MIEA Irene Chua

IT was the purchase of her first home in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur six years ago that led Irene Chua into the real estate industry. The 31-year-old real estate negotiator had bought the house in a deal brokered by Ling Wang Ming, the resident manager at Leaders Real Estate, where she currently works.

Four years later, she left her job as a general clerk at an insurance firm to dive headlong into the property sector, with no experience and no connections. Now, two years into the job, Chua bagged her first-ever award — the MIEA-theedgeproperty.com Top Online REN (Real Estate Negotiator) of the Year at the National Real Estate Awards organised by the Malaysian Institute of Real Estate Agents (MIEA).

The winner of this category was chosen based on the quantity and also the quality of a real estate negotiator’s listings on theedgeproperty.com as well as her use of the powerful and free analytics on the property portal.

“I thought it was a joke at first. In fact I hung up on the organisers a few times until they got [MIEA past president] Soma [Sundram] to speak to me,” she recalls.

Her favourite tools on theedgeproperty.com are the Transaction Finder and Location Scan.

“It makes research so much easier. I previously ‘partnered’ with a banker to get valuations and [information on] past transactions, but now I just need to search on theedgeproperty.com to get a reference price,” she says.

She also finds the mortgage, tax, and rental yield calculators on the portal very useful in helping her clients figure out their budget.

But why did Chua start from scratch in such a competitive industry?

“I love property. It gives me hope, the ability to earn a high income and financial independence. Sales is also something I can do even if I don’t have a higher education,” she tells The Edge Property.

Chua hails from Muar, Johor. Her father was a lorry driver while her late mother ran a hair salon.

Her decision to venture into this industry was met with derision by some people, who cited her background and inexperience in real estate as a handicap.

“Some people said I should give up because I was young, poor, had no experience and no connections. But their words only made me want to prove them wrong!” she declares.

It did not take long for her critics to eat their words. Chua made her first sale two weeks into the job, a 2-storey terraced house in Cheras with a land area of 20ft by 60ft for RM450,000.

“It really boosted my confidence,” she says.

She then made it her goal to close at least one deal a month, whether sale or lease. So far, she’s achieved one to three deals a month.

“People say the market is slow. But there is still a lot of demand. I still manage to sell all kinds of properties,” says Chua.

Her strategy for now is to take on all property types in different locations — she believes it doesn’t pay to be fussy.

Her biggest transaction to date was of a factory in Taman Perindustrian Puchong 6 for RM8.38 million in late August last year. The factory has a built-up area of 20,000 sq ft, which puts its value at around RM440 psf.

According to Chua, the factory was in bad condition, yet the owner’s asking price was RM12 million, which was slightly above the average price for properties in the industrial park.

“I remember the factory was on the market even when I first joined Leaders Real Estate. I managed to persuade the owner to reduce his asking price to RM8.8 million, given the condition of the factory, and closed the deal at a slightly lower price,” she says.

While Chua acknowledges the internet as an important promotional tool, she believes it is more important to build meaningful connections with clients.

“I get a lot of referrals from face-to-face meetings, including those from the factory deal in Puchong,” she reveals.

For Chua, this award is not just validation of her endeavours, but also a stepping stone to better things.

“I want to break my own personal record (for her biggest transaction) and become a team leader at Leaders Real Estate in the next few years,” she says.

And she plans to study for her agent’s licence, but hasn’t set herself a time frame to do so yet. Inevitably, she will, and travel far and wide. (NRE AWARDS 2015)

This story first appeared in The Edge Property pullout on Oct 9, 2015, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download The Edge Property here for free.

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