Property Soul - No B.S. guide to property investment : dirty truths and profitable secrets to building wealth through properties

Aktive Group Pte. Ltd.

10 Anson Road #10-11

International Plaza

Singapore 079903

E-mail: publisher@aktive.com.sg

Web site: http://www.aktive.com.sg

Copyright 2014 by Aktive Group Pte. Ltd.

Aktive Learning is an imprint of Aktive Group Pte. Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN (Paperback): 978-981-07-9389-0

ISBN (E-Book): 978-981-07-9390-6

National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Property Soul, 1972- author.

No B.S. guide to property investment : dirty truths and profitable secrets

to building wealth through properties / Property Soul. Singapore : Aktive

Group Pte. Ltd., [2014]

pages cm

ISBN : 978-981-07-9389-0 (paperback)

1. Real estate investment Singapore - Handbooks, manuals, etc.

I. Title.

HD890.67.Z63

332.6324095957 -- dc23

OCN870502489

Disclaimer

The material presented in this book is for informational purposes. While care has been taken to ensure accuracy and timeliness, the author makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information contained within.

About Property Soul

Property Soul is a property enthusiast. After relocating from Hong Kong to Singapore in 1998, she worked in technology companies while investing in the local real estate market in her spare time.

She bought her first condominium unit for rent in 2002. In the next 412 years, she built up a portfolio of five private properties. By 2008, its total value had more than doubled. In 2010 and 2011, she sold four of the properties, realizing a net profit of 80 to 120 percent.

In 2010, she set up a personal blog PropertySoul.com, with two main goals:

1. To share her experiences as a property investor in Singapore; and

2. To exchange ideas with fellow investors on accumulating wealth through properties.

In the subsequent three years, she has written over 120 articles and attracted a regular group of followers. Her posts are frequently quoted or reposted at Yahoo News, TheFinance.sg, Singapore Investment Bloggers, Propertyguru.com.sg, Propwise. sg, Singapore Business Review, Singapore Daily, Temasek Review and other wealth blogs.

In 2014, she founded the Property Club Singapore ( http://www.PropertyClubSg.com ). The mission of the club is to equip private property buyers, investors and owners with facts, knowledge and skills in property purchase, investment and management. Workshops, talks and networking sessions are organized regularly for club members.

Property Soul holds a Masters degree in International Marketing from the University of Strathclyde and a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Foreword

It is rare to find a knowledgeable and experienced property investor who is willing to spend the time and effort to share his or her knowledge unselfishly. Most successful investors are too busy looking for deals to bother sharing, and in fact would rather others not know their secrets to prevent getting crowded out.

So when I came across Property Souls blog, I was so impressed that I asked her permission to re-post articles on Propwise.sg, and also encouraged her to put together a book, to benefit both beginning and advanced property investors and buyers.

And she did not disappoint. The No B.S. Guide to Property Investment is literally an encyclopedia of Property Souls wisdom on profitable property investment. It will help you to navigate the murky ocean of half-truths and lies you will be exposed to as you make the largest purchase of your life, potentially saving you from costly mistakes that could take you a decade to recover from.

Im thrilled to be a part of Property Souls publishing journey, and hope she reaches a much-deserved wider audience. As for you, dear reader, if you are even considering buying or investing in a property, you would be foolish not to read this book. It is the real deal.

Mr. Propwise

Founder, Propwise.sg

Preface

Via my personal blog PropertySoul.com, I often receive long e-mails from readers who share detailed property stories with me.

They can be first-time buyers, multi-property owners or experienced investors. Some have a windfall and want more. Some make money while others dont. Some expect a profit at the start but suffer a loss at the end.

Nobody invests in property anticipating a loss. If all investors have the same objective to make money from buying properties, why is the outcome different for everyone? Are real estate riches determined by who you are, what you pick, where you target, when you buy, or how much you pay?

There are also some typical questions that readers of my blog like to ask:

When is the right time to buy or sell?

Whether or not to buy that property?

Where are the good deals?

What is going to happen to the market?

Many simply have no clue what to do. Some have doubts about what others think and want a second opinion. A few have already made up their mind and are just looking for reassurance.

When I first started buying properties twelve years ago, the economy was in the doldrums. There was a lack of public interest and media coverage of properties. It was difficult to find any good and updated book about investing in the property market. When the economy finally picked up again, buyers slowly regained their confidence in properties.

Nowadays we hear more and more people talking about how they can make easy money from buying properties. But seldom do people come forward to share their sad stories about how they have fallen prey to traps while shopping for their home, or how they have been badly burnt by buying at the wrong time.

We hear more and more people from the industry speaking in the media, almost always with an interest in their own business. But seldom do we have neutral advice from experts in the field who genuinely put the interests of buyers and investors over their self-interest.

For most people, buying a property is the biggest single investment in their life. And every home buyer deserves to know all the facts before buying such a big ticket item.

At present, I am not working as a property developer, marketing agency, conveyancing lawyer, mortgage consultant or industry analyst. Nor am I engaging in any property-related business that directly profits from buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, owners or investors.

Hopefully, for the content I cover in this book, I am in a more neutral position to present readers with an unbiased view of all the truths I know about the industry.

I also hope to make this book a useful source of information for property buyers at different stages be they potential buyers, people buying for the first time, aspiring property investors, or savvy investors with many years of experience.

There is no best way to do something, but there are always better ways to do things. The same applies to real estate investment.

There is no best way to profit from properties, but there are always better ways to improve the return.

In this book I will share the truths I have learnt about investing in property and how to maximize the chances of your success. If you are keen to learn more, pick up this book and read on.