Is property really a good investment?

"Is property a good investment?”

I get this question all the time. To be kind, I would smile and nod approvingly. “Of course!”

But deep in my heart, I know that while the answer is correct, it is not complete. Of course properties make good investments. But then, the same thing can be said about stocks, unit trusts, gold and a couple of others as well. While they are all good investments does not mean anyone can make money from them. Buying the first house you see or the stock that takes your fancy is a sure recipe for disaster and a guaranteed formula for losing your hard earned money.

Further, the house is the most expensive purchase most of us will make in our lifetime. And it also forms our highest debt and lasts for the longest time – often lasting 20 years or longer.

That being the case, doesn’t it make sense for us to do a little bit (or better, a lot) of homework before parting with our money? Doesn’t it make sense to tread very carefully before buying a property? Obviously, the answer is ‘yes’.

As an example of careful trading, a colleague of mine viewed the plot that he wanted to buy three times: once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once at night – all on different days. Mind you, it was only a plot of land at that time as the house was not up yet. Now some people may think that may be overkill, but his answer was spot on: “Before paying RM810,000 for anything, I want to be sure that everything is right and in order first.” I totally agree.

And oh yes, he sold the house when it was completed two years later for RM1.1 million. Even taking into account that he had to pay RPGT (that was still applicable then), real estate agent’s commission, legal fees and all, he still pocketed a tidy sum of money. I’d say the three trips was certainly worth the RM200,000 plus – don’t you agree?

But I have seen people buying houses on the spur of the moment. I have seen people rushing to buy properties as if they were buying groceries. For their sake, I sure hope that they have done the homework beforehand though my heart tells me something else.

Buying a property is easy. All you need is a little bit of money and sign some papers. The question is, “Can you sell the property for a profit later on (hopefully not too later on)?” Or in other words, can you make money from the property in the near future? As you can see, the answer is not so easy.

So this will mean that you will need to do your homework when investing in properties. This will include reading books, magazines, articles, observing and yes, learning from the experts. Of course, this will require time, effort and yes, even money. But all that effort is peanuts compared to the reward that awaits you. And yes, the price is miniscule compared to the problems that can happen if you bought wrongly. (Just ask the unfortunate people who bought houses in flood prone areas. Worse, they have to bear the brunt of listening to jokes about water proof furniture and getting free boats from the developer.)