This story was submitted by Josephine Sabastian
It was in the year 2005, during Mother’s Day celebration. Instead of the typical daughter surprising mother with a gift, I received a surprise gift from my mother instead – RM1,000 cash. My mom wanted me to use the money to make a booking fee for my first home.
I was not prepared at all! I was only 25 years old and not a risk taker for sure!
I had no knowledge about buying a house; I had not looked for any house or visited any show gallery; I had not checked the latest developer launched projects; so basically, there was zero planning! But again, my mom saved my time by picking a project located in the city centre.
The moment she passed me the cash, I started arguing with her saying that she’s wasting her hard earned money on me. And I was very sure of not getting my mortgage loan approved. Well, I was a student plus a freelance tutor with no salary slip. Hence, I can’t produce a salary slip to even apply for a bank loan.
But my mom insisted that I gave it a try. She said that I would not lose anything by trying and the sales person encouraged me to try as well. According to her, if three banks rejected my application, the RM1,000 booking would be refunded without any administration fee.
So I decided to try my luck and provided all the necessary documents the bank required. Since I did not have salary slips, I provided them with my receipt book which held the details of my students’ fees.
Unfortunately, many banks rejected my application even without taking a proper look at my documents. Well, I can’t blame them as I was unemployed. But I didn’t lose hope still. I kept on trying.
After almost a month, I received a call from a bank saying that my loan was approved. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. However, I was also required to pay for the MRTA and 10% downpayment. I was saving some funds to pay my fees, which covered some of the downpayment; and my mom gladly helped by loaning me some funds.
My first home is now located in the midst of a rapidly growing city and I’m earning good rental yield every month. I am thankful to my mom who encouraged me to invest in this area at such a young age.
I have also bought another property for my own stay in the city centre, where I’m staying with my family. And it was my mom who encouraged me again! She made me do the impossible and I’m thankful to her for believing in me more than I believed in myself.
Do you have a story to share with us on how you chose your first home? Share it with us and stand a chance to win RM10,000!
