A Multi-Millionaire Property Investor

From: Andy Ong, Singapore Subject: How To Make Money In The Property Market Dear Friend, I became a Millionaire at age 26 all thanks to property investment. Starting with only $10,000, I now have a portfolio amounting to $250 million in value. In the past 8 years, I have also trained and changed the lives of many others, allowing them to acheive financial freedom and not worry about money. My proudest acheivement is to have created 10 multi-millionaires and at least 20 millionaires. Before you start thinking "Is this guy for real?", allow me to show you my track record and profile. Andy Ong, Founder & Group CEO of ERC Holdings     > 171 Telok Ayer - Total Appreciation 420%! Purchase Price : S$1.9 million Initial Investment : S$380K Selling Price : S$3.5 million Profits : S$1.6 million Total Appreciation : 420% Yield : 25% Total Returns : 109%   38 Circular Road - Total Appreciation 750%! Purchase Price : S$2.2 million Initial Investment : S$440K Selling Price : S$5.5 million Profits : S$3.3 million Total Appreciation : 750% Yield : 20% Total Returns : 145%     49 Club Street - Total Appreciation 850%! Purchase Price : S$2.2 million Initial Investment : S$440K Selling Price : S$5.95 million Profits : S$3.75 million Total Appreciation : 850% Yield : 25% Total Returns : 110%

Profile of Andy Ong

Founder and CEO of ERC Holdings, which made headlines by acquiring real estate now worth over $300 million in Singapore Self-made millionaire at the age of 26 through property investment Started his property investment with only $10,000 and now holds a portfolio amounting to $250 million in value Board director of 20 private & public listed companies including Sakae Holdings and Chairman of Shun Tai Corporation Currently invested in 15 entrepreneurial start-ups & runs several businesses in education, training, print media & property investments which post an annual turnover of $200 million Invited by Economic Develoment Board (EDB) to start an education business to raise financial awareness and encourage entrepreneurship in Singapore Changed the lives of many others by educating them about property investment and entrepreneurship, allowing them to acheive absolute financial freedom Founding president of the Financial Planning Association of Singapore, a member of the Financial Planning Association (America) & the Education and Public Awareness committees of the International CFP Council Lead author and editor in chief of Singapore's only financial planning textbook, a project entitled "A Singapore Guide to Personal Financial Planning", which was published by Financial Perspectives & co-published by RMIT University Well sought after speaker & a frequent guest on television programmes on finance which includes, CNBC, Bloomberg & Channel News Asia Frequently quoted in numerous articles in Today, the Straits Times, The Star, the Business Times and other leading forms of print media

Andy Ong and ERC In The News

Hopefully now you've deemed me someone who MIGHT be worth listening to... Now we can get on to the good stuff... You probably want to know what all this is about... You probably want me to hurry up and explain how YOU are going to make more money in property as a result of meeting me today (and believe me... YOU WILL) So allow me to do so with a little story ...

"Why I Believe ANYONE Who Wants To Be Rich Should Invest In Property..."

Let's face it. ALL the rich invest in property, there is NO exception.

I was not born with a silver spoon in the mouth. I went through a similar route of climbing the corporate ladder like many of you did. After being promoted 7 times in a row in my job with a publishing company, I was fired by my boss because my next promotion will be to take over HIS job. All of a sudden, I felt my world has fallen apart.... I felt awful. But I told myself it's either sink or swim. Seething with anger, I was only left with $10,000 in my bank account and wondering what I should do with my life... Somehow I just knew that property investment is the way to go, since that is what all the rich people do. I bought my first property in the late 90's. It was a shophouse unit worth $2.2 million at 49 Club Street, the former IndoChine Bar & Restaurant. Together with a few partners, we pooled in our money along with a 80% bank loan and later sold the property off at... $5.95 million! I was astounded... So this was how the rich leverage their money in property investment. Finally I felt that I could see light at the end of the tunnel and used the profits to invest in a 2nd property.. and then the 3rd property... and then the 4th property.. and the rest is history...

"Could Making Money In Property Investment Really Be This Easy...?"

The right way of investing in property can produce riches. However, many of us are not taught how to do so. Students who have been following my calling for property trends all know that I walk the talk and put my own money in. I myself find it amazing that my portfolio is now worth hundreds of millions, the figures are all verifiable! My proudest acheivement is to have created 10 multi-millionaires and at least 20 millionaires from among my students. There are many others who have attained financial freedom and enjoying passive income through their property investment. Throughout the years, many of them have became my personal friends and we now invest in properties together. If they can do it, it shouldn't be that hard.

"So How Did They Do It?"

First let me tell you how they DIDN'T do it...

- They DIDN'T buy property from new launches, which will only make the developers richer - They DIDN'T invest blindly in overseas properties that they cannot see and touch and know nothing about - They DIDN'T listen to the so called 'advice' from unethical property agents who are only out to earn your commission - They DIDN'T follow the crowd and buy properties during market peak and end up suffering great loss when the market crashed. - They DIDN'T limit themselves from investing in property by saying they do not have enough capital - They DIDN'T stop themselves from investing in property because they cannot get a loan - They DIDN'T stop themselves from owning multiple properties just because of the government ruling (in a legal way of course)

The truth is that many of the 'problems' that stop most people from making a profit from property investment are not problems at all IF ONLY they know the right way of investing. Making money from property investment is not hard at all. There are so many opportunities right here in Singapore and foreigners are flooding here to snatch a piece of the pie. Just recently I was telling my students to buy projects in the Robin region and those who dared went into Robin road have made a pile from their investment. In one of my recent classes, I analyzed with my students the en-bloc potential of Crystal Towers and few days later it came out in the news that it was pursuing an en-bloc sale. So you see, I share with my students EVERYTHING during our gatherings and they just follow straightforward advice to make money in property. So, is it that hard to make money from property investment?Posted : 01 December 2010 Inspiring business success ... by living it By Conrad Raj, TODAY CEO of ERC Holdings, Andy Ong (Photo courtesy of ERC).   At 40, Mr Andy Ong has achieved quite a bit. He runs S$500 million in real estate funds as well as a rubber estate in Thailand, two-thirds the size of Singapore. This is in addition to the ERC Institute, which has its main campus on River Valley Road. The group teaches 3,500 students at schools in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to become entrepreneurs. His various businesses under ERC Holdings employ 1,100 people, of which a tenth are in Singapore. Now Mr Ong, who studied economics at the National University of Singapore, wants to establish a chain of three-star hotels in the region, starting with the conversion of the 16-storey Prime Centre in Middle Road into a 300-room hotel as well as a school for the hospitality industry. In November, Mr Ong paid the Hong Leong Group S$103 million for the freehold building, which has a gross floor area of about 95,000 sq ft on a 20,162 sq ft site. "I found that on my travels, all I need is a comfortable bed with soft pillows, a large TV screen and a clean, comfortable bathroom," he told TODAY, pointing out that the frills of a five-star luxury hotel are wasted on business travellers like him. "While our rooms (between 160 sq ft and 180 sq ft) will probably cost half the rate charged by five-star hotels, they will have free movies round the clock," he said. He expects the conversion of Prime Centre to be completed in the second quarter of 2012 at a cost of between S$15 million and S$25 million. He then wants to replicate the model in Indonesia, Thailand and China, using his students to run them when they graduate. Mr Ong is also planning to expand his schools into Jakarta and China and plans more in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. "I tell our students they should not become mere employees but entrepreneurs ... We want them to have both quantitative and qualitative skills." But so far only about 30 to 40 of his 5,000 graduands, who come from more than 20 countries, have set up their own businesses. "One of my proudest moments was when a former student called Robin sent me a copy of Prestige magazine, which described him 'as a young successful gentleman' who has made his mark in the bath accessories industry at the tender age of 29. He was very kind to mention me as a source of his inspiration." ERC charges between S$6,000 and S$10,000 a year here for courses leading up to degrees from affiliated universities in the United Kingdom. But not all of its students are happy customers and some have voiced their dissatisfaction on the Internet. While he now enjoys driving his several cars and lives in a luxury condominium in Bukit Timah Road, life has not always been a bed of roses for him and his four siblings. "Dad left us when I was seven ... somehow my mum managed to raise all of us, right up to university," he said. Soon after graduation, he dabbled in financial journalism, starting a magazine called the Financial Planner with S$10,000 from his savings and borrowing another S$20,000. After successfully selling the magazine in 2003, he moved into property, picking up several shophouses with "comfortable" rental yields. At the same time, the Economic Development Board encouraged him to promote entrepreneurship among the youth. Unhappy with the way students were taught at private schools then, he started ERC. He spent S$5 million turning the former River Valley Primary School into a campus for 1,600 students. Last year, he bought 90 per cent of North Bridge Commercial Complex for S$46 million, also from the Hong Leong Group. It now has place for 1,300 students. Although the group bought a significant stake in Shun Thai, a listed Thai manufacturer of rubber gloves, and a 40,000ha rubber plantation in Thailand, it is property that enthuses Mr Ong most. His several funds totalling S$500 million and under Gryphon Estate Management are invested mainly in properties. "That's where my expertise and focus is," he said. And he provides advice and insight into property on his blog, 'My Money Sense'. This article was first published on TODAY. ERC snaps up Prime Centre for $103m Kalpana Rashiwala Mon, Nov 08, 2010 The Business Times   (SINGAPORE) Hong Leong Group is understood to have sold freehold Prime Centre on Middle Road for $103 million or $1,415 per square foot based on existing net lettable area of about 72,800 sq ft. The 16-storey building is about half-vacant but that should suit buyer ERC Holdings group just fine as the private commercial school operator is said to be planning to renovate the property for use as an educational hub and hotel. The group's ERC Institute runs tourism and hospitality courses among its academic programmes. DTZ brokered the sale of Prime Centre through a private treaty deal. Market watchers say it makes more sense for ERC to renovate the existing 18-year-old office block rather than to tear it down and redevelop the site since Prime Centre's existing gross floor area of 94,657 sq ft reflects a plot ratio of 4.69 on its site area of 20,162 sq ft - exceeding the 4.2 plot ratio allowed for the site under Master Plan 2008. The site is zoned for commercial use. It has 73 car park lots. The new premises will help ERC cater to its expansion programme. A year ago, the group picked up 60 units equivalent to about 90 per cent of the North Bridge Commercial Complex (opposite Bugis Junction) for $46 million. It has since spruced up the space and is using it for its headquarters as well as a campus for ERC Institute. The price which ERC paid seller City Developments (the listed property arm of Hong Leong Group) for the 999-year leasehold asset worked out to about $1,194 psf based on strata area of 38,534 sq ft. That deal was also brokered by DTZ. Other office building deals the property consulting group has brokered this year include Marina House ($148 million), Chow House ($101 million) and the next-door Corporate Office ($215 million). DTZ has also brokered the sale of nine Singapore industrial properties this year for a total of nearly $366 million to Sabana Investment Properties (SIP), which is expected to list the syariah-compliant Sabana Reit by year-end. Five of the properties are being sold by Freight Links Express Holdings. DTZ was also instrumental in Freight Links' equity participation in SIP, which will be the real estate investment trust's manager. About $4 billion worth of office investment sales is estimated to have been transacted so far this year.