Meet Elson Tan, a charming young gentleman with a special knack for properties. This 30-year-old heartthrob does not only have the good looks, he has the wits as well. Graduating with a Master’s degree from Deakin University, Elson began his career as an architect before he kick-started his property investing journey a year later in 2014. Today, he managed to secure two luxurious properties at the youthful age of 30, mainly through years of thrifty spending and disciplined savings.
Turning Childhood Dreams Into Profitable Realities
The first property purchased by Elson was “Lakefront Residence” by MCT Berhad, back in 2014. His second, “The Colony” by Macly Group, came two years later in 2016. According to him, the reasons why he bought those properties were due to their strategic locations, in addition to his passion in architecture and investing.
“I have always dreamt of designing tall buildings and skyscrapers since little. Thus, it was a no-brainer for me to become an architect when I grow up due to my passion. Today, I have managed to realise my lifelong ambition and had established a firm understanding how buildings were designed and developed in the process.
This has inherently placed me at a great advantage in the real estate industry and allowed me to purchase two excellent properties, which I believe, will be great investments in the future,” Elson quips.
I Was Motivated To Secure A Home
Many young Malaysian adults are currently unable to find and buy a house to stay in this overvalued property climate. Seeing how rapidly the price of properties has shot up for the past 10 years, Elson was quickly led to purchase his first property in 2014 due to his fear of being excluded from the property market.
“What got me started investing in real estate was the initial shock that I felt when I first saw the surging property prices from the year 2009 to 2014. Back then, a question about my ability to afford and own a house kept circling my head, and I knew that I have to take a quick and decisive action to secure my future, or at least to have a roof over my head.”
“That was when I began doing researches on real estate and eventually became obsessed with it,” Elson reveals.
He also mentions that most of his knowledge about the real estate was self-thought and internet was his main source of gathering information. This is because there are many knowledgeable investors who are willing to share their experience and tips over the net. In fact, he would also attend property investment seminars occasionally to receive some tips and updates.
Family Support & Good Qualification Are Crucial
For Elson, he believes that there are no secrets in property investing and anyone can do it if they put in some time and dedication to research and gather information about it. He does, however, states that paper qualification and family support are very important as they had greatly helped him in the process of acquiring his first two properties.
According to him, he would not have the ability to finance his two-premium serviced apartments if not for his good paying job and qualification. He is also thankful to his parents for supporting his education and acting as his guarantors.
“First of all, I considered myself to be very fortunate with a good paper qualification from a good university. Without it, I wouldn’t have imagined myself being able to purchase two properties so early on. Also, I always remember my parents’ advice to ‘carry a loaded gun before making any shot’, which means that one has to be packed with knowledge and of course ‘start-up money’ before taking a plunge into any kind of investments, especially real estate.”
“So, after working for a year and saving enough money to pay for the down payment, I finally get to purchase my first house. That period of time was quite gruesome to me though, as I had to significantly cut down on my entertainment expenses as well as fancy foods,” he divulges.
Good Credit Records & Proper Budgeting Are Essential Too
Apart from good paper qualification and family support, Elson also explains that personal credit record plays an important role as well. He recommends home buyers to improve their credit ratings first so that they will have an easier time when applying for mortgages in the future. One way to do so is through the application and use of credit cards and personal loans.
In addition, home buyers should calculate their budgets based on the discounts and promotions offered by the developer. As most of the new projects offer incentives such as free SPA, legal fees and waiver of down payments, one must work out a repayment plan that would incorporate their maximum affordability against their salary and a sufficient amount of contingency funds.
My Golden Rule of Real Estate Investing
Although Elson does not possess any secrets in real estate investing, he does strictly adhere to several golden facets of his life that include working within a personal limit, understanding the market trends, listing out any possible unforeseen items and setting up a contingency fund. He also advises home buyers to buy a property at the soonest time possible because the “perfect moment” to buy one will never exist.
“Buy properties when you are young because there’s no right time to buy. Properties will just keep increasing in price, and by the time you think it is the best time to buy, you would have already missed a lot of opportunities.”- Elson Tan
Always Do Your Homework & Research Beforehand
It’s rare to encounter someone as pleasant and as successful as Elson at such a young age. At 30, he has already owned two luxurious properties that most would have died dreaming of. However, as stellar as his life is, he remains humble by being extremely grateful to his fortunate life and family. He would also like to
He would also like to advise young home buyers to do thorough researches and understand what are their needs and wants before taking a plunge into real estate. This is because many people fail to distinguish the differences between those two and often mix them up.
Sometimes what you want may not actually be what you need. So, you need to be clear on the type of properties and locations you are going to buy, the purpose and growth potential of those properties and whether or not you have enough holding power to withstand any potential downfalls.
Mangalesri Chandrasekaran, Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email mangales@propertyguru.com.my
