Have you ever dreamed of living abroad but never found the right time because career and life got in the way? More and more people are thinking about retiring overseas. In fact, with careful planning and consideration, it is no longer out of reach for many people who are thinking about living abroad for their retirement years. While there’s no one way to approach retirement, Asia could be an appealing option to many.
After considering several important factors like healthcare, cost of living, climate, and development level, we have come up with a list of countries in Asia to retire. Here’s a look at 5 of the best retirement lifestyle options in Asia.
1.
Malaysia
Malaysia is often cited as the top Asian country to live or retire as an
expatriate. The country is known for its beautiful beaches, spectacular
rainforests, fantastic food and decent climate. Although the country’s official
language is Malay, English is widely spoken in Malaysia.
Malaysia also enjoys a high level of development. In recent years, Malaysia
real estate has attracted more foreign investment. The property buying process
is mature and foreigner-friendly. Yet, Malaysian homes are more affordable than
Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for an affordable option to retire,
Malaysia should be a top priority for retirees. Also, due to its location and
infrastructure development, travelling between countries is extremely easy,
allowing you to explore Asia’s full potential.
2. Thailand
Known as “The Land of Smiles,” Thailand has
much to offer in retirees’ desires. The country provides easily accessible
yearly visa renewals for expatriates who have chosen to retire in Thailand,
making the paperwork simplifier and easier. Like Malaysia, Thailand’s selling
points are its low living cost, warm-water coastlines, and tropical climates.
Because of the long-established foreign community, you can gain access to many
social events, activities and clubs. It makes your retirement life more fun and
sociable.
Housing options include modern condos, beachfront homes and modern gated
communities. Thailand’s real estate market is growing steadily. Interested
buyers, it’s time to do your research and discover your new home!
3. Vietnam
Vietnam offers beautiful landscapes, colourful local culture and a low cost of
living. However, the country doesn’t make things easy when it comes to visas
and residency. To retire in Vietnam, one of the options is to apply for a
business or investor visa, which could allow you to remain in the country full
time indefinitely.
Vietnam’s real estate industry is booming. Rental yield can reach up to 6%-8%
in popular areas. If you are looking for a comfortable retirement life in
Vietnam, you can research the local real estate market. Maybe you can earn some
extra money from the property market to make your retirement life even more
luxurious!
4. Sri Lanka
Like other Asian countries, Sri Lanka is known for its fantastic cultures, low
cost of living and beautiful landscapes. Sri Lanka offers a “Dream Home Visa
Programme”, which allows foreign nationals over 55 to stay in the country. It
also provides a steady temperature year-round. To qualify for the programme,
you need to invest monetary capital in a local business. The visa will be
renewed annually.
5. Cambodia
Cambodia has long been one of the most desired
countries to retire. It offers the benefit of beautiful scenery and a warm
climate, and the comfort of a sizeable international connection. It is
effortless to obtain long-term visas in Cambodia. The cost of living in
Cambodia allows retirees to live a comfortable and luxurious life. Real estate
and food are very cheap here. Overall, some expats claim they can live on a
$1,500 monthly budget comfortably already.
To retire overseas is a big decision. It is like having your second home! Make
sure you do comprehensive research on everything like real estate, visa policy,
cost of living, healthcare system and so on!
Finding clients, online or offline? It is now easier to find clients and promote oneself, but on the other hand, the market is getting much more competitive. Let’s find out which way is better.
As
real estate agents, we both hate and love the Internet. On one hand, it is now
easier to find clients and promote oneself, but on the other hand, the market
is getting much more competitive. The online way or the traditional way, which
one is better? Let’s find out.
Face-to-face
real estate expert
👍🏻Easier to secure clients
Usually, when clients come to
consult you face-to-face, they’re not just “browsing around”, especially for making
an important financial decision like real estate equity investments. They
probably heard about you from a friend and did a little market comparison and
research before they decide to talk to you. Clients do not want to waste their
time and effort to compare many agents and agencies. In these cases, all you
have to do is be prepared for the meeting, show the clients your expertise and
share your professional experiences. If your first impression is good enough,
the clients will probably hire you right away.
👎🏻Limited marketing channels
Traditional marketing channels for real
estate experts can be limited. There are not a lot of platforms, like Denzity, for
you to showcase your expertise or communicate with your potential clients. So,
it can be challenging to find clients. All you can do is treat every job
seriously and hope that your clients will introduce you to their friends.
Online
real estate expert
👍🏻More room for you to shine
Social media is a whole new planet
for you to explore. With social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook,
every individual can do their branding. Under this competitive environment,
most real estate experts have a few areas of expertise, like Malaysia real
estate market, Vietnam real estate equity investment, or feng shui. Agents can
share their insights on these social media platforms and reach out to potential
clients. Now there are even prop-tech platforms like Denzity where you can communicate
with potential clients directly online. With the right techniques, you can get
more exposure than ever.
👍🏻Easier communication
Online meeting technology has
certainly improved greatly under the pandemic. It is now easy to do video calls
no matter where you are, all you need is a stable Internet connection. You can
easily communicate with your clients, answer their questions more promptly, and
make a better impression. Agents can also join online real estate community
groups to share their professional experiences and insights into real estate
equity investment enthusiasts. Online communication allows agents to interact
with other experts and learn from each other.
👎🏻Real
estate agent market is more competitive
Clients can now browse the profile
of thousands of real estate experts in like three hours with the Internet. This
makes agents harder to stand out in the crowd. Yet, you can treat this as an
opportunity to develop your specialty. Become an expert in a particular niche,
like rental problems, oversea real estate equity investments, or immigration.
This way you can attract more clients and stay competitive.
It is important to maintain your
edge in this competitive environment. To do so, you have to invest in yourself.
Be your public relations and marketing manager. Build your reputation by creating
an online profile. Show the world what you’ve got. Join Denzity today and get
your name listed on our extensive directory so that you can reach out to your
potential clients. If you have anything particularly interesting you want to
share, or you’re specialized in a certain area in real estate equity
investment, let us know and maybe you will be the next real estate expert featured
in our latest educational series Denzity Insights!
Should I find a real estate expert online or should I do it the traditional way? That is a question.
Nowadays
you can practically find anything online. Especially during the pandemic,
online shopping has become the prominent trend. You can buy food, clothes, and
services online, and even real estate expert services. Some people may think
that real estate equity investment is too “serious” to be done online, however,
there could be more pros than cons. Let’s look at the difference between online
real estate expert and face-to-face consultation.
Face-to-face real estate expert
👍🏻Higher credibility
For traditional real estate agents, marketing
relies heavily on offline strategies like direct sales. Agents and agencies can
only build their reputations step by step with years of experience and
excellent services. Customers usually decide to hire a particular real estate
expert because their friends and families endorsed his or her service. This
gives customers more confidence, knowing that they are in good hands.
👎🏻Less
convenient
To
do it the old-school way, you probably have to visit the real estate expert to
start the consultation process. During the pandemic, it can be difficult to
find a safe place to talk for hours. Also, for an investment as big as a real
estate equity investment, you may want to compare the prices and fees of
several agencies before you make a decision. You will then have to spend some
time and effort to talk to a few real estate experts, and then compare their
services manually. Just think about the workload.
Online real estate expert
👍🏻More sources of information
In
the past, if you want to know more about a niche in real estate equity
investment, you have to go to a local real estate agency and read their posters
or brochures. If you are looking to invest in an oversea real estate market,
let’s say, the Malaysia real estate market, then it could be a little
troublesome because local real estate agencies may not have substantial
information on this subject. Yet, now you can easily search online for
information about other real estate markets. There are even prop-tech platforms
like Denzity for you to look for real estate experts with specific expertise,
like Vietnam real estate market, Malaysia real estate development, and feng
shui.
👍🏻More extensive background search
With more choices comes more
considerations when making decisions. To choose the best agent, comparison and
background search are essential. You can utilize the Internet to do a more
thorough background search on your agents.
👍🏻More channels to find agents
Instead of asking your friends who
had purchased real estate before or checking out local real estate agencies one
by one, you can now go online to do so. There are endless ways to find a real estate
agent now. For instance, you can use Denzity’s directory to find the real estate
expert that is just right for you. After figuring out what you want, you can apply
the filter and browse real estate experts specialized in the area you’re
interested in, like feng shui or Vietnam real estate market.
👎🏻Scammers
The Internet not only makes our lives easier but also scammer’s businesses. Let’s be honest here, there certainly are scammers in the real estate equity investment business. That’s why it is important to do research and seek consultation from credible organisations. For example, Denzity is a third-party platform for you to learn more about real estate equity investment and browse lists of unaffiliated real estate agents.
Do you prefer the online way or the traditional way? Let us know in the comment section.
Today, we have Nicholas sharing about how to pick the right property in Malaysia by helping us expand our knowledge on this topic.
Nicholas How is the Head of Sales for FAR Capital. FAR Capital is one of the biggest private real estate buyer groups in Malaysia and they are on the quest to provide the framework and are committed to educating others on what the factors are that determine a profitable investment portfolio.
An investment guide to Malaysia Real Estate
What are the common mistakes investors make?
How to search for the right property in Malaysia?
Sources:
Home Ownership Campaign in Malaysia: HOC is a campaign led by the Malaysian government in order to increase home purchase or promote homeownership in the country.
As it can be difficult to catch some minor errors, transcripts may contain a few typos or inaccuracies.
This might be painfully obvious – Please note the following legal conditions:
Denzity owns the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of Denzity’s video programs and publications (collectively referred to as “Denzity Materials”, with all rights reserved and its right of publicity.
You are welcome to share the below transcript (up to 500 words but not more) in media articles (e.g., The South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, New York Times), on your website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Medium and WordPress), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “Denzity” and link back to the denzity.io/blog URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.
No one is authorized to copy any portion of the Denzity Materials or use Denzity’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services.
Alright, let’s get back to the transcript of the show. Enjoy!
===
Darren Wong: So hey Nicholas, thanks for coming to the show.
Insights with Nicholas How
Darren Wong: [00:00:00] [00:00:00] So hey Nicholas, thanks for coming to the show.
Darren Wong: [00:00:00] [00:00:00]嗨,Nicolas,謝謝你來我們的節目。
[00:00:04]Nicholas: [00:00:04] Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Nicolas:[00:00:04]謝謝。謝謝你邀請我
[00:00:05]Darren Wong: [00:00:05] Yeah, so to give the audience a bit of a background, we had a [00:00:10] show with Amos I think we launched about a couple of weeks ago and
Darren Wong:[00:00:05]是的,為了給觀眾一些背景知識,我們在幾週之前邀請了Amos
[00:00:10] 上來我們的節目。
[00:00:20] it got pretty popular. And then a lot of people told me that they’re actually thinking about Malaysia real estate markets. And then Amos was like, you’re someone that like in the whole market, people know who you are, and you could do a good job. So I’m pretty happy to have you here. And because it’s not only learning
[00:00:30] about Malaysia market it’s about how to be a better investor. So again, thanks for coming in and it’s gonna be a blast, yeah. So for the audience who may not know who you are, would you mind telling the audience about yourself and the company you work [00:00:40] for?
[00:00:50] Capital, what we do is that we are actually the biggest buyers right now in Malaysia. Last year, we transacted approximately around 1.8 billion all the way up until this year. So for the past 18 months we
[00:01:00] are arguably the biggest private buyer right now in Malaysia. So, why we’re doing this is because number one, we see a lot of investors, foreigners or
[00:01:10] Malaysians, what they do is they invest without really understanding the fundamentals of our property investment. So from my experience out of
[00:01:20] 100 properties 97 of them will not make you money, it is only like three of them that will actually make you money. So, our objective, our vision for the company is to
[00:01:30] actually increase the knowledge of property investment, increase their investors’ knowledge so that they can actually make money. So as an investor, and the only thing that you want to do is make
[00:01:40] money, right, so we want to, we want to mitigate that, the people that are losing money. That’s the main objective.
[00:01:40] 賺錢,對吧,所以我們想要,所以我們希望緩和那些正在虧錢的人。這是主要的目標。
[00:01:47]Darren: [00:01:47] I see. Yeah, I think when we had a [00:01:50] call, I think a month ago, and the call was actually really good because it obviously tells how much you care about this. And there’s one thing you measure right away it’s price, price, price, not
[00:02:00] location, location, location. Would you mind elaborating that to the audience? Because I think when you shared some insight about the Malaysia market and how things are, I was kind of shocked, I never
[00:02:20] location. I think it went all the way until Hong Kong. It has been prevalent in Malaysia. But from research or from deepest point of view, when you look at it right, location actually
[00:02:30] doesn’t play that important of a role. I’ll give you an example. KLCC, majority of the Hong Kong viewers, your Hong Kong viewers would know where KLCC is right? They’ve got the best location in terms of
[00:02:40] location wise, they’re the best. You’ve got your LRT station, you’ve got your shopping, one of the best shopping malls, you’ve got Grade A offices, you’ve got hotels, so in terms of location,
[00:03:10] invested 12 years ago, in KLCC, you would not have made any money. In fact, you might have lost money compared to you investing in Puchong, the suburban area, you would have
[00:03:40] run, the property price has got a higher tendency to increase or double versus paying a premium price for a premium location and it would just be
[00:03:50] stagnant. So for me, for the viewers for everyone else that is listening location, location location is important, but not as
[00:03:50] 停滯不前。所以對我來說,對於其他位置的觀眾來說,位置很重要,但不及
[00:04:00] important as understanding the price that you’re paying. Not as important as understanding the median price that you’re paying. So from their point of view, so just to give a context to your viewers right,
[00:04:10] when they are coming to Malaysia, the first place that they’re looking at will always be KLCC. So that is how the agents has framed them. That’s how the real estate agency in Malaysia
[00:04:30] not make money. So you understand median price, first and foremost, you understand the median of that area, and then you understand whether you’re buying below median, or above
[00:04:40] median, anything that you buy below median, you have got a higher chance of making money. And if you’re buying above median, that’s where you have a higher chance of losing [00:04:50] money.
[00:04:52]Darren Wong: [00:04:52] So you know, that’s something that’s interesting, because that’s the point you mentioned before over the call. And I was kind of shocked. I never thought that way. So in that regard
Darren Wong:[00:04:52]所以,你知道,這很有趣,因為這是你之前在通話中提到的重點。我有點震驚。我從來沒有那樣想過。所以在這方面
[00:05:00] what are some things that the audience can do to mitigate that because it sounds like a very gray area, like there are assets that you have to buy, certain price points, but then that is a gray
[00:05:19]Darren Wong: [00:05:19] Sure go [00:05:20] ahead, yeah.
Darren Wong:[00:05:19]當然[00:05:20],去吧。
[00:05:27]Nicholas: [00:05:27] There are actually a few criterias for your investors or for your viewers alright. So there are actually a few criterias that you need to be aware
[00:05:30] of. I’m going to share with you this – actually quite a simple investment criteria. There’s only five. So let me share my [00:05:40] screen…I can’t share screen.
[00:05:43] Darren Wong: [00:05:43] Okay so what I can do is you can tell me which slide and then I can put that on our videos.
Darren Wong: [00:05:43]好吧,我能做的就是你告訴我哪張幻燈片,然後將其放到我們的影片中。
[00:05:49]Nicholas: [00:05:49] Alright so [00:05:50] this is actually slide number five, alright? So, slide number five, you can actually see there’s a five investment criteria for your particular viewers. So, what happens is this
[00:06:00] number one, if you’re looking at buying into Malaysia, the first thing you need to look into is the international expat community.
[00:06:00]第一,如果你打算在馬來西亞置業,那麼你需要考慮的第一件事就是國際社區。
[00:06:10] So as a Hong Kong buyer, the first thing you need to understand is that you must look into the expat community. That’s where the Hong Kong people are. That’s where they
[00:06:10]因此,作為香港買家,你需要了解的第一件事是,你必須了解移居海外者的
群體。那就是香港人的所在地。他們在那裡
[00:06:20] spend their days there. That’s where they buy their property, that’s where they send their kids to school. That’s where they buy their groceries. You need to have this kind of support system in place.
[00:06:30] First things first, you need to get that support system in place for you to have a very meaningful stay in Malaysia, right? There’s no point for you buying in a place even though the building might be great,
[00:06:40] but you’ve got no support system. So always focus on the international expat community. These people have been in Malaysia for the past 10-15 years. They know for a fact that whether the property that they bought is actually a good one
[00:06:50] or a bad one, right. Number two, always focus on the international schools. Now I’m gonna take a step into KLCC right. There’s a reason why the rich
[00:07:00] people in Malaysia, right, or the rich people who are the experts don’t particularly choose KLCC, if they’ve got a family it’s because the lack of
[00:07:00]或者是外來的有錢人並沒有特別選擇KLCC,如果他們有家庭,那是因為KLCC缺乏
[00:07:10] international schools in KLCC, right? So if you are single, the likelihood of you choosing KLCC is quite high, because, you
[00:07:10]國際學校,對吧?因此,如果你單身,那麼你選擇KLCC的可能性就很高,因為
[00:07:20] know, you’d want to stay there, there’s got a nightlife, that et cetera, et cetera. But if you’ve got a family, you’ve got a wife, two kids and a dog, right? You don’t want to choose KLCC, because there’s a lack of international schools, or you need to drive two hours, to and for approximately, two hours to just to send your kids to school and go back
[00:07:30] to your office, right? So always focus on international schools, you need to have that if you’re looking
[00:07:30]到你的辦公室,對吧?所以,你想在這裡在長期居留的話
[00:07:40] to stay here longer. The third one is actually the commercial vibrancy, and also the first class infrastructure. You don’t want to stay in a place where there’s not even a
[00:07:50] proper mall, right? So you’ve got to always look for something with a proper mall, with a proper grocer that you can do your shopping in and your first class infrastructure meaning
[00:08:00] your highways, alright. So all these things contribute to a better living standard, if you’re planning to stay here, or you’re planning to invest here, because you see, once you buy into
[00:08:10] Malaysia, the dream or the bargain is to actually rent it out to expats. Right? The expats will always look into these criterias first and foremost, so the chances of
[00:08:20] you getting an expat tenant is much higher if you follow the criteria, right? So number four, you always have a plan B, right? So I know it’s going to be
[00:08:30] very, very hard for your viewers to identify the median price because it takes local knowledge of local capabilities to identify
[00:08:30]對於你的觀眾來說,確定中間位價格非常非常困難,因為需要有本地的知識來確定
[00:08:40] the median price of the area, and then use the property to benchmark against the median price of the area. So you need the local knowledge, right? So it’s actually quite rather simple if it’s for your
[00:08:50] own viewers. You always have a plan B. Now, what Plan B means is this. A lot of people are agents in the approach you, they’ll say hey, you’re buying for own stay so it
[00:09:00] doesn’t matter. As long as you like it, buy, you can afford, buy. that is not a good idea or a good strategy. The reason why is because what if you want to move back to
[00:09:10] Hong Kong after 5 to 10 years? What if you want to move back? Right? What if you want to move to Singapore? Right? People need change, people want change, right? So having a
[00:09:20] plan B makes sure that you number one, first and foremost, you don’t lose money, right? So always look for properties that will give you a 4% rental yield.
[00:09:30] So now, why do I say that is that if you look at the median price of a median price of KLCC, and you take any properties in KLCC, take the rental, the average
[00:09:40] rental on that area, divided up by your purchase price, you can actually see you can roughly know whether you’re hitting the 4% or not. So always focus on the properties that will give you the 4% and
[00:10:00] foreigner price. Now this is an insight to your viewers. This is an insight to your investors that a lot of people dare not say it out loud. I’m gonna make a lot of enemies right here
[00:10:10] to say this but I will say it out. A lot of times these projects that are brought over to Hong Kong are all the mitering for meaning we cannot
[00:10:10]但我會說出來。很多時候,這些移交給香港的項目都意味著我們無法在當地
[00:10:20] sell, Malaysians don’t want to buy; I’ve exhausted every opportunity, every avenue to sell to Malaysians, I cannot sell. Now I bring it to Hong Kong
[00:10:30] hopefully, willingly taking in people who are most likely getting suckered into this. So they always have a foreigner price that they sell it to Hong Kong.
[00:10:30]希望能吸引到那些最有可能掉下陷阱的人。因此,他們總是以外國人的價格賣給香港人。
[00:10:40] The reason why is because even with the Malaysian price this price does not make sense to Malaysians. Even the Malaysians noble rich, Malaysians are rich. If you look at the Mount
[00:10:50] Kiera price versus the KLCC price, yeah actually more or less the same. Look at ttdi Obasanjo more or less the same, but the Malaysians will buy Mont Keira, the Malaysians will buy Bangsa, will buy ttdi
[00:10:50] 價錢與KLCC的價錢,實際上差不多一樣。看看Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI)的Obasanjo差不多還是一樣,但是馬來西亞人會購買滿家樂,馬來西亞人會買入Bangsa,也會買入 TTDI。
[00:11:00] and they will not buy overpriced, hyped up stuff, right or predominately KLCC. So those are the things that they are actually pushing out to foreigners,
[00:11:10] the leftovers that nobody wants. So focus on these five criterias you will most likely never make the wrong purchase focus on these five areas. That’s my advice to your [00:11:20] buyers.
[00:11:20]Darren Wong: [00:11:20] Right that’s really good because there’s a couple of things you mentioned it’s something I think I told you before I used to be on the buy side. And then we always understood that
Darren Wong:[00:11:20]很好,因為你提到了幾件事,是我以前作為買家時曾經告訴過你的。然後我們總是明白到
[00:11:30] if some deals are pushing foreigners from across the board, like across the ocean or something, there’s a really big foreigner price and it’s
[00:11:40] something that I hope that our product can bridge and the same that you can find direct channel, find direct expert in the location instead of paying a
[00:11:50] premium because there’s no point and then that 1% or 2% means a lot when it comes to real estate investing. So go back a little bit and obviously by the way, that was really good insight because it’s somebody
[00:12:00] that not only applies to Malaysia, it’s applied to many different cities it’s that, for example, you said before the tenant might be different maybe just because you’re single or like me, or living in the
[00:12:10] city, but if you think about putting yourself in the shoes on someone who’s a family, they might be something else. So I want to go back a little bit on the fourth point, right? When [00:12:20] you say 4% rent, does that mean the gross or net?
[00:12:26]Nicholas: [00:12:26] It could be gross, right? To get 4% rental [00:12:30] you are looking across, I’m not very familiar with the interest rate in Hong Kong. But in Malaysia right now, it’s actually less than 3%. The effective rate is
[00:12:40] 3.5, 3.4. You’re getting a 4% basically means that you’re covering everything that you have. So taking 4% is actually not a bad deal, especially if you’re a foreigner buying something
[00:13:00] that looking at agents or looking at, you know, experts or whatnot, right? My suggestion to your viewers, don’t believe any expert, any agent, anyone,
[00:13:10] just follow the five criteria, you can make your own decision really. So just like that, yeah, you have just broken the code of investing in Malaysia alright. So you don’t have to believe me, you don’t have to believe
[00:13:20] in whoever so long as you follow this criteria and say, “Hey, do I have an expat community here? Hey, do I have an international school here? Hey, do I have a you know, first class infrastructure,
[00:13:30] my commercial vibrancy is there? Can I get a 4% complete for me? Can I get a 4% and actually, am I paying a foreigner price here? What is everybody paying around here?” With these five criteria
[00:13:40] you will never go wrong with investing in property as a foreigner.
[00:13:40]你作為外國人投資房地產絕對不會出錯。
[00:13:44]Darren Wong: [00:13:44] I see. Because I’m sure you’re aware, this show, this whole series is for [00:13:50] foreigners to learn about the different markets and in this case, it’s the Malaysia properties right. So I have a two part question because a lot of people start rely on real estate platforms, right and then
[00:14:00] I know that in Malaysia there’s you know, Iproperty, Property Guru, Brickz, like already useful and what is something that people can rely on and at the same time
[00:14:10] what are somethings that they are not good at, you know you need that five criteria before to compensate. And another question is with these platforms
[00:14:10]它們不擅長的是什麼,你知道需要那五個標準來輔助。另一個問題是這些平台
[00:14:20] or other ways, what are some ways that you suggest them to assess and search for the right properties?
[00:14:20]或其他方式,你建議他們有哪些方法能評估和尋找對的物業?
[00:14:26]Nicholas: [00:14:26] Okay, so I’m gonna say the first tackle, [00:14:30] the first question first, what’s the pros and cons right? I think each and every platform has got their own strengths. Use Brickz. Personally, I use Brickz,
[00:15:00] also practice in Malaysia, again, I’m gonna be making a lot of enemies here alright. Listing price is 1 million ringgit, meaning I’m asking from you Darren, I’m selling my property to
[00:15:10] you at 1 million ringgit. When I go over to Brickz and I look at the transacted price right, it becomes 2 million ringgit. So it’s illogical, right? I’m telling you, “Hey Darren,
[00:15:20] you want to buy my property a million ringgit?”, then you tell me, “No, I want to buy it for 2 million.” It doesn’t make sense, right. But this is what’s happening in Malaysia in some
[00:15:30] part of Malaysia, some part of games on peninsula some part of the projects right? Due to the fact that they want to mark up the transaction price, it’s a fake transaction.
[00:15:40] So they use this transaction to show to investors and say look, I’ve got a transaction price of 2 million, but in actual fact, the actual asking price is only a million ringgit. So for me,
[00:15:50] to your viewers what I would suggest is to use Brickz to identify the transaction price, once you identify which one then go over to Iproperty or Property Guru to identify those
[00:16:00] particular projects, give those agents the call to check, double check and triple check the numbers. Use that one. That’s what buying properties right. As for
[00:16:10] rental in itself in Iproperty and Property Guru, there’s a lot of rental being asked. So the rental let’s say for example is 3000. ringgit right? Transacted rental might be
[00:16:20] a bit lower, technically, from my experience, majority of them are a bit lower, call them to ask, not as, not as the renter, but as an owner,
[00:16:30] call the agents to ask them, “Hey, I’m an owner of this property. Can you tell me how much realistically can you rent it out?” The agents will tell you the truth, “Oh actually, you
[00:16:40] can only rent it out for $2500.” But I’ll put $3000 just in case they negotiate then we’ll bring it down. So use those platforms wisely. Use
[00:16:50] those platforms to identify the prices, the actual prices, I’m teaching you the insight trick of how to use it, and use it wisely. That’s how the second question apologies I actually [00:17:00] missed the second question.
[00:17:02]Darren: [00:17:02] Oh so I think you mentioned before, what suggestions do you have for the audience to assess and search for the right [00:17:10] properties?
[00:17:20] Search via Property Guru or Iproperty or anyway search for those properties and identify those. For me, my suggestion to your viewers is use those
[00:17:30] search engines, you will find any and all type of properties, okay. It’s just that
[00:17:30]搜索引擎,你會發現所有類型的不同的物業,好的。就是這樣
[00:17:40] the caveat to it is that how do you then identify? Is this property good or bad? So that’s the only caveat. So for me, I use Property Guru and Iproperty to search for properties. It is just that from there onwards, how do I then identify whether this one is good? Please bear in mind or remember the first
[00:17:50] rule, hard and first rule is that 97% of the properties in Malaysia won’t make money. So you need to, your audience needs to use the five criteria again to assess or [00:18:00] identify that 3% of the properties.
[00:18:03]Darren Wong: [00:18:03] I see. So there’s something that you mentioned before it’s called the property grading template from you.
Darren Wong:[00:18:03]我明白了。所以,你之前提到過一樣東西,它被你稱為物業評分模板。
[00:18:10] Would you mind telling the audience like how they use it because I think you’re generous enough to tell us that, hey, there’s a place where you can download a link in the show notes and everything. Like Would you mind elaborating on what
[00:18:20] this is for and then how people can use it?
[00:18:20]它的用處和人們能如何使用它嗎?
[00:18:22]Nicholas: [00:18:22] Right. So I’m going to use this grading system that we have faculty has used this grading system. Right. You have a grade A, B, C, D,
[00:19:20] that’s grade E. So there’s also a grade D. Where you’ve got no profit, even if you sell or you lost $50,000 ringgit when you sell. Negative every month up until $500
[00:19:30] ringgit, so that’s grade D, right. Grade C is that you don’t lose, you don’t win when you sell. Your cash flow is break
[00:19:30]那是D級,對。C級是當你賣出時,打和了。你的現金流每個月
[00:19:40] even every month, meaning your rental is just enough to cover in installments, plus your maintenance fee. So that’s grade C, 97% of the properties in Malaysia will fall into grade C, grade D and grade
[00:19:50] E. So what we are looking for in FAR capital there’s only grade A and grade B and which I hope from your audience’s as well they’re going to be using this
[00:20:30] So, how do you then access capital appreciation and cash flow right? Again, you go back to the original template, the criteria
[00:20:30]那麼,你如何才能獲得資本增值和現金流呢?再次,您回到原先的模板,即那五個條件
[00:20:40] that we have, the five criteria so as an foreign investor, there’s a lot of properties that you can’t be buying. Anything that is below 1 million ringgit in Kuala Lumpur you can’t buy; anything below 2 million ringgit in
[00:20:50] Salalah, you can’t buy. So you have to buy above 2 million you have to buy above a million. So you’re even more limited in terms of property that you’re purchasing. Understand this
[00:21:00] grading. Use this grading, and then you use those criteria. If you use those criteria, you’re most likely to hit either a Grade B or C. Will you be able to
[00:21:10] hit a grade A? The answer is yes, but you’re looking like a diamond in the rough. You’re the whole of careless law law. Mind you, I can only think of
[00:21:20] one project in the past two to years. Only one project that is suitable for foreign investors.
[00:21:20]在過去的幾年中只有一個項目。只有一個是適合外國投資者的項目。
Darren: [00:21:23] Wow, that’s very, very crazy then. Wow. Wow, that’s a that’s a very, very crazy, then.
Darren:[00:21:23]哇,那真是太瘋狂了。哇。哇,那真是太瘋狂了。
[00:21:30] You know, it’s very hard to find one but I’m sure if someone like you has the groundwork, has the potential, has all the knowledge and everything they can get that kind of opportunities because it’s hard for us I mean, like
[00:21:40] if today for example, if I’m not from Hong Kong, where would I know where to invest? And so same as the logic too so it’s often someone on the ground would be a lot easier.
[00:22:00] I know for one project that when they started selling they were selling it for $800 to $900,000 ringgit landed property right. And everybody’s
[00:22:20] completion I believe there was two to three years ago if I remember correctly, it became a grade E, negative every month was $2500 to $3000 ringgit. When they sell now they
[00:22:30] are looking at $200,000 easily $200,000 to $300,000 loss. So, is that a good investment? The answer is I would say the answer is no in terms of my
[00:22:40] criteria. So what happened is that they actually went against everything the criteria stand for. Is there commercial vibrancy. The answer is no. Is there actually
[00:22:40]因此,發生的事情是他們實際上違反了標準所代表的一切。有商業活力嗎?沒有。真的有
[00:22:50] international schools? No. Is there expat community? No. So a lot of times Malaysians tend to buy properties thinking that they are investors but once they put into the grading system, once they put it into the criteria it becomes totally very, very clear to the investor that they will lose money. But there’s a caveat to it, the criteria for local investors
[00:23:00] and criteria for foreign investors will be [00:23:10] different.
[00:23:00]和外國投資者的標準是有所不同[00:23:10]。
[00:23:13]Darren Wong: [00:23:13] I see. Okay. Well, I mean, the local one I’m sure we can do a part two in the future if there’s so many gems, there’s so many questions that
Darren Wong:[00:23:13]我明白了。好的。好吧,我的意思是,對於當地房地產投資我們可以之後再開一集來討論。我們有很多問題
[00:23:20] we’re not even halfway yet. So, obviously on behalf of the audience, thanks so much for teaching us how to do it because it means a lot and then so you know, like obviously, right now, the COVID-19 you know,
[00:23:30] like the whole world has had impact from. So, I just want to know, right, with COVID-19 at this moment in time, where do you think we are in the cycle
[00:23:40] of the real estate market and then what kind of area and type of investments should oversea investors consider more?
[00:23:40]那麼海外投資者又該考慮什麼樣的地區和類型的投資呢?
[00:23:47]Nicholas: [00:23:47] Okay. You will have to go [00:23:50] over to slide number four. Okay. So at slide number four, you can actually see the recession in 2009. And what is
[00:24:00] happening in 2020. So I’m bragging. The reason why I’m bragging is because Malaysia navigated COVID-19 perfectly. I say that because our
[00:24:00] 我之所以在誇耀是因為馬來西亞完美地處理了新冠肺炎。
[00:24:10] government did a fantastic job containing COVID-19. They did a fantastic job in the stimulus package so that our economy, even though it’s going through a recession, we
[00:24:20] will come back up faster, we will come back up stronger. If you look at number one, right, the statue reserved for the banks, we need the cash to be saved right is at 1%
[00:24:30] while in 2020, we have more cash, right? OBR at that particular time he said 2% are right now he said at this but this one was done quite some time was a
[00:24:40] 2.5%. We have actually reduced the rate even further, right. In 2009. Over 30 billion stimulus was actually announced. Well, this year due to COVID-19, we announced over 200 and
[00:25:00] pay their loan. In 2020, there’s automatic load monitoring, which for the next four for six months, we don’t have to pay for our loan, meaning we’ve got cash in hand. So that
[00:25:10] actually saves a lot of people from defaulting in the loop. So what happened after 2009? Right? So this is actually what
[00:25:10]實際上使很多人免於違約。那麼,2009年之後發生了什麼?實際上是
[00:25:20] happened. So in terms of COVID, in terms of the financial crisis right, what actually happened is that it takes a lot of other
[00:25:20]發生這些。所以,就新冠肺炎而言,就金融危機而言,實際上發生的事情是
[00:25:30] dominoes in the market before a property bull run happens. So for capital, right, we take this opportunity COVID-19 to actually buy a lot of properties.
[00:25:40] The reason why is because we see in the next 12 to 24 months, we will have a property bull run. Property bull run in Malaysia typically will happen
[00:26:20] In 2009 what happened is that they’ve got less of the cash, more subject to external shocks or pressure. While right now we’ve got a better banking system,
[00:26:30] we have got a stronger bank right? OPR is our overnight policy rate where that is where our interest rate is benchmarked against. So in 2009, what happens that is actually do 2% in 2020,
[00:26:40] or just for the 2.5 you have to change it. I’ll be changing it to two. We’re
[00:26:40]或僅需更改2.5。我將其更改為2%。我們是
[00:26:50] actually the lowest since America, since our independence day. This year. Our OPR is the lowest. So in terms of buying property, you have got the lowest
[00:27:00] interest meaning your repayment every month is actually much, much lower. Here’s the reason why a lot of people, if they see the opportunity, this is the year that they will buy.
[00:27:09]Darren: [00:27:09] I see. [00:27:10] So go back to four horsemen, right. That’s interesting. So would you mind elaborating on the four horsemen slide a bit more.
[00:27:17]Nicholas: [00:27:17] So what happens Darren, [00:27:20] if you look at historical data, right time, there’s a property bull run, the property bull run happened in 2010, all the way up to
[00:27:30] 2013. That’s where the prices property prices, double, double, double, you need to queue up to buy property right. Before that happened, there’s actually four triggers or the four horsemen that we call
[00:27:40] that right. The first one is actually OPR cut. OPR cut meaning the interest rate being cut. So the government at that particular time cut the OPR
[00:27:50] rate. Very, very similar to what is currently happening in 2020. Right, so number two, they made it very, very easy to
[00:27:50]非常非常類似於2020年發生的事情。對,所以第二,他們使大家非常非常容易
[00:28:00] buy properties. At that particular time in 2009, it was something called a DIBS developer interest bearing scheme, meaning during construction, you don’t have to pay anything,
[00:28:10] you only start paying upon completion of the property, right? In Malaysia, I’ll give you a context in Malaysia, if you buy a property during construction, you need to service your loan, you need to pay a certain amount
[00:28:20] for the interest right? At that particular time the developer pay for your interest, you only pay full amount upon completion. This year, and last
[00:28:30] year 2018. The government came up with HOC policy, which is called the home ownership campaign right, which is to ease people, especially Malaysians to actually buy property.
[00:28:40] The third one is the mega infrastructure launch. Every time the government started a mega infrastructure and that in 2009, as well, where all the high rise are being [00:28:50] built. You’ll see this happening, right now we’re actually seeing it the same. You’ve got your LRPs. You’ve got your you’ve got your LRT bill, your MRT too, you’ve got your HSR.
[00:29:00] You’ve got your ECRL being built this year, and those are the money that has been poured into the infrastructure. The last one, the last one,
[00:29:00]今年也會興建東海岸銜接鐵道,這些錢已經投入到基礎設施中。最後一個是
[00:29:10] that is the key catalyst or spot market to a property bull is actually the stock market bull run. So what happens to Malaysians, I’m not sure
[00:29:20] about Hong Kong, Malaysians tend to gamble more on the stock market, they make a lot of money from the stock market the profit from that they buy property. So, if you look
[00:29:30] into right now, if you look at the Malaysian stock market, especially the glyph counters, everybody doubled and tripled. I’ll give you an example, Supermax a glove maker
[00:29:50] in a short period of four months became one hundred thousand invested, it became 1 million. So you’ve seen that it is a crazy stock market bull run
[00:30:00] happening this year. So when will the property bull run happen? It will happen in next 12 to 24 months.
[00:30:00]那麼何時會有房地產牛市呢?它將在接下來的12到24個月內發生。
[00:30:08]Darren: [00:30:08] I see. No, I [00:30:10] think Hong Kong has a similar kind of mindset because a lot of people here, like, you know, they play stock because they don’t have enough money yet. And once they get enough money, they go to the real estate market. So the world
[00:30:20] trend is very similar. And I think that it’s not only about Hong Kong, you know, Hong Kong is one of the biggest stock markets kind of in the world trading. But this is very similar on that regard. And by the way, what you
[00:30:30] have explained to the audience is very useful. It’s something that like, I’m sure, like, even for myself just by reading through your slides, I learned so much from it. So thank you so much on that,
[00:30:40] too. So you know, like I said before, right, I talked to Amos and other people that are from Malaysia as a guest, we can go on hours and hours. And I think that is very, very good insight. And I’m sure people will
[00:30:50] reach out to you to want to talk more about it. And there’s just only a couple more questions that I have. For example, right, what other tips do you have to summarize everything for the audience to take away
[00:31:00] from, because I’m sure a lot of us have a lot of questions, a lot of ideas what to do next, if you have anything that you want to capsulate and kind of remind the audience on what to do.
[00:31:12]Nicholas: [00:31:12] [00:31:10] So for your audience, right? If they’re buying property there’s a few things you need to do. Of course there are the five criterias right. You also need to look in the
[00:31:20] affordability of the market. So I’ll bring you all the way until slide 12. So slide
[00:31:20]市場的承受能力。因此,我將直接去到投影片12。
[00:31:30] 12 is actually about the median household income by state. So I thank you for your question asking. If I’ve got money should I be investing in KL or should I be
[00:31:50] median household income is actually at $10,000 ringgit, above $10,000 ringgit so to pay for a million ringgit condo for them. It is actually quite reasonable.
[00:32:00] Achievable. But if you go all the way to down to Johor, then you can actually see that their income level is actually hovering at $6000 ringgit. So, I mean, your viewers and myself and yourself must agree right.
[00:32:10] If you’re earning $6000 ringgit, you cannot pay $5000 ringgit for installment, right, The leftover $1000 you cannot eat. I mean, you have to pay for your food you have to pay for internet and whatnot. Let’s be honest,
[00:32:20] you cannot survive it. So hence, where I’m coming from is that you need to understand what’s the median
[00:32:20]不然,你無法生存。因此,你需要了解每個州的
[00:32:30] income of each state. And then to see whether the property that you’re buying, can it be sustained by the local market.
[00:32:30] 平均收入是多少。然後查看你所購買的房產是否可以由當地市場維持。
[00:32:40] So going back to the fourth part, the fourth criteria, if anything would happen, if you want to move to Singapore, if you want to move to back to Hong Kong, right, can you actually rent it out? So there’s
[00:32:50] only so many expats who can rent it out. You need to make sure that, you know, if expats fail, can you actually rent it up to the local market, which of course, logically speaking, there’s a bigger
[00:33:00] pool of market right? So focus on those things and always focus on the five criterias, always focus on these particular household income, and you’d be quite safe. Now
[00:33:10] the prediction that we’re having right to do to sum it all up – that will be page 10. You will look at interest
[00:33:10]我們對所有內容進行總結在第10頁。你會看到利率
[00:33:20] rate, we are actually having the lowest interest rate right now, as of today, the lowest interest rate for the past since our independence day, right? We’re expecting one more round to be
[00:33:30] cut. Anything that you buy, net price, yeah, anything that you buy that is below $600,000 with a 4% rental yield will be the best performer.
[00:33:40] So your SBA could be 1 million ringgit, but try to get something with a 40% discount if you could. All properties in Malaysia will be under pressure, always by new.
[00:33:50] More infrastructure is coming. So I’ve just given you the four horsemen right, focus on the infrastructure, focus on where the infrastructure is, when is it being completed and you will see the bull run
[00:34:00] coming. MRO basically what it says that this page 11 MRO is basically saying that multiple rental options, don’t just focus on the expat tenant. Of course, having the
[00:34:10] expat tenant is great, but also focus on the local market as well. That’s where the median income for each state is happening. You’re gonna see a lot of developers under pressure.
[00:34:20] That’s nice for your investors. Identify this kind of projects, make sure that these developers have got the capability to finish
[00:34:20]這對你的投資者來說很好。找到這類項目,確保這些開發商具有完成興建的能力
[00:34:30] building it and then you’re going to get a good deal. The last one is actually, myself we’ll – we’re going to get a lot of people hating us for sharing all this information, but I guess it from
[00:34:40] that point of views that your viewers as long as they follow, they use the five criteria, they will not lose money.
[00:34:40]只要你的觀眾遵循以下觀點,使用這五個標準,就不會虧本。
[00:34:47]Darren: [00:34:47] Yeah. Yeah, that’s [00:34:50] great because like, I know that a lot of people in the real estate sector they try really hard to sometimes like please everyone and try not to say too much unless it’s like off the record,
[00:35:00] but I believe that like, I think it’s time to really democratize and help people more about these things, because otherwise the industry will never improve and progress further, you know?
[00:35:10] So I really appreciate what you’re doing here. I really do. And what’s something that you and your firm have been working on recently? Because right now with COVID-19, I’m
[00:35:20] sure you guys are buying more and more properties, like what other things are you working on at the moment?
[00:35:20]肯定你們正在買入越來越多的房地產,你還有在進行什麼其他項目嗎?
[00:35:25]Nicholas: [00:35:25] We are actually only working on buying properties. To be fair,
[00:35:25]Nicolas:[00:35:25]我們實際上只是在購買房地產。公平地說,
[00:35:30] right now, the deals are coming in fast, they are good deals, we are always looking for good properties. So long as they meet our grading criteria, we will be buying it.
[00:35:40] We are currently just focusing on buying right now to be honest, because if you look at a market rate, the lowest would be us, I don’t think they’re going to go any lower. It
[00:35:50] can only go up from this year onwards, and this is probably the best time for local, for foreign investors to actually buy something in Malaysia. So for us,
[00:36:00] we are actively hunting; our predominant focus right now is to buy as much as we can. So we are not focusing on any other things besides buying right
[00:36:10] now. So thank you to COVID-19 in the sense that you know, it actually allows developers to drop, giving them more pressure and allowing them to drop the
[00:36:30] right, I’m going to share this we are buying something that is actually in the middle of Mount Keira which is expat hub, you’ve got to Koreans, the Japanese, the
[00:36:40] Americans, the Europeans, the Hong Kong, all of them are staying there and you’re buying something that will actually make you money, at least $500
[00:36:50] ringgit per month in terms of cash flow. But of course those are only for my investors right.
[00:36:50]的現金流。但是,這些當然只給我的投資者。
[00:36:55]Darren: [00:36:55] No I get it, I get it. I really think that like we should do more of these
Darren:[00:36:55]我明白了。我真的認為我們應該做更多這樣的事情
[00:37:00] because there’s so many questions I have, but I will reserve it for next time because like they’re questions for example, right I was thinking about the culture of what’s going on, with the wealth for example, I know a
[00:37:10] lot of Malaysia as a country is getting a lot wealthier, what’s going to happen? What’s your prediction in years now? And then we can reserve that for next time because there’s so many things and obviously like
[00:37:20] I’m sure the audience will want to ask you more questions. So like, what are some ways that you suggest the audience reach out to you? Through emails or LinkedIn or is there a way to find you [00:37:30] to talk to you more about this kind of stuff?
[00:37:50] once a day so do expect delays. But if you want a faster response, you want to understand more about whatever, just WhatsApp me. I’ll pass you my number and also my [00:38:00] email and also my facebook.
[00:38:01]Darren: [00:38:01] Yeah, so I’ll have everything in the show notes, and the slide you have to offer and the property grading template as well to make sure everyone knows where they can
[00:38:10] find them. And I just want to say, because this is like 30 minutes, I don’t think it’s really enough. But thanks so much for your time. And then I’m really looking forward to round two, and then I really
Darren Wong: Yeah, so to give the audience a bit of a background, we had a show with Amos I think we launched about a couple of weeks ago and it got pretty popular. And then a lot of people told me that they’re actually thinking about Malaysia real estate markets. And then Amos was like, you’re someone that like in the whole market, people know who you are, and you could do a good job. So I’m pretty happy to have you here. And because it’s not only learning about Malaysia market it’s about how to be a better investor. So again, thanks for coming in and it’s gonna be a blast, yeah. So for the audience who may not know who you are, would you mind telling the audience about yourself and the company you work for?
Nicholas: My name is Nicholas How. I’m the head of sales for FAR Capital. So for FAR Capital, what we do is that we are actually the biggest buyers right now in Malaysia. Last year, we transacted approximately around 1.8 billion all the way up until this year. So for the past 18 months we are arguably the biggest private buyer right now in Malaysia. So, why we’re doing this is because number one, we see a lot of investors, foreigners or Malaysians, what they do is they invest without really understanding the fundamentals of our property investment. So from my experience out of 100 properties 97 of them will not make you money, it is only like three of them that will actually make you money. So, our objective, our vision for the company is to actually increase the knowledge of property investment, increase their investors’ knowledge so that they can actually make money. So as an investor, and the only thing that you want to do is make money, right, so we want to, we want to mitigate that, the people that are losing money. That’s the main objective.
Darren: I see. Yeah, I think when we had a call, I think a month ago, and the call was actually really good because it obviously tells how much you care about this. And there’s one thing you measure right away it’s price, price, price, not location, location, location. Would you mind elaborating that to the audience? Because I think when you shared some insight about the Malaysia market and how things are, I was kind of shocked, I never heard of that before. So would you mind elaborating that further?
Nicholas: Alright, so I think everyone heard about this, the mentra calling location, location, location. I think it went all the way until Hong Kong. It has been prevalent in Malaysia. But from research or from the deepest point of view, when you look at it right, location actually doesn’t play that important of a role. I’ll give you an example. KLCC, majority of the Hong Kong viewers, your Hong Kong viewers would know where KLCC is right? They’ve got the best location in terms of location wise, they’re the best. You’ve got your LRT station, you’ve got your shopping, one of the best shopping malls, you’ve got Grade A offices, you’ve got hotels, so in terms of location, there’s no place primer compared to KLCC. So that is like the financial center of KL. Yeah, or the oil and gas center of KL, right. But if you invested in KLCC 12 years ago, right versus a suburban area called Puchong. There’s a suburban area in Puchong, if you invested 12 years ago, in KLCC, you would not have made any money. In fact, you might have lost money compared to you investing in Puchong, the suburban area, you would have easily doubled what you have, right? So for me personally, it is never about location. It is always about the price that you bought into. So it could be one of the not so pride area like Puchong, but if you have bought it cheap enough, over the long run, the property price has got a higher tendency to increase or double versus paying a premium price for a premium location and it would just be stagnant. So for me, for the viewers, for everyone else that is listening location, location location is important, but not as important as understanding the price that you’re paying. Not as important as understanding the median price that you’re paying. So from their point of view, so just to give a context to your viewers right, when they are coming to Malaysia, the first place that they’re looking at will always be KLCC. So that is how the agents has framed them. That’s how the real estate agency in Malaysia has brought them over. But what they do not understand is that in the KLCC, median price, anything you pick above 1500 ringgit, you will not make money. So you understand median price, first and foremost, you understand the median of that area, and then you understand whether you’re buying below median, or above median, anything that you buy below median, you have got a higher chance of making money. And if you’re buying above median, that’s where you have a higher chance of losing money.
Darren Wong: So you know, that’s something that’s interesting, because that’s the point you mentioned before over the call. And I was kind of shocked. I never thought that way. So in that regard what are some things that the audience can do to mitigate that because it sounds like a very gray area, like there are assets that you have to buy, certain price points, but then that is a gray area because not many people can afford it, for example, in this case, right, how would we mitigate it?
Nicholas: So how we mitigate it is that I’m going to be sharing my screen if you don’t mind.
Darren Wong: Sure go ahead, yeah.
Nicholas: There are actually a few criterias for your investors or for your viewers alright. So there are actually a few criterias that you need to be aware of. I’m going to share with you this – actually quite a simple investment criteria. There’s only five. So let me share my screen…I can’t share screen.
Darren Wong :Okay so what I can do is you can tell me which slide and then I can put that on our videos.
Nicholas: Alright so this is actually slide number five, alright? So slide number five, you can actually see there’s a five investment criteria for your particular viewers. So what happens is this number one, if you’re looking at buying into Malaysia, the first thing you need to look into is the international expat community. So as a Hong Kong buyer, the first thing you need to understand is that you must look into the expat community. That’s where the Hong Kong people are. That’s where they spend their days there. That’s where they buy their property, that’s where they send their kids to school. That’s where they buy their groceries. You need to have this kind of support system in place. First things first, you need to get that support system in place for you to have a very meaningful stay in Malaysia, right? There’s no point for you buying in a place even though the building might be great, but you’ve got no support system. So always focus on the international expat community. These people have been in Malaysia for the past 10-15 years. They know for a fact that whether the property that they bought is actually a good one or a bad one, right. Number two, always focus on the international schools. Now I’m gonna take a step into KLCC right. There’s a reason why the rich people in Malaysia, right, or the rich people who are the experts don’t particularly choose KLCC, if they’ve got a family it’s because the lack of international schools in KLCC, right? So if you are single, the likelihood of you choosing KLCC is quite high, because, you know, you’d want to stay there, there’s got a nightlife, that et cetera, et cetera. But if you’ve got a family, you’ve got a wife, two kids and a dog, right? You don’t want to choose KLCC, because there’s a lack of international schools, or you need to drive two hours, to and for approximately, two hours to just to send your kids to school and go back to your office, right? So always focus on international schools, you need to have that if you’re looking to stay here longer. The third one is actually the commercial vibrancy, and also the first class infrastructure. You don’t want to stay in a place where there’s not even a proper mall, right? So you’ve got to always look for something with a proper mall, with a proper grocer that you can do your shopping in and your first class infrastructure meaning your highways, alright. So all these things contribute to a better living standard, if you’re planning to stay here, or you’re planning to invest here, because you see, once you buy into Malaysia, the dream or the bargain is to actually rent it out to expats. Right? The expats will always look into these criterias first and foremost, so the chances of you getting an expat tenant is much higher if you follow the criteria, right? So number four, you always have a plan B, right? So I know it’s gonna be very, very hard for your viewers to identify the median price because it takes local knowledge of local capabilities to identify the median price of the area, and then use the property to benchmark against the median price of the area. So you need the local knowledge, right? So it’s actually quite rather simple if it’s for your own viewers. You always have a plan B. Now, what Plan B means is this. A lot of people are agents in the approach you, they’ll say hey, you’re buying for own stay so it doesn’t matter. As long as you like it, buy, you can afford, buy. that is not a good idea or a good strategy. The reason why is because what if you want to move back to Hong Kong after 5 to 10 years? What if you want to move back? Right? What if you want to move to Singapore? Right? People need change, people want change, right? So having a plan B makes sure that you number one, first and foremost, you don’t lose money, right? So always look for properties that will give you a 4% rental yield. So now, why do I say that is that if you look at the median price of a median price of KLCC, and you take any properties in KLCC, take the rental, the average rental on that area, divided up by your purchase price, you can actually see you can roughly know whether you’re hitting the 4% or not. So always focus on the properties that will give you the 4% and if you can hit the 4% rental you’re relatively safe, you’re at least on median, right? So number five, always remember never pay foreigner price. Now this is an insight to your viewers. This is an insight to your investors that a lot of people dare not say out loud. I’m gonna make a lot of enemies right here to say this but I will say it out. A lot of times these projects that are brought over to Hong Kong are all the “leftover” – meaning we cannot sell, Malaysians don’t want to buy; I’ve exhausted every opportunity, every avenue to sell to Malaysians, I cannot sell. Now I bring it to Hong Kong hopefully, willingly taking in people who are most likely getting suckered into this. So they always have a foreigner price that they sell it to Hong Kong. The reason why is because even with the Malaysian price this price does not make sense to Malaysians. Even the Malaysians noble rich, Malaysians are rich. If you look at the Mount Kiera price versus the KLCC price, yeah actually more or less the same. Look at ttdi Obasanjo more or less the same, but the Malaysians will buy Mount Keira, the Malaysians will buy Bangsa, will buy ttdi and they will not buy overpriced, hyped up stuff, right or predominately KLCC. So those are the things that they are actually pushing out to foreigners, the leftovers that nobody wants. So focus on these five criterias you will most likely never make the wrong purchase focus on these five areas. That’s my advice to your buyers.
Darren Wong: Right that’s really good because there’s a couple of things you mentioned it’s something I think I told you before I used to be on the buy side. And then we always understood that if some deals are pushing foreigners from across the board, like across the ocean or something, there’s a really big foreigner price and it’s something that I hope that our product can bridge and the same that you can find direct channel, find direct expert in the location instead of paying a premium because there’s no point and then that 1% or 2% means a lot when it comes to real estate investing. So go back a little bit and obviously by the way, that was really good insight because it’s somebody that not only applies to Malaysia, it’s applied to many different cities it’s that, for example, you said before the tenant might be different maybe just because you’re single or like me, or living in the city, but if you think about putting yourself in the shoes on someone who’s a family, they might be something else. So I want to go back a little bit on the fourth point, right? When you say 4% rent, does that mean the gross or net?
Nicholas: It could be gross, right? To get 4% rental you are looking across, I’m not very familiar with the interest rate in Hong Kong. But in Malaysia right now, it’s actually less than 3%. The effective rate is 3.5, 3.4. You’re getting a 4% basically means that you’re covering everything that you have. So taking 4% is actually not a bad deal, especially if you’re a foreigner buying something here, right? So for me hitting that 4% is good enough for the foreigners. And just to add on to your point right saying that looking at agents or looking at, you know, experts or whatnot, right? My suggestion to your viewers, don’t believe any expert, any agent, anyone, just follow the five criteria, you can make your own decision really. So just like that, yeah, you have just broken the code of investing in Malaysia alright. So you don’t have to believe me, you don’t have to believe in whoever so long as you follow this criteria and say, “Hey, do I have an expat community here? Hey, do I have an international school here? Hey, do I have a you know, first class infrastructure, my commercial vibrancy is there? Can I get a 4% complete for me? Can I get a 4% and actually, am I paying a foreigner price here? What is everybody paying around here?” With these five criteria you will never go wrong with investing in property as a foreigner.
Darren Wong: I see. Because I’m sure you’re aware, this show, this whole series is for foreigners to learn about the different markets and in this case, it’s the Malaysia properties right. So I have a two part question because a lot of people start rely on real estate platforms, right and then I know that in Malaysia there’s you know, Iproperty, Property Guru, Brickz, like already useful and what is something that people can rely on and at the same time what are somethings that they are not good at, you know you need that five criteria before to compensate. And another question is with these platforms or other ways, what are some ways that you suggest them to assess and search for the right properties?
Nicholas: Okay, so I’m gonna say the first tackle, the first question first, what’s the pros and cons right? I think each and every platform has got their own strengths. Use Brickz. Personally, I use Brickz, I use Brickz to identify the products that are transacted prices. Brickz, always has the transacted prices right. I use Brickz and then I go over to Iproperty or PropertyGuru to actually double check on the listing price. So the reason why is because of this, there’s also practice in Malaysia, again, I’m gonna be making a lot of enemies here alright. Listing price is 1 million ringgit, meaning I’m asking from you Darren, I’m selling my property to you at 1 million ringgit. When I go over to Brickz and I look at the transacted price right, it becomes 2 million ringgit. So it’s illogical, right? I’m telling you, “Hey Darren, you want to buy my property a million ringgit?”, then you tell me, “No, I want to buy it for 2 million.” It doesn’t make sense, right. But this is what’s happening in Malaysia in some part of Malaysia, some part of games on peninsula some part of the projects right? Due to the fact that they want to mark up the transaction price, it’s a fake transaction. So they use this transaction to show to investors and say look, I’ve got a transaction price of 2 million, but in actual fact, the actual asking price is only a million ringgit. So for me, to your viewers what I would suggest is to use Brickz to identify the transaction price, once you identify which one then go over to Iproperty or PropertyGuru to identify those particular projects, give those agents the call to check, double check and triple check the numbers. Use that one. That’s to buy properties right. As for rental in itself in Iproperty and PropertyGuru, there’s a lot of rental being asked. So the rental let’s say for example is 3000. ringgit right? Transacted rental might be a bit lower, technically, from my experience, majority of them are a bit lower, call them to ask, not as, not as the renter, but as an owner, call the agents to ask them, “Hey, I’m an owner of this property. Can you tell me how much realistically can you rent it out?” The agents will tell you the truth, “Oh actually, you can only rent it out for $2500.” But I’ll put $3000 just in case they negotiate then we’ll bring it down. So use those platforms wisely. Use those platforms to identify the prices, the actual prices, I’m teaching you the insight trick of how to use it, and use it wisely. That’s how the second question apologies I actually missed the second question.
Darren: Oh so I think you mentioned before, what suggestions do you have for the audience to assess and search for the right properties?
Nicholas: Alright, look at again, go back to the five criteria. Once you identify the five criteria, you identify the area. Search via Property Guru or Iproperty or anyway search for those properties and identify those. For me, my suggestion to your viewers is use those search engines, you will find any and all type of properties, okay. It’s just that the caveat to it is that how do you then identify if this property is good or bad? So that’s the only caveat. So for me, I use Property Guru and Iproperty to search for properties. It is just that from there onwards, how do I then identify whether this one is good? Please bear in mind or remember the first rule, hard and first rule is that 97% of the properties in Malaysia won’t make money. So you need to, your audience needs to use the five criteria again to assess or identify that 3% of the properties.
Darren Wong: I see. So there’s something that you mentioned before it’s called the property grading template from you. Would you mind telling the audience like how they use it because I think you’re generous enough to tell us that, hey, there’s a place where you can download a link in the show notes and everything. Like Would you mind elaborating on what this is for and then how people can use it?
Nicholas: Right. So I’m going to use this grading system that we at FAR Capital has used this grading system. Right. You have a grade A, B, C, D, and E. Right? 97% of them, the properties like the 97% will be grade C, D, and grade E. Now what does that mean?Grade E, I’m going to go for grade E, grade E is where you actually lose more than $100,000. If you purchase a property today, when you want to sell it five years later, five years later down the road. So you will be losing more than $100,000. So that’s one. Number two, in terms of cash flow, negative will be more than $600 all the way to $2000 ringgit. Every month, you’re losing money up until $2000 a year. And if you sell, you lose more than $100,000 ringgit. So there’s a huge loss, right? So that’s grade E. So there’s also a grade D. Where you’ve got no profit, even if you sell or you lost $50,000 ringgit when you sell. Negative every month up until $500 ringgit, so that’s grade D, right. Grade C is that you don’t lose, you don’t win when you sell. Your cash flow is break even every month, meaning your rental is just enough to cover in installments, plus your maintenance fee. So that’s grade C, 97% of the properties in Malaysia will fall into grade C, grade D and grade E. So what we are looking for in FAR capital there’s only grade A and grade B and which I hope from your audience’s as well they’re going to be using this template to look for properties as well. So grade B is where upon completion when you sell it, there’s minimum 10% upside. Cash flow is positive cash flow by $100 to $200.All right, grade a is where upon exit the property, when you sell the property, you’re making 20%. While cash flow will be positive more than $300 ringgit. So, we are focusing on Grade A and Grade B only. So, how do you then access capital appreciation and cash flow right? Again, you go back to the original template, the criteria that we have, the five criteria so as an foreign investor, there’s a lot of properties that you can’t be buying. Anything that is below 1 million ringgit in Kuala Lumpur you can’t buy; anything below 2 million ringgit in Salalah, you can’t buy. So you have to buy above 2 million you have to buy above a million. So you’re even more limited in terms of property that you’re purchasing. Understand this grading. Use this grading, and then you use those criteria. If you use those criteria, you’re most likely to hit either a Grade B or C. Will you be able to hit a grade A? The answer is yes, but you’re looking like a diamond in the rough. The whole of KL is hard. Mind you, I can only think of one project in the past two to years. Only one project that is suitable for foreign investors.
Darren Wong
Wow, that’s very, very crazy then. Wow. Wow, that’s a that’s a very, very crazy, then. You know, it’s very hard to find one but I’m sure if someone like you has the groundwork, has the potential, has all the knowledge and everything they can get that kind of opportunities because it’s hard for us I mean, like if today for example, if I’m not from Hong Kong, where would I know where to invest? And so same as the logic too so it’s often someone on the ground would be a lot easier.
Nicholas: Let me add on a bit. Even for Malaysians as well, a lot of Malaysians will be investing in the wrong projects. I know for one project that when they started selling they were selling it for $800 to $900,000 ringgit landed property right. And everybody’s net gave up on the first day, the first month, first launch, everything sold out the bought it for $800,000 ringgit. Upon completion I believe there was two to three years ago if I remember correctly, it became a grade E, negative every month was $2500 to $3000 ringgit. When they sell now they are looking at $200,000 easily $200,000 to $300,000 loss. So, is that a good investment? The answer is I would say the answer is no in terms of my criteria. So what happened is that they actually went against everything the criteria stand for. Is there commercial vibrancy. The answer is no. Is there actually international schools? No. Is there expat community? No. So a lot of times Malaysians tend to buy properties thinking that they are investors but once they put into the grading system, once they put it into the criteria it becomes totally very, very clear to the investor that they will lose money. But there’s a caveat to it, the criteria for local investors and criteria for foreign investors will be different.
Darren Wong: I see. Okay. Well, I mean, the local one I’m sure we can do a part two in the future if there’s so many gems, there’s so many questions that we’re not even halfway yet. So, obviously on behalf of the audience, thanks so much for teaching us how to do it because it means a lot and then so you know, like obviously, right now, the COVID-19 you know, like the whole world has had impact from. So, I just want to know, right, with COVID-19 at this moment in time, where do you think we are in the cycle of the real estate market and then what kind of area and type of investments should oversea investors consider more?
Nicholas: Okay. You will have to go over to slide number four. Okay. So at slide number four, you can actually see the recession in 2009. And what is happening in 2020. So I’m bragging. The reason why I’m bragging is because Malaysia navigated COVID-19 perfectly. I say that because our government did a fantastic job containing COVID-19. They did a fantastic job in the stimulus package so that our economy, even though it’s going through a recession, we will come back up faster, we will come back up stronger. If you look at number one, right, the statue reserved for the banks, we need the cash to be saved right is at 1% while in 2020, we have more cash, right? OBR at that particular time he said 2% are right now he said at this but this one was done quite some time was a 2.5%. We have actually reduced the rate even further, right. In 2009. Over 30 billion stimulus was actually announced. Well, this year due to COVID-19, we announced over 250 billion stimulus packages. In 2009 that was during the financial crisis, right? There’s no moratorium, so everybody still has to pay their loan. In 2020, there’s automatic load monitoring, which for the next four for six months, we don’t have to pay for our loan, meaning we’ve got cash in hand. So that actually saves a lot of people from defaulting in the loop. So what happened after 2009? Right? So this is actually what happened. So in terms of COVID, in terms of the financial crisis right, what actually happened is that it takes a lot of other dominoes in the market before a property bull run happens. So for capital, right, we take this opportunity COVID-19 to actually buy a lot of properties. The reason why is because we see in the next 12 to 24 months, we will have a property bull run. Property bull run in Malaysia typically will happen after four dominoes fall. And what happens is that the property prices tend to double right, so I’m going to go on to slide number seven. Slide number seven is what I call the four horsemen.
Darren: Wait, I’m sorry if we could stop a little bit. For the SRR, OPR, what do they mean?
Nicholas: The SRR is actually the reserve that the banks will need to have. In 2009 what happened is that they’ve got less of the cash, more subject to external shocks or pressure. While right now we’ve got a better banking system, we have got a stronger bank right? OPR is our overnight policy rate where that is where our interest rate is benchmarked against. So in 2009, what happens that is actually do 2% in 2020, or just for the 2.5 you have to change it. I’ll be changing it to two. We’re actually the lowest since America, since our independence day. This year. Our OPR is the lowest. So in terms of buying property, you have got the lowest interest meaning your repayment every month is actually much, much lower. Here’s the reason why a lot of people, if they see the opportunity, this is the year that they will buy.
Darren: I see. So go back to four horsemen, right. That’s interesting. So would you mind elaborating on the four horsemen slide a bit more.
Nicholas: So what happens Darren, if you look at historical data, right time, there’s a property bull run, the property bull run happened in 2010, all the way up to 2013. That’s where the prices property prices, double, double, double, you need to queue up to buy property right. Before that happened, there’s actually four triggers or the four horsemen that we call that right. The first one is actually OPR cut. OPR cut meaning the interest rate being cut. So the government at that particular time cut the OPR rate. Very, very similar to what is currently happening in 2020. Right, so number two, they made it very, very easy to buy properties. At that particular time in 2009, it was something called a DIBS developer interest bearing scheme, meaning during construction, you don’t have to pay anything, you only start paying upon completion of the property, right? In Malaysia, I’ll give you a context in Malaysia, if you buy a property during construction, you need to service your loan, you need to pay a certain amount for the interest right? At that particular time the developer pay for your interest, you only pay full amount upon completion. This year, and last year 2018. The government came up with HOC policy, which is called the home ownership campaign right, which is to ease people, especially Malaysians to actually buy property. The third one is the mega infrastructure launch. Every time the government started a mega infrastructure and that in 2009, as well, where all the high rise are being built. You’ll see this happening, right now we’re actually seeing it the same. You’ve got your LRPs. You’ve got your you’ve got your LRT bill, your MRT too, you’ve got your HSR. You’ve got your ECRL being built this year, and those are the money that has been poured into the infrastructure. The last one, the last one, that is the key catalyst or spot market to a property bull is actually the stock market bull run. So what happens to Malaysians, I’m not sure about Hong Kong, Malaysians tend to gamble more on the stock market, they make a lot of money from the stock market the profit from that they buy property. So, if you look into right now, if you look at the Malaysian stock market, especially the glyph counters, everybody doubled and tripled. I’ll give you an example, Supermax a glove maker fourth biggest in Malaysia right, went from $1.52 all the way up to $15 ringgit, meaning 100,000 invested there, in a short period of four months became one hundred thousand invested, it became 1 million. So you’ve seen that it is a crazy stock market bull run happening this year. So when will the property bull run happen? It will happen in next 12 to 24 months.
Darren: I see. No, I think Hong Kong has a similar kind of mindset because a lot of people here, like, you know, they play stock because they don’t have enough money yet. And once they get enough money, they go to the real estate market. So the trend is very similar. And I think that it’s not only about Hong Kong, you know, Hong Kong is one of the biggest stock markets kind of in the world trading. But this is very similar on that regard. And by the way, what you have explained to the audience is very useful. It’s something that like, I’m sure, like, even for myself just by reading through your slides, I learned so much from it. So thank you so much on that, too. So you know, like I said before, right, I talked to Amos and other people that are from Malaysia as a guest, we can go on hours and hours. And I think that is very, very good insight. And I’m sure people will reach out to you to want to talk more about it. And there’s just only a couple more questions that I have. For example, right, what other tips do you have to summarize everything for the audience to take away from, because I’m sure a lot of us have a lot of questions, a lot of ideas what to do next, if you have anything that you want to capsulate and kind of remind the audience on what to do.
Nicholas: So for your audience, right? If they’re buying property there’s a few things you need to do. Of course there are the five criterias right. You also need to look in the affordability of the market. So I’ll bring you all the way until slide 12. So slide 12 is actually about the median household income by state. So I thank you for your question asking. If I’ve got money should I be investing in KL or should I be investing in Johor. Same price 1 million ringgit, 1 million yeah. If you look at Kuala Lumpur, right in 2019, their median household income is actually at $10,000 ringgit, above $10,000 ringgit so to pay for a million ringgit condo for them. It is actually quite reasonable. Achievable. But if you go all the way to down to Johor, then you can actually see that their income level is actually hovering at $6000 ringgit. So I mean, your viewers and myself and yourself must agree right. If you’re earning $6000 ringgit, you cannot pay $5000 ringgit for installment, right, The leftover $1000 you cannot eat. I mean, you have to pay for your food you have to pay for internet and whatnot. Let’s be honest, you cannot survive it. So hence, where I’m coming from is that you need to understand what’s the median income of each state. And then to see whether the property that you’re buying, can it be sustained by the local market. So going back to the fourth part, the fourth criteria, if anything would happen, if you want to move to Singapore, if you want to move to back to Hong Kong, right, can you actually rent it out? So there’s only so many expats who can rent it out. You need to make sure that, you know, if expats fail, can you actually rent it up to the local market, which of course, logically speaking, there’s a bigger pool of market right? So focus on those things and always focus on the five criterias, always focus on these particular household income, and you’d be quite safe. Now the prediction that we’re having right to do to sum it all up – that will be page 10. You will look at interest rate, we are actually having the lowest interest rate right now, as of today, the lowest interest rate for the past since our independence day, right? We’re expecting one more round to be cut. Anything that you buy, net price, yeah, anything that you buy that is below $600,000 with a 4% rental yield will be the best performer. So your SBA could be 1 million ringgit, but try to get something with a 40% discount if you could. All properties in Malaysia will be under pressure, always by new. More infrastructure is coming. So I’ve just given you the four horsemen right, focus on the infrastructure, focus on where the infrastructure is, when is it being completed and you will see the bull run coming. MRO basically what it says that this page 11 MRO is basically saying that multiple rental options, don’t just focus on the expat tenant. Of course, having the expat tenant is great, but also focus on the local market as well. That’s where the median income for each state is happening. You’re gonna see a lot of developers under pressure. That’s nice for your investors. Identify this kind of projects, make sure that these developers have got the capability to finish building it and then you’re going to get a good deal. The last one is actually, myself we’ll – we’re going to get a lot of people hating us for sharing all this information, but I guess it from that point of views that your viewers as long as they follow, they use the five criteria, they will not lose money.
Darren: Yeah. Yeah, that’s great because like, I know that a lot of people in the real estate sector they try really hard to sometimes like please everyone and try not to say too much unless it’s like off the record, but I believe that like, I think it’s time to really democratize and help people more about these things, because otherwise the industry will never improve and progress further, you know? So I really appreciate what you’re doing here. I really do. And what’s something that you and your firm have been working on recently? Because right now with COVID-19, I’m sure you guys are buying more and more properties, like what other things are you working on at the moment?
Nicholas: We are actually only working on buying properties. To be fair, right now, the deals are coming in fast, they are good deals, we are always looking for good properties. So long as they meet our grading criteria, we will be buying it. We are currently just focusing on buying right now to be honest, because if you look at a market rate, the lowest would be us, I don’t think they’re going to go any lower. It can only go up from this year onwards, and this is probably the best time for local, for foreign investors to actually buy something in Malaysia. So for us, we are actively hunting; our predominant focus right now is to buy as much as we can. So we are not focusing on any other things besides buying right now. So thank you to COVID-19 in the sense that you know, it actually allows developers to drop, giving them more pressure and allowing them to drop the prices even further. So from my firm, for my clients, they are buying things that are up to 30 to 40%. discount. And for your investors, right, I’m going to share this we are buying something that is actually in the middle of Mount Keira which is expat hub, you’ve got to Koreans, the Japanese, the Americans, the Europeans, the Hong Kong, all of them are staying there and you’re buying something that will actually make you money, at least $500 ringgit per month in terms of cash flow. But of course those are only for my investors right.
Darren: No I get it, I get it. I really think that like we should do more of these because there’s so many questions I have, but I will reserve it for next time because like they’re questions for example, right I was thinking about the culture of what’s going on, with the wealth for example, I know a lot of Malaysia as a country is getting a lot wealthier, what’s going to happen? What’s your prediction in years now? And then we can reserve that for next time because there’s so many things and obviously like I’m sure the audience will want to ask you more questions. So like, what are some ways that you suggest the audience reach out to you? Through emails or LinkedIn or is there a way to find you to talk to you more about this kind of stuff?
Nicholas: I think you can send me an email. They can also WhatsApp me. I am faster in WhatsApp. They can also Facebook me. I will be faster in WhatsApp and Facebook. I will check my emails once a day so do expect delays. But if you want a faster response, you want to understand more about whatever, just WhatsApp me. I’ll pass you my number and also my email and also my facebook.
Darren: Yeah, so I’ll have everything in the show notes, and the slide you have to offer and the property grading template as well to make sure everyone knows where they can find them. And I just want to say, because this is like 30 minutes, I don’t think it’s really enough. But thanks so much for your time. And then I’m really looking forward to round two, and then I really appreciate the time that you happen to give, and the thoughts that come into preparing everything we have.
Nicholas: No problem. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Darren: Yeah, thank you and then talk to you next time then. Thank you.
Feng shui, a forever mysterious yet intriguing topic. Yet many scammers out there trying to make a fortune by misinterpreting this ancient school of study.
Feng
shui, a forever mysterious yet intriguing topic. Some may call it superstition,
yet some find it magical and terrifyingly accurate. Yet, there are many
scammers out there trying to make a fortune by misinterpreting this ancient school
of study. Based on what we sourced from our experts and community, let’s bust the
4 most common feng shui myths about real estate equity investment today.
Points of fortune
are the most important thing in a flat
When decorating a new home, most people will consider placing the right furniture on the right points on fortune, for example, placing the children’s room on “ the point of academia” to improve academic results. However, merely considering the positions of these points of fortune are not enough. The exact positions of these points should be calculated carefully with consideration of the time of the year, the birth year of the house owner, and the position of the flat itself. In simpler words, the points of fortune are different in every flat. Some feng shui amateurs may try to determine these spots by themselves after reading a few articles online, and that may not be a good idea. To achieve the most desirable result, you should find a feng shui master to calculate the points of fortune specific to your flat and your fate. You can check out Denzity’s new directory to find trust-worthy and credible real estate experts who specialize in feng shui.
Road-facing flats
are bad and should be avoided at all cost
Most
feng shui rules will tell you to avoid flats facing roads. This rule sounds
simple enough, yet it may not be as definite as you think. There are various
types of roads, and you have to consider the nature of the road. If it is a
straight and long highway, this is probably not good for your health. However,
if the road is short and wide, or maybe decorated by trees on the side, then it
may even be good for you.
Feng shui rule
books should be followed word by word
Feng shui is an ancient science. It was developed in ancient China, and we can all agree that real estate equity investment has changed a long way. One of the major differences would be the shapes of the flats. In the past, people usually built houses by themselves, and houses were built in rectangles or squares. Yet, nowadays, the shapes of flats are determined by developers and to save spaces, most of the flats in Hong Kong are not in rectangular shapes. Even for markets less competitive like the Malaysia real estate market and Vietnam real estate market, it is very rare to find a perfectly rectangular flat. That creates a problem because ancient feng shui relied heavily on the relationship of the flat with the surrounding environment. With the change in building structure, it is unreasonable to follow the old rules because some of them may not be applicable anymore. Check out our conversation with the feng shui master on Denzity Insights to learn more about modern feng shui practices.
Feng shui DIY is ok, as long as I follow the advice of
feng shui masters
It is now easy to look up some
simple feng shui rules online, but it is never that simple. Feng shui is a
complicated subject and sometimes, a small change can make a big difference. Unable
to examine the situation individually, feng shui masters usually give generic advice
on television or online. For example, they may say metals are good in offices
for people born in the year of dragon, so you hang a decorative sword on the wall,
not knowing that sharp metal objects are harmful to your fate. Therefore, it is
always the best to consult a trustworthy feng shui master.
Do you have any interesting stories
about real estate equity investment? Share with us in the comment section!
Malaysia Real Estate Market Outlook with Jensen Siow
Today’s episode is about the Malaysian real estate market with Jensen. Comparing to the Amos episode, he shares more on the commercial side, industrial side, and how to purchase land as a foreign investor.
Jensen Siow is the Assistant Sales Manager for a real estate development firm Capital City in Johor Bahru, Malaysia which focuses on property developments in Johor Bahru. He is also practicing his Real Estate Agent (REA) license in SLP Malaysia, an international real estate agency which has more than 40 residential projects and 70 industrial projects in Malaysia alone. Prior to joining the two companies, Jensen was with another developer – IJM Land, a prominent Malaysia real estate development company.
Investing in Malaysia as a foreigner
Which areas to look into for commercial investment?
How do investors differ sector to sector?
What are the government regulations for overseas investors?
What are the limitations?
As it can be difficult to catch some minor errors, transcripts may contain a few typos or inaccuracies.
This might be painfully obvious – Please note the following legal conditions:
Denzity owns the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of Denzity’s video programs and publications (collectively referred to as “Denzity Materials”, with all rights reserved and its right of publicity.
You are welcome to share the below transcript (up to 500 words but not more) in media articles (e.g., The South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, New York Times), on your website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Medium and WordPress), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “Denzity” and link back to the denzity.io/blog URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.
No one is authorized to copy any portion of the Denzity Materials or use Denzity’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services.
===
Source:
Private viewing auctions: Unlike open auction, private auction is only open to a selected group of buyers. The exclusive buyers get the chance to take part in the auction and place bids even before the property is available in the open market.
Alright, let’s get back to the transcript of the show. Enjoy!
===
[Transcript]
Darren: Well Jensen, welcome to the show.
Jensen: Hi, yes, hi Darren.
Darren: Yeah, so like I want to tell the audience how I know you and before this interview, because I know you through a really good friend called Harold and he told me about you because I was trying to find someone from Malaysia to talk about the real estate market. And it’s just funny because after all along back and forth, I finally have a conversation with you and you know in a better world, I wish I could have a beer with you to talk about each other because this whole notion of this whole Denzity Insight is to relax a little bit, talk about what’s going on. And I really wish the audience know more about the Malaysian market and what to do if they come to invest in your area.
Jensen: Yes, yes, yes, thank you. Thank you for having me here. Yes, thank you. I appreciate it.
Darren: Would you mind telling the audience a bit about yourself and then your work?
Jensen: Ok, firstly, I’m actually working for both companies in Malaysia, in Johor Bahru and it’s just right next to Singapore. I am working for a property development company called Capital Well, Limited. OK, so I’m doing sales and marketing for the company and on the other hand, I’m actually doing the real estate practicing my real estate agent license in SLP Malaysia, which is an international company. And we have more than 40 projects in Malaysia myself, residential and 70 industrial projects in relation. So yeah. So I’m actually doing like seven days a week.
Darren: That’s good. That’s the real estate life.
Jensen: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Darren: Because like I’ve done an interview with a good friend of yours, Amos, and before that I was talking and thinking about how it’s very interesting because a lot of investors or audiences are watching are partly residential, but commercial, industrial is something that we obviously want to cover. And at the same time you is that you want to know people what’s going on in different sectors, that maybe they consider that, hey, you know what, let’s find something, a very small commercial building or industrial buildings or a floor of it. And so this conversation is more about residential, commercial, industrial and other opportunities, that these people want to know more what’s going on in Malaysia. So let’s get straight to it. So for the audience who might not know about or is familiar with Malaysia, what are the area which overseas investors tend to be interested in? And then would you mind giving the audience a bit more about the neighborhood and give the audience the bigger picture, what’s going on?
Jensen: Yeah, totally. Okay, so basically there’s this thing called the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), there are these data from the NAPIC. There’s actually three popular areas and NAPIC is actually a government statistical website for Malaysia where you can find all your information regarding properties. So these three cities that I’m about to say, they have the most international awareness as well as all the embassies so basically in these three major cities. Okay, so I’ll compare it with cities like in China. And so the first one is Kuala Lumpur, which is like Beijing in China. So Kuala Lumpur all the embassies are in and it’s the capital of Malaysia. So that’s the first place where overseas investor would actually look into. And secondly, we are looking at Johor Bahru, which comparatively is Shenzhen to Hong Kong. So basically Johor Bahru is Shenzhen and Hong Kong is Singapore. So Johor Bahru is actually just right next to Singapore. And it’s about 20 minutes drive from the bridge over the Cross Bridge. Okay, so a lot of embassies, a lot of Singapore companies are in Johor Bahru as well. This is where people focus all their investments on. And that third one, it’s actually an up north city building called Penang. That one we can compare it to Hangzhou. Hangzhou in China. So its culture is a tourist destination and, of course, a lot of investments are actually there so a lot of the investors actually look into these three places because the price appreciation is good. The rental return are good. And these are three major big cities in Malaysia.
Darren: Actually have you been to China before? It sounds like you’re familiar with the country.
Jensen: Yeah, I’ve actually been to China like four or five times, yeah, for business and pleasure.
Darren: I see, because it’s good that like because like obviously this channel we’re from Hong Kong and then a lot of people might not have been to Malaysia before and actually might have been to Beijing or like Hangzhou or other places. So I think it’s a really good comparison to give people to understand what’s going on. So for the audience that might be interested in Malaysia real estate, would you mind giving them an update of the market? And then I’m aware that, like, you know, we talked about this before, not only that you done residential, you do commercial and then retail and industrial and other other asset class. Like, obviously, I’m not going to ask you to do like a three hours deep dive of what’s going on. Would you mind covering a little bit about each property type?
Jensen: Yeah, of course, of course, happy to do that. Okay, basically what we got from the government statistics website as well, from 2016 to 2019, just last year, Okay. Property prices have been going upwards, upward trend. So interestingly, there’s actually two main types of property. I don’t know about Hong Kong, but in here it’s actually called a retail and commercial are actually a bond one we call it commercial in Malaysia. So for commercial, there’s actually a very good trend in Kuala Lumpur, which is worth noticing. It’s because in the Kuala Lumpur where my office lots like they sell the inside building, they sell the office lots to individual landlords. This is actually gaining attraction because of the co-working space around Kuala Lumpur and we have more than 90 percent occupancy. So if anyone is actually looking into investing in commercial lot in Malaysia, that could be something to dive into, something to dig into. And we go into residential lots okay, interestingly, as of now, there’s about a 130 000 residential lots, whether they are completed or whether they are not completed, they are still on the market. So for anyone who actually wants to dive into investing in a residential property in Malaysia, that’s one there, a lot of options, a lot of lines.
Darren: I see. Yeah. So, you know, like obviously, you covered three main places in Malaysia, and it’s a huge country right, and then obviously this channel is to talk about, you know, the little dirt or like inside scoop that no one has really thought about before. So one thing I always ask, like a lot interview is this that are any popular areas or types of properties that you think are overrated or underrated at the same time?
Jensen: Ok, I am going to be very frank. I’m from Melaka myself, Melaka is actually a historical city, but the investments there it’s quite overrated. Melaka itself, okay it’s basically one and a half hour away from Kuala Lumpur. Why? Because fundamentally, Melaka, as a city, it has only 600 000 – 700 000 population which does not suffice the spending power; the affordability of the people living in Melaka cannot cater for the price appreciation of properties. So although, yes, Melaka is an UNESCO, a Heritage area, it’s a touristy place and stuff, but in terms of investing a property, a commercial or residential property in Melaka, it’s actually slightly overrated because you don’t really get the rental returns and you don’t really get the price appreciation because the population is small.
Darren: Yeah, yeah, I see that’s good, I’ve actually never heard of that before. No, no, it’s good. It is really good.
Jensen: I actually feel bad saying that about my own city but yeah.
Darren: Well you got to separate it then right, as a rational investors, you got to try to suppress the emotion and really think about what’s your money, because a lot of time, a lot of investors, they think too much about the emotion, they neglect that what’s practicality. And sometimes that the money is for your savings, for your family, for your retirement. There’s something that you have to be aware of. So it’s good that you pointed it out. And I’m sure you say out loud because you just want the audience to know more about what is the better choice in terms of whether or not and then it is their choice to think about if that’s true or not too so, you know, like when we first started right, you talked about residential, you have two different companies you work for and there’s commercial, retail, there’s industrial, there’s so many different focuses right. You know, it’s something that I want to know personally too, how do you manage to keep in touch with so many different markets and so many different types?
Jensen: To be honest, it’s impossible to keep up with the entire Southeast Asia market, not let alone even in Malaysia, but fortunately I’ve been working seven days a week and working with them, the first hanging out with property agents, with the people who work in property. So I get all this information from bits and pieces of information, from WhatsApp, from emails, from Facebook and stuff. But the bottom line is this: property, it’s always supply and demand, which pushes the price up and down. So basically the bread and butter to a property investment is actually the full site to the market as in what you think of the market. So it’s really hard to catch up. It’s really hard to follow all the markets at once. But if you really want to, if you really have the heart to actually invest or learn about a market, you can actually learn from all the information that are readily available online.
Darren: Yeah, like this platform.
Jensen: Yeah, that’s right. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Darren: Pretty much because I think I told you about my background. I use to work for a fund. We worked in the Paris market, we worked in UK, in Japan. And then I have so many things that I’m not really good at because there’s so many things going on that’s why I want to personally ask you too, because maybe some investors like the audience at the moment are looking at three or four different places or three different, four different areas in Malaysia that might be just hard to keep in touch. So which comes to the next one and obviously, like Denzity tries to bridge the gap. What other places can the audience learn more about the Malaysia real estate market?
Jensen: Right now, we’re all connected via internet. So the biggest two websites, I mean, you can find a link. The biggest two websites in Malaysia, legit websites is PropertyGuru.com as well as Iproperty.com. But these places, there are a lot of information crowded around. You have a lot of price and a lot of agents and advertisements on it. So still, yes, you can find a property and you can use the websites as a reference, but most importantly, you have to find a trusted party in the locality itself, in Malaysia itself, to actually if you really want to invest in Malaysian properties, I think that’s why Denzity was actually born to build this.
Darren: Hopefully, yeah. Well, first of all, if Iproperty.com or Property Guru sees this, pay me advertising please, you know we should get as many costs. But then it is something that is like interesting right because a lot of places are hard to find. So hopefully this will mean more than the media.
Jensen: Of course, of course.
Darren: So you know, like I said before, when I introduced you and then I told the audience that I know you through Harold. And both you and Harold, use to study abroad in Australia like I work in the Australian market. And then obviously the reason why I’m asking is because I wanted to know, like, if you learn something about real estate in Malaysia, do you apply that kind of thinking in Australia, different markets?
Jensen: The fundament.Yes, I mean, I graduated since 2015 sorry I mean, I graduated in 2011, work for four years in Australia, in the retail industry then I came back to Malaysia since the 2015 so I’ve never caught up with the market in Australia. But I think fundamentally, properties are the same in Malaysia and in Australia. I think the price goes up and down and stuff, but the thinking and the transaction and the process is totally different in Australia, they have open houses there, they have private viewing auctions whereby you could just drive the price up. But in Malaysia, it’s totally different. We do not have that kind of system. So yes and no. Yeah, yeah. We do not have those kind of system.
Darren: So there’s no over viewing and stuff like that? There’s no such thing?
Jensen: No, no. There’s no open auction. There’s no private viewing and stuff before auction.
Darren: So if I invest, how will i know if that asset is good? Let’s say this right, how do you assess the credentials or the real estate asset?
Jensen: Interestingly, for auction properties in Malaysia for properties that are on auction in Malaysia are basically properties that require a fire sale, meaning the landlord has gone bankrupt or meaning the landlord is in need cash to pay debt.
Darren: Oh for the foreclosure.
Jensen: Yeah, yeah foreclosure, a foreclosure. But these type of properties, you can’t actually go inside to view all the properties, even if you really want to buy it, you cannot just go in and find a sentimental value, whether is the property good, whether is the property bad and stuff.
Darren: Really? Okay.
Jensen: Yes, yes. Yes.
Darren: So, question right, so can I hire someone else like an appraiser or surveyor to look into it or another due diligence, kind of like a party to do that or no one can do it?
Jensen: You can hire, but then no one is allowed to actually enter the property itself.
Darren: Wow, I didn’t know that.
Jensen: Yeah, that is actually part of the auction properties, but for private properties which are on sale on the open market, you can actually do that, you can just go to a private viewing.
Darren: Oh that’s good. Yeah I understand. That’s an interesting question right, because I was like, “Woah, you cannot see what I want to buy?” It’s like, hey, you know, maybe it’s Bentley, like people always joke around saying that, like, “Oh, you can’t try it until you buy it.” So it’s interesting. So I was wondering too right, in your experience, have you worked with different people with different nationality in terms of like investors? Because I always want to know, like different investors, like Malaysian investors, Chinese investors or other different culture, like do they act differently or would they look at real estate differently?
(CUT OFF CAN’T MAKE OUT WORDS).
Jensen: Yeah, I basically deal more with investors from Singapore or from Malaysia, so only these two countries. So most people are from Singapore or Malaysia and basically everyone’s looking for the cheapest deal and the best location.
Darren: So this straight up. That’s what they want.
Jensen: Yeah, straight up. That’s it.
Darren: Oh, okay. How about for self use or investment only. Do they do they think about it differently?
Jensen: With self use, they would actually buy at a location, which they actually prefer. But for investment, I have met a lot of investment, I mean, investors throughout the entirety of my career area, Investors actually they don’t look at like how beautiful is the house or how many square feet and stuff. Investors they just go for the ROI, they go for a return on investment, how much they can make in a year. So the aesthetic of the house are not the concern that these people get.
Darren: And does that apply to residential and commercial as well like for different asset class?
Jensen: Yeah, totally.
Darren: I see, okay, because I know some people in investment only they still want to have this beautiful place and everything. So I think obviously there’s always different people, different ways of looking at it. So just one thing that I’m wondering.
Jensen: Yeah, but that’s from own judgment. From my own opinion.
Darren: Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, obviously this channel is more about overseas investors. So I’m sure they would be interested to know about the limitations. Is there any limitation for overseas investors and what kind of things do they need to be aware of when investing in Malaysia?
Jensen: Ok, surprisingly in Malaysia, you can actually – a foreigner can actually own 100% of a property. There’s no restriction whatsoever. However, in most of the cities in Malaysia, foreigners can only purchase houses which are one million ringgit and above. One million, that’s the bottom line. So that’s the minimum price to purchase a property. And of course it’s something to note for properties in Malaysia in a certain in every single neighborhood or every single project, that’s always 30% to 40%, which are reserved for the only Bumiputera in Malaysia and Bumiputera are like the Aboriginals of Malaysia. So 40% is reserved for them. So make sure if oversea investors, they would like to make a deposit down in Malaysia, buy a property, make sure it’s not a Bumiputera title. If not, you can never have the property. Yeah. And of course, if you want to lend from a bank in Malaysia, a Malaysian bank, the margin of finance that you can get is only 70%. So if you’re borrowing one million ringgit from the bank, so, I mean, if the house price is one million ringgit, OK, you can only get 700 000 worth of loans from the bank. That’s the maximum. Yeah. So that’s the certain trust holds and stuff.
Darren: I see. So like, you know, Malaysia obviously is the growth. I’m sure you see the growth coming up for past couple years and everything. Where do you think we are in the market and what’s your opinion like is for the next three years time?
Jensen: I actually did a little bit of research on this. Okay, so basically, according to data from WorldBank, we are actually 24th place in terms of the east of doing business around the globe. So it makes it a very internationalized economy and it makes it very diversified in export and import. And of course the geographical location of Malaysia is actually quite strategically located between China as well as towards Europe and America. One that one road initiative. So, yeah, that’s why. So in the next three to five years, we can see an increase of foreign investors being in Malaysia. So that will actually drive the entire property market up despite what’s going on from Covid, Covid is some external lease which happens then and there.
(CUT OFF, REPEAT QUESTION).
Darren: So what other tips and advice do you have, if you don’t mind sharing with the audience when it comes to choosing different regions in Malaysia?
Jensen: Oh, okay. So in terms of if you are actually looking to settle in Malaysia, looking to buy an investment in Malaysia, if you are a foreigner the first thing you need to do is you need to see what sort of area you’re looking for, which area do you feel more comfortable with. So let’s say in Beijing, in terms of the China market as it is, Beijing, Hangzhou, wherever. So secondly, you need to differentiate because in Malaysia there’s something very interesting. In either rental income which is high, it’s like a dividend or it’s actually price depreciation, which is high. So you need to do it in terms of investing. You need to understand if you want rental income, which is normally in Malaysia, commonly it’s platinum, which are in the centralized location or you want price appreciation, which you look for lender properties in Malaysia.
So my advice is go do research online, but do engage a trusted person in Malaysia to purchase your property and that way you can for sure know that it’s a good investment and stuff.
Darren: I see. So I think that like just now you mentioned that I think a foreign investor can also own 100 percent. So I guess that is a freehold, that means the land as well. So if an investor are interested in purchasing land, what is the challenge of things that they need to be aware of when it comes to that?
Jensen: Okay, there is two lands, which cannot be purchased by overseas investors, foreigners. One, agricultural land, and second, is Malay Reserved Land. These two lands are definitely off the chart for foreigners. Okay, but one thing that is the most challenging in terms of purchasing a land in Malaysia is actually getting the state governments consent with every purchase of every single land in Malaysia, you have to apply a application to write into state government like, why are you buying this land for is it for building properties, for building factories and stuff? And then approval could be six months to two or three years.
Darren: That’s a long time.
Jensen: Yeah. Yeah. So that would jeopardize the entire cash flow. I mean for foreign investors who wants to buy land in Malaysia, that is something to look out for and that’s that’s a challenge.
Darren: So just two questions I have with that. Let’s start with the first one. What dictates a land as agricultural use. Number two, is that so, you know, you said it takes six months to two years right, what are things that would make it take so long? Like what kind of things are people looking at that would be better when it comes to purchasing land? Like what other tips you have?
Jensen: The first question is regarding what dictates of agricultural land? Okay, what do you think as an agricultural land it’s from the zoning planning of the state government because state government actually plans the entire zoning of the city and a town. So certain lands are already reserved for agriculture, so for the rubble plantations and I forgot what was the other one but yeah. So these lands are really defined as agricultural. So you cannot purchase that property.
Darren: So for the second one, how about like why does it take six months to 12 months to go through and what are some things that you can do in order to allow the government to be faster?
Jensen: Because every single application that needs to be submitted in, there’s actually an entire very lengthy process to say yes to different endings. Okay, so six to 24 months, it’s just a ballpark, sometimes it takes even longer. So if you have it well planned out for your final building construction and stuff and if you know yeah, and that’s about it.
Darren: Next time we’ll grab a drink and we’ll ask the same question again, okay? It’s okay, I think this conversation is great because I have a lot of questions regarding that. But so let’s say this right, an investor, the audience that have the money, a little bit more money to consider different asset class, like for example say, hey, you know, I don’t have to put money in residential, I can put money industrial, commercial and so on. Which type would you suggest them to consider if they can do that?
Jensen: Which type of investment costs?
Darren: No not investment costs.
Let’s say this right, for example, if I have a little bit of money where I can consider different asset costs, commercial, industrial retail, like many, many more or residential. Which type of property type would you suggest them to consider?
Jensen: Generally speaking, if you have a lot of money and generally speaking, the trend is like this, if you are purchasing like I said before, if you’re purchasing an apartment, a residential apartment or shop lot, which is a shop lot where people do business in Malaysia like has a long car tire shop and stuff, these two are more stable in terms of rental income. If you’re purchasing lender property, which are more to its own use, when people stay in lender properties in Malaysia, that’s more towards price appreciation because the rental market for lender property isn’t that great in Malaysia. So it’s depending which kind of return you are seeking for.
Darren: I see, that’s cool. That’s something that I was curious, not like I have it but then if people in the audience have it, it’s something they would consider. So you know, I think this has been a really great interview. So what kind of takeaway do you have for the audience before they go?
Jensen: Takeaway, Okay yeah, so basically my general piece of advice is, if you’re looking to invest in Malaysia, really look carefully at the title before you put in your deficit. That’s very important. 40% of the houses foreigners can’t buy. Okay, and secondly, have a trusted agent in Malaysia that could help you with your property purchases. And of course, lastly, look at the rules and regulations from your local governments. It can be from China, Hong Kong, America. Look for those rules and regulations and restrictions in terms of investing overseas.
Darren: Oh, theres a restriction on different nationality.
Jensen: No, I mean, your own country. If you’re from China, then you have your Chinese – the Chinese actually have the investment restriction.
Darren: Yeah. Yeah that’s good. That’s good. So, you know, I think I’m sure a lot of people have questions regarding Malaysian real estate. What are a couple of ways that people can reach out to you and talk to you more about working together or more about the Malaysian real estate?
Jensen: Definitely. You can find me on my LinkedIn account, which is Jensen Siow or you can add my WeChat. My WeChat ID is Machokidd if not, you can always email me my email address @jensensiow@gmail.com.
Darren: Obviously I will include everything in the show notes and I must say this is a blast. Thank you so much for your time and efforts. And then I want to do part two with you in the future and then let’s keep in touch. And hopefully we’ll have a second round and you can come in, tell me more about what’s going on and yeah, I just want to say thanks for your time. Thank you.
Jensen: Definitely, definitely Darren. Thank you.
Darren: Have a good day and then I wish you well and let’s have a drink next time if I ever come to Malaysia, then.
The lack of information in overseas real estate investing and how to solve it
Despite being affected by the corona virus outbreak and the increased social distancing restrictions, Hong Kong investors continue to look for overseas real estate investment opportunities vigorously. This growing demand is not going away anytime soon.
In
2019, Singapore held over 230 overseas property exhibits and Kuala Lumpur
featured 118 exhibitions. Shockingly, a report published by Soho App found that
Hong Kong hosted over 1,626 overseas property exhibitions in 2019 (an average
of more than 31 every week)! The unprecedented amount of exhibitions in Hong
Kong clearly show the Hong Kong investors’ desire for overseas properties has
become a necessity instead of just an investment tool or an immigration tool
for asset allocation. In this period of uncertainty, Hong Kong people are more
inquired about emigration and homeownership overseas. It is critical to
ask, “can I trust the sources handed to me?” If research is not done
thoroughly, investments might not turn out as expected.
Especially
for busy people, looking for overseas real estate opportunities is very
troublesome. Conducting research and due diligence take a lot of time and
effort to ensure the information is reliable. Besides knowing who is
trustworthy (such as real estate agents and the developers), every investor has
many worries, uncertainties, and questions while looking for the right
properties for them. “Should I look into the Malaysian real estate market or
the Vietnam real estate market?” “What taxes do I have to pay if I want to
invest in the United Kingdom?” “Where is the best place for me to buy a second
home in Canada?” and many more. Even professional investors have a tough time
finding trustworthy information in real estate! These enormous pains need to be
solved. This is where technology can help to transform the industry.
PropTech
(Property Technology) is a new global movement that uses technology to create
new opportunities in real estate. By utilizing PropTech, investors can get more
information, tips, and insights by gaining direct access to a community of
industry experts when searching for their real estate investment – saving time
and effort when sourcing information and conducting due diligence. With
experts’ knowledge and insights, investors can make better-informed decisions
like never before. According to the KPMG Global PropTech Survey, 86% of real
estate leaders agree that PropTech brings more opportunities for investments
through more accurate predictions and reliable information. Getting investors
closer to experts can unlock their full potential and succeed in real estate
investments – both locally and abroad.
Denzity (https://www.denzity.io/), a PropTech Hong Kong startup, is a free online resource for investors to learn, network, and find solutions for their overseas real estate investment search by gaining access to a global real estate community of industry experts. By utilizing the technology of the platform, investors can broadcast their questions related to overseas real estate investing to the community. Then, they can get answers directly from real estate experts of the right domain expertise (such as professional real estate agents, developers, world-class investors, advisors and more). By bringing investors closer to experts worldwide, Denzity helps investors to get a better sense of where to invest, what to invest, and how to invest in real estate – saving time while gaining better insights. The more you know, the less fear you’ll have to look for the right property.
Feng shui, the mysterious ancient Chinese science that the world loves. Feng shui masters believed that the position of the building and furniture could influence one’s fortune in various aspects.
Feng shui, the mysterious ancient Chinese science that the world loves. Oriented from China, feng shui is mainly used in architecture for good fortune. Feng shui masters believed that the position of the building and furniture could influence one’s wealth in various aspects. Based on what we sourced from our experts and community, here are some common feng shui ideas for a fortuitous real estate equity investment, even if you’re looking at Southeast Asian real estate markets like Vietnam real estate market or Malaysia real estate market.
Location, location, location
Real estate equity investment is all
about location. We all know that. But this is also true when it comes to feng
shui. It is crucial to look at the position of your preferred building before
you purchase it. For example, it is auspicious to have a roundabout, a mountain,
and a garden near the building. On the other hand, if there is a curved road, a
construction site, or a footbridge near your flat, then it may cause harm to
you and your family’s health. In general, a building with a bright view,
ventilated air, and good lighting will be a safe choice.
Floor number is not the same for everyone
In Chinese culture, the number 4 is considered ominous because it sounds like “death” in Chinese, while number 8 is deemed to be auspicious because it sounds like “fortune”. Therefore, most people will choose floor numbers with 8 and avoid floor numbers with 4. However, feng shui masters suggest that this is not the case. Each number represents a basic element: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth; just like each person. So, it is more important to examine if the floor number matches your own “fate” instead of merely looking at general guidelines. If you’re in doubt, try to seek some inspirations from the latest Denzity series where Denzity founder Darren Wong talks to feng shui real estate expert Allen Kong.
Positions of doors are the key to your fortune
The position of the main door is very important in feng shui. One of the main considerations in feng shui is “Qi”, which roughly translates into “air”, and doors are responsible for the transportation of Qi. There are certain dos and don’ts while designing your flat. The main entrance should not face any other doors, including those inside the flat and those of your neighbors. The main door should not face any windows, lifts, toilets, or kitchens. Pretty complicated right? That’s why people usually hire a feng shui in real estate expert before they start decorating.
Points of fortunes
There are different points of fortunes inside a flat. Feng shui experts will calculate the exact positions of these points according to the time of the year and the flat owner’s fate. To achieve the most from these points, you have to place specific furniture on specific locations. For instance, a piano can be placed on “the point of fortune” because the movement of playing the piano can increase cash flow, and children’s bedroom can be placed in “the point of academia” to improve their academic performances. In contrast, the toilet should not be placed in these two points.
Feng shui has become a hot topic in
recent years in the field of real estate equity investments. Although some may
see it as superstition, some people discovered that feng shui could be
explained by science. For example, it is not only auspicious to separate the
kitchen with the toilet, but also hygienic. Any thoughts on whether feng shui
practices should be applied in real estate equity investments? Let us know in
the comment section!
With
the high property prices in Hong Kong, many Hongkongers seek to invest in
overseas real estate markets. Markets near Hong Kong, like Japan real estate
market and Taiwan real estate market, are popular choices. Yet, in recent
years, investments in the Southeast Asian market has been on the rise. More
people are looking for real estate equity investments in Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. These
countries usually have a lower property price and low language barrier, making
them the new favorite for Hongkongers.
To suit the high demands of immigration applications from Hong Kong, the Malaysian government has launched Malaysia My Second Home Programme to allow foreigners to stay in Malaysia for a longer period of time, making it more appealing than ever to invest in Malaysia real estate market. Based on what we sourced from our experts and community, let’s look at some FAQs related to real estate equity investment in Malaysia.
Q: Are there any limitations for Hong Kong citizens when investing in the
Malaysia real estate market?
A: Yes. Although foreigners are
allowed to purchase real estate in Malaysia or even enjoy permanent land
ownership, there are still limitations regarding the price of the property. The
limitation amount varies among cities, yet it is a general rule that foreigners
cannot purchase the low-cost properties reserved for Malaysian citizens.
Q: Should I find a real estate agent from Hong Kong or Malaysia?
A: It is always recommended to find
a real estate expert that specializes in the Malaysia real estate market, or
preferably has experienced living in Malaysia. The easy way to go will be to check
out the directory on Denzity and look for Malaysia real estate market experts. Real
estate experts will share their insights on their expertise, including tips for
Malaysia real estate equity investment, rent returns, or even visa problems and
MM2H programme.
Q: Can I apply for a mortgage when investing in the Malaysia real estate
market?
A: Yes. You can do it from a local
Malaysian bank, or some of the banks in Hong Kong like HSBC and Standard
Chartered Bank. Usually, Malaysian banks tend to favor Malaysian citizens when
it comes to a mortgage. Locals can apply for a 90% mortgage easily, yet for
foreigners, it is usually 70%. If you do your mortgage through a Hong Kong
bank, then the mortgage amount will be even lower. We advise you to consult
your real estate expert to find out the best solution according to your
financial status.
Q: What kind of fees do I have to pay?
A: It is more or less similar to Hong
Kong. You have to pay various types of taxes regarding the type of property you
purchase, including stamp duty, property tax, and land tax. You will also need
to pay legal fees, land registry fees, and some administrative fees for the
government. Double-check with your real estate expert before you confirm the
payment of anything.
Q: What are the return rates of letting my property in Malaysia?
A: That highly depends on the
location of your property. According to the Annual Property Market Report published by Malaysia National
Property Information Centre in 2019, the average return rate would be 3-6%.
Yet, for properties in the “Golden Triangle”, it can go up to 10%. After
earning your profit, make sure to check out the tax deduction criteria to see
if you can be exempted from paying your taxes. In case of any problems, you can
consult Malaysian real estate experts and other real estate equity investment
enthusiasts from Denzity.
Investing
in the Malaysia real estate market is easy and convenient, but it can be confusing
as well. If you have any questions, be it big or small, go ahead and post it on
Denzity Directory (https://www.denzity.io/directory)
for real estate experts from
all over the world to answer your doubts.
Businesses always revolve around one common principle, and that is demand and supply. The Real Estate sector is no different. In recent years, Vietnam’s rising opportunities have drawn many outsiders into the country, which in turn increased the demand for both commercial and residential property.
Vietnam has been a hot topic in the industry lately, which is why today James Lai joins us to give you a deeper understanding of the Vietnam Real Estate market.
Why invest in Vietnam Real Estate?
How does Vietnam compare to other Southeast Asian property markets?
What are the rules for foreign investors?
Which areas to look into as a foreign investor?
Are there any risks involved? What are they?
As it can be difficult to catch some minor errors, transcripts may contain a few typos or inaccuracies.
This might be painfully obvious – Please note the following legal conditions:
Denzity owns the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of Denzity’s video programs and publications (collectively referred to as “Denzity Materials”, with all rights reserved and its right of publicity.
You are welcome to share the below transcript (up to 500 words but not more) in media articles (e.g., The South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, New York Times), on your website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Medium and WordPress), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “Denzity” and link back to the denzity.io/blog URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.
No one is authorized to copy any portion of the Denzity Materials or use Denzity’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services.
Terminology:
One belt one road policy: The one belt one road policy (OBOR), now known as the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) is a strategy initiated by President Xi Jin Ping of PRC. The main concept is to develop the country’s economy and relation with other countries by helping each other grow together. As of now, the one belt one road project involves more than 70 countries across the globe.
Flipping Real Estate: The term flipping refers to a specific strategy when it’s associated with real estate. This is when someone buys a property not to use it but to resell them for profit instead.
US-China trade war: The US-China trade war is an economic clash between the two countries which started in 2018 when US President Trump decided to impose tariffs on China as he believed them to be stealing intellectual property from the US.
SST (Sales and Service Tax): SST is composed of two elements; sales tax and service tax. Unlike GST (goods and service tax), which has a wider range, SST is a single staged tax system levied only on the service industry and manufacturers.
PST ( Provincial Sales Tax): PST is a type of tax service, which is imposed when a good or service is obtained by purchase and is brought inside a certain Province. The charges vary depending on the Provinces.
Alright, let’s get back to the transcript of the show. Enjoy!
===
Darren: So hey, James. Hey, how’s it going?
James: I’m good, I’m good.
Darren: That’s good. Yeah, thanks for coming to the show. And then it’d be great if the audience could know more about you like, would you mind telling me and the audience more about yourself and then your work.
James: All right. Okay, so I’m James and I actually run a family fund on behalf of my office, my family, and I’m focused on investing in real estate across the globe, and we have a footprint in UK, Canada, Hong Kong as well as Vietnam right now. So Chris right now is in Vietnam, due to the growth and opportunity we see. And in the past few years we have been, I have been actively investing in UK as the sub-divided house, so we have a basket of real estate in Manchester, Birmingham as well as London. Our strategy basically is to maximize our return. So, we have achieved more than 50% per annum, returning in the past three years in UK. So right now, we see the opportunity is in Vietnam. So we are in the process of building our portfolio in Vietnam. And so far, in terms of use, we have already achieved 8% to 9% per annum just on pure rental. We haven’t started flipping yet. And we haven’t sold any stock yet because we see a lot of opportunities coming up in Vietnam.
Darren: I see. Yeah, because I think we talked about before, I really want to know more about Vietnam. So I’m sure we both know, right, in the recent years, a lot of oversea investors, especially Asian investors, are looking to Vietnam real estate and they’re very interested. Can you explain a bit more on like, how the trends got started?
James: Right. The trend actually started in 2015 July when Vietnam government allowed foreign investors to buy real estate in residential. Basically they allow overseas investor to buy residential projects in Vietnam. So that’s where the trend started. And, actually at that time where the ECP, Ho Chi Minh city like Hanoi, they went up a lot. So during the time actually Ho Chi Minh went up a lot in D one D two, D one D seven and that kind of area they went up a lot. And in the past one year due to the trade war between Hong Kong and new between China and US. There’s a lot of manufacturers going to Vietnam, to send up industrial plots and stuff like that. And there’s a strong demand for living, especially in northern Vietnam say Hanoi and horrifying and that Kind of area. So that drove another wave of demand for investment in Hanoi. So recently we are starting our seminars in Hong Kong, on our Vietnam projects, we see a lot of people realize the fact that they control the COVID-19 dynamic very well in Vietnam. So they have developed the confidence to invest in Vietnam as well.
Darren: Yeah, I see. Yeah, it seems like there’s a lot of things happening obviously before and after COVID. And actually for the audience who might not understand about Vietnam, what are some cities areas or type of assets that oversea investor tend to be interested in when it comes to Vietnam real estate?
James: It’s basically in key cities like Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi and some of the secondary cities we seldom hear about it, but mostly in the core areas in Ho Chi Minh D One or Hanoi in around Westlake and mining area and stuff like that.
Darren: Yes, I see and for those areas it sounds kind of odd but is there any areas that you think that is a bit overrated?
James: Right now I think Ho Chi Minh is overrated for sure because we see some of the Hong Kong developers like Hong Kong land they have projects in D one in Ho Chi Minh. They are selling for like 5-6000 per square feet. So it’s actually- we see it is quite overpriced because we can already buy another apartment in Bangkok and maybe in Hong Kong, some of the old apartments you can trade around 5000 square feet already. So we see the whole shipment is a bit overpriced. While other areas like Hanoi, we still see a beautiful opportunity around the area especially because our strategy is just to invest in the key areas and in the key cities.
Darren: Yeah, I see I see. So, when it comes to investing in Vietnam right, for the investment process or the norm from different cities, countries what are some things that investors need to be aware of, when it comes to that?
James: Actually, the reason why we started to invest in Vietnam is because the taxation and purchasing process is very simple. Say for example, all we need to do is to sign the offer and we can just go to the coast of Vietnam inside the former SMP and the Taxes, we don’t have any capital gain; we don’t have any PST, SST and stuff like that. And this stage Vietnam government is still encouraging investors from outside Vietnam, so they don’t have any taxation on foreign investor yet. While obviously, the process is very smooth. We just spend a weekend and sign the SMP and that’s really it.
Darren: I see. So, you know, like I heard a lot of people kept talking about how it’s very hard to get your money out of Vietnam after selling the real estate. Is that true? And also, what are some potential risks and for oversea investors that might not be aware of when it comes to investing real estate in Vietnam?
James: Okay, so we basically have experience on assisting our investors to get money out from Vietnam and as long as it’s properly taxed, and the money is record clean, then there is no problem for the money to get off from Vietnam. So, yeah, we obviously we heard about a lot about people complaining how difficult money can get out from Vietnam but in practice, we don’t see any problem with that.
Darren: I see. Okay, so in my head, right because like for the past couple years, like I think someone asked me about investing in Vietnam as well. And I now looking back it’s kind of missed out because there’s a huge trend as you mentioned before, there are a lot of manufacturers from China moving to Vietnam and whole ecosystems are popping out. So do you think that’s still a relevant thing for the next couple years? And then what do you think are the outlook opportunities like what is the mystic pieces coming together that you feel has opportunity and a reason why should invest in Vietnam.
James: Okay, it’s all about supply and demand, right? Because there’s a population growth with where the population has a good affordability as well as the demand for living. There’s no doubt the real estate price will go up. So we already see the trend in the past six to 12 months in areas like Hanoi because they are situated in the capital of Vietnam and also in northern Vietnam rich close by China, and previously they have benefits by one belt one road policy by China which is the first stop outside China. So there’s a lot of infrastructure coming in and Hanoi say that metro, they have demand for manufacturers around Hanoi and the price is still cheap around the area. So we do fall costs in the coming two to three years. The price, the real estate pricing in Hanoi will still have room to go up.
Darren: I see. I see. So for people who are curious because a lot of people will be like, “Hey, I just want to invest in Southeast Asia,” and obviously you’re pro Vietnam. How would you describe like, if you’re a Hong Kong investors or any investors in Southeast Asia? How would you describe different parts of Southeast Asia why you should invest in there why you shouldn’t and vice versa, like I want to know your point of view on that.
James: Okay, so as a family fund, I have always been questioned why we have to always look around. So I myself, always look around countries in Southeast Asia before I go get into Vietnam, I actually studied markets like Thailand, like Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, and we always look into these kind of areas, but the problem with other areas is either the price never go up, or they already oversupply. Say for example, in Thailand, there’s a lot of small units coming in, in the market and especially in Bangkok, so it’s a bit of an oversupply there and the population is quite old. Why Vietnam is especially attractive to us because the population is young. And there’s a lot of rich people, and we see people getting rich and richer. So, obviously, if we’re talking about 1000-2000 per square foot in in Vietnam, in the core city and a really good area that’s an opportunity right now to get into.
Darren: Yes, I see. So it sounds like you’re among- Obviously you do different areas like I mentioned before UK, Canada and Vietnam. So it sounds like your focus is going to be mainly on Vietnam. And so I’m also curious too like what’s your next couple years plan for your funds because I want to know more about your projects coming up.
James: Right because doing this COVID-19 pandemic, our family fund actually learnt a lesson. Especially when we are trying to invest in UK and Canada. Because Canada and UK, they protect more. The problem we encountered right now in UK is some of the tenants we can’t take rent from them. And the government has already imposed measures where we can’t ask for out stamp, we can’t ask for it, we can’t sue them, we can’t kick them out because of COVID-19. And this is only one of them. One of the problems we faced in the past few months, but more importantly is we see we can’t kick out tenants that are right with the contracts fine. So that’s a huge problem for us because we don’t have any protection from the tenant because we don’t have a contract in place so they can actually consume our unit, depreciate our products. That’s not a good thing to us. And at the same time, we need to pay for mortgage and this is something we always need to bear in mind when we are investing in a mature market like UK and Canada. When it comes to an extreme, the case is going to vary extremely, we have a huge problem with our cash flow. While we see what we see in Vietnam, if the tenants stop paying rent, we have a system from the lawyer and a police to kick the tenant out no matter how the situation is. So this is more protection to investors like me. So, this is the problem we see. This is how we compare different markets right now.
Darren: I think it’s very fair. I mean, like, it doesn’t sound great, but then for a fun point of view, you might have to do some kind of measure like that. So no, it’s kind of interesting because like from every landlord or every investor they have different points of view. And then you know, whatever works, right. So like, I think I have one more last question in my head. So for someone who wants to learn more about, you know, become like a fund, you know, for example you help with family funds and stuff like that, what are some things that you do every single day that, you know, no one really talks because no one really talks about like, “Hey, if I’m a professional real estate investor, like a fund, what’s my daily look like?” I’m just curious about that.
James: Okay, so I basically receive projects every week, every day, from different sources, like agencies, bankers, and all that and all I need to do is to go through tech projects and make comparables that is very important, especially when the agency tells you “Oh you have like 7%-8% yield and you need to go into the area and find out is it really, that you’re talking about debits, especially because we are living in the internet era right now. It’s very easy to find out whether a statement is true or not right. So, whether the developer is reputable whether the information provided by the agent is true or not it’s actually very easy to find out. So what I practice myself in the past many years is to quickly scan through all the floor plans, all the projects very quickly and come up with an idea whether the project is reliable or not, that is very important. So once it’s reliable, we can talk about it on the next stage. We are going to meet and we’re gonna see if we’re gonna try that kind of area and all that yes.
Darren: Yeah, because like, I’m sure everyday, you’d be like, okay, “Is it just five or ten different investment coming to your table” and you’d be like, okay, it can be not what it said, it can be right or wrong. This is the kind of art that takes a long time to experience. To have someone like you, every single day, just practice and practice with practice. And 1000 units at once right, so it’s gonna be tricky. So I think that like the questions, I think it’s pretty good. Thanks for your answers. And then what what kind of takeaway would you like the audience know like one takeaway from this video?
James: Um, I think like I said before, Vietnam is still up, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, we see way more opportunity in Vietnam, in the coming many months in all years in Vietnam. So obviously, we have seminars, we have events every week in Hong Kong. So if there’s an NPC interested they can come to me and we can we can have a quick chat about it.
Darren: Yeah, so for the call to action, right, like how would people try to find more or learn more about you or or meet up with you. You know, how would they find more about these events that you guys are hosting.
James: Oh, so, every week we have seminars in NorthPoint, our hotel. Basically my partner is doing the event Louis Chiu. And we just talked about right now, the latest project we have is our fund. So we have set fund last year and we have already purchased residential slash commercial projects in Hanoi and we are trying to sell the project right now. So I was very fortunate after the COVID-19 measures has been relaxed. In Hong Kong we have received very good reactions. But we still have units available in the project. So if any interested party can come to us.
Darren: That would be great. Okay, so I’ll add everything in the show notes, and then people can find you through the links. And then I want to say thank you for your time because like, I know, it’s a lot of time for you to do all that kind of stuff. So I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for coming in.
James: Thank you very much. Thank you. You’re eyes are a little bit sweaty, are you okay? Are you tired?
Darren: No, just a lot of interviews, a lot of interviews with different people. So like, I’ve been kind of thinking about questions and it’s not easy, right? And at the same time is that like, we just want more people know more about real estate and what to do. And then I think that thinking about know, like, what kind of questions people are interested in, what are some kind of things that people want to know more so this is what Denzity is about. So it’s fine, but thanks for asking.
James: Yeah, yeah you look tired man, but anyway take some rest. Take care man.
Darren: Yeah, have a good one then. Thank you.
James: Thank you so much, bye!
===
Darren :嘿,James。嘿,怎麼樣?
James:我很好,我很好。
Darren :那很好。是的,謝謝你來參加節目。如果觀眾能更多地瞭解你,那就太好了,你能告訴我和觀眾更多關於你自己和你的工作嗎。
Darren :我明白了。是的,因為我想我們以前談過,我真的很想多瞭解越南。所以我相信我們都知道,對吧,近幾年來,很多海外投資者,特別是亞洲投資者,都把目光投向了越南房地產他們非常感興趣。你能解釋一下,趨勢是怎麼開始的嗎?
James:對。這一趨勢實際上始於2015年7月,當時越南政府允許外國投資者投資住宅區。基本上,他們允許海外投資者在越南購買住宅項目。所以那是]趨勢開始的地方。而且,實際上在當時的ECP,胡志明市像河內,他們漲了很多。所以在這段時間裏,胡志明在D 1 D 2,D 1 D 7以及類似的地方上漲了很多他們花了很多錢。而在過去的一年中,由於香港和新中國之間的貿易戰還有我們。有很多製造商去越南,把工業用地之類的東西送到越南去。以及生活需求旺盛,尤其是在越南北部,比如河內的那種地方。囙此,這又推動了對河內投資的新一波需求。最近我們在香港開始了關於越南項目的研討會,我們看到了很多人意識到,他們在越南很好地控制了COVID-19的動態。所以他們有也培養了投資越南的信心。
Darren :是的,我明白了。是啊,在喬維德之前和之後似乎有很多事情發生。實際上,對於那些可能不瞭解越南的觀眾來說,海外投資者在越南房地產方面會對哪些都市、地區或資產類型感興趣?
Darren :我明白了。好吧,在我的腦海裏,是的,就像過去幾年,我覺得有人問過我在越南投資的事。我現在回頭看,這有點錯過了,因為正如你之前提到的,有一個巨大的趨勢,有很多來自中國的製造商轉移到越南,整個生態系統都在湧現。所以你認為這對未來幾年來說還是一件相關的事情嗎?那麼,你認為未來的機會是什麼,比如什麼是神秘的原因聚集在一起,你覺得有機會,為什麼應該投資越南。
Darren :我覺得這很公平。我的意思是,聽起來不太好,但從有趣的角度來看,你可能需要做一些類似的措施。所以不,這有點有趣,因為就像每個房東或每個投資者一樣,他們有不同的觀點。然後你知道,不管怎樣,對吧。我想我腦子裏還有最後一個問題。所以對於一個想學習更多,你知道,成為一個基金的人,你知道,比如你幫助家庭基金之類的,你知道,你每天做的一些事情,你知道,沒有人真正談論,因為沒有人真的說,“嘿,如果我是一個專業的房地產投資者,比如基金,我的日常生活是什麼樣子的?”我只是好奇。
Darren :是的,因為我相信每天,你都會問,好吧,“就五或者十種不同的投資“你會說,好吧,它可能不是它說的,它可以是對的或是錯的。這是一種需要很長時間才能體驗的藝術。擁有像你這樣的人,每一天都在不斷地練習。一次1000個組織,對,所以這很棘手。所以我覺得和問題一樣,我覺得很好。謝謝你答案。那麼你想讓觀眾知道什麼樣的外賣,就像這段視頻裏的外賣一樣?