A Malaysian woman has shared why she decided to walk away from a RM500,000 house purchase after her husband unexpectedly lost his job, despite already signing the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P).
Her story came after a Threads user wondered how people have the courage to commit to homes costing RM500,000 and above, especially when no one knows what could happen to their jobs in the future.
Husband lost his job after they signed S&P
Responding to the post, the woman revealed that she had already signed the S&P for a RM500,000 property when her husband was suddenly laid off.
Fortunately, progressive payments for the property had yet to begin at the time.
Instead of continuing with the purchase, she decided to terminate the agreement.
She explained that the house required no down payment and she had only paid a RM500 booking fee, which was forfeited.
However, cancelling the purchase still came with other costs.
According to her, she had to pay RM4,000 in legal fees and another RM2,000 to the bank.
Would have paid RM2,000 monthly for 25 years
While losing thousands of ringgit was painful, the woman said she felt much more relieved after cancelling the purchase.
Had she gone ahead with it, she would have been looking at monthly repayments of around RM2,000 for the next 25 years.
She said the financial commitment felt especially heavy after her husband lost his job.
After terminating the purchase, however, she felt as though a burden had immediately been lifted from her shoulders.
The woman added that she is currently staying in the first home she bought and hopes that another opportunity will come along for her to eventually build a retirement home in her hometown.
In a follow-up comment, she said she now feels much more at peace and is simply focusing on paying off the debts she already has.
‘Peace of mind is a luxury’
Several netizens supported her decision, saying that taking a smaller financial loss now could be preferable to struggling with a large monthly commitment for decades.
One commenter wrote that it was better to lose several thousand ringgit than have to worry about monthly repayments for 25 years, especially when rental income may not necessarily be enough to cover the loan.
Another praised her for acting early, while one netizen summed it up simply:
“Don’t be afraid to downsize. Peace of mind is a luxury.”
The woman agreed, saying she now feels much calmer after letting the property go.
