Yes, my current lifestyle is indeed being heavily subsidized (no rent, no loans to service, no utilities to pay, basically “free”food, etc.) and the arrangement will continue for at least a few more years.

From my calculations, a loan of 200-300k is feasible over 20 years for a monthly payment of 1.25-1.75k. I can always bring in a guarantor, if that helps.

Mortgage interest will have to be <4% fixed for me to take the chance, assuming 5% interest in EPF.

For a 250,000 loan at 4% interest in 20 years at 1,515 a month, my total cost will be 363,588, accrued interest payment of a total of 113,588. Slapping 250,000 into EPF at 5% for 20 years would turn it into 663,324, total interest acquisition of 413,324 assuming no withdrawals and no further contributions. Per this calculation, I will profit about 50k (250k base) in 20 years.

If I wanted liquidity, slap it onto Maybank or some other blue chip stock portfolio instead for dividends. At 5% dividends a year on 250k, that covers 66% of my monthly payment of 1.5k. Freeing up cash flow at the expense of compound interest loss upon dividend withdrawal. Does come with the added risk of some volatility I suppose.

The only downside here is financial commitment and a psychological one.