NottingHill Suites - Ace Wong 90708818

Walk Straight, Walk with me, You'll Never Walk Alone

This is a story from Dennis Yong.

When he was in China, he has to learn the culture of each and every state, provinces etc. So when it comes to crossing the road, he was shocked to learn that in order to reach the other side, the local Chinese just walked straight, without looking left or right.

The moral of the story is: Many times in our life, we tend to look left or right instead of looking in front towards our goal, so we lose focus and was detoured from our path. We should learn this attitude from the Chinese; when we set a goal, just walk straight towards it, stay focus and never look left and right.

The other part of his story goes like this: He saw that a car initially from the inner most lane was slowly switching lanes and it is obvious that the driver is making a U-turn. All he did was to cautiously change lane and change direction. The best part of the story is the driver finally managed to make the U-turn but was at the outer most lane! Amazingly, the on-coming car not only did not crash into him, but slowed down and let the u-turn driver filter to join the opposite direction cars.

Moral is: We must stay focus and sharp at the same time. The circumstances and situation changes rapidly, so we have to adept to changes and react positively to it; much like the on-coming driver who slowed down his vehicle so as to adept to the changes instantly.

Cheers and Live with Passion!

Sell Out at Kovan Melody

Kovan Melody has sold out its 778 units today!

Having a strong draw of buyers for its location - Next to MRT, amenities, shopping centre, hawker food centre and hundreds of convenient shops, it is without a doubt an owner's dream to own a property with so much in value. In addition, Kovan Melody has a unique feature that adds a safety element to the all. With all these benefits, it is no wonder every home owner is attracted to this development.

Now that all units are sold, one can only watch with envy when it comes to property appreciation in value - a handsome sum of around $60,000 - $100,000.

Thanks Be To GOD!

Property Investment

The article ("Good time to invest in S'pore real estate: Minister" ST Apr 11 2007) is a big boost for Singapore property market. With foreign companies investing $5.4 billion in 2006, it clearly shows our economy is structurally and fundamentally strong.

With such strong confidence in the Singapore economy, we can see more foreign investors snapping up Singapore properties by the "bulk". A Chinese investor just did that by purchasing a whole block of 10 units of a new luanch development in Balmoral / Stevens Road area, amounting to $52 million.

The ripple effect for the rise in property price is also felt in the mass market condominiums. Kovan Melody located just next to the exit of Kovan MRT, has enjoyed an appreciation of 10%-12% since its launch in 2004. With the economy staying strong, I can only imagine further appreciation in property prices for this development. For the investors in Kovan Melody, they are enjoying a return of around 5%, and forseable higher return in years to come.

Good Investment!

New Year new targets

2007 came and out went 2006. Time to reflect and make new goals for the year.

2006 was a decent year. I had improved in my deals, which translate to having more money. Hooray! But on the other hand, I had also learnt the hard way of not managing myself, my expences, my money properly. But all these are in the past, now time to plan for the year...

2007 Targets:
i) personal goal - do better in managing myself, my expences, and my money!
ii) sales goal - 5 cases a month for next 12 months
iii) team goal - groom my new members to become a highly respectable professional realtor.

Exclusive "Killer" Technology - WIS

WOW! WOW! WOW!
There is a brand new revolutionary property web-based search tool that all real estate agents in Singapore are dying to have. It has 1700 Condo / Apt Layout plans, 1200 Commercial / Industrial properties, 65000 Landed Properties with the latest E-Litho, 880000 owners, including 1 million Telephone Numbers.

With such system, I will have the fastest and the most up-to-date information on the Internet. And I can provide these information to my clients instantly. How exciting!

And I foresee getting the seller to list with me will be more convincing using this system. And to top it all, I can do my presentation anywhere, anytime comes Jan 07, as we are moving into wireless throughout the whole island. Sweet!

Since this is exclusive software to HSR, all other agents will have to join HSR to enjoy this privilege.

cheero

99 year leasehold vs Freehold

The tenure of a property has always been a factor when purchasing a condominium. Most buyers would prefer to have a Freehold tenure condominium compare to 99 yr leasehold.

Previously, Central Provident Fund (CPF) does not allow its members to use savings to buy properties with leases less than 60 years remaining. But this has changed to 30 years remaining. And with this change, the line between leasehold and freehold is increasingly blurred.

"Long term prospect for the 99-year leasehole properties now look much better with the precedent set by Eng Cheong Tower. Successful new leasehold developments include The Sail @ Marina, The Berth @ Sentosa Cove and 8 @ Mt Sophia. So when it comes to it, property is about location. Tenure is important but still secondary." (ST June 30, 2005 - Property Watch)

You should visit Kovan Melody, a brand new soon-to-TOP development next to Kovan MRT. It has full condo facilities and vast amenities including Heartland Mall, banks, and hawker centre - just opposite the condominium.

So why wait? Come down today or call me @ 9185-0641 for viewing appointment.

Cheers

Excellence

As the word goes, being second best is just not good enough.

I have modified my "slogan" from Attitute-Commitment-Execution to Attitute-Commitment-Excellence.

I strongly felt that having Positive Attitute, Service Commitment,and Smooth Execution for my clients are somewhat not "perfect" enough. They deserve my Excellent Service, Excellent Attitute, and Excellence Experience in the whole process of Purchasing / Selling their property.

And this is what I am going to do for all my clients, now and in future.

Cheers

Changes breed Challenges

I am guilty of not updating my blog for a long while.

There were a lot of changes in the last couple of months, especially in the agency I was in association with. There was a business re-structuring exercise and all commission-based agents were asked to leave and look for another agency. That was in late April. (*How ironic, here I am as self-employed realtor and yet I was retrenched! Something is not right in this picture)

So off we(my buddies & I) went from agency to agency to find out the commission structure, support from the agency, frequency of training... etc and the office enviornment. So after 2 weeks and much deliberation, we finalised our decision and signed up to be associate of HSR International Realtor Pte Ltd.

So what are the pull factors? HSR strength lies in project marketing. As we can see in the market, more and more projects are launched each week. By targeting to the primary market, we are also helping ourselves to build up our secondary market (or resale) listings. So this will cut down our effort to source or solicit for resale listings.

The on-going daily training programs makes it attractive for new recruits. Hence my recruitment will be made easier. All these trainings are free! And are open to all agents, experience or not.

So with these and many other pull factors, I am sure my buddies and I will make more money in real estate. Cheers!

Double Happiness

Ha ha, it's not what most people would think. It's my birthday - 20th Jun, and put it with the year it becomes 20062006! So it's Double Happiness!

To top it, a friend who shares the same birthday wishes me a Fantastic Brithday, it Triples the Happiness! Hooray! (of course I wish her the same)

Come to think of it, I am really lucky to have been born on this date and live through this part of the century to be part of this Once-in-a-Lifetime auspicious birth date. There were 121 couples who got married on this day too!

What more can I ask for? I have lived through 36 years, am still single, am looking for a suitable wife, have a wonderful career (Real Estate with HSR International Realtors Pte Ltd).... I'd just I just want to be happy and not worry. Cheers!

Revised resale levy on 2nd subsidised flat

The recent revision in resale levy on 2nd subsidised flat gives something to cheer for in the resale market when the levy is set at a fixed amount.

For example, a flat owner selling his executive flat in Mei Ling St would fetch the price ranging from $480,000 - $510,000. If he book his 2nd subsidised flat from HDB, he would have to pay (before revision) 25% resale levy (based on resale price or 90% of the market valuation, whichever is higher) which works out to $120,000-$127,500. Now he has only to pay $50,000. A hefty saving.

With this much of savings in resale levy, it would prompt more home owners to sell off their current flat to get a 2nd subsidised flat. But I don't think it will cause much franzy since the location of new HDB units are, in my opinion, far away.

However, on the other end of the spectrum, a 2-room flat owner may not welcome this change. The average selling price of a 2-room flat is about $100,000-$110,000. The resale levy is 10% which works out to be $10,000-$11,000. But after the revision, he has to pay $15,000 fixed amount. Obviously, these flat owners will be discouraged to get a 2nd subsidised flat.

Mobile: 9185-0641

Office rental is climbing up

With the positive growth in out economy for the past 2 quarters, the property market had also responded in the similar positive manner. The private residential sector is the first to react and the prices will soar even further.

Office space rental is now feeling the ripples effect of the upswing, hence prime locations office units are expected to increase their rental as well. Prime units charging $4psf are expected to increase by double to $8psf (according to the report by Savills Research, ST 16 Feb 06), which is still lower then $12psf in 1996.

With this positive signal, it's good news for me as I am into office rental. Looking forward tio more good Business!

Mobile: 9185-0641

$3000 Gross pay

I was serving a buyer last Sunday. He is single and wants to buy a flat around central / town area. So I arranged for him to view 4 HDB units - 3-rm and 4-rm types. One of the units (a 4'S' type) we saw was fabulous and he immediately fall in love with it. He decided to make an offer but was told to wait by the seller. My buyer agreed.

Meanwhile, being a diligent agent, I was calculating his finance requirement for his installment. Then it hit me that his gross pay exceeds $3000 and hence he has to apply for bank loan. Unfortunately, as I found out then, he could not afford the 5% cash that is required of him for the bank loan, let alone the cash above valuation. Dead end.

My views... 5-rms & Exec flats

Year of the Dog is round the corner. Many chinese families are busy getting ready for the Lunar New Year. Hence, a slowdown in real estate marketing activities during this period of the year is expected.

But comes Feb, all marketing activities will resume and serious buyers will be out in full force after all the 're-charging' during the festive period. I'd reckon there are more transactions for 5-rm and Executive flats.

HDB resale transactions for the last quater indicated an increase in number of tranactions for such flats. These boost the resale prices to go up slightly but only for units at good locations - near MRT, schools, amenities, etc. Well renovated units are also good value for money.

Recently, I have felt more buyers want are buying to stay with their parents together, and with the change in application for grant, I can see 5-rms and Exec flats to have more transactions. Previously, buyers in a family nucleus with combined income of more than $8000 are not eligible to apply for grant but this mark has been raised to $12000. Hence it has created a new group of buyers for big units.

For 5-rm and Exec sellers, the good news is you can expect to see more viewers to your unit after Lunar New Year. But don't forget, units at good location will attract more buyers.

*ps: Pls call 91850641 to have further discussion with me.

New Year New Vision

I have new vision for my blog and there will be more input on regular basis. I am more "fired" up to have a blog that documents my progress - in real estate, darts and my team performance.

So what makes me "fired up"? ----- I have a coach. In fact, he is Asia's Sales Coach, Mr Tony Latimer. (read his blog here)

He works with me and cover areas (in sales and marketing) that I think I need to improve. In fact, I have just completed a session with him today via internet and I am putting my "to-do" into action. And my top most "to-do" is to post, on a regular basis, my comments and opinions on the current real estate market trend.

Where did i get this idea? It started with Tony asking me what my plans are for 2006. One of things I want to do is to keep in contact with my existing clients. Unlike insurance agents, real estate agents going back to their clients will usually end up with "Do you have any referrals for me?" So Tony says there is no benefit for my clients when I make the calls.

So he asked me what else can I do to benefit them with my call, and that started my brain churning and I came up with this idea of creating my commentry and analysts of the market trend in real estate, put it in this blog and share with everyone. So from a wish-list of "want to keep in contact with existing client", I have expended the idea to having anyone to read my commentry / analysts of the real estate market trend. What an inspiration!

Oct week 1

WHOW! What a way to start the month and a Monday! Ideal case happened - 1 viewing and closed at the same time. Contracted signed on Tue and will collect commission today.

Another 2 office space requests came in on Mon and they look just as delicious. Hopefully they can stay with me and I think I can close on them also.

Hard work does pay!

Co Broking - Part 2

Fri 23 Sept
Landlord and Tenant met for the first time. As we were going through the draft TA, Tenant threw some questions pertaining to Landlord's and Tenant's liabilities on the air-con compressors. Landlord was defensive and was trying to push back to Tenant. Luckily Adrian and I were around to help diffuse those points and both parties eventually agreed to share cost in the event of a failure.

All other points cleared! Yes! This deal is good. Now for the Letter of Acceptance and TA.

Co Broking

Tue 13 Sept
Received a call for my office cum warehouse ad. Ms C was the caller. As it turns out, the unit in my ad was not suitable for her company's requirement. So I ran some checks on other locations and returned call to her. Then she told me about E-Centre @ Redhill.

"Gosh! I have not got any listing on that building..." I thought to myself "...come on Ace, don't lose this lead. 5000-6000 sqft of office space lease, it's good money".... think think think.... Bingo! Adrian (former RA colleague)!

Called him and spoke to him about prospect's requirement, and he got a list of locations. Alright! I setup viewing appt with Ms C on Fri afternoon.

Fri 16 Sept
Met Ms C and her bosses and viewed 3 locations. They liked the one at Redhill area. The existing tenant had renovated and partitioned the whole office very nicely. Coporate image is there. Frankly, it's just too good to miss. Ms C required more information on the pricing and other issues. Promised to revert to her on Mon.

Mon 19 Sept
Ms C and her colleague were having long meetings in the afternoon. Couldn't speak with them directly, so I could only SMS to her. She called me during her break from the meeting and we went striaght into the topic of an offer to the landlord. Adrian went to negotiate with the landlord directly. After few rounds of talk, we have an agreement on the terms. Yes! We've done it! Now it's the tenancy agreement.

It was scheduled to meet up with both sides' bosses on Fri 23 Sept, 2 pm.

Team leader

I am now being appointed as a team leader. So have to start recruiting new property agents. Had my 1st advert on Fri. Coincidentally, Dave Phua also placed his recruitment ad. The results wasn't good at all; bearing only 1 caller and appointment. But as it turns out, the caller has also arranged an appointment with Dave. Seems like we have a prankster on the prowl.

My hunch was proven right when approaching the appointment date and time, he did not answer his phone at all. Needless to say, he did not turn up as well.

I have decided to place a recruitment ad on my own cost to try out different approach. I am thinking that since I have to pay the advert cost for recruitment to company if I fail to recruit an agent, then I would want to try to advertise on my own so my exposure can be more. Most importantly, once I recruit a fresh agent, I do not have to pay $100 advert cost. So this has to be covered first.

Turning Point

So much happened in the company recently in the last 6 weeks. There were lots of stress, good stress, I'd say.

On Aug 5, the agency switched franchisor from Dennis Wee Group to Coldwell Banker. My Group Director, Mr N. jumped ship to DW. I'd reckon he is but a person who bites the hand that feeds him, and I have zero respect for him as a manager/director anyway.

But I stayed on. Bosses questioned why I didn't go, so I said,"I am all for RA, I am still here with RA, I did not jump ship, I stick on!" In my heart I was puzzled,"What else are they asking for?"
Isn't it true that actions speak louder than words?

Later I understood what they meant. They wanted me to commit to RA. They wanted me to do more than what I have been doing. They want to see me succeed!

Ryman had said,"Ace, there is a lot more you can give, there is a lot more you can do, there is a lot more you can achieve. I see you have the potential, don't waste it. Use it!"

That's when I "woke up", that's when it hit me and hard! I decided to take a step forward there and then, and told bosses I am ready for new challenges, I am committed to RA!