Investing wisely in property

My eldest daughter was asking me some advice about investing in property. She was looking at some property out of KL and wanted my views on it.

I told her that I expect the property market to go on a downward slide when GST kicks in next year. At 6% there will be be another round of rise in GST to 10% in 2016.

At a recent talk in GST, this accountant who claimed to have connections with some top people told us that Japan's economy went on a downward slide after GST came into force. His prediction was that our country would also experience a recession when the GST is imposed next year just like what happened to the economy of Japan.

Now I wish to put in a proviso here i.e. I am no property expert as I do not have in my stable any property other than the one I am staying in. 

Even this property was bought with God's blessing. We did not have money for a down payment back in the 1980s. God just brought to us a seller who desperately wanted to migrate. It ended up that we got the property for RM20k less than the market value as the money was given to us (on paper) by the seller.

However I do have a piece of agri land in Bentong which I bought with my friend but that purchase was a failure from day one. I prefer to put this land far at the back of my mind and can only pray for a compulsory acquisition to take me out of this bad investment.

I gave my daughter a caution - I am no property expert as I have no experience whatsoever in property investment save for the Bentong land which I consider a flop.

My daughter says she intends to buy property for rental income and capital appreciation. She says she will read and research the property market before making any decision.

Well, I told her that it is good if she has excess money. As for me even if I wanted to buy property, I could not possibly afford to do so as I have no excess funds due to my heavy financial commitments. Even if I have, I think I would prefer to spend it on holidays and missions and other church-related activities. 

Life is short. My desire is to live it glorifying God and bringing others closer to Him!

Anyway I remember a property investment which my father made years ago when he was alive. 

His bungalow in Tanjung Bungah, Penang was sold for a very small sum of RM120k during the 1980s economic recession when Anwar was the Finance Minister and Soros was meddling in currencies. At that time, I had just started work but could not afford to give him more than RM500 a month as my pay was RM1,600 gross and I had just got married.

My father had to sell the house as he wanted the funds to support my younger siblings to pay for their tertiary education. At that time the property market was on a downward slide and foreclosures were the norm. The price he sold the house for was considered a good price as house prices were depressed during the economic crisis.

My late father decided to sell the house as he needed the money. I wonder....if he had not sold it, the value of the house would have been RM1 million now (30 years later)!

I have come to realize this that a property should only be bought when we have the power to hold it long term. 

If we need to sell it to help others then we should like what my father did.

Property, assets and other possessions should be held lightly. When our loved ones need us to sell the property to help them out for a noble and essential cause like funding their higher education then we should do so.....

Never regret the decision to sell.

Would I still invest in property during slow times? I don't know and will have to wait and see whether the economic experts will be proven right or wrong.