Calling it quits!

Originally Posted by whizzard

... buy a second property on leverage ...

Still a wise thing to do given the anti-foreigner sentiment? If I'm not wrong, government is taking steps to reduce the number of foreigners in Singapore and since almost 100% of the rentals are to foreigners, I would be hesitant to buy a rental property now.

Disclosure: Have two condos. One rented to a Singaporean. The other to an Indian expatriate.

[whizzard]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Still a wise thing to do given the anti-foreigner sentiment? If I'm not wrong, government is taking steps to reduce the number of foreigners in Singapore and since almost 100% of the rentals are to foreigners, I would be hesitant to buy a rental property now.

Disclosure: Have two condos. One rented to a Singaporean. The other to an Indian expatriate.

If I am not mistaken, Sahm is looking for a landed property.

Well located landed freehold properties are gems that will always be sought after by Singaporeans once they can afford it.

Originally Posted by whizzard

If I am not mistaken, Sahm is looking for a landed property.

Well located landed freehold properties are gems that will always be sought after by Singaporeans once they can afford it.

That is correct. Landed properties have one of the lowest rental yields, yet they command the highest capital appreciation over time and during good times. It's the capital appreciation I'm after. If I have more money, I'd buy one of those conservation houses. Too bad, I can't afford one.

Originally Posted by Sahm

That is correct. Landed properties have one of the lowest rental yields, yet they command the highest capital appreciation over time and during good times. It's the capital appreciation I'm after. If I have more money, I'd buy one of those conservation houses. Too bad, I can't afford one.

Wizard,

Do you own a landed property in bt timah too?

[whizzard]

Originally Posted by Sahm

Wizard,

Do you own a landed property in bt timah too?

I stay in one ..... I don't own it as it belongs to my wife.

Hello dear sahm, sorry if I sound harsh. I was just being caring. Sometimes the truth hurts. Looks like you are adamant, so no point giving you advice. If you are my sister, I will advice her to sell her landed and buy a cheaper condo. She can then monetize her capital gains immediately. She should pay in full for the condo. Then ask her hubby to save cash of $400k pa and after 10 years, will have $4m. Then can buy a landed home. So if hubby lose job now, no problem. Still have roof under your heads.

Originally Posted by Sahm

Those are some harsh words. I do want to clarify that I do not look down on dad. I wanted to point out that we have different risk appetites due to our age difference and where we are in life. Markets are cyclical. That's 101. If things turned worse then, at least I had a job that could make the payments. What better time to take risk than when you are young and without dependents. As for being lucky. We all can make our own analyses and become more skillful over time and with experience. However at the point of making a decision to do something, aren't you also taking a bet that the outcome will be a certain way, given your analyses? Im not sure what investments you have done but if you made money, then you have the luck as well since there's always a chance and probability, however small that things turn the opposite way from your bet. I wouldn't say I'm "plain lucky" but there's an element of luck accompanied with lots of homework done, loads of conviction in my choice and some guts as well.

I'm here for advice not sweeping statements and judgements and critical-parent type advice.

Your advise rings a similar tone to my earlier statement, guess we see things along the same lines.

"Ultimately any asset that does not generate revenue but consumes your cashflow is still a liability until disposed. I have also borrowed on the increased values of my properties but as they are all rented out its the rental sustains the mortgage. (mortgaged at 50% of valuation)"

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello dear sahm, sorry if I sound harsh. I was just being caring. Sometimes the truth hurts. Looks like you are adamant, so no point giving you advice. If you are my sister, I will advice her to sell her landed and buy a cheaper condo. She can then monetize her capital gains immediately. She should pay in full for the condo. Then ask her hubby to save cash of $400k pa and after 10 years, will have $4m. Then can buy a landed home. So if hubby lose job now, no problem. Still have roof under your heads.

This is not caring advise, but thoughtless advise. This shows a blind following of old advise without thought or awareness of the current situation and their abilities and their relatively young ages.

In this current climate of low interest (1% for mortgage loan), it does not make good financial sense to pay up the loan. The cash could be used to generate more returns eg in the stock market.

Even when the interest rates turn upwards, one has to assess if the alternative investment can give better returns over paying down the mortgage. The key is to be nimble.

There are good debts and there are bad debts. Good debts are those that help you generate more income eg property loans that can help you generate rental returns and capital appreciation. Another would be loans to do business.

Simply throwing up the worst case scenarios and treating like it is going to be only outcome is not caring advise, but a defeatist cop out. It reveals a lazy mind behind it.

A thorough analysis (looking at various scenarios, risks and potential returns) is what is needed in all investment endeavours.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello dear sahm, sorry if I sound harsh. I was just being caring. Sometimes the truth hurts. Looks like you are adamant, so no point giving you advice. If you are my sister, I will advice her to sell her landed and buy a cheaper condo. She can then monetize her capital gains immediately. She should pay in full for the condo. Then ask her hubby to save cash of $400k pa and after 10 years, will have $4m. Then can buy a landed home. So if hubby lose job now, no problem. Still have roof under your heads.

You must be some young punk fresh from some no name uni trying to sound smart. You don't know much but talk a lot. Overleveraging at a time when market has peaked and on the way down is stupid. When you leverage to 80%, and market crash by 50%, you will be under water. Your stocks value will also crash by 50% or more. You will be in deep ****. If your banker ask you to top up, you can't cos the loan you took from your home equity was invested in stocks which has shrunk in value. Worse, if you lose your job. Recipe for disaster. Youngsters nowadays are so stupid.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This is not caring advise, but thoughtless advise. This shows a blind following of old advise without thought or awareness of the current situation and their abilities and their relatively young ages.

In this current climate of low interest (1% for mortgage loan), it does not make good financial sense to pay up the loan. The cash could be used to generate more returns eg in the stock market.

Even when the interest rates turn upwards, one has to assess if the alternative investment can give better returns over paying down the mortgage. The key is to be nimble.

There are good debts and there are bad debts. Good debts are those that help you generate more income eg property loans that can help you generate rental returns and capital appreciation. Another would be loans to do business.

Simply throwing up the worst case scenarios and treating like it is going to be only outcome is not caring advise, but a defeatist cop out. It reveals a lazy mind behind it.

A thorough analysis (looking at various scenarios, risks and potential returns) is what is needed in all investment endeavours.

I will try to profile you as gently as I can. You are in your mid to late fifties or even 60s. Probably retrenched or quit due to inability to handle stress. A loser of sort.

When you were assigned a task or project, you could only see the negative aspects, see only risks but not the possibilities. Your boss gave up on you and assign the work to a younger colleague who was only too eager to take it to new heights.

It took you a long time to embrace the Internet because you were afraid of logging in, afraid of the what ifs. If the world were filled with people with your mentality, there would be no airplanes (because engines would fail, instruments would screw up etc), there would be no tall buildings (because they would collapse, lifts would breakdown, etc), there would be no ... the list goes on. You catch my drift.

Because of what you are, you are also thin skinned. I have refrained from using the S word because I do feel sorry for you. We are what we are, sometimes it is due to nature, at times it is due to the environment we are brought up in.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You must be some young punk fresh from some no name uni trying to sound smart. You don't know much but talk a lot. Overleveraging at a time when market has peaked and on the way down is stupid. When you leverage to 80%, and market crash by 50%, you will be under water. Your stocks value will also crash by 50% or more. You will be in deep ****. If your banker ask you to top up, you can't cos the loan you took from your home equity was invested in stocks which has shrunk in value. Worse, if you lose your job. Recipe for disaster. Youngsters nowadays are so stupid.