The privilege to learn from the best

“What? You have time to do this? You are not busy enough?”

“It won’t make any money. Why don’t you just focus on looking for good deals?”

“I’m keen to explore any property opportunity with you, but not this property club thing.”

“Don’t waste time. Who cares about the man in the street?”

“We Asians keep to ourselves about our own money. No one shares investment secrets with strangers.”

“People like to buy rubbish just let them buy rubbish. Who are you to tell others what to do with their money?”

But I started Property Club Singapore anyway.


Why mortgagee sale properties are on the rise

The article “More repossessed properties being put up for auction” published in The New Paper this Wednesday caught my attention.

Mortgagee properties put up for auction just hit a high in Q2. Because of TDSR, it is hard for borrowers to find buyers for their properties. Furthermore, potential buyers are holding back their purchase in anticipation of falling prices.

There are buyers who bought off plan properties at new launches end up with ‘undesirable’ units that can’t be leased or sold. Together with incessant supply of non-landed private homes and reduced import of foreigners, owners face difficulties finding tenants. Rising vacancy is expected to affect more owners on their ability to service their mortgage.

I wish we could have a property club earlier for property buyers to learn about the traps of buying properties and pick up some tips from experienced investors.


Property auctions are sizzling again

On the other hand, more buyers are out to find ‘real bargains’ in the midst of a slow market. There is a renewed interest in property auctions. Many are eyeing at properties on mortgagee sale.

In fact, ‘bank auction property’ has always been one of the top ten search words that directs readers to my blog. We all know that Singaporeans like to shop when there are discounts.

So I decided to kick-off the series of education seminars with the first one on Property Auctions and Mortgagee Sales on July 5. Honestly, I myself also wanted to build up my knowledge of this popular topic.


Finding the best speakers for the seminar

Auction is a busy department in a property consultancy firm. Besides regular auctions, the staff have to juggle their time for client meetings, house viewings and follow-up work.

But I want to invite the most experienced auctioneer in the field, ask the person to speak on a Saturday morning, and present for a not-too-big crowd from a property club that has just been formed this April!

Knight Frank auctions an average of 180 properties a year. Besides property auctions, Sharon Lee who is the Head of Auction also leads her team to conduct public auctions for pawnshops and government departments, including URA, HDB, SLA, JTC, Singapore Police Force, Land Transport Authority and Singapore Civil Defence Force.

With a full plate on her hand, I was overjoyed when Sharon agreed to meet me. At the end, she didn’t only agree to speak, but also asked a manager in her team to cover another topic.

In our next meeting, she passionately went through almost an hour with me on what could be covered at the seminar. I had learned a lot from her: how owners secure a higher deposit upfront; why agents can’t play tricks at auctions, how she helped an owner who couldn’t sell his property for a year, what are the things bidders need to know …

When I asked whether there would be a slide on the background or achievement of Knight Frank, she simply asked,

“Do you really want me to talk about that?”

On Tuesday afternoon, I attended one of her auctions. Being one of the top property auctioneers, Sharon auctioned a total of fourteen properties with professionalism, persistence, a positive attitude, and a sense of humor at times. How wonderful to watch a master at work!


Two-time lucky with another prominent speaker

I sent an e-mail to Rayney Wong, a lawyer who has 30 years’ experience in conveyancing law and litigation. He himself is a seasoned investor buying properties for more than two decades.

I was a bit hesitant because Rayney often speaks for an audience size of hundreds or even bigger. To my surprise, he called me back personally the same morning, confirming that he could share his many years of experience in helping clients with auctioned and mortgagee sale properties. He also told me some examples of how things could go wrong.

With these renowned speakers for the seminar, someone like me who only attended a few auctions and bought a bank sale property before is best to take the audience seat. I also feel like rewriting that article in my book about Finding gems in property auctions.

As Aristotle said, “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”


I get more than I give

It may be an ambitious plan to build a property club from scratch single-handedly. It takes lots of time and efforts, and the courage to face the unknown and many rejections.

But through the process, I have learned a lot and met many like-minded people. Above all, I’ve got to know a few great property investors whom I look forward to inviting them to speak at the club’s investor experience sharing sessions in the near future.

The most effective way to learn is to share with others what you know, and in return, listen to others who add on to what you already know.

To me, it is always a privilege to learn from the very best, and to serve the like-minded who share the same interest.