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The Best Advice for Home Buyers is…
Property Soul(guest contributor)
A Hong Kong actress met a renowned fengshui master recently at a press conference. With Chinese New Year approaching, she asked him about her relationship fortune in the new year.“You will find Mr. Right these two years. If you want a good marriage, remember one thing: No need to find a very good man. Just don’t pick a 衰人 (bad guy).”
This is the best relationship advice I’ve heard from a fortune teller!
The first prediction is a self-fulfilling prophecy.If the actress believes what the fengshui master said, from now on she will start focusing more on her relationship and will consider all her suitors seriously. Then very soon she will tie the knot. It’s very likely to happen in the next two years.
The second piece of advice is necessary. In case it’s a bad marriage, the actress might blame the fengshui master for rushing or misleading her into making a bad decision.The best part of his advice is “no need to find a very good man” and “don’t pick a bad guy”.
The actress doesn’t need more: There is no need for her to marry the rich. She herself is a millionaire actress. She doesn’t have to marry the famous either. She herself is a well-known actress in the region. It is not necessary to marry the talented. She herself is an award-winning actress.
And the most important part of the advice is “don’t pick a 衰人” (bad guy).What does a bad guy mean? A bad husband can be mean, selfish, jealous, controlling, unfaithful, abusive, violent or have addiction problems.
The fengshui master knows that it is fine for the actress to marry any ordinary man, except to a bad guy which can lead to very serious consequences.
The opposite of bad is not good
The opposite of bad is “normal”.
Sounds easy, isn’t it? If it is that simple, why do we still hear so many women complaining about their bad husbands?
It works the same way when buying a home.
The best advice for home buyers is simply: Most people don’t have to wait for the best time to enter the market or buy the best type of properties. They only need to buy an “ordinary” home free of major problems and at a reasonable price.
Sounds easy, isn’t it? If it is that simple, why do we still have so many buyers regretting later that they have bought a bad property at the wrong price at the peak of the market?
I have personally stepped into a hundred showflats and gone for hundreds of flat or house viewings. You will be surprised how many home owners bought the wrong types of condominium units and landed houses.
Some are situated in a totally wrong area. More are located near to undesirable establishments. Many come with bad exterior or interior fengshui due to bad direction, project design or layout.
If you think these things are just common sense, then common sense is not very common.
The saddest part is: These buyers don’t know what the problem is. They may even pay top dollars for these bad properties.
Buying a home is probably the most expensive item one would purchase in a lifetime. I am not saying they all have to attend my Buying My First Private Property or How to Buy Good Quality Properties workshops. I just wonder how many buyers care to do some homework before they buy:
Study the actual location, environment and amenities nearby.
Check the past sales transactions of similar projects in the last 5 to 10 years.
Google for useful home buying tips instead of just listening to property agents or people with vested interests.
Taiwanese illustrator and writer Jimmy Liao (幾米) wrote this in one of his picture books:
He met a rabbit who lost its way. It asked him to help find the way home.
He asked it ‘where’s your home?’
‘If I know where my home is, I won’t lose my way,’ the rabbit said seriously.
Do you know the common type of homebuyers coming to me for advice these days? They are middle-aged PMETs (Professional, Managers, Executives and Technicians) with school-going children. They bought a subsidized first-hand HDB flat from the government many years ago. Its value appreciated over time. They have paid off most of the housing loan and managed to save a low six-figure sum.
When they read the news that property prices will go up in the next two years, they start to focus on house hunting and seriously consider upgrading their home to a private property.
They are helping the industry stakeholders to make their prediction a self-fulfilling prophecy – except this time the fortune tellers didn’t warn them not to pick a bad property.
By guest contributor Property Soul, a successful property investor, blogger, and author of the No B.S. Guide to Property Investment.
Posted courtesy of www.Propwise.sg, a Singapore property blog dedicated to helping you understand the real estate market and make better decisions. Click here to get your free Property Beginner’s and Buyer’s Guide.
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