Entrepreneur homes in on property
Raymond Khoo avoids shares and bonds, and views mortgages as a form of forced savings
Entrepreneur Raymond Khoo has a refreshingly simple approach to investing - property and nothing else.
The 48-year-old avoids shares and bonds because he is not sure about them, while he sees the monthly mortgage repayments as a form of forced savings.
"When I buy a property, I know there is this amount of mortgage that I have to pay each month. If not, I'd just spend it," he said.
The best advice he has for budding property investors is to make firm friends with agents.
He also gives agents an additional commission.
"Then, at least there is something in it for them when they recommend the best deals to me," he said.
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Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I'm quite a spender rather than a saver. Supporting the economy, as they say.
Other than my mortgages and fixed payments, I don't actually have any savings. Everything goes back to the business.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
On average, I charge about $8,000 a month to the cards. I'm not a person who likes to carry around many cards, so I charge everything to one card.
When I go to Tiong Bahru market to buy groceries, even the fishmonger accepts Visa.
I like to use my Insignia card by DBS, because it is almost like having a personal assistant. You can call them for everything - when your car breaks down, you can call them and they send a replacement car to you. You can also call them for hotel or yacht reservations.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I do buy insurance for pure protection purposes, and I am covered for about $1.5 million, so I know that if anything happens to me, the family is taken care of.
For my son, I also bought the necessary medical insurance, and also a savings plan for his education, which will work out to 30 per cent over what the current college fees are. Hopefully, he will be able to study wherever he likes when he is 18.
I've always done well in property, and always thought it was a safe bet. I still do. Investing in property has been the best financial planning tool for me. I do follow the market, but I've never gone into stocks and shares because they are not something that I am familiar with. I take bigger bets where business is concerned.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
Growing up was a breeze, and my dad, who was an entrepreneur who owned bowling alleys in Malaysia, was an excellent provider.
My mother was a housewife, and we lived in a Housing Board terraced house in Jalan Bahagia. I have two older brothers and one older sister.
When we were in primary school, either my dad would come to pick us up, or sometimes the driver would pick us up, so we were privileged. But in secondary school, he told us to take the bus.
My dad also imposed limitations to teach us the value of money.
If we wanted to watch a movie once a month, that's fine, but anything else, we would have to work for it. We would collect and sell newspapers to make some pocket money.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
My first property was a semi-detached house in Malacca, which I bought when I was in my 20s.
It had a built-up area of about 1,900 sq ft and a garden that was more than 2,000 sq ft. It cost me only about RM200,000, and we sold it for more than RM1 million.
I can say that I have a good eye for property and for spotting the right time to buy.
Q: What properties do you own?
I have a couple of shophouses in Kuala Lumpur and a condominium in Bukit Timah.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
It was a classic Mercedes SLK convertible, and I bought it around six years ago for more than $100,000. I wasn't looking for a car but I went into the showroom and I really liked it, so I bought it.
It was almost like supermarket shopping.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I don't have any plans to retire, because once you have the mindset that you are going to retire in a few years, you are no longer as driven or gung-ho.
When I do retire, however, I probably will be able to sustain my lifestyle through my property investments. I can either sell some off or rent them out.
I will probably devote more time to my volunteer work with the prison ministry, which reaches out to prisoners, former convicts and their families. It's something that I feel quite strongly about, maybe because my late grandfather was a prison chaplain.
Q: Home is now...
A 3,000 sq ft condominium in Bukit Timah, which cost about $3 million and another $500,000 to renovate. We moved there about two months ago.
Q: I drive...
An Audi A4 convertible.
songyuan@sph.com.sg
BACKGROUND STORY
BEST AND WORST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
It is this men's lifestyle publication from the United States that I bought about two years ago. I didn't do enough due diligence for it. They did not tell me that the Media Development Authority (MDA) had said they were not allowed to publish in Singapore. So eight months down the road, I was putting together the team and was told by MDA that it did not allow this publication here. I lost nearly $1 million.
Q: And your best?
I bought a penthouse unit at a condominium near KLCC for slightly below RM$2 million (S$800,000), and that one turned around very quickly. We expected to buy and rent, but before we managed to rent it out, someone made us a ridiculous offer. We sold it for more than double the price.
