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10-10-14, 14:08
http://propertysoul.com/2014/10/10/from-being-a-tenant/

From being a tenant to being a landlord: What I should have learned

October 10, 2014


My life as a tenant

I arrived in Singapore alone in 1998. I started renting on my own but ended up moving three times in just 13 months.

First, it was a common room in an HDB flat for three months. Next, I stayed in the whole 4-room HDB flat (with one room locked up) for ten months. Then I moved to a private apartment sharing with two flatmates.

Being new to Singapore, I didn’t know much about the property laws. So I experienced renting without a tenancy agreement and eviction by the landlord (despite paying the full rent on time).

In my five years of being a tenant, I dared not buy any unnecessary things. All the carton boxes that came with me to Singapore were flattened and stacked up in the storeroom. Every now and then I would visualize in my mind what things to put inside each carton box – in case I had to move again!

A fellow tenant once passed a comment, “Singapore is a pro-landlord country and the Singapore laws protect the landlords rather than the tenants.” I couldn’t agree more.

I was determined to save up and buy my own place. I strongly believed that, compared with being a tenant, life would be much better as an owner.


My life as a landlord

Between 2002 and 2004, I picked up one property every year. I thought it was easy being a landlord – just lease the place to an expat and collect the rent every month. After deducting the mortgage, property tax and maintenance fee, the surplus will be my net return.

But I was wrong.

I had no prior experience in renovations and home improvement. Like many first-time homeowners or landlords, I had countless renovation ideas but a limited budget and no clue about how to prioritize what need to be done.

I didn’t know where to find expats with good rental budget. I didn’t know any experienced and reliable property agent. I was left to deal with repairs, requests, complaints, difficult tenants, late rental payments … everything that a landlord had to face.

The biggest surprise came when it’s time for tax filing. ‘Income from property’ added to ‘income from employment’ had a big impact on my taxable income. Confused about what was deductible and what was not, it was a headache reporting income from my properties. The Inland Revenue Authority (IRAS) had to come back to me with enquiries and tax revisions.


What I should have learned as a tenant, homeowner or landlord

You don’t have to learn it the hard way like me. As they say: wise men learn from their mistakes, but wiser men learn from the mistakes of others.

The objective of setting up Property Club Singapore (http://www.propertyclub.sg.com) is to provide tenants, landlords, buyers and sellers with the facts and knowledge; as well as to offer them useful advice in renting, leasing, buying and selling private properties.

Speakers in our last three education seminars are knowledgeable and also reputable in their field. But I can say that none of the previous seminar can beat the coming one Smart Landlords vs Smart Tenants (http://www.propertyclubsg.com/landlord_tenant_seminar/) in terms of speakers and content.


1. Know your rights as a tenant or a landlord

Whether you are a foreigner renting in Singapore, or a landlord who wants to lease your property to expats, you should listen to the presentation by Mrs Deborah Law, Executive Director of Expat Realtor.

Previously from the UK, Deborah understands the needs of expats by being one herself and by helping many to settle in Singapore. She knows exactly how to find good tenants, how to protect yourself as a landlord/tenant, and how to cope with difficult landlords/tenants. She will share with the audience tips and traps of handling renting/leasing, rental disputes and dishonest agents.


2. Understand different taxes in properties

It is impossible to invite a representative from IRAS to warn us all the tax implications of buying and leasing properties. That’s why multiple-property owners and well-to-do businessmen hire their own accountant or tax consultant for advice.

But it is even better to have a tax expert who worked in IRAS for 28 years to tell us what we should look out for. Mr Leung Yew Kwong, Principal Tax Consultant of KPMG Services, used to be the Chief Legal Officer and Chief Valuer of IRAS to advise the government on income tax, stamp duty and property tax. After IRAS, Leung was in legal practice specialising in tax and was a partner in Wong Partnership LLP’s Tax Practice.

Remember: it’s not what you know. It’s what you don’t know that costs you the most.


3. Smart renovations that add value to properties

I wish I could meet Mr Andrew Esmonde-White, COO and Co-Founder of Kluje.com, earlier in my property investment journey. He is a rare breed of people who is the master of all trades: an expert in hands-on home improvement; a renovation contractor in the UK; the CEO of UK home renovation companies; an entrepreneur of a renovation portal start-up; and a blogger of professional advice for contractors and homeowners.

Andrew practices what he preaches by setting up a business to prevent Singapore homeowners from being unfairly treated by contractors. He is indeed an unassuming and generous person. In the seminar, I am going to ask him tons of questions on how to increase the rental and resale value of our properties through smart renovations. Feel free to join me there.


Why you can’t miss it this time

This is the last one in our series of four education seminars. Some club members and blog readers have asked me when we will be re-running the last three education seminars. I said I would consider. But I know it’s difficult to do so.

Those thousand-dollars outside property seminars that market get-rich-quick programs and overseas properties might tell you that this is probably their last seminar. But somehow they can keep running the same thing again and again.

But Property Club Singapore (http://propertyclubsg.com) is a neutral platform to provide learning opportunities for our members. We have other topics with common interests in the pipelines. Since we can’t cover any sales pitch in our events, most speakers agree to help just for goodwill. How could we possibly ask them to come back and talk about the same thing again and again?

So don’t miss it this time. Register for the Smart Landlords vs Smart Tenants Education Seminar (http://www.propertyclubsg.com/landlord_tenant_seminar/) now and see you soon.