How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are no better than that fool. You don't compare with somebody else's financial situation (who you might wrongly conclude as worse off than you) and then comfort yourself that you can afford to live a certain lifestyle.

Many HDB dwellers have no loans because they got their flats direct from the gahmen with all the discounts. But they are not blindly upgrading to condos just because they can now afford to pay off their condos at once without any loans. They are keenly aware of the higher cost of condo living and the need to save for their retirement.

It is a foolish argument to say that just because there are people poorer than you, you are rich, and therefore can live like the rich. This was what the fool was advocating and you foolishly took up his cause.

Sad but true that not many people will do sufficient calculation to see if they can afford condo living, but sites like salary.sg which provides average household incomes against the types of homes that these people are staying, can help provide general sensing. And the couple with $140k pa income is clearly rounding up the bottom of the income range.

Fully agree..condo sentiment is really bad...see the recent posts at Condosingapore.com...all gurus said bad times to invest now....

We are low income graduates, we earn $130k pa. We only live in a old condo, worth only $800k, which we paid off (we bought it for $450k in 2006). We own only a small old car.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

We are low income graduates, we earn $130k pa. We only live in a old condo, worth only $800k, which we paid off (we bought it for $450k in 2006). We own only a small old car.

We are also low income graduates, 45/46 yo, $120k pa combined. Our condo is worth only $1m, unlike some of our friends whose condo are worth $3m. We bought cheap during the crisis, now loan left $100k. Our car is also small, Asian make. Our expenses $90k pa.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

A friend of mine sold his hdb flat and got a profit of $200k. Because mortgage rates are low, they bought a $1m condo and took $800k loan. Their combined income is only $7k. They are in their late 30s. Crazy !!!!

Errr... how is that possible to get by ?

Would bank loan someone $800K based on a combined income of only $7K at nearing their 40s ? Geeez ! What do they eat and live on ?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Errr... how is that possible to get by ?

Would bank loan someone $800K based on a combined income of only $7K at nearing their 40s ? Geeez ! What do they eat and live on ?

It's quite tough and lifestyle will be meagre living.
Based on maximum 30-year loan at 1.5% interest, the monthly loan deduction is about $3000. And if they pay with CPF $2k and balance cash $1k, (take home pay $5.6k) they have about monthly $4.6k cash to live on.

And if loan interest goes up, one of them loses their income.....??

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It's quite tough and lifestyle will be meagre living.
Based on maximum 30-year loan at 1.5% interest, the monthly loan deduction is about $3000. And if they pay with CPF $2k and balance cash $1k, (take home pay $5.6k) they have about monthly $4.6k cash to live on.

And if loan interest goes up, one of them loses their income.....??

If this happen they will be in deep sh.it. Their condo price will drop and they will have to sell at a loss. That's why it is important not to over leverage so that even if price fall, you can still afford to hold. So don't listen to fools here who tell you to take as much loan as possible just because rates are low. If you buy, make sure you can afford a downpayment of 60% and loan only 40%%. If your income is $200k combined, just buy a 5 room HDB flat and take loan of only 40% for 10 years max. This is financially prudent.

This is good advice. I myself can attest to this. I lost my job last year and sold my landed property for $2m and downgraded to a Bukit Timah condo, paying $1.2m in full. I am now debt free. I also sold my German car and stopped employing a maid. I could not get a replacement full time job and now do some contract work, earning only $60k pa. Luckily my spouse is still working, earning $90k pa. We manage to survive by managing our expenses. We manage to cut our expenses to a minimal $100k pa. We now only save a meagre $50k pa, a far cry from our past annual savings. Life is tough in this modern world.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If this happen they will be in deep sh.it. Their condo price will drop and they will have to sell at a loss. That's why it is important not to over leverage so that even if price fall, you can still afford to hold. So don't listen to fools here who tell you to take as much loan as possible just because rates are low. If you buy, make sure you can afford a downpayment of 60% and loan only 40%%. If your income is $200k combined, just buy a 5 room HDB flat and take loan of only 40% for 10 years max. This is financially prudent.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It's quite tough and lifestyle will be meagre living.
Based on maximum 30-year loan at 1.5% interest, the monthly loan deduction is about $3000. And if they pay with CPF $2k and balance cash $1k, (take home pay $5.6k) they have about monthly $4.6k cash to live on.

And if loan interest goes up, one of them loses their income.....??

Why not...without children....you need very little only.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This is good advice. I myself can attest to this. I lost my job last year and sold my landed property for $2m and downgraded to a Bukit Timah condo, paying $1.2m in full. I am now debt free. I also sold my German car and stopped employing a maid. I could not get a replacement full time job and now do some contract work, earning only $60k pa. Luckily my spouse is still working, earning $90k pa. We manage to survive by managing our expenses. We manage to cut our expenses to a minimal $100k pa. We now only save a meagre $50k pa, a far cry from our past annual savings. Life is tough in this modern world.

Life is tough in this modern world, especially in singapore!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why not...without children....you need very little only.

If you plan to live simply, then why live in a condo? anything also can if you eat and live very simply, no restaurant, no travel, no shopping.

Pray hard hard you don't get sick, don't get sacked, interest don't go up up up, property prices don't drop!