Gym Chan, 25 years old, Portman College Marketing Director. At a young age, He has 3 times of property purchase experience. Despite that only 1 transaction was successful, and the remaining 2 transactions have earned him the experience in future journey.

Gym Chan Becomes the Youngest College CEO in Malaysia at Just 27 Years Old

Gym Chan, a renowned personal branding strategist, speaker, and coach, has recently been appointed as the CEO of PORTMAN College, making him the youngest college CEO in Malaysia at just 27 years old.

When he was 17 years old, he performed well in SPM and received a cash prize of RM10,000 from his father, all of which was kept by his mother. This bonus, plus the Angpao money that his mother helped him save since childhood, became the capital for his first property purchase when he was only 19.

The first transaction was cancelled, the South Link serviced apartment in Bangsar South and was successfully bought on the second trial, with an area of ​​4905 square feet and a price of RM400,000.

Gym Chan, who started working at the age of 17, pointed out that when he was a child, he was very materialistic, and the money earned from temporary work would be used to buy technology products or pursue famous brands.

After attending college, he learned the knowledge of financial management from the dean, and he wanted to invest in the real estate because it is an asset that will increase in value. In order to achieve his goal, he is actively managing his own finances carefully.

He lives a very frugal life, driving a Proton Saga, because to him a car is only a mode of transportation.

He shared that if you do a good job at personal financial planning as early as possible and have stable savings and capital, you can take advantage of opportunities, such as good real estate prices that you can afford. Conversely, if there are not enough funds for good real estate, it is not an opportunity.

Gym Chan was the first to buy a house among the interviewees.
In 2015, when he was 19 years old, he followed the dean of the college to visit the real estate exhibition, saw a project, analyzed the relevant conditions, and decided to start when he found it met his criteria, using his saving to pay the deposit.

Don’t be afraid to solve the problem
“I got a full-time job before I went to college, so I have payment records of employee provident fund and social insurance, and I have proof of income, plus a joint name with my dad, to get bank loan approval.”

He went on to say that the dean of the school who went to school was an entrepreneur and an investment expert, and his practice of education included taking students to visit industry exhibitions in person, teaching them business and investment principles.

“That’s how I learned the dean’s investment method.”
However, the first home purchase was not successful, but some experience was accumulated.

“I gave the deposit and successfully applied for the mortgage. Later, because the developer has not signed the sale and purchase agreement, I decided to cancel it.”

Gym Chan said that in order to cancel the transaction, it took some time to get back the full deposit after writing back and forth and negotiating. He emphasized that when buying a house, do not be afraid to solve the problem.

He also added that he was very cautious when buying a house for the first time and did not want to make mistakes, because the first time is important to everyone. If he is stuck in the first mortgage, he will limit his future opportunities.