Hey everyone,
I know I’ve been out of action lately. Since I’ve returned from my vacation in the US and Canada in March and April this year, I haven’t done much content creation. Instead, I’ve been focussed on changing the trajectory of my life and that is, to eventually move out of Singapore.
Today, I want to open up about my experience so far in selling my home and share my dilemma that’s been occupying my thoughts lately.
Why the move? I’ve lived in this little sunny island for about 19.5 years since my mid-teens until now and it seems that going through life is starting to feel… redundant. I’m sure there are others out there who might feel the same and to that, I’d like to believe that there’s more to life than just working day-to-day. I yearn to find something to live for outside of my comfort zone. I’m going to live life in an adventure!
Over the last few months, I have played up in my head all possible scenarios I could think of -a la Dr Strange- and that simply took up time and energy. I have an inclination to overthink things and then I find myself going down to the rabbit-hole of analysis paralysis. Sometimes I wish I could just control the thoughts that go through my head but I guess that’s just how mother nature built me to be.
There’s an upside to this though, the more I dream of a life yet to be lived, the more excited and alive I feel. There’s so many choices I have to make but the most major one is – to sell off my home.
I’ve been a fan of Dave Ramsey just before the pandemic began. Every single time I listen to calls in his channel I just know, without a shadow of doubt, he’ll say to me in a southern drawl, “The house has got to go. You need to move to a more affordable place and eat rice and beans until you make it.”
And that’s exactly what I’m about to do. Well, except eating rice and beans everyday. *silent farts*
Looking ahead, I plan to pay off a home from the proceeds I’ll get, in cash so I could live more freely. Have you checked out the interest rates recently? It’s bonkers.
The problem is, Singapore is a small place and there isn’t much of an option to purchase another property without burning through any profit one may have made after selling one. It is for this reason why I would rather just move out of the country, be it temporarily or not, aside from experiencing life as it is.
WHAT THEN ARE MY OPTIONS?
ONE, move out with all of my money. Ok, slow down honeeeey. I don’t even have a job available overseas yet neither do I have some form of residence permit. But having accessible funds is… comforting and feels secure. What if I buy a property in the USA or Canada and I don’t get a residency? Or worse, how do I sell my theoretical house if my work pass would have been cancelled by an employer and I have to come home?
THEN buy a more affordable house in Singapore and live off the rent. Yes yes, this makes sense. With what I could make from the sale, I could buy either a 1-bedroom condominium with one bath or wait for 15 months to be eligible to purchase an HDB (public housing) flat.
A dear friend of mine advised me that it is imperative to secure a base before moving out for security. I thought the advise was gold, because I’d never know what would happen in the future eventually. In any case, If I left with all of my money in the bank- it will be eaten up by inflation. It’s best to secure a home where I’m from before venturing into the unknown.
BUT who’s going to live in a 1-bedder flat when I’m not in Singapore? How am I going to make money off it in the short term, at least? Will anyone be interested in buying it in the future considering it is already costly? The allure of purchasing a home immediately is very appealing to hedge inflation and there’s no doubt that owning a property in Singapore has always been a solid investment. Furthermore, the idea of calling a place “Home” is undoubtedly special.
ON THE OTHER HAND, the option of purchasing an HDB flat would be generally be more budget friendly. However there are several limitations to this as for instance, I will not be able to sell the house the first five years of occupying it. Neither could I bequeath it to a non-Citizen if I ever I cease to exist in the face of planet Earth. To add a tinge of complexity, I am impacted by the temporary rule in place which bars me from buying one in the next fifteen months.
ANOTHER OPTION TOO would be to buy a home under construction. Doing so would free up my funds the first few years and pay for the interest progressively for what was disbursed until the construction project is fully built and THAT presents a whole new category of problems and opportunities.
I’m in a quandary. This dilemma is not just a financial matter but also envisioning my future and figuring out truly matters to me. It’s like I’m being asked to see through a smokey crystal ball and I can’t see through it.
Do you have any tips or advice? What would you do in my situation?
Cheers and have a lovely rest of the day!
Xoxo,
Gio
Gio Gomez 
Leave a comment