“I love doing up houses and that is one of the reasons I keep buying them.”
Fiona Wong moved out of her parents’ home when she was 22.
“Mine has been a nomad’s life! That is what I call it. After all, I’ve lived in 25 different addresses, both overseas and in Singapore all these years,” she jokes. Fiona bought her first property in 2006 — a private home in District 15. She renovated the house extensively and lived there for 2 years.
She then moved into another private property in Binjai Area. “I really loved the neighbourhood there.” But the lack of streetlights around the place made it rather dingy and uncomfortable. So, she sold it and hunted for a new place with PropertyGuru. “For all the properties that I have sold so far, I have managed to make a profit.“
Always on the look-out, it was around the same time that Fiona also invested in a new condominium in the Bartley area. But soon, she realised that the new development wasn’t her cup of tea because of its size, workmanship, and the quality of the interior.
She rented out the unit but discovered she didn’t like caring for tenants either and decided to sell it. “My homes are very close to my heart and most tenants just don’t take care of the properties sometimes. I think it is a matter of personality, being a landlady doesn’t quite suit me.”
The next condo Fiona purchased was Astor Green in 2011, near Holland Village and Clementi.
Buying for two
But things were about to change. In 2012, she met her future husband, Till Kautz at a surf camp in Bali. As their relationship blossomed, Till decided to move to Singapore. The couple felt they needed a bigger space to live together.
“I never use an agent as I do a much better job in knowing my own needs. I’ve always been using PropertyGuru for buying or renting and it makes this whole process a breeze.” The couple rented a flat in Eunos while looking for a new property, eventually deciding on a condominium on Telok Blangah Drive. “I love doing up houses and that is one of the reasons I keep buying them.”
Like all her previous houses, Fiona spent extensive time and effort doing up her home. And this time around, she had help from Till, a furniture maker and owner of +49woodcraft.com “He crafted some exquisite pieces based on our needs. Coincidentally, Till found his woodworking workshop from CommercialGuru too,” says Fiona. It took Till two months to fabricate the kitchen cabinets and walk-in wardrobe in their home. “We also brought over a lot of the furniture from our previous place. After so much moving, we have become proficient in moving houses.”
The search continues
While Fiona’s search for the next property will never truly stop, she admits that Singapore’s recent cooling measures have discouraged her from buying. “I was looking to acquire a smaller unit upstairs for my mom, but the stamp duty is too hefty.”
Perhaps that is one reason why, Fiona expanded her search overseas, to Kuala Lumpur. “I coincidentally went to the open house, and thought it looked great, so I went for it. I think you know whether or not it’s for you when you walk into a property.” Though she is not thrilled to rent it out, the condo is currently generating income for her.
While she may have started with no intention of flipping, Fiona has generated substantial profit from finding different houses that fit the different stages of her life. Not surprisingly, for Fiona ‘home is wherever she feels safe and comfortable.’
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