Investment mandate: your own rules before you view anything

Most regretted purchases look the same from the outside: the buyer started with properties instead of starting with themselves. First the picture appealed, then a rationale was assembled around it. A mandate reverses the order. It is a short document you write for yourself before you open the first catalogue: what you are buying for, over what period, what money you are willing to lock up, and on what conditions you say no. This page exists so that you leave it with that document, ten lines long.

Why this is written beforehand, not along the way

Walking away from a specific property is far harder than it sounds in the abstract. Weeks have gone in, you like the unit, the seller mentions the reservation deadline, and you have already pictured yourself as the owner. At that point any constraint sounds like excessive caution, and you start finding arguments against your own rule.

A rule written in advance, in a calm setting, behaves differently: you apply it rather than re-justify it. That is the only job a mandate does — it moves the decision out of the moment of pressure and into a moment of calm. It does not forecast the market and does not suggest what to buy.

Seven questions to answer

Answer in writing and briefly. If an answer does not fit into one or two lines, it is not yet formulated.

Where your answers contradict each other

Half the value of a mandate appears right here: incompatible requirements become visible the moment they sit next to each other on paper.

• Short horizon and high required liquidity. Property does not convert to cash on demand. If the exit may arrive suddenly, that is a constraint on the property, not a preference.
• Zero tolerance for shortfall and an expectation of high income. These pull in opposite directions, and one of them will have to be relaxed deliberately.
• A passive role and maximum rental performance. Someone performs the management; if not you, it costs money and reduces the net outcome.
• Spending in one currency, income in another. There is always a gap between them, and it should be named before the deal, not after the first transfer.
• A large share of assets in one property and no reserve. Then any unplanned expense turns into a forced sale.

A contradiction does not mean "do not buy". It means you choose what you give up — in advance, and in your own favour.

Refusal criteria: the core of the document

A mandate without stop conditions is a wish list. A refusal criterion is different in that it can be checked against a fact rather than a feeling. Poor wording: "if the project looks doubtful". Workable: "if by the reservation payment date I do not hold document X".

1. A missing document or confirmation that you declared mandatory.
2. A contract term you declared unacceptable in advance, and they refuse to change it.
3. The need to exceed your payment ceiling or dip into the reserve for the deal to happen.
4. A demand to decide faster than you can complete your checks.
5. A change to a key parameter after you decided: area, floor, timing, specification.
6. A gap between what was promised verbally and what the contract says.

It helps to append to each stop condition the phrase "and a discount does not compensate for this". A discount is usually exactly what gets offered to close an unfixable problem.

A sample mandate to copy for yourself

Below is a neutral template. It deliberately carries no amounts or dates — insert your own. The only requirement for your version: every line must be checkable.

1. Purpose. I am buying for ______ (one main purpose); second in importance is ______.
2. Horizon. I do not plan to sell before ______ and expect to exit by ______.
3. Money. For the purchase and all associated costs I allocate no more than ______, from my own funds, without borrowing from family.
4. Reserve. After the deal I keep an untouchable reserve equal to ______ months of my expenses; it takes no part in the purchase.
5. Liquidity. I understand a sale takes months, and I will not need this money before ______.
6. Currencies. I spend in ______, I expect income and proceeds in ______; the exchange difference is a risk I accept as mine.
7. Shortfall. A deviation of actual from plan of up to ______ is workable; more than that is a reason to review the strategy, not to add money.
8. Role. I am prepared to manage the property ______ (myself / through a management company / not at all).
9. Refusal. I walk away if: ______ is missing; the contract still contains ______; a decision is demanded faster than ______; closing the payment requires ______.
10. Revision rule. I change this document only when my circumstances change, not because I liked a particular property.

A finished mandate is one page you reopen before every viewing and before signing. Everything else on this site is a way to test a specific property against those lines.

How to use the mandate from here

The mandate sets the questions; the answers are calculated separately, in numbers, from your own data:

• What counts as return and which metrics must not be confused — return metrics.
• The full entry sum with all associated costs — purchase costs and effective net price.
• The occupancy at which rent stops covering costs — rental break-even.
• What risks exist and how to record them for your own deal — investment risks and the purchase risk register.
• What happens to the mandate in a bad scenario — the stress test.

The order matters: your limits first, other people's numbers second. The reverse order ends with the limits being adjusted to fit the property.

When a mandate gets revised

Legitimate triggers are changes in your life: income, the currency you spend in, relocation, family obligations, the size of your reserve, new or closed obligations. There is exactly one illegitimate trigger: a property you like does not pass the current rule.

If you do decide to soften a limit, write down three things — the date, the reason, and what you are paying for it: a smaller reserve, a longer horizon, less liquidity. A year later you will then see a deliberate decision of your own rather than "that's just how it went".

Frequently asked questions

What is an investment mandate in plain words?

It is a short document you write for yourself before you view any property: what you are buying for, over what period, what money you are willing to lock up, what deviation from plan you consider acceptable, and on what conditions you walk away. A mandate does not forecast the market and does not tell you what to buy. It records your own constraints while no specific property and no reservation deadline is pressing on them.

Why write refusal criteria in advance?

Because walking away is far harder once a specific property is in front of you: time has been spent, you like the unit, the seller is pushing. A criterion written down beforehand, in a calm setting, works as an external rule — you apply it rather than argue it again. Word it so it can be checked: not "if the project looks doubtful" but "if by the reservation date I do not hold document X".

Do I need a mandate for a single small purchase?

With one purchase it matters more, not less: there is no diversification, and the whole outcome rests on a single decision. The mandate can still be ten lines long. The point is not its length but that you set out the purpose and the stop conditions before you see the first property.

How often should a mandate be revised?

Revise it when your circumstances change — income, the currency you spend in, relocation plans, family obligations, the size of your reserve. Changing the mandate because you like a particular property is not a revision, it is abandoning the rule. If you do want to move a limit for one deal, record the date, the reason, and what you are giving up in exchange.

Sources

NovAsia editorial corpus on preparing an investment decision · practice supporting buyers in Phnom Penh · checked July 2026. This page contains no market figures — no rental rates, yields, vacancy levels or price growth: a mandate describes your own limits, not the market. This content is for general information only, is not individual investment, legal or tax advice, and contains no promise of any outcome.