Based on my observations gathered in the course of my Secret in Making Money in Property seminars, I would like to share the following key points. For the ease of writing, I will use the “newbies” to represent those keen investors who were taking the initial steps into property investment.
Checking with peers (another newbie)
In this case the newbies tend to seek advice from their peers who are newbies too; this could be due to their comfort level in sharing information as they could be school mates and/or start up their working lives around the same time and have many common live topics to share. I have no doubt the peers advices were out of good intent and willingness to share. Unfortunately to be investors is very similar to be parent, all the experience learning from readings will better prepare you to be parent but parenthood is live long journey and real live encounters. To be the investor, you really have to walk through the path. Input from another newbie is good information reference and advices from experienced investor will serve as guide. It is you action will make you the investor.
Just follow the crowd
When friends and relatives get together, some common topics are “what to investment and where to invest”. Similar to the herd mentality in stock investment, newbie may just put their money in the same development by following the close friend or relative whom had bought into. Again I am not saying the friend or relative were wrong but following the crowd without knowing your own investment objectives may not be the best for you.
Yet to understand your own investment objectives
The most common statement I learnt was “If no rental then I will stay in”. This is easier to say than done. Many newbies may not have thought through by buying the “investment” property, it may not eventually fit the family own stay purposes. Unless it is very similar environment, amenities and similar size, other than that; how can your new investment venture be turn into your own stay with minimum inconvenient and ease of assimilation? Understand your investment objectives and set the right priority in your fund allocation will definitely help in your decision making process.
No down side/contingency planning
Our life journey will not be smooth sailing all the way and always favorable to us. What happen when the situation turn against you? Are you able to fund your investment for at least 6 months if you lost your source of active income? Do you have rainy day fund in the event your family may need additional spending for some unforeseen circumstances? We should lead an optimistic and positive outlook life but do not underestimate the “stress” when thing do not turn up as what we hope for. Having some form of contingency planning in your investment journey will make you a stronger investor.
No basic homework done
In Singapore context, the housing data are very transparent; we don’t need the big time analyst to provide the report to make some good judgments in the property investment. There are plenty of website and also URA website to refer to and able to give sufficient information on the selling price, rental rate and location analysis (Singapore being a small country also allow us to be on site physically). We should not make the investment decision by “hearsay” or just taking the words from friends, relatives and/or salesperson. To be savvy investors, we must learn to do homework and it is not difficult to learn to do the homework well.
In my Secret in Making Money in Property seminar, I will cover the process in property acquisition, selection, financing, risk management, renovation tips, home value improvement tips and advance strategies in making money. I will also demo the live interactive usage of the websites to gather housing data and estimate the enbloc potential as well. Being a newbie or experienced investor there are something for everyone in my seminar. As long as you are willing to learn, I will be more than happy to share.
Towards our financially savvy journey.
Wei Teck – Property Coach
Apr 2014
www.proplaunchsg.com
www.blissfulproperty.com
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