Real estate investment is a goldmine that many young people and millennials often overlook. Every day, you wake up at 7:00 AM, face two hours of traffic jams, deal with your boss, and come home exhausted. By the end of the month, your salary disappears just to pay off basic commitments. How long can you […]
Real estate investment is a goldmine that many young people and millennials often overlook. Every day, you wake up at 7:00 AM, face two hours of traffic jams, deal with your boss, and come home exhausted. By the end of the month, your salary disappears just to pay off basic commitments. How long can you survive in this tiring 9-to-5 cycle?
That is why we want to share a massive secret with you. While you are sleeping, taking a vacation, or simply drinking coffee, there is an asset that can work 24/7 to make money for you. That asset is rental property. In this educational guide, FAR Academy will teach newbies how to make real estate work hard for them.
In today’s fast-paced world, relying on a single source of salary is extremely dangerous. Inflation is rising rapidly. The prices of daily groceries, fuel, and necessities are getting more expensive. Yet, your monthly salary remains the same.
Because of this financial pressure, many millennials are willing to take on part-time jobs after office hours. Some drive for e-hailing services like Grab. Others deliver food for Foodpanda. There are also those who work hard doing live streams on TikTok until midnight just to earn extra cash.
While this hard work is commendable, do you realize a major flaw? All these side hustles still use the concept of exchanging your time and physical energy for money. This is called active income. If you fall sick, get tired, or take a day off, the money stops coming in. You are trapped in a cycle.
This is exactly why you need passive income. The concept of passive income is simple: you set up a system once, and the money keeps flowing in repeatedly. Applying the right Property Investment Strategies gives you the golden opportunity to build future wealth. You can achieve financial freedom without sacrificing your precious rest time.
How can a house generate money on its own? The concept is actually very simple and straightforward.
First, you buy a property unit. Then, you rent it out to someone else. The rental money you receive from your tenant every month is used to pay your monthly installment to the bank. If the rental income is higher than the bank payment, you get extra cash in your pocket. In the financial world, this surplus is called positive cash flow.
Let us look at a simple newbie-friendly example to make it totally understandable:
This RM 500 goes cleanly into your pocket every single month without fail. Now, imagine if you own three or four houses running on this exact same concept. The money comes in continuously. While you focus on your primary job at the office, your real estate assets are busy generating wealth for you.
This is the biggest myth that always haunts the minds of millennials: “To buy a house, I must have RM 50,000 cash sitting in my bank account.”
This simply is not true anymore. Today, property developers are incredibly creative. Many new housing projects, especially condominiums or serviced apartments, offer “Zero Downpayment” packages. This means you do not need to pay the traditional 10% upfront deposit.
But it gets even better. Some projects even provide “cashout” or cashback to the buyer after the bank loan process is completed. Here is how the formula works in modern Property Investment Strategies:
Buy New House ➡️ Developer Discount & Rebate ➡️ 100% or 90% Full Loan ➡️ Receive Cashout Money
How is it possible to get this cashout? The developer gives a discount or rebate on the selling price, but your bank loan is still applied based on the original Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) price. The advantage of this cashout money is massive for a smart investor:
Another thing that makes millennials terrified to start investing is the cost of home renovation and furnishings.
Buying a bed, wardrobe, sofa, refrigerator, and installing kitchen cabinets can easily swallow thousands of ringgit. If you leave the house completely empty (a bare unit), it will be quite difficult to command a high rental price in a competitive market.
However, did we not just mention that you can get a massive cashout? Yes! You simply use that exact cashout money to fund your renovation. This is one of the smartest Property Investment Strategies taught by experts.
You only need to do this renovation once when you first receive the keys from the developer. You do not need to buy ultra-luxurious or excessively expensive furniture. Just aim for a minimalist, neat, and aesthetic design, similar to the IKEA showroom styles.
Millennials and young professionals today absolutely love houses that are aesthetic and Instagrammable. When your house is beautiful and fully furnished, it becomes incredibly easy to attract high-quality tenants who are willing to pay a premium rental rate.
So, technically, you are decorating the house using the bank’s money (via cashback), but your tenant is the one helping you pay it back every single month. Is that not brilliant? This ensures your out-of-pocket expenses remain low.
Some beginners often complain to FAR Academy, “But I don’t have the energy to entertain tenant complaints every day. I am already so exhausted from my office job.”
Relax, do not panic. Long-term rental investment is very different from managing a homestay or an Airbnb business. With an Airbnb, you must clean the room, change the bedsheets, and reply to customer inquiries every two days.
For standard long-term residential rental, which is one of the most stable Property Investment Strategies, you only need to find a tenant once a year (depending on the tenancy agreement contract).
Here are top tips to choose high-quality tenants to avoid future headaches:
Furthermore, you must ensure the tenancy agreement is stamped legally. You can refer to the legal rental guidelines and stamping procedures on the official portal of the LHDN (Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia). Stamping protects both you and the tenant under the law.
Once you have secured a fantastic tenant, your only job every month is to check your bank account on the 1st of the month to ensure the rental money has been deposited. It is truly that easy!
To help you clearly visualize the difference between your own physical labor and the “labor” of your rental property, let us look at this simple comparison table.
Understanding this difference is the core foundation of all Property Investment Strategies.
| Features | 9-to-5 Salaried Job | Real Estate Investment |
| Working Hours | 8 to 10 hours a day (following your boss’s orders). | 24 hours a day, non-stop, even on weekends. |
| Physical Presence | Mandatory. You must be at the office or worksite. | Not required. You can be sleeping or on a holiday. |
| Income Growth | Salary increases maybe once a year (if you are lucky). | Property value and rental prices rise with the market. |
| Capital Used | You use your time, physical energy, and car petrol. | You use bank loan leverage (using other people’s money). |
| Impact of Inflation | The purchasing power of your salary shrinks over time. | Property prices go up; you become wealthier. |
As you can see, the benefits of implementing Property Investment Strategies far outweigh the traditional mindset of relying solely on a monthly paycheck. Real estate provides a hedge against inflation.
To ensure you get the best educational value from FAR Academy, we want to introduce a few extra Property Investment Strategies that newbies can explore as they grow their portfolio.
1. House Hacking
House hacking is a fantastic strategy for beginners. You buy a multi-bedroom house, live in one of the rooms, and rent out the other rooms to tenants. The rental income from your housemates pays for the entire bank mortgage. You essentially get to live for free while building equity in a valuable asset.
2. The BRRRR Method
BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, and Repeat. This is one of the most famous Property Investment Strategies globally. You buy a rundown, Below Market Value (BMV) property, fix it up (rehab), rent it out at a higher premium, and then refinance it with the bank to pull your original capital out. Then, you use that same capital to repeat the process! Check out our guide on Below Market Value Properties to start hunting.
3. Subletting (Rent-to-Rent)
If you truly have zero capital and cannot secure a bank loan yet, subletting is a viable choice. With the landlord’s strict permission, you rent a large property, partition it nicely, and sublet the rooms individually. The total room rental you collect will exceed the master rent you pay the landlord, giving you instant cash flow.
In conclusion, depending solely on a 9-to-5 job is no longer a safe financial plan for the future. You need a reliable system that makes money for you passively.
By applying the Property Investment Strategies discussed above, buying with zero downpayment, utilizing cashback for aesthetic renovations, and securely finding quality tenants, you can build a highly profitable real estate portfolio. You do not need to be a millionaire to start. You just need the right knowledge, courage, and action.
FAR Academy is dedicated to helping newbies succeed in the property market. Start planning your first purchase today, leverage the bank’s money, and let your rental properties work tirelessly for your financial freedom. Remember, the best time to buy a property was twenty years ago; the second best time is today. Master these Property Investment Strategies now, and your future self will thank you.
For newbies using Property Investment Strategies, high-rise residential properties like condominiums or serviced apartments near public transport (like LRT or MRT) are the best. They have high rental demand from young working adults and students, making them easier to rent out quickly.
Yes, absolutely! As long as your Debt Service Ratio (DSR) is healthy and your credit report is clean, you can secure a bank loan. You can also combine your loan with a spouse or a sibling through a joint loan to increase your borrowing capacity.
Every investment carries some risk. However, real estate is considered one of the safest long-term investments. The risks (such as bad tenants or vacant months) can be highly minimized by applying the correct Property Investment Strategies, doing thorough market research, and screening your tenants properly.
Gross rental yield is calculated by taking your total annual rental income, dividing it by the property purchase price, and multiplying by 100. A healthy rental yield typically ranges from 4% to 6%.
