The property market is experiencing a mini revival now. Recent launches such as Park Place Residences sold out its released units in a single day, a phenomenon that had not happened in the last 5 years! Given the strengthening sentiments, developers are also bidding for land aggressively. Add to the fact that the mainstream media is talking about the possibility of a property rebound, Singaporeans are making a visit to the sales gallery their weekend activities. Afterall, Asians, specifically Singaporeans, have a strong love affair with property investing. On this topic, Heartland Boy agrees that property is a good investment option since it helps to diversify an investment portfolio. It is for this reason that Heartland Boy recently attended a property investment course titled “How To Buy Good Quality Properties” by Property Club Singapore. He came away greatly enriched and would like to explain why it makes for a good property investment course for novice property investors.
1. Conducted By A Highly Experienced And Objective Instructor
Vina, the founder of property investment blog Property Soul, is the instructor of the workshop. Recently, Property Soul itself was ranked 23rd amongst the top 75 Property Investment Blogs of the world, a feat which no other blog in Singapore could boast of.
Ever since Vina arrived in Singapore from Hong Kong, Vina has visited over hundred new condominium launches and house viewings. More importantly, she has a proven track record of making money from real estate investment. Remember what Heartland Boy said about property and Asians? During the course, Vina was able to inspire the class with her profitable investments as well as regale them with her personal experience of the dirty tricks often used by property agents. Furthermore, in her capacity as a neutral instructor, Vina could explain the concepts in an objective manner with no vested interest. Along the same vein, one shall not expect Vina to give tips on where is the best property to buy in Singapore during her property course. Rather, she would teach you the techniques and critical factors to identify the best investment property yourself.
Vina is also the author behind the book titled “No B.S. Guide To Property Investment”. When the book was released in 2014, it was ranked in the top 10 of Kinokuniya’s monthly bestsellers. After reading her book, Heartland Boy was convinced that the property investment course conducted by Vina would be top-notch. And it definitely did not disappoint.
Vina and Heartland Boy with her book after the property investment course has ended
2. Comprehensive Course Outline
With the course planned to educate participants on how to buy good quality properties, Vina segmented the content into 2 broad categories- new launch traps and fengshui.
She highlighted the potential traps deployed by developers at sales gallery and shared how a systematic 5-step process can help a home buyer focus on the task at hand. This 5-step process allows a home buyer to identify the best stack and the best unit of any project. This is obviously very important and definitely a subject that has not been taught in school!
Having learnt all his real estate knowledge from the developer’s perspective, Heartland Boy had never looked at real estate investing from a fengshui perspective. Therefore, when Vina explained how fengshui influences property investment, Heartland Boy absorbed everything like a sponge. Heartland Boy was so fascinated that he immediately brought out the floor plan of his HDB unit when the workshop concluded. He could now plan the interior design of his HDB apartment without neglecting the fengshui aspect. So for those who are excitedly planning for the renovation of their HDB BTO, having a little bit of fengshui knowledge from this course can only help!
Vina also gladly shared tips to the ladies in attendance on how they could manipulate fengshui to make their husbands more subservient! It was a good thing that Heartland Girl did not attend the course as Heartland Boy could now plan the layout of their HDB BTO unit to suit his kua (卦) number . And she wouldn’t even smell a rat!
The Art Of Fengshui When Designing A House
3. Hands-On Activities Supplemented With Real Case Studies
The best way to learn is to apply the theories taught into immediate practice. On this, Vina had prepared several real case studies by providing the site plans of various projects. This allowed the participants to practice the 5-step process so that they would know what to do when they walk into a showflat in the future. It was really good training to hone the participants’ skills. The examples used in class were really diverse- from Panorama at Ang Mo Kio to City Gate at Beach Road. Therefore, whether you are buying for your own stay or for investment, your needs would be well looked after.
With regards to the fengshui concepts, participants were given floor plans of several units. One of the tasks was to locate the “centre point” of the apartment from the floor plans. That was a very interesting exercise as she solicited advice on how the fengshui of the interior layout can be improved with simple re-designs.
Group work on real case studies during the workshop
Review of Property Investment Course
For the 1-day course on “How To Buy Good Quality Properties”, Heartland Boy paid $299. It was money well spent as property is a big ticket item and any mistake could be much more costly than this course fee. It was a short training whereby participants should be able to absorb most of what the instructor has to teach. Most importantly, it should be a small stepping stone for those who are interested on how to invest in property. The great news is that Vina is also planning a series of 1-day property related courses to help the novice investor better grasp the concept of property investing. Here are the following details:
This workshop covers the rare topic of handing and taking over your property from the developer. Understand what are the common defects and most importantly, the rights a home owner has during the defects inspection process. This workshop would be useful for Heartland Boy who is getting the keys to his BTO next year.
This workshop covers affordability, discovering gems among cheap properties, tactics on negotiations with real estate agents and the entire process from submitting a booking form to sale completion.
Besides Heartland Boy’s review, “How To Buy Good Quality Properties” course has also received positive testimonials from its participants. Generally, participants commended on how the course had benefitted them when they select their HDB BTO unit as well as assisting them to determine good rental properties. Indeed, Heartland Boy would highly recommend this course for all real estate beginners. It is important to arm yourself with basic due diligence before committing a big purchase such as property.
Before you purchase and renovate your investment property, find out how much you can afford in your monthly mortgage by utilising a free smart refinancing tool available online.
I vaguely rem you talking about being a geomancer a long long time ago 😉
secondary school fantasy haha
No developers desire a sell-out in one day. It means that they have under-valued and under-sold the projects. The directors will have to answer to the shareholders and investors. Their objectives are maximum profits not record time!
Hi Fred,
Agree with you!