By
Leena Saldanha
A young reader wrote in to me a few days ago. She said she finished reading Real Rich in under 12 hours. And that she thought it was a book everyone should read. Her top 2 favourite chapters in the book, she went on to tell me, were the ones on Smart Buyers and the one which said Loans are GOOD.
As a writer, it is always great to receive such feedback. But there was something different about this reader – she was a young woman, in her early 20s, and she was reading about real estate, writing to the author to discuss the ideas in the book… This young lady intrigued me.
So, I wrote back to her almost immediately. And asked if she’d like to share more. What follows is the top 5 reasons she and I together reached about why young people should start investing in real estate, real early.
- TIME
Time, as the book says repeatedly, is a key ingredient if you want to get Real Rich! It is only logical that the earlier you start, the more TIME works for you. According to my young friend, she had a job that paid her about 40k per month. She was only able to afford a small home, on the outskirts, for an EMI of about 15k. She had never thought of buying a home before she read the book. But now, she said to me, “If I park this 15k in an EMI, before I know it, I will own a home, rent it out, earn money through rent, sell the home, and be able to put down a deposit for a bigger home! Cool, no?”
- PARENTS
This came as a surprisingly sweet and positive insight for me. My friend, let’s call her M, said, “At our age it is absolutely fine to go and ask our parents for a loan. Most of us will not have money for our own contribution, for the deposit, etc. Doesn’t matter. Worst case scenario, our parents will say No. Best case scenario, they will happily help out.” I found this solid thinking. And would only like to add that if your parents, of any other family and friends are able and willing to help out, take the help, return their money, but never lose out the opportunity to jump into real estate simply because you are too shy or too proud to ask for help. In real estate, nothing is possible alone. It takes a village to raise a child. And something akin to that to buy your first property.
- DISCIPLINE
My friend M is willing to pay an EMI of 15k. Right now, she lives with her parents. So, she has little to no living expenses. Without her commitment to the EMI, she shops. And eats out. And generally, fritters away her pay cheque. Committing to a real estate purchase is committing to discipline. It is committing to fewer shoes and dresses and dinners and parties. Is that really such a sacrifice, when weighed against the benefit of getting to own your own real estate at such a young age? According to M, the answer is a resounding, “Not at all!”
- HEAD START
Buying real estate early in life gives you a head start. When the responsibilities come piling up, because they will, you will already have taken care of the biggest aim, that of owning real estate! When others are scrambling around trying to figure out how to manage the monthly groceries and the kids’ school fees and the rent and the day care – you would already be sitting on a piece of property that you own. If you can give yourself that kind of a head start in life, why would you not?
- MUSCLE MEMORY
By the time you are in your mid-30s, which is about the time people start thinking of investing in real estate, you will already have built up the muscle memory of what it takes to own property. And this one is important. It’s like learning to play the piano and knowing how to play the piano. When you know, you simply play. Because your fingers have muscle memory. Same principle. You will no longer agonise about how to buy, where to buy, how to get a loan, who to approach. If you become an early buyer, you will already know. And nothing compares to that feeling – of knowing what you need to know!
That’s our list. And my friend M will, no doubt, come back to me with more additions to it. Will update you on her progress.
If you know a young person like M, gift them a copy. You could change a life.