Patrick truly is an amazing interviewee. After our video interview, he said he’d love to answer questions from my blog readers too. I told him, sure, I’d gather those questions. After some time, he even sent me a reminder to forward the questions to him! And so I did! 
Tell me where else I can find an interviewee like that, who is so giving, and enthusiastic about sharing?
I have 2 questions:
1. Do studio apartments have a good market for resale, say 3-5 years after purchase, when I decide to move in to HDB or condo after marriage?
2. How much will these studio apartments cost by 2013? How much cash/ CPF do I need to accumulate by then for this housing? Is it advisable based on my current financial status? (I have close to $30k of CPF and liquid cash. Secondary source of income is through investment which is expected to be 5~9% p.a.).”
In my humble opinion, it is hard to make a general statement about the ‘Studio’ segment of the property market. There are many other specific information needed to make a better-informed decision.
For example, Studios can be ‘mainstream’ or ‘shoebox’ units. They can be from the low, medium, or high end segment. In addition, they can be purchased from the primary or secondary (resale) market.
There are a few key factors to help you make a wiser decision.
- Purpose. Why do you want to own a Studio? For example, is it for use as a living space or as an investment asset?
The principle is simple. If you don’t know what you want in your life, no property investment will satisfy you.
- Profiling. What is your risk-reward appetite?
The principle is simple. Don’t fall in love with the property, fall in love with the numbers.
For example, can you afford the property? Can you support the future cashflow? How secure are your current and future career and financial positions?
To do a proper analysis, you need to use your head, not your heart, to make an objective, balanced and pragmatic decision.
- Performance. Do you have the K.A.S.H (knowledge, attitude, skills and habits) to invest wisely in property?
The principle is simple – Most consumers have transacted an average of about five properties in their lives. In other words, they may not have the experience and expertise to make a sound judgement.
Prior to making a decision, you may wish to further your real estate education or even sign up for a real estate agent’s course so as to know the tips and traps of property investment.
- Passion. In the final analysis, life is for living. Will the property help you to enjoy your life and live it to the fullest?
The principle is simple – The property investment must serve you, and not the other way around.
Life is short and there is no dress rehearsal. Please acquire a property so that it will help to add value to your life.
- Priority. Is property investment the most important thing to do?
The principle is simple – The property investment decision must be made in an objective, balanced and pragmatic way. It is a decision that will influence and affect other decisions.
Acquiring a property is not the only thing to do in life. There are other decisions and actions that may be just as important, if not more important. It is a decision that has to be seen in proper perspective and from a holistic point of view.
I wish you the best returns for your property investment. It includes both financial as well as non-financial returns.
2) Question From Reader Jimmy:
How much did luck (versus hard work) play a part in your success? What roles did your mentors play in getting you into the property line?
2a. I believe that working hard and working smart are two sides of the same coin and you cannot succeed in life without any one of them.
I have a simple formula called APEX that I adopted almost from the beginning of my working life. Let me share it with you. In a nut shell,
A – Attitude. Success is an adopted attitude. Without a positive perspective, you will never achieve positive results.
P – Planning. I believe every task starts and ends with planning. You need a plan to ensure that you achieve win-win results. Through the plan, you can better galvanise human and other resources. You can systemize the operation, and enhance the synergy and alignment of all the resources so as to optimise your productivity.
The plan must be iterative. In other words, you need to review it constantly so as to improve upon it.
When the task is completed, there should be a plan to ensure that the learning experience becomes a platform for further achievements.
E – Execution. What stands between planning and achievement is execution. Execution is likened to a highway that will take you from where you are to where you want to go in life.
The key to execution is leverage. According to Buckminister Fuller, “Leverage is doing ever more with ever less”. It is taking massive action to do the right thing and in the right way so as to achieve the right results.
X – Excel. In HSR, we have a saying, ‘Anything worth doing is worth doing with passion and excellence. Passion means you need to love what you do. Excellence means you do it to the best of your abilities.
You need to constantly review every experience and action to see how you can go farther and faster in life.
2b. First, I must say that I have many mentors in my life and I continue to look out for even more mentors. I have mentors in every major area of my life.
I believe success leaves footprints. If I follow the footsteps of successful people I will achieve the same or better results in an easier, better and faster way.
My mentors may not have directly influenced my decision to be in the real estate business. However, they have contributed to my life and prepared me for my real estate calling. Their valuable lessons and feedback have helped me to enhance my success rate.
As they say, “When I stand on the shoulders of giants, I can see clearer and farther to my desired destination.”
3) Question From Reader Perry:
How does HSR training help in the process of prospecting affluent clients? Can new agents really start off serving the affluent market?
HSR is arguably the market leader in real estate agents’ training. We have more trainers, training programmes, and training resources than most companies.
In total, we have conducted more than 500 man-hours of training last year. You can hardly find another company that is so committed in helping agents to achieve success in our industry.
By doing so, we laid a strong foundation for our agents to succeed in every major market segment, including the affluent market.
HSR started our company serving high net worth individuals at the top end of the market. Since then, we have been active in marketing luxury properties in prestigious locations. In addition, we are also active in selling global properties. As a result, we are in the best position to help agents expand their business in the high end of the property market.
4) Question From Reader Clarence:
How do you convey love to others? What are the most effective ways to do so?
We must first recognize that our Creator has created us with love, and to love Him and others. Love is inside each and every one of us. We need to be mindful of it and live it out in our life. In addition, we need to continue to strengthen our capacity and ability to love.
The paradoxical truth is that the more we extend our love to others, the more love we will have. And the better we will become in sharing the blessing of love with others.
To love others, we need to learn how to love ourselves. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot love others effectively. It will also be harder for others to love us.
For example, when was the last time we tell ourselves sincerely, tangibly and generously that we love ourselves?
Are we grateful and thankful for every part of our being? How do we appreciate ourselves by looking after every major area of our lives, such as improving our health, fitness and energy level?
While we are loving ourselves, we should at the same time extend our love to others. It is a part of the same process of having more love in our life. By firing both engines of love, we enhance our love quotient.
To love others, it starts with our mind. The seeds of love that we sow in our mind will help us to reap the fruits of love in our life. The external act of love is very often a reflection of the landscape of love in our internal being.
So, do we want to love others in a deeper way? Can we learn to see good in others? Are we willing to intensify our love for them? Even when we are disappointed by the responses to our love, do we believe it can make us stronger and more resilient in spreading love to others?
We can begin by extending small acts of kindness and graciousness to the people around us. A pat on the back, a word of appreciation, a small present, a short little note to encourage another person – all these actions can mean a lot to others. According to research in the field of positive psychology, it can also increase our happiness.
To progress, we can seek out like-minded people who believe in promoting love. You can find many of them in religious, charity and grassroots organisations. By putting our flames of love together, we can blaze a trail together.
Truly, ‘What the world needs now is LOVE…’
Grace… is overwhelmed.
Seriously, Patrick practises what he preaches. How else did he participate in that video interview and still answered these questions from blog readers? And all for no payment at all. Gosh! Patrick’s such a gem. I believe I owe him a lunch now.
What say you, Patrick? 
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There’s a 2nd, shorter video, no less awesome though.
