Asia’s Property Doyen

Dr Renesial Leong shares her thoughts on the CMCO and talks of some of her bestselling books on property.

What are some of your thoughts on post-MCO and CMCO?

We should aim to be a part of the solution, and not the problem. Nothing is worse than being in a tornado of constantly maligning the situation and dwelling in self-pity, while creating physical and emotional damages to those around you. Chin up and take on the challenges with a stride. Seek solutions, evaluate your options, weigh the consequences and take action to move yourself out of the situation.

In your quest of doing so, please do not forget to take care of your health. The best gift we can give ourselves and our loved ones is to take good care of our health and not be a burden to those around us. Achieve the clichéd work-life balance and sleep well – it’s pointless to be in bed for eight hours when half the time you lay awake, tossing and turning.

You have written many books on real estate investment strategies. Can you please give an overview of your masterpieces?

To date, I have written 6 books and all of them have made it to the best-selling chart. Most of them are also available in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin, for the benefit of my non-English speaking readers.

Let me give you a brief overview of the books to help you better understand the unique content each of them presents. • Property Jewels

English: ISBN 983-41401-2-6 Bahasa Malaysia (Permata Hartanah): ISBN 983-41401-3-4 Mandarin: ISBN 978-967-5501-00-5

Property Jewels is my inaugural book and it’s the First Property Investment Guidebook written in the Asian context, launched in 2003. This came about when I couldn’t find any property investment guide book throughout Asia, hence I set out to write one when I felt I was ready many years later. Although many years might have passed, more than 80% of the strategies are still applicable today. I believe this is the reason the books are still selling well.

Realising that attaining financial freedom is a dream for many, Property Jewels demonstrates how this can be achieved through property investing. It is brimming with 263 diamond-studded strategies which have already helped thousands of people enter the property investment market successfully and accumulate strings of property jewels.

In this book, I present a valuable road map to help you become not just a property owner, but a property millionaire! You will learn how to pick the right property, get extra financing, complete the deal smoothly, find good tenants, and steadily build your portfolio. The icing on the cake is the indispensable advice on dealing with the VIPs you would be working with – the brokers, the lawyers, the tenants and the handymen. In between the great tips and words of caution, I’ve also weaved in interesting stories from my seminar participants and my personal experience, to make it a more enjoyable read.

• Your Tenants, Your Jewels

English: ISBN 978-967-5501-01-2

Mandarin: ISBN 983-967-41401-6-9

Bahasa Malaysia: ISBN 9789834140175

Buying a good property is just the start. Managing it well is a different ballgame. If you own a property or two and wish to profit from it in the best possible way, this book will help you do that. It draws from many real-life experiences to provide you with insights on how to be the Ultimate Landlord – one who has reached the ultimate financial destination in life.

Effective tenant management is no rocket science, so anyone can benefit from this book. And when done correctly, as this book will reveal, you can bask in a steady stream of income that may change your life forever.

This is a top 10 best-seller for local and foreign authors combined.

• Commercial Property Jewels

English : ISBN : 978-983-41401-8-2 Mandarin : ISBN : 978-967-5501-02-9

If you have only bought houses and condos, you will see the untapped opportunities in investing in commercial properties. Even if you have not bought a single piece of property before, this book will show you how to get the funds and how to choose your first commercial property.

It draws from many real-life experiences, there are no theories, just practical and profitable tips that are unexpectedly entertaining as well. Through commercial property investment, you could retire rich and early too!

English : ISBN : 978-967-5501-03-6 Mandarin : ISBN : 978-967-5501-04-3

A shocking truth about property investment in Asia is that more than 50% still stay in rented properties! Put bluntly, the majority are simply not aware of the huge potential of investing in properties, be it as simple as having a roof over our heads; or a comfortable home to improve the quality of our lives, to using real estate as our ticket to a prosperous retirement or as ambitious as using it as an investment vehicle to rake in the millions.

This book shows you why investing in property is not only wise and satisfying but reassuring when done correctly. Life is sometimes like viewing a kaleidoscope, at different angles, it reorganizes and presents different patterns. At different stages of your life, you could suddenly discover what not possible then, to be possible now.

• Property Jewels Under The Hammer

English : ISBN : 978-967-5501-07-4 Mandarin : ISBN : 978-967-5501-08-1

Finding a great property at an absolute bargain is the dream of every property investor. One avenue is through property auctions. I see many such opportunities on the horizon in today’s market. In this book, I present a realistic appraisal of buying properties that go under the hammer, putting forward the benefits of buying from auctions whilst highlighting pitfalls that can cost uninitiated investors a small fortune.

My step-by-step guidance will help you pick your way through the journey of searching for the right auction property, carrying out critical investigations on the property, all the way to making the winning bid in the auction room.

I have included interesting stories from my friends, my seminar participants as well as from my personal experience interlace with valuable advice to make this book a rewarding and enjoyable read.

• The Magic of Property Investment

• Property Jewels 2

English : ISBN : 978-967-5501-10--4

Property investors, both new and experienced, will find this book a fascinating and essential reference in today’s fast-changing property investment landscape. Besides being a step-by-step guide to property investing, it takes you through pages and pages of new developments, upcoming trends and creative ideas, particularly on the technological front. From Airbnb to fractional investing and much more, readers will appreciate the extent technology has impacted on property investing and will continue to be a game-changer.

This book cannot be more timely and special as it is appropriately applicable in today’s market. Piping hot from the oven too as it was only released just weeks before MCO.

To sum it up, the best investment is still in knowledge and the most affordable form is through books. It is my humble wish that my books will continue to add massive value and enrich the lives of those who are on the property investment journey.

Take baby steps if you are new to the game and may you enjoy a fruitful and fulfilling investment journey. Celebrate every success regardless of how small it may be, and remember to reach out to touch the lives of the needy with every profit you make. Keep yourself rewarded and motivated. Riches do not only come in dollar and cents, it comes from the heart too. Make yours a big one!