Property investment is about choosing a home, not just a house

MAR 1, 2020

Choo Yun Ting


Leadership development and executive coach Fiona Wong-Kautz has bought six properties in the past 15 years, but choosing one has always been about a home rather than just bricks and mortar.

Ms Wong-Kautz, who started bespoke furniture outfit +49 Woodcraft in 2014 with her husband Till Oliver Kautz, 36, also sees every investment as an artistic adventure.

"Each time I scour the property market, it's like looking at possible canvases to rework and to beautify," she says.

Over time, her urge to do up new spaces meant she settled into a nomadic life, working around property rules, making profits on her housing investments and enjoying the process of decorating new spaces at the same time.

Ms Wong-Kautz, 43, holds a bachelor's in environment science and previously worked as a credit and risk analyst at a private bank.

She prefers to do research on her own, rather than rely on real estate agents as "nobody knows my needs or thoughts better than myself".

"Property knowledge is more accessible today, and, coupled with your own market intuition, you will know if you are getting a good deal," she notes, adding that she uses property research app PropertyGuru to look at homes in targeted districts although she does not dismiss real estate agents entirely.

"Where I find agents useful is their familiarity with a project and their ability to find units that are not yet listed or were listed but held back from the market," said Ms Wong-Kautz, who has a three-year-old daughter.

Besides her home in Singapore, she owns a unit in Kuala Lumpur which is rented out. She is always on the lookout for a good deal and is exploring opportunities on the east coast of Australia, parts of Europe and Asia.

Ms Wong-Kautz also frequently browses property websites from Australia, Europe and the United States.

"I just love looking at homes!"

Q Describe your residential property.
A Our home is a 1,259 sq ft condominium unit with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large living-cum-dining and kitchen space. It was purchased in 2017 for $1.33 million.

When I choose a property, location is the biggest draw. Space and layout are important, and how I feel when I first walk into the compound and the apartment makes or breaks the deal for me.

I chose this apartment in Telok Blangah for several reasons - my first home was located in Telok Blangah as well, and this place is close to my foster parents, who also live in this area.

I also love the quietness of this old neighbourhood and how it is so convenient. It is one train stop from VivoCity, and walking distance to a wet market, food centre and numerous local shops.

Also, if I need to rent out this apartment for whatever reason, I believe it will be rather easy to do so, given the proximity to both the Central Business District and Mapletree Industrial Park.

I love the entirety of our home. If I were to map out our movements in it, I wouldn't be surprised to see that every area is well "visited" on a daily basis.

Q What's in your property portfolio?
A This property that I am living in is my sixth purchase.

In 2006, I bought a 1,650 sq ft condominium unit in Meyer Road for about $580,000. I sold it for a tidy profit two years later.

My second purchase was a 1,033 sq ft walk-up apartment in Binjai Park in 2008 which was very fun to make over. It was well located and I sold it for a $200,000 profit.

The third unit was a 1,066 sq ft condominium in the vicinity of Clementi Park and Upper Bukit Timah. It was purchased in 2010 for $900,000 and sold within two years for a decent profit.

My fourth unit was my first foray into new apartments. The 797 sq ft unit at Bartley Residences was purchased in 2012, rented out for a while before I sold it in 2017 for a small profit.

If I had the choice, I would have kept it, but the additional buyer's stamp duty I had to pay to get a second home didn't make sense, so I sold it in exchange for my current home.

The fifth unit is at Eco City Vogue Suites in Kuala Lumpur. It is a 797 sq ft apartment which was purchased for $300,000. I still own it and it is rented out.

The sixth unit, my current abode, was purchased in 2017. I plan to hold on to it for a while.

My Kuala Lumpur apartment is rented out at about 3 per cent yield. It is not fantastic yield but I am also looking at the capital appreciation in the future.

I have a mortgage on my property, but it is out of personal choice in the current low interest rate environment.

Q Describe your property investing strategy.
A First, the property has to be a place where I can see myself living in. I've never intentionally flipped my homes for monetary gains.

Second, the price has to be good or at least fair. I would never woo a property and get into any bidding war.

Third, I must be inspired when I walk into the space. I have to see possibilities and beauty in it. There were times when I visited places that felt heavy or oppressed; I knew instantly those were not the right homes.

Fourth, it should not tie me down; I want the option of long-term stay, potential rental possibilities or capital return in the longer run.

Q What's your financing strategy?
A Borrow as cheaply as you can, with as short a lock-in period as possible. Because cash flow is fluid, you've got to ensure you keep nimble by managing your portfolio that way.

I would also not borrow more than 60 per cent of the property's valuation price and that's just a personal discipline to manage cash flow and risks.

I use traditional home loans as well as short-term loans against my portfolio to finance my property purchases. It really depends on the market and what's on offer.

I do not recall doing any refinancing in the past, but just did so this year as the fixed rates I had contracted are pretty good for the next two years.

Q What's your overall investing strategy?
A When I was 16, I invested in an equity mutual fund from a large fund house. I attended their talks and had to get my dad to endorse my very first investment. The fund gave pretty solid returns and I was very pleased with that.

After spending almost 12 years in the banking industry and with continuous investments made, my appetite has morphed. I dabble in listed equities, equity options, bonds, foreign exchange, mutual and hedge funds, commodities, property and select businesses in the form of private equity.

Currently, I'm sitting on some cash as a few of my bonds have matured, and in this low interest rate environment, it does not yield good returns so I will need to work my cash by investing in private markets and in direct deals such as funding start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises needing equity.

Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
A I'm from a middle-class family where my dad spent many years as an investment banker focusing on mergers and acquisitions, while my mum is a housewife. I have two siblings who live overseas.

We lived rather comfortably, travelled annually and moved every two to three years when my dad sold the home we lived in for profit. So, in a way, I'm very much like him.

Q My dream home is...
A A self-designed cosy and stylish 2,000 sq ft home on elevated land with a view. It would have three bedrooms and an office, a living area with a good kitchen and dining space. A proper laundry room with a work shed would be great. There would be a patio for barbecues and a well-sized garden where we grow our own vegetables and rear a few hens.

My husband would most likely build everything in the house and I would design a fully off-grid and carbon neutral utility system where we'd generate our own electricity through a combination of biofuels and plastic waste from our home, wind and solar energy, and use well water from the ground and rain. Being truly self-sustainable would be a nice goal to achieve.

The home would be backed by natural forests and fronted by the ocean in a country with some form of seasonality. I love nature, and being close to it brings a certain calm and humility to life. The longer I live, the more I focus on living a fuller life and less on the accumulation of material things. I would like my home to reflect that.