AN EMPIRE IN HER NAME

PrintDespite personal setbacks, the multitalented Choo Mei Sze is slowly but surely building a personal property empire.

An entrepreneur, emcee, TV host and a cancer awareness advocate—Choo Mei Sze can do it all. At only 29, the Psychology graduate from University of Hawaii in Manoa is already a successful owner of a social media company called Personedge and an active property investor. Choo, who is currently completing her PHD, is also a cancer survivor who actively speaks on the topic with the hope of inspiring cancer patients all around the world.

During her six-year stint in the US, Choo realised that all of the researches done only remained within the field and were only accessible to academicians—the information doesn’t reach the public as she intended it to. The youthful visionary returned to Malaysia with a mission: to change the landscape of psychology by educating the masses through the media.

“When I came back, I knew I wanted to get into the industry; I just didn’t know how. But I got really lucky because I met some people along the way who presented me with the opportunity,” shares Choo.

Her big break came when she was selected as the emcee for Proton during the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show. Ever since then, the brainy beauty has been the favourite of corporate companies such as Siemens, Libra, Samsung and BMW. Her undeniable talent started turning heads, and before long, she was hired for a Tech Travel Log called Nova for a local channel and the voice of Lisa on Astro Tutor TV.

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Following the success, she went on and hosted a web series on home decoration and interior design, ‘Nippon Create it Yourself’. “I was already an investor then so it gave me the intuition of what I wanted and don’t want in a home.”

Taking a Leap of Faith

In 2013, just as her career was about to take off, Choo decided to purchase her first property. She was just 26 then, with just enough money for the down payment. She bought a unit in Verve Suite, a project by Bukit Kiara Properties. “I admit it was an emotional buy but I was young then. It was a very gutsy move since I didn’t have much in the bank and I didn’t know much about managing my finances.”

“I simply fell in love with the unit—it had all the qualities I wanted in a home. There were two other interested buyers looking at the property at the time so I had to make my decision fast. I got some useful advice from my fiancé’s dad and took a few hours to work out the calculation— then I went with my instinct and handed in the cheque that night itself.”

Although initially dissuaded by her dad and fiancé, they now admit that Choo has made the right move. VERVE® Suites Mont’ Kiara has recently emerged as the World Gold Winner of the prestigious FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Awards 2015 in the Residential (High Rise) category and Choo’s unit has appreciated by MYR150,000 so far.

The brainy beauty admitted that she had luck on her side that the investment turned out to be lucrative despite the fact that she disregarded the most important step of property purchasing—doing thorough research. “Although I didn’t do my homework thoroughly, I did check out the entire area and felt that the place could actually yield a higher rental compared to other properties in the area. I knew it has good potential to grow because block D wasn’t ready yet at the time.”

“Of course, I know better now. I made sure to beef up my knowledge on property by doing a lot of reading and I have been actively scouting around for a good price. If you ask me right now what I would do with my money, I would in a heartbeat say ‘invest in property’. Every investment comes with a risk but sometimes, you have to take that leap of faith, otherwise you’ll never know.”

Learning from Experience

Choo’s next plan is to purchase the much talked about project by Nusmetro, Arte Mont Kiara. “I’ve been studying Arte for a long time; my fiancé and I researched the entire area and exact location, the number of blocks and its ease of accessibility. The fact that the largest exhibition centre in Southeast Asia, MATRADE was coming up there really hit the right spot with us. ”

Her pursuit for knowledge and experience so far has definitely paid off—Choo now has a crystal clear idea of what she wants in a property. “For me, there are a few criteria that a property has to fulfil— it has to serve a dual purpose, which means suitable for both investment and for me to stay in it if I’d wanted to. It’s a personal preference, I wanted to have that option,” Choo continues.

“Then, I look at accessibility—every other investor will tell you the same thing – if the access is bad even if the location is good, the place is not going to sell. You have to consider other developments within proximity and whether the area will get saturated. Because this will affect potential growth and rental returns. Right now, we are also looking at purchasing a commercial property.”

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