An unexpected success

RENESIAL Leong’s success in property investment was not something she expected or sought. She went into it because of a need – she was tired of being poor.

“My father was a dedicated teacher and extremely passionate about his career. But we were poor and I was tired of always being in need.

“I went into property investment not with the goal to become rich but to meet a need for myself and my family.”

Leong says she had several options to choose from. “You have to invest to grow your capital. You either go into business, buy stocks and hope for capital gains, or invest in properties.” She took the last route because it was the most stable and tangible.

Leong’s perseverance to delay self-gratification has also helped her succeed in her field of work.
“You have to invest to grow your capital. You either go into business, buy stocks and hope for capital gains, or invest in properties.” —Renesial Leong

“I disciplined myself. While my friends were going to the movies or shopping, I was looking at properties. My mother also gave me a lot of strength to weather that period in my life. I wanted to make life better for her and that also motivated me tremendously.”

Leong has been in property investment for about 20 years now. In her early days, she would buy a property, sell it and reinvest the proceeds in two or three properties. Today, 70% of her property assets are commercial while the rest are landed and high-rise condominiums.

“In some ways, commercial properties are easier to manage. Because the tenant has a business to run, the onus is on him to upkeep and manage the place well. A business will be there for quite some time. It is different for residential properties. The tenant may stay for a year or so,” she says.

Leong’s achievements have enabled her to divide her time evenly between work (six months) and personal development (six months). Her experience in property investments have helped her to think long term and she uses this principle when planning for her personal development.

“Like my father, I put a premium on education. I really enjoy short courses, not just to learn, but also to experience the culture and life in another country,” she says, adding that she intends to keep on learning regardless of age.

Leong has been setting aside several months in a year for this purpose. She will be going to Britain to do a four-month course on psychology and marketing soon. She plans to go to Oxford next year and subsequetly Harvard.

Leong recently released her fourth book titled The Magic of Property Investment. She is currently working on her fifth book with feng shui master Joey Yap.

She says her fifth book will incorporate elements of feng shui as she believes property owners should know more about it.

“Whether one believes in it or not is irrelevant. There may come a time when you want to sell or rent out a place. The buyer or tenant may (subscribe to feng shui) and there goes your customer.”

For example, according to feng shui it is not ideal to have a house located at a T-junction because on-coming cars will shine their headlights into the house. Home owners also have to contend with dust due to passing traffic and lack of privacy.

Leong says it is important that people know when to take a break from work. She says people often go on working without knowing when to slow down.

But while her work life is on a different pace, it is by no means a slow one. She continues to give talks around the world.

Be it European or Asian countries, the principles of property investment remains the same and she wants others to benefit from it.

“I’m glad I spent time with my father and though I am sad that he is no longer with me, I made time for him. And I thank my mother for standing by me when I started on this investment journey when I was in my 20s,” she says.

Note: Property investment consultant Y.M. Leow, who is trained by Renesial Leong, will give a talk on The Ultimate Property Mastery today (2.30pm-4.30pm) and April 28 (2.30pm-4.30pm and 8pm-10pm) at Level 1, Menara PJ, Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya. Tel: Liew 9059-5785/017-720-6030

By THEAN LEE CHENG, leecheng@thestar.com.my

Related story:

Book review: The Magic of Property Investment