Landbankig: REDEV Properties in Malaysia

REDEV Properties is coming to Malaysian shores. What so special about REDEV properties? Well, for one, unlike the usual land banking offering that you hold long-term for capital gains, with REDEV you are able to earn both income and capital gains. REDEV allows you the opportunity to hold a direct investment (undivided interest) in prime Canadian commercial properties for a fraction of the cost it would take you to invest in a commercial property in Malaysia. And did I mentioned REDEV commercial properties are fully tenanted as well?

REDEV Properties has been syndicating commercial properties to investors since 2001. Today, they own and manage 25 well located, fully occupied commercial properties along with 4,000 investors. Eighty percent (80%) of the investing partners are Canadians and this speaks volume in terms of the credibility of the investment offered. In fact, they recently won the Hong Kong Business High Flyers of 2008 award.

The 3 founding members are Richard Crenian, Howard Manley and Darwin Forer. They partnered up in 1981 and since then have developed over 11,000 condominiums and commercial properties in Canada. By 2001, they changed focus to redeveloping established commercial properties. It had become cheaper to buy existing properties than developing new ones, and with long term leases already established, it posed less risk and provided immediate cash flow.

By partnering up with REDEV, you enjoy immediate cash flow generated from existing leases with regional and multinational companies. You are expected to earn between 6% - 10% nett income pa. Commercial properties leases are long and secure leases of 5 - 20 years. The best part is... these are Triple-Net Leases where the tenant is responsible for all taxes, insurance, miscellaneous expenses and all costs associated with repairs. This protects you as an investors.

On top of your 6%-10%pa cash flow, you enjoy capital gains as well. At the end of 5 years, investors will vote to either sell or refinance the property. REDEV has a historical capital gain of 140% after 5 years. You have a clear exit strategy.

Commercial real estate is normally beyond the reach of the average investor. REDEV provides a platform for investors to simply own a percentage interest for as little as C$25,500 in freehold property, with existing tenants and existing cash flow. This is a very secure investment with land titles (undivided interest) and a trustee to safeguard your investment. Their current project Sturgeon Plaza has established tenants such as Canada Post and Royal Bank of Canada. An excellent investment such as this is expected to be sold-out very soon. If you are interested, drop me an email now!

p/s: Don't miss out on this!

Landbanking.us - What is a good investment in 2009?

I’m sure many of you noticed that I blog less and less nowadays. Actually, now I read more blogs than write blogs. My favorite blog is definitely Malaysia Today started by the famed Raja Petra Kamarudin or RPK. He is currently enjoying a holiday away from the constant pestering of the Malaysian authorities. Anyway, today’s blog is not about RPK (or where he is holidaying right now. Brisbane, Australia? No idea!)… I’m just wondering what is our level of investment appetite for 2009? Are there still any good investment opportunities around? Read on and find out!

What is a good investment in 2009?

Landbanker - SSM moving in to regulate land banking co?

A BERNAMA report (Malaysian National News Agency) reported on 24 Oct 2008 that The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) raided 3 land banking companies; UK Land International (M) Sdn Bhd, Profitable Plots Sdn Bhd and Edgeworth Properties (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. They are suspected of offering illegal land investment schemes. Gosh… have I been in the wrong industry all this while?

Continue to read more ..

SSM moving in to regulate land banking co?

Land Banking Investment - Smart Investor

Here's an excerpts of the cover story in Smart Investor (Singapore Edition) that appeared in August 2008. This cover story is an independent article (not an advertorial) entitled “Land Banking Investment: Separating Facts from Half-Truths”. Out of the 10 companies offering land banking services in Singapore, 4 major players; Edgeworth Properties, Walton International, Jardin Smith International and UK Land Investments are mentioned. Quotes ” ” represents a direct excerpt from the article, italics are my own words and bold are my own emphasis. The article started of with the tone.. Continue to read >>

Land Banking Investment - Smart Investor

SSM moving in to regulate land banking co?

A BERNAMA report (Malaysian National News Agency) reported on 24 Oct 2008 that The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) raided 3 land banking companies; UK Land International (M) Sdn Bhd, Profitable Plots Sdn Bhd and Edgeworth Properties (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. They are suspected of offering illegal land investment schemes. Gosh… have I been in the wrong industry all this while?
Read more here >>

SSM moving in to regulate land banking co?

Land Banking Investment - Separating Facts from Half-Truths

Today I would reproduce excerpts of the cover story in Smart Investor (Singapore Edition) that appeared in August 2008. This cover story is an independent article (not an advertorial) entitled “Land Banking Investment: Separating Facts from Half-Truths”. Out of the 10 companies offering land banking services in Singapore, 4 major players; Edgeworth Properties, Walton International, Jardin Smith International and UK Land Investments are mentioned.

Quotes ” ” represents a direct excerpt from the article, italics are my own words and bold are my own emphasis. The article started of with the tone…Read the rest of the story here >> Land Banking Investment - Separating Facts from Half-Truths

Landbanking: CPO price hits historic high!

Yesterday’s headline screams, “CPO price hits historic high“. The crude palm oil (CPO) 3-months futures contract price soared to a historic high of RM3,080 per tonne on 26 December 2007. If you refer to my previous blog post on Country Heights Grower Scheme (CHGS) you will recall that I use an illustration of flood as a common risk to plantation owners. I have highlighted that when you invest with CHGS you are NOT sharing into the risk of the plantation directly but rather protected by a management agreement governed by a trustee. The risk you take is on the CPO prices.

In fact, with the recent flood in Malaysia, CPO prices have actually risen due the flood. So what happens if you are an investor with CHGS and the same scenario (flood) occurs in the future? You will gain a hefty return based on the CPO price (12%pa to be exact if the average CPO price for that year exceeds RM2,100). But I am no commodity speculator and neither do I have the ability to control the weather (what am I, a witch doctor?). When I invest with CHGS, I invest based on the fundamentals of demand and supply for palm oil. Let’s look at some of the factors that have driven and will continue to drive the CPO price.

Continue to read.. CPO price hits historic high!

Landbanking - Country Heights Grower Scheme

There is a new kid in town… and its Malaysian! This investment scheme is the brainchild of Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, the Managing Director of Country Heights Holdings Bhd. Country Heights pioneered the concept of country living in Malaysia with the launch of Country Heights Kajang. Tan Sri Lee successfully transformed a near worthless rubber land into the “Beverly Hills of Malaysia” in 1987. Another feat is the transformation of the world’s largest open cast tin mine into one of Malaysia’s distinctive landmark called Mines Resort City. Country Heights Grower Scheme is a unique oil palm plantation investment scheme. Read the rest of this entry »

Landbanking - A ‘quiz’ on Alberta’s oil sands

DIFFICULT, YES. IMPOSSIBLE, NO… the headline screams. “Unconventional oil deposits, such as oil sands are likely to play an increasingly vital role in meeting the world’s energy demands. The challenge with unconventional deposits is that the oil is difficult to extract. Does this mean we should turn our backs on them? Of course not…” Guess where did I get this quote from? And who is this Asian tycoon with an eye for real estate that skeptics wondered why he took control of one of Canada’s oil company and suffered years of poor return? But now the oil company is one of the ‘jewels’ in his portfolio of companies. Another billionaire investor who has a history of staying away from resource investment is now FINALLY interested in investing in the Alberta oil sands. Who is this billionaire investor? And which are the landbanking companies that will profit from investing in Alberta, Canada? No prizes for guessing this one… currently it is companies like Genesis Land Development Corp. and Edgworth Properties Inc. that will benefit from this boom.

Read the rest of this entry »

Landbanking In Malaysia

Land banking is defined as the practice of acquiring large parcels of undeveloped land and holding it until the time is right for future development. Traditional land banking involves holding a parcel of raw land as close as possible to the path of development and wait for a few years. When there is demand for your land due to the approaching development, your parcel of land will increase in value ten-fold or even more. However, land banking requires much patience and investors can go on waiting indefinitely. The cost of holding the raw land can also be crippling.

Nevertheless, land banking investments can be an excellent investment given the right location, proper expertise and holding power. Many have built their wealth on land banking investments ranging from the likes of Donald Trump in the US to Li Ka-shing of Hong Kong. To the average investors however, 3 major constraints prevents us from participating in this lucrative part of real estates investments. They are the lack of capital to purchase large parcels of land, lack of holding power and the lack of expertise to gain the proper planning approvals.

In Malaysia, an article on land banking investments appeared in the financial magazine "Personal Money" published by The Edge on April 2004 and this signifies the growing awareness of a new breed of professional land banking companies. These companies purchase huge parcels of land in the path of development and syndicates it to investors that will then own an undivided interest in the land. A 100 acres of land for example, could be divided into smaller units of 1/2 acre each, making it affordable for investors to purchase a single unit of investment. They also act as your asset management company managing your land investments. Their services includes submitting concepts plans to the authorities to get the proper planning permission and presenting offers from developers that are interested to acquire your parcel of land to all the joint investors.

Investors make their profit by selling their lands to the developer at an appreciated price. Lands that have gained planning approvals will fetch a premium price from developers. The decision to accept any offers from the developer will be done via a voting process that involves all the joint investors. Many Malaysian investors have made lucrative profit from these investment programs and the number of investors are steadily rising.

David Chong is the popular author of David Chong's Investment Blog. Since he cease his popular blog, one of his favorite blogsite which he now reads and recommend is http://www.landbanking.us which serves as an informative guide on landbanking and managed real estate investments.

The Greenbelt land Debate in United Kingdom

Who will win the debate? There are primarily two sides of argument to the debate on greenbelt land. On one side is the government (and developers) who argue that they have a responsibility to provide affordable housing to the people and calls for a review of greenbelt land policy.

On the other side is the people (of UK) who wants to preserve a ‘green’ UK in order to protect the country’s wildlife and ecosystem. The housing situation in UK has created the opportunity for landbanking companies to flourish in UK. But who will eventually be the winners and losers? Read on.. The Greenbelt land Debate in UK