How To Avoid Traps In Real Estate Investment Part 2/2
Forbes.com has a great article on 8 Real Estate Mistakes To Avoid. This is part 2 of “How To Avoid The Traps In Real Estate Investment” . Part 1 is here. Three takeaways from the Forbes.com article are 1. Many first time property investors do not do enough research before buying properties, 2. In an age of ubiquitous blogs by property “gurus” , who can you trust to give good unbiased advice to first time home buyers, and 3. Where can you find the financial toolkits to get FTHBs started on evaluating investment properties.
Don’t fret.
Check out 🤠’s Dua Sen on how FTHBs and even seasoned property investors can avoid some of those 8 mistakes buying investment properties.
My two property blogs - 360 KLCC and Real Estate Marketing 101 -are based on my 20+ years experience investing in KL high end investment properties.
My blog posts cover basic property investment topics like :
1. How to get an estimated CMV (current market valuation) for any property FREE, find out a property's USPs (unique selling propositions), discover if a property has a "X Factor"- not all properties have an X Factor, get historic 5 year property transactions price and rentals PSF FREE (from PropertyGuru Pricing Insights), obtain a trendline projection of property prices PSF FREE from a leading property portal (from EdgeProp Analytics)
2. A checklist of things to avoid when buying auction property
3. Updates on KL High End auction properties (as at 31 May I have posted 7 updates of KLCC & KL Golden Triangle auction properties). My KL auction property market update #7 is here
4. How to evaluate seafront property investments. At the request of K, a KL based former mentor in property investment, I wrote a long property review of a new (2020) luxury seafront serviced residence, Straits Residences, comparing it to the older Quayside Seafront Resort Condominium (launched in 2013) next door.
4. I am not a property "guru" but I do follow some Social Media influencers like Ikhram Merican - see YouTube video below, a bit long at 40 minutes but full of great advice and insights, Charles Tan of kopiandproperty.com has short snippets of property industry news and finally, Sean Tan ( a very prolific YouTuber on https://www.youtube.com/c/iherng) . I think they all offer good advice to property investors. All three have Masters degrees, by the way.
Post Script & Disclaimer
Don't fall for the hype
OK, some of you might now be thinking of the adage, “Can RC walk his talk?” Why should you follow what I say or think when there are plenty of property gurus around telling you can be a property millionaire without any money down? Just sign up for their investment club (and get 20% -30% discounts on hot properties) or pay $$$ to attend their property investment seminar (where the “secrets” of how rich investors invest will be taught).
Folks, save your moolah. Before you call your Real Estate Professional, why not read my blogs for “ Perspective, Analysis and Insights”. (Many real estate agents do). Remember to educate yourself on the fundamentals of property investment, be sceptical of promises of capital appreciation and ROI figures that sound too good to be true, and finally don't take on too much risk by over leveraging (make sure you can always pay your loan installments)
What are my USPs?
Perspective - More than 20+ years experience as a KL high end property investor. Served in 4 owners' committees. Former MC chairman of a luxury condominium in the heart of KLCC.
Analysis - In another lifetime, I used to be employed as a “professional stock picker” aka investment analyst. I also hold a MBA from Bradford University's School of Management where I graduated in the top 25% of my class circa 40 years ago.
Insights - In my view nobody else is really covering property investment topics that investors want to see, E.g. “What is the impact of rising KLCC auctions on property values (is the tail going to wag the dog?)”, “Is the recovery of the High End KL condo market going to be a dead cat bounce?”, “Are KLCC high rise buildings really a hedge against inflation”, “Are KL properties near a mall worth more ?”
I am not a registered real estate agent. If you are interested in buying investment properties contact a BOVEA registered valuer or real estate agent.
