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工程技术，地产投资，信仰家园，时尚生活
正文
Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)
Pretty impressive fellow! He seems to have bought/sold properties at just the right times, netting nice gains in the process. Plus, he also enjoyed 4.5% rental yield on two properties. I wonder if he can repeat this feat again with commercial property? 
Apr 3, 2011
me & my money
Army man has a shot at selling houses
He shed his fatigues after a decade and was a top agent at property firm last year
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
Armed with a polytechnic diploma, Mr James Ng signed on as a regular in the army in 1998 because he liked the stability that came with the job. He was an army captain when he left the force a decade later to join bungalow specialist RealStar Premier Property Consultant as a property agent.
Looking back, Mr Ng, 35, said that it took a lot of courage for him to step out of his comfort zone and venture into a job that did not come with regular pay.
'The first few months in the job were tough as I did not manage to sell any property, and as a result, had no income,' he recalled.
He was also on a steep learning curve. For instance, he had to be careful about not misrepresenting information such as land size to his clients and he had to familiarise himself with the property regulations.
His efforts paid off, and he was one of RealStar's top producers last year.
Mr Ng marketed smaller landed properties like semi-detached homes first before progressing to bungalows. His first deal was a 3,400 sq ft semi-detached house in Bukit Timah which was sold for $3.95 million in early 2009, earning him a commission of $15,800.
His biggest property transaction to date is a 9,600 sq ft bungalow in Berrima Road. It was sold at $12 million in 2009. It was a co-broke deal with three other parties and he pocketed $20,000 in commissions.
He is now on a lookout for commercial properties as a means to grow his passive income.
Mr Ng graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in electronics and computer studies in 1997. He is married to Ms Sharon Yip, 37, and they have two sons Cayden, five, and Kavis, two.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am a saver. Other than household expenses which take up 30 per cent of my income, the rest is saved or re-invested.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I have six credit cards but I use two of them more heavily, mainly for the discounts and reward points. I charge an average of $3,500 monthly to the cards and I make full payment each month. I withdraw about $500 fortnightly from the ATM.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I don't believe in investing via insurance so all my policies are for providing protection. I own a term plan, a personal accidental cover and medical insurance. I am covered $600,000 on my life. The family's annual premiums are $3,400.
I've invested $22,000 of my Central Provident Fund Special Account in equities via a unit trust.
I don't invest in instruments that I am unfamiliar with. All my investments are mainly in properties that I jointly invest in with my friend who is also a property agent.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the third child in a family of four children. We lived in a zinc-roof house in a kampung in Jalan Ulu Sembawang.
My father was a supervisor in a construction firm and my mother was a food vendor in a primary school. I saw how hard my parents worked to make a living. Despite the long hours at work, they could hardly save.
I was not interested in my school work but I managed to graduate from polytechnic. I signed on with the army as it could give me a stable job with stable income.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
In 2000, I invested in shares without any knowledge of what was going on. It was more like gambling than investing.
In 2002, I invested $30,000 in an ornamental fish business with two friends and lost $10,000 when it closed down two years later.
In 2004, my wife and I set up Mario Dog pet shop in Tampines with an investment of $50,000. It is profitable and my wife is managing it.
My interest in property investments grew when I invested in a condo unit in 2007 with my housing broker friend.
Q: What property do you own?
In 2005, I bought a 1,227 sq ft condo in Simei for $565,000. I sold it for $750,000 in 2008. In the same year, I bought a 1,580 sq ft executive apartment in Pasir Ris Central for $575,000. It is currently worth about $620,000.
Meanwhile, in 2007, I bought a 951 sq ft condo unit in district nine with my friend. The unit cost $1.2 million and we sold it for $1.45 million a year later just before the global markets crashed in September 2008, at the onset of the global financial crisis.
Last year, I invested in two condo units in the East Coast with my friend. One is a 1,518 sq ft unit bought at $2.02 million and sold at $2.27 million within the same year. The other is a 1,109 sq ft 99-year leasehold property bought for $1.1 million and sold with tenancy at about $1.4 million in January. We enjoyed a rental yield of 4.5 per cent for a year before it was sold.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
It would be my current car, a BMW X3 which I bought for $132,000. Although it is a depreciating item, it has served my family and me well for the past two years.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I hope to work for as long as I can because I enjoy what I am doing now. My wife and I are not big spenders, so I think a monthly amount of $4,000 to $5,000 should be very comfortable during our golden years. Currently, I am looking at investing in commercial properties, like shophouses, that should be able to give me a stream of passive income. This would be part of my retirement planning.
Q: Home is now...
My executive apartment in Pasir Ris Central.
Q: I drive...
A black BMW X3.
lorna@sph.com.sg
-------------------------------------------------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What's your worst investment todate?
It was investing in penny stocks without having much knowledge of how the companies were performing. When I was 24, I invested a total of $20,000 in an Indonesian stock and, over a 10-month period, I lost 95 per cent of the value when the price fell. I bought more of the stock when the price fell because I refused to believe that I had picked the wrong stock. I didn't do my homework... I was silly then.
Q: And your best investment todate?
This was when I bought my first private property in 2006. With the profit of more than $150,000 generated from the sale of that property in 2008, I bought an executive HDB apartment for my own stay in the same year.
Apr 3, 2011
me & my money
Army man has a shot at selling houses
He shed his fatigues after a decade and was a top agent at property firm last year
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
Armed with a polytechnic diploma, Mr James Ng signed on as a regular in the army in 1998 because he liked the stability that came with the job. He was an army captain when he left the force a decade later to join bungalow specialist RealStar Premier Property Consultant as a property agent.
Looking back, Mr Ng, 35, said that it took a lot of courage for him to step out of his comfort zone and venture into a job that did not come with regular pay.
'The first few months in the job were tough as I did not manage to sell any property, and as a result, had no income,' he recalled.
He was also on a steep learning curve. For instance, he had to be careful about not misrepresenting information such as land size to his clients and he had to familiarise himself with the property regulations.
His efforts paid off, and he was one of RealStar's top producers last year.
Mr Ng marketed smaller landed properties like semi-detached homes first before progressing to bungalows. His first deal was a 3,400 sq ft semi-detached house in Bukit Timah which was sold for $3.95 million in early 2009, earning him a commission of $15,800.
His biggest property transaction to date is a 9,600 sq ft bungalow in Berrima Road. It was sold at $12 million in 2009. It was a co-broke deal with three other parties and he pocketed $20,000 in commissions.
He is now on a lookout for commercial properties as a means to grow his passive income.
Mr Ng graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in electronics and computer studies in 1997. He is married to Ms Sharon Yip, 37, and they have two sons Cayden, five, and Kavis, two.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am a saver. Other than household expenses which take up 30 per cent of my income, the rest is saved or re-invested.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I have six credit cards but I use two of them more heavily, mainly for the discounts and reward points. I charge an average of $3,500 monthly to the cards and I make full payment each month. I withdraw about $500 fortnightly from the ATM.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I don't believe in investing via insurance so all my policies are for providing protection. I own a term plan, a personal accidental cover and medical insurance. I am covered $600,000 on my life. The family's annual premiums are $3,400.
I've invested $22,000 of my Central Provident Fund Special Account in equities via a unit trust.
I don't invest in instruments that I am unfamiliar with. All my investments are mainly in properties that I jointly invest in with my friend who is also a property agent.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the third child in a family of four children. We lived in a zinc-roof house in a kampung in Jalan Ulu Sembawang.
My father was a supervisor in a construction firm and my mother was a food vendor in a primary school. I saw how hard my parents worked to make a living. Despite the long hours at work, they could hardly save.
I was not interested in my school work but I managed to graduate from polytechnic. I signed on with the army as it could give me a stable job with stable income.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
In 2000, I invested in shares without any knowledge of what was going on. It was more like gambling than investing.
In 2002, I invested $30,000 in an ornamental fish business with two friends and lost $10,000 when it closed down two years later.
In 2004, my wife and I set up Mario Dog pet shop in Tampines with an investment of $50,000. It is profitable and my wife is managing it.
My interest in property investments grew when I invested in a condo unit in 2007 with my housing broker friend.
Q: What property do you own?
In 2005, I bought a 1,227 sq ft condo in Simei for $565,000. I sold it for $750,000 in 2008. In the same year, I bought a 1,580 sq ft executive apartment in Pasir Ris Central for $575,000. It is currently worth about $620,000.
Meanwhile, in 2007, I bought a 951 sq ft condo unit in district nine with my friend. The unit cost $1.2 million and we sold it for $1.45 million a year later just before the global markets crashed in September 2008, at the onset of the global financial crisis.
Last year, I invested in two condo units in the East Coast with my friend. One is a 1,518 sq ft unit bought at $2.02 million and sold at $2.27 million within the same year. The other is a 1,109 sq ft 99-year leasehold property bought for $1.1 million and sold with tenancy at about $1.4 million in January. We enjoyed a rental yield of 4.5 per cent for a year before it was sold.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
It would be my current car, a BMW X3 which I bought for $132,000. Although it is a depreciating item, it has served my family and me well for the past two years.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I hope to work for as long as I can because I enjoy what I am doing now. My wife and I are not big spenders, so I think a monthly amount of $4,000 to $5,000 should be very comfortable during our golden years. Currently, I am looking at investing in commercial properties, like shophouses, that should be able to give me a stream of passive income. This would be part of my retirement planning.
Q: Home is now...
My executive apartment in Pasir Ris Central.
Q: I drive...
A black BMW X3.
lorna@sph.com.sg
-------------------------------------------------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What's your worst investment todate?
It was investing in penny stocks without having much knowledge of how the companies were performing. When I was 24, I invested a total of $20,000 in an Indonesian stock and, over a 10-month period, I lost 95 per cent of the value when the price fell. I bought more of the stock when the price fell because I refused to believe that I had picked the wrong stock. I didn't do my homework... I was silly then.
Q: And your best investment todate?
This was when I bought my first private property in 2006. With the profit of more than $150,000 generated from the sale of that property in 2008, I bought an executive HDB apartment for my own stay in the same year.
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