insight
工程技术，地产投资，信仰家园，时尚生活
The rare ability to seize the opportunities that emerge during a crisis has helped canny property investor Vina Ip make a packet.
When Ms Ip started buying real estate at the end of 2002, the market was in the doldrums, thanks to the dot.com crash.
"People were sceptical. They would say to me contemptuously, 'Good luck'," the former head of regional marketing for an information technology firm recalls.
But she was operating in a buyer's market and steadily accumulated a portfolio of two condominium units in the east, another two units in District 3 and a terrace house.
Ms Ip, 41, now lives in the three-storey terrace house but sold the rest after holding them for six to seven years at a net profit of 80 to 120 per cent.
"To be successful in property investing, you have to be contrarian and buy when no one else is buying," she says.
In 2010, she set up a personal property investment blog PropertySoul.com to share her experiences as an investor and exchange ideas with others.
Her posts are frequently reposted on news sites and wealth blogs.
In April, she published her first book, No B.S. Guide To Property Investment - Dirty Truths And Profitable Secrets To Building Wealth Through Properties.
The first print run of 1,500 was sold out and it is now into its second print run.
Ms Ip recently founded the Property Club Singapore, a neutral platform for learning and networking among private property buyers, investors and owners, without any marketing of property-related products or services.
The club, which has more than 100 members, organises regular talks and workshops to share knowledge and skills in property investment and management.
Ms Ip is married to a family physician and has two young daughters.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am a compulsive saver.
During my years of investing in properties, I saved 70 to 80 per cent of my monthly salary so that I could pay the down payment on my next property earlier.
With passive income from my rental properties, I could save 100 per cent of my pay cheque.
Q: On average, how much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I withdraw $100 a week from the ATM and spend a few hundred dollars to $1,500 a month on my two credit cards.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
We are loan-free now and should have saved enough for our golden years.
I am keeping my money in savings, fixed deposits, foreign currencies, commodities and some equities.
I will only invest in properties again when the time is right.
Savvy investors know that they don't need their money to be fully invested all the time.
I don't believe in buying medical insurance. We already have Medisave and the Government is making MediShield Life compulsory. By international standards, that is more than enough coverage.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I come from a humble background. Before I moved to Singapore in 1998, I grew up in a government-subsidised housing estate in Hong Kong.
During my schooldays, it was a daunting task to go home and ask my parents to pay for any study-related expenses.
My parents often worried and argued about money. But I am grateful that they taught me to work hard and save for the future. Q: How did you first get interested in investing?
From a young age, I dreamt of owning my own place one day. I wanted to own things I didn't have before - my bed, my desk, my wardrobe, my bedroom and my bathroom.
I started researching about private property after relocating here in my 20s. While renting an apartment with two other people, I saved enough for the down payment and bought my first condominium unit at the end of 2002.
I decided to continue to rent rather than move to the new place.
The affordable prices, low interest rates and good rental return from my first property helped me to fund the purchase of my second property.
For the next few years, I bought more properties, leased them out and used the passive income to subsidise my own rental and my next property purchase.
Q: What property do you own?
Apart from my terrace house, I sold my other properties as I felt the market was getting overheated.
To make real money in any investment, you have to move in early when things are cheap. Make your money, exit early and pass the risk to the excited latecomers who can't wait to get in.
Q: What is the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Definitely my properties. But they are all worth it.
Q:What is your retirement plan?
I am fortunate that years ago, I already had financial freedom and did not have to stick to my full-time job for the sake of paying the bills. Now, I only spend my precious time working on projects that I really love. And you don't talk about retirement if you are passionately doing something you enjoy, right?
I will continue to do what I do best - invest in properties against the property cycle.
Q: Home is now...
A The terrace house in the north-west of Singapore.
Q: I drive...
A one-year-old Audi car, a gift from my husband early this year.
Worst and best bet
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
Some IT and telecom mutual trusts that I invested in before the burst of the dot.com bubble. I thought I knew the market well because I was working in the industry.
There were also some inverse (exchange-traded funds) that I bought based on the recommendations from some so-called experts in the stock market.
The four lessons I learnt from these bad investments are: Never buy what everybody else is buying; never buy what the so-called experts recommend; never touch any investment that I don't know better than the seller; and never invest in anything that I can't manage myself and have absolutely no control over.
Q:And your best?
The five private properties that I bought at bottom prices between 2002 and 2007.
Thanks to the power of leveraging - by putting down a 20 per cent deposit, when the value of the properties doubled, my invested capital actually increased five times.
This article was first published on June 22, 2014.
