QUEEN OF PROPERTY
NSTP Property Times
23 August 2003 issue

“Here’s a book for you to read… it’s by this woman who’s had no property background, but today is very successful buying and selling properties. Give her a call and talk to her,” said my editor, Andrew Wong, a few weeks ago.

He gave me the manuscript to Renesial Leong’s book, titled Property Jewels. I took one look, flipped through a few pages and promptly told Andrew it looked like one of my school textbooks, something I outgrew years ago.

But work is work. I had no qualms about meeting the author, so I took the draft home to read and prepare my interview. And was I in for a surprise! Not only is it written in a clear and understandable manner, it’s also littered with gems of advice from real-life experiences.

After finishing the effort, which seemed to be modelled on a Dummy-meets-Chicken Soup book, I couldn’t wait for the interview and days later, over a sumptuous Japanese lunch, Leong explained how she got into the buying and selling of properties.

Concrete rewards
“After working for 10 years in business administration, I decided to become my own boss in the mid-80s, and started an import-export business from a rented shophouse in SS19, Subang Jaya,” she began.

“Not long after, I encountered problems with the landlord, who wanted to increase my rent by 100 per cent. I had no choice but to move out and this disrupted my business.”

She realised then that moving to another rented unit held no guarantee that she would be free of greedy landlords and rising rents. She also realised that buying landed property has its rewards.

Her first acquisition - a double-storey terrace house in Taman Sri Rampai, Kuala Lumpur - was bought for RM45,000 in 1988 and subsequently let out at a rate that gave her a monthly surplus of RM100 after paying the mortgage instalment.

“I realised that it made more sense to own, especially properties that can command rents which are more than a bank’s monthly instalment.

“It provides good passive income,” Leong said.

What she learnt during a trip that took her to Hong Kong, China and Canada cemented her resolve to get into the business of trading real estate.

While in Hong Kong, she read in the local newspapers that the island’s property tycoon Li Ka Shing had won a bidding war for a prime piece of development land.

Her next stop was Beijing, China. While passing through Wang Fu Jiang, the city’s commercial heart, she was attracted by a row of specially designed “for rent only” office buildings stretching from Silver Street to Gold Street, all of which belonged to Li.

Her final stop was Vancouver, Canada, where she saw a group of locals protesting the award of a prime piece of beachfront land to another of Li’s development companies.

Leong found out later that the rationale for giving Li the job was because of his strong financial standing, excellent track record and ability to develop the land on his own, unlike the closest bid by a consortium of four companies.

“Was I impressed by Li’s achievements! Right at that moment, I knew I had to make a career out of property investment,” she said.

Getting into the business, she found out that not only could she derive steady income from buying and selling real estate, she also had more time to enjoy with family and friends.

Forty-something Leong claims to have bought and sold more than 200 properties of various types since the late 80s.

“One of my most satisfying transactions came from the purchase of a shop-office in the USJ-Subang Jaya Taipan Triangle business precinct for RM600,000 in 1989. Four years later, I sold it for RM1.75 million,” she said.

Leong said she started by investing in residential properties “because they were ‘safe’ - they didn’t cost very much and could attract a large pool of tenants”. Once she got into the hang of things, she took the plunge into the “challenging” world of commercial and industrial investments.

“I went into the industrial market during the ’97 economic downturn. Many people were selling, prices were low and it was a good time to buy.”

Soon after, Leong ventured into the office and retail sub-sectors, and is now the proud owner of a penthouse office in the KL Sentral development as well as a few retail lots in Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur.

Overseas ventures
Besides Malaysia, Leong also invested in residential units in Hong Kong and Australia in the early 90s, but cashed out six years later.

“Hong Kong was a lucrative market for expatriate residential properties. I initially bought two studio apartments of less than 400sq ft each but traded them for a larger unit. In 1996, I became uncomfortable with the political situation and sold all my Hong Kong properties,” she said.

Her experience Down Under wasn’t good, she admitted. A dishonest real estate agent made her believe that her apartment in Perth was untenanted, but on an unplanned visit six months later, she found out from neighbours that it had been tenanted all along, which made her lose half a year’s rent.

A few years ago, Leong decided to “start giving back to society” by holding seminars to share her experiences and insight. Now, she runs about six seminars a year.

This is the result of promising herself years ago that she would document her success in the property sector and guide others, so that they would not make the mistakes and suffer the same pitfalls she did.

When she started investing in properties, which subsequently became content for her Invest Right the First Time and Every Time seminars, Leong referred to books, magazines and attended many seminars to learn the wise ways of investing. Unfortunately, she found the reference materials and seminars to have largely foreign content which did not fit the local property scene well.

Tested strategies
“Property Jewels came about as a result of the lack of relevant information in the marketplace. Written in a straight-forward style, the 220-page guide lists 263 proven and tested investment strategies,” she said.

Currently doing her Doctorate in Business Administration, Leong said now is the best time to invest in properties, because of the all-time low financing regime.

“People must arm themselves with the right knowledge before buying, to avoid expensive mistakes. One can make a profit of up to 30 or 40 per cent, before cashing in to re-invest,” she said.

As for her future plans, Leong plans to write two more books, one on managing tenants and the other on finding the path to financial satisfaction.

- NSTP Property Times -

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Guide to managing property tenants
BY SHAH A. DADAMEAH The Star, 21 Feb 2005

IN the introductory chapter of her book Your Tenants, Your Jewels, Renesial Leong writes “Life as a landlord is simply GRRREAT!” 

In just a sentence, the acclaimed ‘Queen of Properties’ tells what it means to reap rich rewards and to enjoy life when money works for you in property investment. 

The book is a sequel to her Property Jewels, which made it to the bestsellers' list of leading book retailers, such as Popular Books, Kinokuniya and MPH.  

This title, which has been translated into Malay and Chinese (which also became hot sellers), provides over 260 diamond-studded strategies to help property investors. 

The sequel, which has become another sizzling product, provides 138 more sparkling rules and 19 precious tales to set the prospective investor on the path of success. 

While she doesn't say so, there is today an urgent need to examine concepts, interpretations and practices spawned by know-alls who think that just because they understand some theories of investment, they can advise you where your money should go. 

Within this community of consultants, in not only the big cities, but also in some secondary towns and suburban areas, there is very little questioning of how some of these so-called experts gain their knowledge and how they approach investment issues. 

The truth is, the record of some of the people advising you about your money is appalling. 

In the euphoria about the triumph of the property development industry in the country's success story, it is often forgotten that many people have fallen by the side because of bad advice. 

What is significant in Leong's book is that, while concentrating on the way ahead, she also reflects on the dominant lessons learnt while she was learning the ropes. 

And it is precisely because she has learned her business the hard way that she can share some lessons now with prospective investors on how to avoid the pitfalls. 

Admitting that she was “travelling in a circular track” in her early days, she now has 16 years of experience in the field and six years as a trainer to be in the position to give sound advice and coaching on how to become “the ultimate landlord”. 

The chapters are well organised, with a list of do's at the end of each lesson, and you can randomly open the book to any chapter to kick-start your journey into discovering how to manage your current or prospective property tenants. 

For instance, you may be interested to know first about how to select good tenants or how to deal with difficult ones. 

So, you just go to the relevant chapters and read what interests you foremost at the moment.  

However, it is always good to start at the beginning and not be too much in a hurry to jump into other issues without a thorough understanding of the basics. 

Therefore, take your time to get a good insight into the business first, as provided in the first three chapters, and then, with a mindset thoroughly tuned to be a successful property investor, go through the rest of the book right up to the last page. 

The key word, of course, is “tenants”; and it is your business to know how to impress them with the array of facilities, comfort and attractions that your residential unit, shopping lot or office can accord them. 

For instance, if your target tenants are doctors and nurses in the long term, and patients' next of kin in the short term, obviously you have to look for areas within the vicinity of hospitals. 

If your targets are lecturers, students and college workers, you would want to look for property investments near campuses. 

The true-to-life stories in the book are inspiring and some surfaced as stranger than fiction, like the story about a landlord who rented a retail lot to two sisters. One of the women later killed herself in the storeroom after learning that her husband was having an affair with a close friend. 

The sisters' business folded up and nobody else wanted to rent the place after that. 

Using his innovative streak, however, the landlord called a “ghostbuster” to exorcise the place before a big crowd at the mall. 

The clever twist turned a crisis into a business opportunity, and that in essence is what property investment is all about. 

Says Leong, who has conducted numerous seminars on property investment in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the best place to start is where you are today.  

“Don’t procrastinate and waste time waiting for the so-called right time. Any time is the right time as long as you understand the rules and strategies of the game and apply them.” 

Guidebook on Buying Property
BY S.C. CHEAH The Star, 22 Sept 2003

She claims to have “seriously negotiated” some 200 properties over the last 15 years. She owns about 50 properties, most of them tenanted. If these claims sound unbelievable, perhaps her newly-published book Property Jewels, the country’s first guidebook on property investment is proof that action speaks louder than words.

Meet Renesial Leong, the property investment extraordinaire, who has of late burst into the limelight with her scintillating property investment seminars.

In the introduction, she describes herself as the owner of an “incredible string of properties, many of which are fully paid up and tenanted by instantly recognizable names such as McDonalds, Angel Cake House, Tai Thong Restaurant, Secret Recipe, Time Wireless, Citylink, Eco Furnishing, Lamach Holdings, Medicare, Gapima and the like.”

“The comfortable passive income she earns today from those properties gives her the lifestyle she could only dream of having 15 years ago,” she went on to write in third person speech.

Indeed the forty-something former employee of a Korean firm is one gutsy lady to publish the hard cover book that she co-authored with Lum Woon Foong, an accountant by training and a human resources development professional.

Leong is chief executive officer of Right Lifestyle Sdn Bhd, a company she formed to conduct property investment seminars. It’s her hands-on knowledge with property investors. “Most people fail to understand the power of building wealth through properties,” she said.

However, the path to success was not easy, as she has made some mistakes like buying the Atheneaum-at –the Peak condominium.

Author to Share Property Secrets
The Star, MAPEX, 18 Mar 2004

THE secret to wealth is in creating an income that never stops.

Not only is real estate a tangible investment, structured correctly, it is one of the best investment, vehicle to create wealth and provide for lifelong passive rental income.

Right Lifestyle’s Trainer, Renesial Leong bought her first investment property some 16 years back and have continued to invest in properties till today. Today she owns residential, commercial as well as industrial properties.

Her latest investment is a commercial property bought barely three months back. This was through an auction and according to her; auctions are one of the best places to find bargains.

Her pool of tenants ranges from simple Malaysian families to more recognizable names like McDonalds, Tai Thong Restaurant, Angel Cakes House, Citylink and Secret Recipe.

It was sound property investment that brought her financial freedom.

Renesial has written the first Malaysian property investment guidebook, Property Jewels – which was a national best seller – where she openly shares her investment secrets and how investors may avoid mistakes that she has made and paid for, with a lot of money.

She has also been conducting Property Investment seminars where principles of her book are reinforced and extended, to provide investors with tested and proven strategies to be successful in real estate investment.

The seminars are fun and educational, investors and potential investors alike, can learn prudent property investment skills and techniques. The Ultimate Property Investment Academy will be conducting a one and a half day, “YES! You Too Can Strike It Rich” property investment seminar at the PJ Hilton on April 10 and 11.

Property Investment Made Easy
By Chua Chern Toong The Star Online, 20 Jul 2004

WANT to delve into property investment but have no idea where to start? Well, Renesial Leong of Right Lifestyle has all the solutions to your queries.

Leong believes that property investment is all about investing in the future. According to her, effective property investment and management are learnable skills, and it is possible to reap a passive monthly rental income of RM 2000 to RM 10,000 within three to six years, depending on the amount of initial investment.

She also believes that earning passive rental income and enjoying capital appreciation through property investment is a sure means of gaining financial independence, and ultimately financial freedom.

Dubbed the “Queen of Properties” by the New Straits Times’ Property Times, Leong has been sharing her knowledge and experience through her property investment seminars.

Leong, with 16 years of experience under her belt, has been conducting these seminars in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Her seminars are designed to cover the basics of becoming a wealthy property investor, with many past seminar participants successfully buying properties with low to zero down-payment, and who are now enjoying positive cash flow every month from rental returns.

Several past participants have also cashed in and enjoyed a 30% and above capital appreciation within two years.

“The most common comment I have heard from participants is how they wish they had attended the seminar a few years earlier!” Leong said in a press release.

She added that the current market climate has generated affordable property prices, and this coupled with low bank interest rates, makes the present an excellent time to invest in properties.