![\"house](\"https:\/\/www.propertyempire.com.my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/house-price-index.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLiving on credit<\/p>\n
Financial counselling agency AKPK said in a fact sheet last January that the number of counselling cases it received increased from 4,368 cases in February 2014 to 6,581 cases in January this year.<\/p>\n
More than half, or 56 per cent, of those who enrolled in AKPK\u2019s debt management programme by the end of last year comprised young adults from age 20 to 40.<\/p>\n
About 83 per cent of those who took part in the debt management programme have a combination of debt comprising housing loans, car loans and credit card debt, according to AKPK.<\/p>\n
Trish (not her real name) said she and her boyfriend used to go out on dates three to four times a week to places like Starbucks before they moved in together to a sub-sale condominium unit in Shah Alam last year that they had purchased jointly for RM380,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve reduced our outings a lot since. We\u2019re saving on unnecessary entertainment. Now, after work, both of us look forward to watching TV and cooking,\u201d the 27-year-old woman, who works in the entertainment industry, told Malay Mail Online.<\/p>\n
Trish said her 28-year-old boyfriend took a RM50,000 personal loan to pay for the down payment and legal fees. Their household income is about RM9,000 a month. Their savings were used to pay for renovation works that cost about RM30,000.<\/p>\n
His monthly repayment for the personal loan is RM1,400 over five years, while she takes care of the RM1,700 monthly installments for the 30-year housing loan. He also pays for the utility bills and condominium\u2019s maintenance fees that amount to about RM350 a month.<\/p>\n
Trish and her boyfriend also pay RM700 and RM500 monthly in car loans for their Suzuki Swift and second-hand Honda respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard to find property around RM300,000; it\u2019s usually too far and the area security isn\u2019t good. So, pay a bit more and get a property closer to town,\u201d Trish said, citing Cheras as a too-distant location.<\/p>\n
Trish\u2019s previous lifestyle of frequenting cafes that charge about RM13 for a cup of coffee is shared by Jeya \u2018Ganes, who says he used to go to Starbucks every day last year before cutting down to once or twice a week nowadays.<\/p>\n
\u201cI pay for everything using my credit card,\u201d Jeya \u2018Ganes told Malay Mail Online, adding that he tries to pay at least half of the bill every month.<\/p>\n
Image is very important to the 27-year-old businessman, who drives a RM100,000 Mitsubishi pick-up truck that costs him a RM1,200 loan repayment every month, and who has an office located in the Intermark, a high-end mixed development in the city centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes a good impression,\u201d Jeya \u2018Ganes said about his business address.<\/p>\n
He also has a gold-coloured iPhone 6 that cost him RM1,500, the latest model he bought in a succession of Apple mobile products starting with the iPhone 3GS.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, everyone\u2019s taking personal loans. It\u2019s expensive to live in KL,\u201d Jeya \u2018Ganes said.<\/p>\n
– BOO SU-LYN, The Malay Mail Online<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Strapped for cash, millennials buy their first homes entirely on credit KUALA LUMPUR \u2014 Jeya \u2018Ganes Kisnan, 27, took a RM20,000 personal loan to settle the legal fees for his RM720,000 condominium as he could only afford to pay the down payment, even after getting a 7 per cent discount. The young entrepreneur, who runs …<\/p>\n