Property Virgin April 2011

Hi All,

This month, Property Virgin column coming back... for you.

wahhh.. I am so blessed when Victor, my good friend from Property & Co willing to share his experience when he was a property virgin and agreed to be featured here. Thank you so much Captain V!

Victor and me has a very interesting story how our friendship begins... From strangers we become fellow participants for a programme cum seminar, then partnered in two to accomplish our target. We found our mutual understanding and passion in property investment. He is a very gentleman person whom i feel comfortable to chat with.. and hey, I am happy u acknowledge the nickname of Captain V.. hehehe.. It is a cute name and very suitable for you as the saver... hehehehe

Thank you Captain V for your contribution and help.

:)

Profile: Victor Tiong
Nickname: Captain V
Gender: Male
Marital Status : Single (and looking)
Age on the first purchase: 27
Year on first purchase : 2005
Website: Coming soon

what is your first property?Where is it located?

My first property is a single storey corner terrace house in Miri, Sarawak.

Is it for own stay or for investment?

It was double-edged purchase. For investment (as it is a fast growing area) and for possible stay in the future (that’s why I bought a corner house, to give the flexibility of future renovations if needed).

Have u studied on property investment before the purchase? How?

I had zero knowledge then. I just used my common sense and logic.

what makes you decide to buy it? can u tell me the stories behind?

I just had this feeling that I must buy a property there. I foresaw that it is a growing area and I would possibly come back to that place in the future (Sarawak is a good place to live). At the time, without any practical knowledge on property investment (yup, a bona fide property virgin then) I held this view on property. Anyone can, and should, own at least two properties: one for own stay and the other for investment. And so, I made the purchase.

Did you encounter any problems or difficulties for the purchase? What and how it resolved?

As a first time buyer then, I didn’t do much in terms of the procedures involved. I sought help from my brother and things proceeded smoothly. Now, thinking back, I should have involved myself more into the buying process... One learns from every purchase made. I missed it the first time, but that won’t happen again.

Is it your dream house? Why?

No, not in that sense. As mentioned before, I bought it because I wanted to buy it and because I “must” buy it. It was an urge...

After the purchase, what's next?

After the purchase, the house was rented out. It was near to a university and so I rented it out to students. Currently, it is still being rented and there have been no problems (god bless) with tenants.

What is your advice to all property virgins and home buyers out there?

Learn! Learn! Learn! BEFORE YOU BUY. You will look at and handle your purchase in a significantly different way compared to if you don’t know much about property investments. Learning about property investments from books and seminars gives you the power to control and manage your property investment more successfully.

Anything else to add-up?

Believe that you can at least own two properties. EVERYONE can and must do that. (But go on... and do more!) Property investing gives great rewards... it’s tangible and you can see and feel your investments unlike other investments. It’s the only form of investment where banks
will willingly give you the financing (as long as you fulfil their criteria, of course). Try asking for financing for investing in stocks, derivatives, commodities or unit trusts... you will see that no bank will give you that.