Mark Chua insights on the steps to becoming a successful property investor (employee).

Mark Chua is the author of the bestselling book “WHO SAYS”.  He was a former senior vice president of a bank and an avid lover of properties.  He is also the founder of #925, a social enterprise which is in collaboration with Starproperty.  Star-925 aims to propel the career & property investments of its members.

CAN ONE ACHIEVE FINANCIAL SUCCESS AS AN EMPLOYEE?

According to Mark Chua, despite many members of the public being employees, there tends to be a stigma against them. Employees are commonly dubbed as inefficient individuals that drag on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Mark Chua personally respects entrepreneurship but opines that, “many may not hold the aptitude for the concept”. There is no shame in being an employee, one should in fact take pride in one's job, climbing up the career ladder and ultimately shaping oneself to become a successful investor.

When Mark was 25, an individual challenged him, stating that no one ever got rich working as an employee.

This was a turning point for Mark, as many years later he has gained financial independence via building a substantial property portfolio.

Mark is also the author and founder of bestselling social enterprise dubbed #925, with a mission to propel the careers and property investments of those under this umbrella.

Mark hopes to inspire employees out there to achieve their dreams, through a sharing of some of the “painful truths” that he had gone through as an employee aspiring to become a property investor.

A GREAT CAREER DOESN’T HAPPEN BY “CHANCE”

1. I’d like to share some of my career lessons. In short, one should dedicate oneself to your chosen craft, and invest the time to excel in your job.
2. I spent countless hours seeking mentors & advocates, reading through manuals, bugging my seniors with incessant questions and mastering the technical skills in my job.
3. Many of us spend hours being obsessed with investments. We attend property seminars, we buy lots of books, we go for networking sessions, we look for great property deals, yet the cruel irony is that we do not spend a smidgen of effort in improving our careers & earned income.  Instead, we complain about how we hate the rat race and wallow in self-pity, about how we are constantly a victim of office politics.

YOUR SALARY WON’T OPEN DOORS.  IT IS YOUR BONUSES OR STOCK OPTIONS THAT WILL.

4. To be honest, a person earning RM20K per month doesn’t really enjoy a tremendous lift in quality of life versus say a person earning RM10K per month. Sure, the RM20K individual can leverage more, drive a nicer car and dine out more often; but he isn’t the next Warren Buffet.
5. It is that RM200K or RM300K annual bonus or stock options (numerical example only) that one garners as a high performing employee that sets you apart from the masses. This provides great avenues for you to put down payments on landed residential units, and poise as a financial buffer for one to replicate more deals.
6. Is it easy to reap a big bonus? A dear friend cum property guru once said, “nothing worth having comes easy”. Do your best to position yourself in an organization and industry that rewards performance based on merit.  Get mentors and advocates that reward you shamelessly for a job well done.

IN GENERAL – IT IS NOT YOUR PROPERTY CASH FLOW THAT WILL SET YOU FREE, IT IS THE EQUITY FROM CAPITAL APPRECIATION THAT WILL.

7. Many tend to build their portfolios with residential properties. I have met many new employees cum investors that want to quit their jobs and “live off the rentals” from their properties.  Let’s be pragmatic, folks. I think we can safely agree that getting a single RM500 positive cash flow property (rental – mortgage) is pretty challenging in today’s market.
8. Now, try getting 10 units like that. Even if you could muster all the "Jedi Knights" in the property realm to help you, your positive cash flow would only equate to RM5,000 per month (RM500 per unit x 10 units).  Yes, RM5,000 may seem decent or modest, but it isn’t exactly screaming financial freedom.
9. I could be wrong, but most successful investors that I have met achieved financial freedom by building a portfolio of properties that had significant capital growth over time, typically over a 10-year cycle.
10. They let the magic of leveraging, compounding and time, generate a portfolio which has a high composition of equity and capital appreciation.  Direct translation – you become financially free from a portfolio that increases say, from RM2mil to RM6mil over time, vs building a RM5K cash flow per month portfolio. Act now. Invest consistently, logically and with basis.

THE WINNER ISN’T THE ONE WITH THE BIGGEST DEBT, BUT WITH THE HIGHEST NET WORTH

11. I notice that many of us are enamored in learning various ways to leverage. Some of us are keen to learn about multiple submissions, we are impressed with people that “game” the financial system to get > 100% Debt to Service Ratio (DSR), and are obsessed with Below Market Value (BMV) or Zero Down Deals (ZDD).
12. I have no issues with this per se. But does it make sense to have lots of assets, but coupled with tons of liabilities as well?  In all humility, debt alone doesn’t make you the winner.  Rather, it is the person that builds their net worth most efficiently that wins. (Simplistically speaking, net worth = market value of your assets less your liabilities)
13. My critics say I am foolish for not engaging in Zero Down Deals or multiple submissions. They say that I am not building my portfolio efficiently. Fair enough.  But I believe in being prudent in the management of my liabilities.
14. To build my portfolio “efficiently” – I did it the old fashioned way; I worked my ass off to get those great bonuses to fund the down payments of my properties.  Today, most people tend to be surprised at my loan-to-value ratio.  Using conservative estimates, it is approximately 37%, which augurs well for net worth creation.

Moral of the Story?  Success comes to those who do not waste time comparing what they are doing with what others are doing.  Know yourself and stay true to your path.  There is no shame in being an employee.  There is no dishonor in wanting to have a stellar career.

In all humility, most employees do not achieve financial success because they put money ahead of the job.  Put the job first, and the money will follow.  Then invest well ahead of your peers due to your higher earned income.

Who is Mark Chua?

Mark Chua is the bestselling author of the book “WHO SAYS”.  He was a former senior vice president of a bank and an avid lover of properties.  He is also the founder of #925, a social enterprise which is in collaboration with StarProperty.my.  Star-925 aims to propel the career & property investments of its members.  To find out more, please visit https://www.facebook.com/925family/

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author.