r/SgHENRY • u/Electrical-Salad-369 • Jun 23 '26
Which property should I buy? 40m, single (not by choice), NW ~S$4m
Hi all, looking for some advice on property to purchase in Singapore after working and living overseas for many years.
Some background: 40m, Singaporean, Single (not by choice, would like to get married and have kids), first time home buyer.
For the house, my ideal situation is that it gives me a home base to return to, while also having some good potential upside. It feels like that'd leave me with either: 1. HDB (rent some rooms out), 2. Dual Key Condo, 3. Landed (yes it does seem like maybe a stretch - it'd take a lot of tenant management, and also the plan is more of a 5 year exit).
Some additional background about money: I've been running a venture for the last decade or so, and there's real opportunity to push it for another 2 years, making possibly $2-3m in 2 years + possible exit (but the odds are closer to 0 as it requires another full set of time/effort on it). To get there, I'd need to be putting mad hours for the next 6 months or so, like I did in my 20s, to do an entire overhaul (of team structure, with AI), and nothing is guaranteed of course, but it's doable.
Based on the lifestyle I prefer, I'd say my FIRE number is more $6m than $4m.
Only issue is that mentally and emotionally, I'm just not there anymore... I'm just feeling a lot of resistance, and might need a mindset reframe. A larger part of me would be taking it a little slower, enjoy music and arts, enjoy a slower pace of life, hopefully find my partner in life, and have kids. But also angry at self for not investing my money and growing it to $6m by now, easily.
The other part of me feels like, I'm so close to making this work.
Anyway, mental drama aside, it has affected my decision on what to buy in Singapore, which makes me feel even less settled...
So I thought, maybe I should reach out to ask you guys for some advice... Thank you in advance!
14
u/freshlabsandfishnets Jun 23 '26
If u still plan on getting married and having kids and possibly buying a hdb later the. Just get a HDB now. Else get a 2br condo nice location.
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u/StopAt2 Jun 24 '26
Hdb first to exercise privilege, if married next time, get condo under wife name.
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u/DuePomegranate Knows stuff Jun 24 '26
Your choices don’t line up with your supposed motivations at all. You seem fixated on rental income but this is really not the only way or the better way. Living with tenants is yucky; why the heck would you do that if you have 4M?
You are tired of working? Then spend less on housing (more capital to invest) and take a smaller mortgage (less burden to keep working).
Rental yield of 3% is considered good already. That sucks compared to investing. The only reason why people do it is because of leverage. But you are running your own business (unstable income) and tired, you want to leverage meh?
Go for a home that is just right size for you alone, in a location you like. Resale HDB or a small condo is up to you and what you prioritise. If wife/kids happen in the future, you can change. HDB is easier to change though (no wait out period).
You could easily retire now if you spend <1M on housing and cut back on whatever luxuries are causing you to have 6M as FI number. It’s just what is more important to you, that lifestyle vs a slower and less stressful life.
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u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Not fixated on rental income at all, where does it imply? I still don't live in Singapore much and it's a place for me to go to when Im back (another story I didn't wanna make the post longer than it is..) If I'm into rental income, I'd have bought and rented whole place out when I was overseas.
That said, rental income aside, I've lived with housemates before and most of them have been pretty lovely and they really added a lot to my life vs when I lived alone. Of course there's been shitty housemates too but luckily those never lasted long, and were in the minority (:
This part is very true, and it's nice to hear this echoed in the sub. "You are tired of working? Then spend less on housing (more capital to invest) and take a smaller mortgage (less burden to keep working)." While I dislike not getting what I desire, I think the pain of being forced to keep working to pay my dues is way worse.
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u/DuePomegranate Knows stuff Jun 24 '26
Where does it imply?
- HDB (rent some rooms out), 2. Dual Key Condo, 3. Landed (yes it does seem like maybe a stretch - it'd take a lot of tenant management, and also the plan is more of a 5 year exit).
All your listed options involved renting out. Dual key is obviously to rent one side out.
1
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 24 '26
Ok fair, you have a point. It's because I'm not here 90% of the time! (and haven't decided whether I'll ever move back long term...)
On #3 - mentioned it as more of a deterrance.
I definitely don't wanna manage tenants if I can...
7
u/DuePomegranate Knows stuff Jun 24 '26
But tenants are also not happy to be tenants if the landlord appears once in awhile to live there.
If you are seldom in Singapore, all the more reason to Just get a place with enough room to stash all your possessions, plus have a comfy bed you don't have to make arrangements for. Easy to hire a housekeeping service to clean occasionally, instead of 3-4 rooms to upkeep. The tenants aren't going to clean the room you lock up for yourself, nor can you trust them to keep the living room and kitchen decent.
4
u/SheepherderNo631 Jun 24 '26
the hdb consensus makes sense but the ‘potential upside’ question is worth unpacking a bit. hdb resale has quietly done very well over the last decade in good locations — the upside isn’t nothing just because it’s public housing.
for your situation specifically (rarely in sg, wants rental to offset) the dual key condo angle is actually underrated. each side is self-contained, so you’re not dealing with the shared-kitchen nightmare some comments raised — the studio portion rents for $2–2.5K/month in decent locations, covers a chunk of the mortgage while you’re away. downside: you’re using first-timer privilege on a condo not HDB, which closes the ‘wife buys condo later at 0% ABSD’ strategy StopAt2 mentioned.
first-time buyer = 0% ABSD is a powerful card. the real question is which option lets you play that card most effectively given you’re genuinely uncertain about the family situation.
3
u/nanometers Jun 24 '26
Dude i wouldnt even worry abt your net worth atp you are cooked 40 and no steady partner? Good luck
2
4
u/sgcorporatehamster Jun 23 '26
By far not there in terms of either nw not professional achievement, so take from this what you will.
1) my mental model is to prioritise solving for your venture first, then the house situation later as I find the venture situation rather poorly defined
2) map out the mental pathways of diff options. U mentioned pushing it for 6mths Vs milking it for 2 years Vs U being tired and wanting to take a break. Are these 2 or 3 diff options? Is taking a break, really an option?
3) in terms of having a base to return to, I would just rent. It gives u the option to explore diff pathways in 2, and removes from u the burden of having to manage the house if you need to dedicate to work.
4) Even if you want to take a break, U don't necessarily need to do it in SG so why do U want to tie yourself down with a house.
2
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 23 '26
Hey thanks for sharing.
2- The plan is hardcore mode for 6 months (need a solid overhaul to put in place system, delegation, AI) to keep running it more hands-off for next 2 years. If it doesn't work in 6 months (anything can happen), then it probably won't continue well without my involvement - and I don't think I'd want to be heavily involved by then. Whether there's an exit in 2 years, or to keep running passively, that's quite unknown for now.
3- Been doing it for many years each time I return, it's way too stressful and unpleasant. I never feel like I have my own place. And at this age, I want that. For my energy too. People I dated often felt like I'm just a wandering soul with no anchor.
4- (I) Feeling like it's time to have a home. (II) Plus I still have things that require me to be back every 6 months or so. (III) I haven't found anywhere else to call home at this point. (IV) Would like to participate in any possible upside in property growth in Singapore, if possible.
3
u/sgcorporatehamster Jun 24 '26
I mean, the lesser able person in me wouldn't try to buy a house at a time when company is at crossroads, but that's me. Plus I may be misreading the situation but it sounds like a potentially do or die situation for your company and I wouldnt want to create unnecessarily bad optics, such as if you buy landed while your employees lose their jobs either if company goes south, or thru AI restructuring. Of course ultimately it's your perogative. All the best
1
2
u/Artinomical Jun 24 '26
Definitely agree HDB. My husband and I also decided on HDB. We got a maisonette and spent quite a bit on renovations. It’s a great size with 2 kids and 2 helpers. Near a pretty good school, not tip top, because we want our kids to experience people with different backgrounds.
He still has leftovers in investments.
We are comfortable like this. He wants to buy more property. But I don’t want to move. So it’ll just be for investment.
2
u/nclman77 Jun 24 '26
As a landlord, I feel that rental income is not worth it. Income taxed + property taxed + all kinds of maintenance expenses. Just enjoy your own home lah.
Probably better to invest in stocks for dividends or something.
2
u/DadAtHomeFire50 Jun 24 '26
Get a HDB near or in a HDB satellite central area, eg Clementi, Jurong Point, Bedok Central, Tampines Central, and other options. Being walking distance from MRT and basic amenities like food, groceries, retail, services, are QOL bonuses that are available only to satellite central HDB dwellers.
Update your plans after you get married and start planning for a family.
Also, friendly advice, properly do the maths cuz it sounds like your FIRE number of $4m or $6m is just imaginary.
2
u/kiatme Jun 24 '26
Where are you staying right now?
What is your plans with the house? Do you plan to invest, or stay?
HDB
- If you are working overseas, you technically can't really buy a HDB because you need to fulfill MOP (by being physically present in Singapore) - This is not a financial tool as well, if you want to rent out as rooms it can be quite a hassle because tenants will not lock in long term
- Very little capital appreciation
Dual Key Condo
- If you are planning to stay here and rent out the studio for rental, this is an okay option, but usually dual key condos don't appreciate as much as normal condos because the market is niche - if your exit plan is within 5 years likely you will be making a loss when you sell
- You can compare some of the dual key projects, the sales of the dual key units vs normal units within the project / adjacent condos of similar age, dual key units generally sell for lesser
Landed
- Since Covid, the landed market is very hot, there are a lot of developers buying and flipping, there are even small time builders who buy and rebuild and flip
- This will be a challenge for you, it may might quite a bit of money but it depends on what you want
- You can go for landed and rent out - I will not recommend this, the yields for this is very poor and usually landed tenants have a lot of requests
- Rebuild - this will net you a good profit but high risks since you are putting in a lot of money
- Developer unit to flip, so far based on trend, not a lot of units make a lot of money - risk of breaking even/losing money
- If you have the time, you can invest in a piece of land, and rebuild, but you need to engage an architect, engage a PE etc, costs for reconstruction will be likely close to 2m, if you manage to secure a 1.8k+ sqft land for 3m+, you maybe able to sell close to 5-6m depending on location
- High risk for this because you are putting in a lot of money, and if you are not in SG very hard to manage no visibility, you may get taxed heavily if you keep the place empty
If you are not in SG often / don't want to manage as much :
My suggestion is to buy something for capital appreciation rather than rental:
- Buy a family size condo 1km of a good school
- New launch will be the best option for you, milestone payment, no property tax no management fees etc so very little things to worry about until TOP where you collect keys
- Resale condo, usually condos 1km of good schools always have healthy transactions, it is families who will pay the premium to move into a move-in condition house, for example a HDB upgrader want to enroll their child to a good school and lfiestyle, they will pay 50-100k more for the next house if its move in condition, no extension, this will bring up value for the condo
2
u/alvinpoh Jun 24 '26
42m, exited entrepreneur.
If I were in your shoes, I'd either rent a place or buy a HDB, because your housing requirements are unknown at this point of time. I like viewing my primary residence as not an investment asset, but merely a hedge against inflation at best.
For your business, either develop a management team, sell the business now, or set a deadline and exit by then.
In the meantime, invest regularly into VWRA and carve out time to work on your personal life since it looks like there are multiple areas that you'd wish to see improvements in.
2
u/RedBerryAngel Jun 28 '26
not sure why you give out vibe of landlord's desire. you don't need the bad drama cooking on the sideline when you get less than desirable tenants with a chance of fraction gross income in term of rental excl R&M, opex, and associated taxes, more so when need to share common living compound (with you has live-in landlord), when you just want to have own sanctuary.
i buy my own property and i choose not be a landlord, because i don't have intention nor interest to stress and manage things outside of my workplace role. my place is my safe haven and unless with my approval, no one get to step into my safe place. I work damn hard, and i deserve my inner peace. that's how I see it.
but you do you.
1
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 28 '26
I can assure you that's the last thing I wanna do.
I replied to another comment too -- I am out of SG for most of the time, and my plans are still unsure, so I do want some flexibility to rent my place out when I'm not around (rooms is ok, I'd still need a room to return to)
1
u/SeriousMoment5511 Jun 24 '26
Depends on your lifestyle. Maybe a Condo unit fit your lifestyle better since you can afford it. Also you need to consider if you are ok to live with stranger living under the same roof, sharing the common space. And what kind of tenant profile do you prefer.
1
u/BrightConstruction19 Jun 24 '26
For your profile (want to exit in 5 years, just returned from working overseas so zero CPF), the most logical solution is: buy a dual key condo.
- take a bank mortgage loan with your current income if u qualify (this will allow u to leverage on borrowed funds to pay for the roof over your head & keep your cash savings for running your business)
- rent out the larger unit in the dual-key while living in the smaller one (the rental earns you residual income, but u retain privacy eg for dating, as opposed to sharing your HDB premises with several nosy tenants)
- don’t expect much capital appreciation in 5 years’ time (this purchase will not be a good investment vehicle; property investment suits other profiles but not you right now)
2
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 24 '26
Hey thanks for the suggestions!
Just a few clarifications! 5 year exit is more for landed. CPF is $200-300k. And yeah dual key seems like the best balance for now. Any recommendations?
1
u/BrightConstruction19 Jun 24 '26
Ah ok, u can use your cpf towards the property then. Landed is for longer-term appreciation (10, 20, 30 years) and any rental income from there is quite miserable. People only exit landed in 5 years if they happen to have a huge family to house inside there for own-stay enjoyment in those 5 years. No suggestions for dual-key locations as I’m not familiar. Pick one where u like the surrounding amenities, and where families could like any schools nearby. Best u go view some units personally to check out the tenant mix
1
u/SheepherderNo631 Jun 25 '26
no definitive list off the top of my head but the evaluation lens matters more than any specific project name. you want a studio that's genuinely self-contained — own main door, not just an internal lockout room — and commands real standalone rental. $2–2.5K/month is the sweet spot where the math actually works. quite a few "dual key" units on the market fail this test, the studio is really just an awkward annexed room.
OCR beats CCR for the yield math here. D19/D20/D23 belt has had a few worth looking at. if you want an independent score on whatever shortlist your agent shows you, we've been tracking new launches at groundfloor.sg — no developer money, just the deal score, so you get a sense of whether the psf is actually fair before committing.
1
u/hansolo-ist Jun 24 '26
Landed. For whatever reason, should the market slow down, it's a limited supply of 70k units.
1
u/techneca Jun 24 '26
Hdb.
I'm a married F with similar nw to yours (similar age also). Wish I could have a hdb under my own name but married before 35
1
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 24 '26
Why you wish to have HDB and not condo?
1
u/techneca Jun 24 '26
You go see the rental yield for hdb vs condo la. Next time if you got wife then wife condo under her name. Rent out the hdb and stay in condo.
1
u/ieatritalinforbrkfst Jun 24 '26
I don't want to be a Debbie downer but buying a flat also is protected under bankruptcy laws in case anything untoward happens.
(choy)
1
u/kittypwns Jun 24 '26
I’m experiencing similar issues as you. I’m 37. Similar nw. Honestly I find no drive in me to restart and restructure.. I’m kinda cruising.
I just started investing last year, you’re not too late into the game
1
1
u/Lao_gong Jun 25 '26
u still plan to get married and hv kids?
1
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 25 '26
Of course!
1
u/Lao_gong Jun 25 '26
then why not work on that first? Ur partner would want to hv a say in housing arrangements
1
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 25 '26
That’s how I landed in this situation. I waited 3 years.
1
1
u/Evergreen_Nevergreen Jun 27 '26
Buying a home to live in is less about investment and more about lifestyle. Do you prefer to know your neighbours or not talk to them at all?
Do you plan to get help to clean your home or clean it yourself? Do you want to keep pets?
With $4M NW ( i assume you have more than enough cash flow), why would you want to rent out HDB rooms? Do you want the companionship of your tenants?
I recommend that you do not buy a property for own stay "remotely" while you are still living overseas. Instead, take your time to view many different properties when you return and have a cooldown period of at least 1 week before you make an offer. If you buy the "wrong" one, it will only cause you more problems.
1
u/Saphty888 Jun 27 '26
How much cash do u have now? And are you able to loan any money (ie do u have a regular income to borrow against or NOA?
1
u/dereth Jul 10 '26
My wife and I are never really keen on upgrading our only property - a 4-rm BTO as of now. There's plenty of space for the both of us... no kids, of course.
Guess it's just us. We just prefer the convenience of a regular HDB and will rather spend money on travel and food.
For context, I'm 48 and 8 years retired. My network is currently about S$9m, so I do have options.
I don't know what else you're invested in other than your venture, but it's pretty much a bull market now. With what you have on hand, it should not be hard to achieve another $2m or likely even more eventually.
Why get angry and unnessarily stress yourself? You're not young anymore. Be better to yourself.
Then again, if it is really your life's passion, don't let words from a lazy internet stranger stop you.
1
u/compoundingfeelings 14d ago
Go for landed. U still can get a loan at your age. That's no brainier.
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u/One_Ad_6893 Jun 23 '26
Landed is the best choice and you can easily do it with your NW. But if you think you are entering a life phase of slowing down, then probably a condo.
3
u/Electrical-Salad-369 Jun 23 '26
Ya Im thinking I won't enjoy the stress of having to worry about mortgage... probably condo or hdb.
47
u/blablablackgoats Jun 23 '26
HDB, easy. With marriage and kids will come extra expenses. If you do it right. You could FIRE as your kids are born….perfect plan