Earlier this month, a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program was held at Hangout123 for realtors to gain additional knowledge about current trends in property, as well as improve their professional skills. This is the second time the CPD Program for Realtors was organised at Hangout123, but unlike last year, this year it was only a one-day event, with two distinguished speakers invited to share their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields with the realtors who signed up for the course.
Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning
The morning session began with an introduction by Mr Chong Mok Yong, a Rockwills consultant and financial planner, about the importance of having a will. He stressed that approximately 90% of eligible (18 years old and above) Malaysians don’t have a will mainly due to several factors, which include ignorance, procrastination, superstition, thinking that they have “no assets, only liabilities”, and the belief that wills are only for rich or old people.
Well, according to official government records, in 2007, RM40 billion worth of assets were left unclaimed. In 2016, it is estimated that about RM62 billion in frozen assets were left by the dead. That’s a huge amount of money!
That is why wills are important, regardless of whether you only have a small house and some meager assets, or have an estate worth millions. With a will, you can:
- Decide who are your beneficiaries
- Determine who, when and how much to distribute
- Appoint an experienced and trusted executor for your estate
- Specify which asset(s) should be used to pay your debts
- Prevent splitting of assets among many beneficiaries
- Prevent dispute over money and properties
- Give back to charity
- Prevent estate from going to the government (i.e. frozen assets)
Mr Chong also shared many amusing and interesting anecdotes of his various clients, from a young lady in her twenties who did not have much assets but realized the importance of having a will, to an elderly millionaire who wanted a creative solution to keep his legacy and memory alive through his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Check out the video below of an interesting story about stamp duty in Malaysia that Mr Chong shared with the attendees that day:
All About Drones: For Realtors
After lunch, the afternoon session was taken over by Encik Hamidi Hamdan, the owner, technical and training director of Average Drone RC. He started the talk with an introductory video showing the various uses of drones, and then proceeded to explain the different types of drones available (toy-grade, hobby-grade, pro-grade and industrial-grade).
Besides being used for leisure and hobbies, drones can be useful for taking aerial photos of properties (e.g. townships, big buildings, construction site progress, etc) and have become instrumental in surveillance and monitoring, mapping, inspections, and search and rescue operations. This is because drones are:
- Safer – no human casualties in case of accidents
- Cheaper – costs considerably less than a helicopter
- Saves time – does not require much preparation
- Useful for law enforcement – can be used to monitor surroundings and risky areas
However, Encik Hamidi emphasised that even though usage of drones in Malaysia was becoming increasingly common, it was important for drone users to observe safety precautions when flying them, as well as be aware of no-fly zones (Putrajaya, Parliament, Istana Negara, KLCC and airports), as well as ‘sensitive areas’ such as near police stations and government buildings.
Next, Suresh from Average Drone did a simple demonstration of flying a drone indoors at Hangout123 to show the agents how it works. He explained that it was best to fly a drone outdoors at an open space, which not only provides plenty of space to fly the drone, but also to prevent accidents and ensure the drone can be controlled remotely without much interference.
Check out the live video from the Estate123.com Facebook page from the demonstration that day!
Both talks were really informative, and everyone went home with much more knowledge about wills and drones. The former was definitely important legal information for real estate agents, while the latter was new technology that could be further explored in the property market.
Check out this album for more photos from the event. Let’s look forward to more exciting events and activities from Estate123.com! 🙂
