Chinese man, 30, quits job after buying 14 flats and now lives on rental income

A young man from China is being widely talked about these days. Fan Junji has retired from work at just 30. He no longer works, yet rent keeps coming into his account every month.

Fan is from the Jilin region of China. He moved to Changsha, in Hunan province, for work, where he was employed in internet healthcare sales. He had to work 18 hours a day, with work from the time he woke up until he went to sleep. There were scoldings from the boss and the stress of targets, and he did not get proper sleep or food. Eventually he grew so tired of it that he decided he would no longer depend on a job.

He then chose to invest his money carefully. Instead of buying an expensive flat in a big city, he began buying older, cheaper flats in Changsha. He knew such flats were available at low prices and could be rented out after some repairs. That was his plan.

Over the three years from 2023 to 2026, he bought not one or two but 14 flats. He spent more than 2 million yuan on them, roughly $300,000. Most of the flats are in Changsha, and some are small. Some he got for just 150,000 yuan, while his costliest flat is priced at 245,000 yuan.

Of the 14 flats, he has kept two for himself and rented out the remaining 12. The flat that cost 150,000 yuan brings in 1,700 yuan a month in rent. The rent on the costlier flat is 2,200 yuan. Together, the 12 flats earn him 17,800 yuan a month. Over a year, this comes to 213,000 yuan. The rent arrives in his account automatically and he does not have to do anything.

However, none of this was easy. For three years he worked 18 hours a day, saved money and then invested it wisely. Rather than buying an expensive flat in a big city for show, he put his money into cheap flats.

Many young people today want to get out of the grind of jobs. Fan's story is now being discussed across China. People are saying that retiring at 30 is truly possible, provided there is the right planning.