property that is close to their workplace/parent’s house/child’s school.
This is their main objective.
They are willing to give up living somewhere with higher potential growth value to live in a place that is convenient for them/their family.
Whereas, some couples are willing to bear with some inconveniences in exchange for higher potential capital appreciation down the road.
This is why you need to ask yourself exactly what you are looking for.
I can’t tell you… In fact, no one should be telling you what a good property is or isn’t BEFORE you decide on what is a good property TO you.
A property that is a good property decision for person A may be a horrible decision for person B.
But one thing for sure, the best decision you can make is Your decision.
This is why I always make sure my clients know exactly what they want first (and if they don’t, we will figure it out and get there together).
Only AFTER we get this settled do we sit down and find the most suitable property and plan for you to achieve your desired property.
There’s no point talking or doing anything else if this point is not done first.
Otherwise, any property decision that is made will be sub-optimal.
2) Determine What Type Of Property You’re Actually Buying
When most people think about property types, they usually classify them into categories like “BTO”, “Resale”, “Condominium”, “Semi-detached” etc.
Not wrong, that’s one way of classifying.
But this way is not very helpful.
Being in the real estate industry for more than 12 years now, I can guarantee you most properties fall under 3 categories.
Yes, just 3 categories.
Simply based on which of the 3 categories your soon-to-buy or current property falls under, you will be able to…
💡 Determine the probability of you making a profit from your property
💡 Whether you can use it as a stepping stone to upgrade to your dream home
💡 Or whether you are actually losing money every single month
(Isn’t this way of categorizing much more helpful?)
I came up with a free, simple quiz you can do to determine which property category you fall under…
What type of property is best suited for you at your current stage…
And which property is best suited for your future goals.
3) Is My Heart Or Head Talking?
Believe it or not, when it comes to buying a property, the final decision tends to be more emotional than rational.
You would think an item costing hundreds of thousands, easily millions of dollars, would be made with even MORE rationality.
How could anyone spend millions emotionally?
But if you think about it…
When most people buy a property, most of them are not only buying it for themselves. They are also buying it for their partner, family, children…
They need to cater not only to their own needs but also to people around them and how they feel.
Now emotional decisions made from the heart aren’t wrong… They just tend to be more expensive.
Just look at Valentine’s Day.
The same flower can easily cost 100–300% more during Valentine’s Day compared to a typical day…
Yet people still buy them even though it’s not a “rational” decision. You can just buy flowers the next day and get it at the typical price.
So as we follow our hearts, we should also make sure our head is doing its job — helping you to stay rational and objective.
A wrong move when buying/selling property can easily be a 5–6 figures mistake.
How do you stay rational when buying a property?
➡️ Seek An External View
Now I’m not saying this because I’m an agent, but you should balance your views with an external opinion.
Best if it’s an experienced opinion for the subject matter you’re thinking about.
But just speaking about your thoughts with someone else can help clarify and make things clearer for you as you hear yourself speak.
You will be able to catch yourself (or have it pointed out by whoever you’re talking with) if your decision is overly emotional or is still objective.
It can be hard to get a clear view when your emotions are involved and when you’re too close to the situation, which brings me to my next point.
➡️ Step Back
Give yourself some space and time before making a decision. Don’t make or “emotionally lock in” a decision immediately.
Keep your options and opinions open.
As they say,
“Don’t promise when you are happy, don’t reply when you are angry and don’t decide when you are sad.”
Emotions cloud your decisions.
Step back. Let your heart cool down and your head have some time to work things out.
You want to look at the bigger picture instead of just focusing on your current needs and wants.
A property is a long-term decision and you need to consider your future needs and wants too.
Whether you’re looking to skip making expensive mistakes or make really good property decisions to set you up for life, I can help. Feel free to reach out to me for a non-obligatory appointment at +65 84845484 or thomastongs@gmail.com.
You can also receive more real estate advice from me via Facebook and Instagram.
