Property Investment Book by my good friend

I have always admired the spirit, tenacity and curious nature of my fellow property blogger at www.propertywaltz.com. She is willing to go out of her comfort zone to try new things and embrace life.  This week, her new book on property investments is published.
I am one of her fans who have pre-ordered her book and got a personalized autograph for it.
The book is simple to read, of a great size to carry around, and I love the colour printings and many photos shared by the author.
If you are a beginner in property investments, I would recommend this book for all the basic knowledge and calculations.
Well done, Anie, you are an inspiration to all young aspiring investors.  Dreams do come true!

Renesial Leong's Buy, Sell or Hold Seminar

I'm very thankful to have obtained a sponsored ticket to my sifu's seminar to be able to listen to her again in this current economic situation.  She looked just the same as 5 years ago - a happy, blessed person who has abundance of everything and is spending a lot of time doing charity work. She urges all of us to donate 5% of our passive income monthly to charity.  So many people around the world now need our help and if we are blessed, we then should give some of our wealth to help others.

Renesial in action

OK, back to her sharing today at the seminar.
In our current environment we face certain challenges and opportunities.
Challenges:
1. Rising costs of goods - fuel hike, electricity tariff, withdrawal of subsidies, GST implementation
2.  Rising costs of land - land price, borrowing costs by developers, compliance costs etc
3. Oversupply of certain types of properties - continuous building at neck-breaking speed in certain areas.
4. GST will increase costs of doing business in Malaysia, creating competitive pressure by other lower costs countries.

GST implications:
1. If buying commercial property offplan from developer and the completion stages falls after 1 April 2015, those completion stages will be subject to GST.
2. It is not clear whether rents of commercial properties are subjected to GST or not.  Landlords need to be aware when renewing tenancies that will continue over the GST effective period.

Opportunities:
1. Malaysia's ETP that aims to make our per capita income from US7k to US15k per annum.
2. Population has hit 30million in Feb 2014.  Good % of Gen-X and Gen-Y who will demand housing and business properties.
3. Greater KL will hit 10million population by 2020.
4. Low unemployment rates, best highway infrastructure among countries South East Asia.

In summary, given current situation, now is the time to either buy, sell or hold, depending on our individual current cashflow and holding power :-)

Renesial Leong's Mini-seminar 9th August 2014

I chanced upon my Sifu's facebook page announcing 100 sponsored tickets to this seminar today.   I am not sure if she will share very much in 3 hours, but I am always grateful to her for having taught the right strategies, and I am where I am today, on the way to financial freedom, because of her.
So I would want to see her again.
If you want to claim your sponsored ticket, you must make sure that you can attend on that day, so that you don't deprive other people of the ticket.
Visit: http://www.property-queen.com/

Lend a Helping Hand 2012

Have you ever read about the plight of poor children or patients needing monetary help to go for medical treatment, because their family cannot afford it?  There are so many unfortunate people who sometimes go through such hard times and when we read about them, we think, I can help 1 or 2, but not all, how helpless we all feel!

That's why this year my blogger friends and I are out to help in one way which we think can benefit a lot of people. Interested property investors who are just starting out can come and spend a day listening to the experience of like-minded people, and all the proceeds of the sharing session will be donated to charity. Last year, we gave it to NSTP fund, to help people with medical needs.  This year it would be to a similar channel.

We cannot do everything, but we can do small things that make a big impact in other people's lives.
If you would like to register your interest in attending this property sharing session, click here to fill in your details.

Venue: Dewan Satu Solution, Bandar Sri Permaisuri, KL
Time: 9am - 6pm

For more information visit PropertyWaltz, Pinjamkan Tangan Anda untuk Tahun Ini.

Property N Co Lelong Seminar

Property N Co successfully shared another 1-day seminar, this time focusing just on auctions and the know-hows.  A good day concluded with lots of learning and sharing.  Good times are best shared with friends and like-minded people, as Rohaniah Noor says, "aliens" who are out-of-this-world who are mad about property investments.

Anie at the intro

Lawyers who are specialists in Auctions

The Participants

Robert Kiyosaki at National Achievers Congress 2012, Malaysia

Robert Kiyosaki, famous author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, is coming to Klang Valley on 29-31 May 2012.  This event is the National Achievers' Congress, which Sara, Rohaniah Noor, and myself are planning to go.
But I was flabbergasted when I found out that the "early bird" price is RM297 per person.   Earlier, Rohaniah reported that the promotion through Groupon was only RM197 per person, but the Groupon offer is already over.

Having not received a regular email from the organizer (which I am on the mailing list), I was quite irritated.  How come they did not inform regular customers first?  So I wrote them an email to complain, especially when the staff who answered the phone was curt and not helpful.

Finally I got a reply today.  If I can get at least 10 people to join, we can still attend at RM197 each.  So we are calling on those of you out there who want to join us at this special price, and we register together.  However, this is only valid till end March, so please hurry if you want to join us; leave a comment below and I will contact you.

You can check out their promo price here at RM297.

This is Kiyosaki live in KL, in person.  A chance not to be missed and at RM197, a good deal for 3 days of mind-changing, positive energy seminar!

Financial Mastery Course

This was a great 2-days course full of calculations by Freemen.  A good course to master your financials.
We started with our Financial Freedom Number.  Although I have done this before, it was great to refresh and remind myself what is my pension fund and what is my properties value in order to support my pension cash flow.
This was followed by a session on setting up a company and the accompanying math. The general rule of thumb is to set up a property holding company for properties worth >RM1mio, otherwise it becomes not cost-effective given the costs of setting up and maintaining a company.
Next, we were sent to Bank Negara to obtain our own CCRIS record.  A CCRIS record shows your capability and dependability to service your loan instalments, and is the reference document that banks use to check your loan records.

Photo courtesy of http://www.propertywaltz.com

After lunch it was another calculation session for debt-service-ratio, followed by a good question and answer session by Michael Tan and Sandeep.

Sandeep at the Q&A

On the 2nd day, guest speakers in the form of a regional mortgage banker and a valuer were brought in, to give us understanding on how the numbers in properties are calculated.  At the end, a short lesson on joint ventures and partnerships, including the Deed of Trust and the rules of engagement are also elaborated upon.

This is certainly a great course for seasoned investors to find out more about how credit can be used to work to our advantage.  And clearly this benefited Sara, and our blogger friend who has more details about the course at her blog: Do You Master Your Property Financing?

Lend a Helping Hand 1, 2011

Dreams can come true.  Through the hard work and effort of the Property N Co members, finally we realized our dream about doing something for charity and at the same time benefiting others through our knowledge sharing.
The event was reported in the NST today: Bloggers hold seminar for charity.
To fellow bloggers, Anie and Fara, congratulations and great job!
I've named this post Lend a Helping Hand 1.  Because I believe there will be 2,3,4 etc subsequently.

Lend a Helping Hand 2011

OK, OK, I know I have had a terribly poor control of my time, rendering neglect of my blog.  To my readers out there, really sorry.
Anyway, today our gang met up to refine the details for the exciting upcoming charity event, and I was chided by fellow members for this very serious "sin".  So I have decided to spring back into action.  Less than 1 week to event, hope all of you readers can reach out to support a worthy cause while learning a tip or two about property investments.
Thanks for all your encouragement, readers, see you at the event.

For more information & registration, visit Property N Co.

What were the last 3 Self-Development / Business Books that You Bought?

Steve Aitchison, a blogger and self-development coach, asked his readers this question.

I think it is a great question, it is a reality check whether we are reading enough in areas we want to improve, not just novels and stories....

So I decided to list them down here, the last 3 books that I bought.

Now, to get off the computer and to do some serious reading ;-)

Anyone else wants to share the 3 financial/business/self-development books that they bought? 

Ho Chin Soon's Location, Timing & Branding Book

Sunday, 7th Aug - the last speaker at 5pm was Ho Chin Soon. Although tired from travelling and fasting during  Ramadhan, he gave his best at the talk about how the MRT system will affect properties and the economy.  And I remembered to bring my book for him to autograph, after the session.
And Sara, so impressed by him, immediately bought his new book on the spot to get his autograph too.

Commercial Property Buying Tips

Today was the 2nd day of the Property Investment Convention, which was again packed with information.  Here I pen down Gerard Kho's  (Reapfield) commercial property buying tips:

1. If you bought a commercial property from the developer, hold it for 3 years after vacant possession before selling.  That's because from his analysis, prices go up following the 3-year maturity rule.
2. Choose properties that have booming business all around - you can tell from the limited parking space.
3. Choose properties that face massive activities, not just the main road.
4. Choose properties that have residential homes supporting the shops.  Not a row of shops out of nowhere along the highway.
5. Choose areas that are big magnets (draws crowd). For example, Mont Kiara and Ampang are big magnets to expats in Malaysia because of availability of international schools and existing friends who live there.
6. More floors to the shop office does not equal more value.
7. 5 commercial property hotspots suggested are: Solaris Dutamas, Sri Kembangan, Kota Damansara, Kota Kemuning and Puchong.

Property Investment Convention

A sleepy Saturday morning saw me getting up early and all excited about the 2-day Property Investment Convention that members of Property & Co have signed up for.  Even though we share our learnings, there are so much more we can learn and it is important to keep ourselves updated.  So after dropping Wei at school for his chess class, I headed to Gardens, where there is a huge crowd of about 1000.

Sara and I, Anie and Fara, all had something else to do but we choose to spend our full weekend, learning.  

Fortunately the program was packed full of things to learn and never boring.  The speakers include Vincent Wong and John Lee from Wealth Dragons, Milan Doshi who needs no introduction, Dominic Lee about Hong Kong landbanking, George Lebrooy about REITs and Samantha Payne about Australian properties.  A Saturday well spent.  Tomorrow, can't wait to hear from Ho Chin Soon and get him to sign my book ;-)

Property & Co 2nd Session - July 2011

After 2 days of content-packed, fun-filled sharing session, we have successfully completed the 2nd sharing session by Property & Co.  This time, we had a change of venue which is conveniently located near LRT and monorail stations.  And we have a special guest speaker, AE, who shared his experience and tips from the bottom of his heart.
All in all, another fun and successful session with loads of positive feedback. The presentations were serious and fact-packed.  But the intervals were fun and relaxing, like this exercise session to wake participants up.

Choosing a Commercial Shop

Here is one point that I learnt from Dr Peter Yee regarding choice of commercial shop.

Photo  courtesy of Auswandern Malaysia http://www.flickr.com/photos/carworld/

For example, a shop which has the TNB box or tree right in front is less desirable if you have other choices.  It tends to block the frontage of the shop making it less visible to patrons.  Just one of the points to consider when choosing commercial property ;-)

Property & Co is back!

If you missed the first sharing session in March, now you have a chance to participate in the coming July session from Property & Co.  
This is a property sharing session that is run by a group of friends, all eager to teach how they make money in property investments.
Have a look at this website and decide for yourself if it is worth investing in education to jump start your property investments.

Peter Yee's Property Investment Guiding Principles

I would like to share some gems that I picked up from Dr Peter Yee's commercial property course today.
As always, his course is packed with practical knowledge and peppered with useful anecdotes and good humour.

1. Minimize your risks at every stage of property portfolio operations
- depending on the property cycle, an investor may need to take a fixed rate term loan for financing, and also choose the safer type of properties for investment
2. Do not lose money
- this means never go for negative cash flow properties
3. Economy is non-linear, it is cyclical
- so don't assume that all properties will go up in value all the time
4. Good time prepares for bad time
- if property cycle is in the uptrend, be prepared for the downturn
5. Property boom & bubble is certain, only the quantum and duration varies
6. You will not go wrong by buying positive cash flow properties
7. You will not go broke by taking profits
- from selling your properties
8. Ride out tough property investment cycle by focusing on quality property with good yield and high potential capital gain.
9. Property prices are determined by the forces of supply & demand at specific locations
- so study the supply & demand before taking the plunge.

My Property & Financial Handbook

During the first Property & Co seminar that was run in March, my friend captured this image of my notebook lying on the table after I took some notes.  This handbook has been started since 2009.  Prior to 2008, I never thought about financial knowledge beyond my daily job and spending within my means. Then one day in 2008, my friend invited my husband and I to join "Millionaire Mind Intensive" by T Harv Eker, live in Malaysia.
I am always grateful to that friend who invited me, because the MMI changed my life.  It opened up the possibilities of breaking free from a routine job and generating passive income, and spending time doing things that matter to me and my family.
So after that, J & I started attending property, sales, or investmemt seminar previews. From the previews we picked those seminars which we would like to learn more about, and really invested in education as Eker suggested us to.
So I hope you too, would start a financial investment notebook, where you put in all the notes taken down from the educational seminars that you attend.

Property & Co - First Sharing Session

Property & Co is a group of 4 friends with like-minded interest in property investments and sharing.  Today the first sharing session is run successfully with some close friends and blog-readers as participants.  The session is jam-packed with practical, hands-on information that is valuable for beginners in property investments.
Gambatte, Property & Co!  May you have many more sessions that will put other people on the fast-track to property investments.

Auction property course with Dr Peter Yee

Today Sara and I spent a day with Dr Peter Yee in his auction course.  It was filled with practical steps, great strategy and laughter throughout the whole session.

Dr Yee in his auction cap

One of the real-life properties for inspection

As shared by many who are inspired by him, Dr Yee is unassuming, always humble and shares from his heart.  It's been a great session, hopefully I can also be successful in auction properties after my first unsuccessful attempt.
I think I have 2 friends who are similarly inspired by him, as reported in How to Choose Investment Shop-Offices  and Property Virgin March 2011.