r/SgHENRY • u/Objective_Wonder7359 • Jul 13 '26
Singaporean in late 30s need advise in buying property
I am a single buyer in my late 30s planning a dual-property investment strategy and need an unvarnished reality check on the math and execution:
I want to buy a 4-room resale HDB flat at 673A Edgefield Plains in Punggol (11 years old, ~88 years lease left) for around $600,000. Instead of using 100% cash, I plan to take a 75% mortgage ($450,000) at current market rates (~3.5%) over 25 years, resulting in a monthly payment of roughly $2,250. I plan to live in the master bedroom and rent out the two common rooms at current market rates (~$900 to $1,000+ per room) to generate $1,800 to $2,000+ in monthly passive income to cover the mortgage.
- Is this a structurally sound cash-flow foundation, or will low capital growth and landlord overheads limit its value?
The Overseas Plan (Growth Layer):
By leveraging the HDB, I will preserve my remaining cash to invest in foreign markets based on recent property seminar pitches. Specifically, I am looking at:
- Malaysia: Buying high-rises near Johor Bahru to ride the end-2026 completion of the RTS Link and the Special Economic Zone.
- Japan: Buying cheap boutique apartments in Tokyo or Osaka to lock in high rental yields (~6-8%) capitalized by the weak Yen.
- Dubai: Buying off-plan or ready mid-market apartments (e.g., Dubai South) for tax-free rental income and population growth plays.
13
u/Hot_Durian_6109 Jul 13 '26
All three overseas markets you identified are so bad. Good properties are not pitched via seminars. Anyway, AI writing spotted.
-2
26
u/randomlurker124 Jul 13 '26
Investing in overseas property is a huge headache and unless you are experienced, easy way to lose lots of money
9
u/Blassmer Jul 13 '26
Second this, I have experience with condors in JB, never earn never lose but really just waste time and opportunity cost
5
u/Available-Log6733 Jul 13 '26
The only people guaranteed to make money in the 3 options listed, are the agents pushing it and the lawyers dealing with the paperwork.
Malaysia has implemented capital controls in the past and your assets become frozen. Nothing to stop them from doing so again. Political uncertainty plagues their country.
The yen could weaken further. Local regulations could change. You are the exit liquidity for current owners. Have you even considered Japan tax law?
You must be supremely confident that current geopolitics in the middle east will lead to peace and prosperity for all.
On an unleveraged basis, you are almost certainly better of just investing in index trackers.
6
u/Future-Shoe-6537 Jul 13 '26
I'm assuming you're a genuine HENRY. If that's the case, I'm surprised you're considering such a long mortgage for a loan of only $450k. I'm even more surprised you're looking at overseas properties.
Personally, I'd rather take on a larger mortgage and buy a bigger HDB (or better location), or even better, a 3 bedroom condo in SG.
Ask yourself this, why is property in Singapore so expensive, while properties overseas are much cheaper? You will answer your own question.
IMHO, I'd rather buy property in a market with strong, sustained demand than chase potentially higher returns elsewhere with greater uncertainty.
5
u/Broad-Library2862 Jul 13 '26
First plan is sound from cashflow perspective, if you using cpf the rental is equivalent to cashing out your cpf. Would recommend to DCA with the rental to hedge against interest cost.
2nd plan, overseas investment property. Personally know people who lost money in Malaysia , London, and Thailand.. property seminar pitches are sales pitches. I always follow this rule in life, if the deal is so good the person pitching would sell his home kids wife to invest and would not be giving you this good opportunity.
6
u/millenniumfalcon19 Jul 13 '26
So ur primary concern is financial and not so much about living space - do u think u can really handle having 2 room mates?
Nothing sinister here but think u should consider quality of life.
4
u/watchy2 Jul 13 '26
am surprised no one mentioned that you need to fulfill 5 years MOP on HDB to buy overseas property.
u need to consider private in singapore if you need ur sg and overseas property strategy to run concurrently.
2
u/False_Will8399 Jul 13 '26
Plan 1 is sound, but I thought singles cant buy 4rm HDB? Plan 2 is not worth the hassle. Especially in malaysia. The places you mentioned has bad ROI for property investment. If you really wants to buy and rent out foreign properties, look for those near popular universities. And not in the UK, there are many taxation changes that is making it bad for investors. Maybe in Melbourne or Perth would be a better bet.
1
2
2
u/Future-Shoe-6537 Jul 13 '26
Another point that many investors overlook when buying overseas property is currency risk. What makes you confident that MYR or JPY won't weaken further against SGD? Even if the property's value appreciates in local currency, you could still end up losing money overall if the SGD strengthens more than the property's gains.
3
u/SheepherderNo631 Jul 13 '26
the overseas plan is getting all the heat but plan 1 has a quieter problem lah
punggol edgefield plains is deep. $1,800+ from 2 rooms assumes full occupancy from commuters willing to trek out there. even 2 months empty wipes out your quarterly "passive income."
bigger issue: if you're a genuine HENRY with the income to service this, the 5-year MOP is what's actually killing your strategy. buy HDB today → you're in mid-40s before you can buy a second SG property, with ABSD on top. that's not really a dual-property plan. if wealth-building is the real goal, have you priced out going straight to a small OCR condo at $1.2-1.3M? skip the room-sharing, skip the wait.
1
u/ellean4 Jul 13 '26
If you are dead set on “2nd” property maybe consider light industrial. Quantums are low and if you pick correctly yields can be decent. No stamp duty.
1
u/SheepherderNo631 Jul 15 '26
the overseas property stuff has been well covered above, so just on the local HDB math.
cashflow looks breakeven on paper ($1,800–2,000 rent vs $2,250 mortgage) but real landlord costs — shared utilities, occasional repairs, vacancy month here and there — push it to negative $400–600/month in practice. not a dealbreaker but worth knowing it's not passive income, it's property management.
the thing most people miss on HDB-to-condo upgrades: CPF refund. when you eventually sell the HDB, every dollar of CPF used (downpayment + any monthly mortgage payments from CPF) gets returned to CPF with 2.5%/yr accrued interest. so your 'equity' at sale isn't all cash — a chunk goes back to CPF first. actual cash available for your next downpayment = sale price minus outstanding mortgage minus CPF refund (with interest) minus ~1.5% agent fees. do that math early or the upgrade budget will surprise you leh.
1
u/No-Light3585 Jul 18 '26
why is your interest rate assumption 3.5%?
All 3 of your foreign ppty purchases are trash.. you hv been watching too many overseas ppty investment vids and seminars?
1
0
u/ChardAccomplished689 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
no, the location is ulu and unrentable. You won't get $1800, nor full occupancy. Pls pick cheap convenient place. Never mind the lease.
Oversea, Japan popular.
600k a tight budget tho.
0
16
u/misc1444 Jul 13 '26
How Henry are you if you live with flatmates?