Whats your net worth

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just to update, I managed to get the property at 2.3m. I just told the owner that I do not have 2.4m, regardless of how he claims there are other buyers with ready cheques. Those are just sales tactics. Also, it was a way to test water. If he is not a serious seller, even if I offer 2.4m or 2.35m (in between), he will continue to revise his price upwards every other week. I hate to be led on a wild goose chase this way. I have met several owners who are like moving targets. This is what is known as ownership bias where the owners view their properties as supreme and have no real need to sell their houses anyway. So why waste other people's time?

Anyway, I will no longer be a millionaire after I plonk the money into this house. Adieu!

Good for you! You're still young, so you can recycle your money and leverage. Even if you bomb out, you still have the time to start again. No risk, no gain.

I bought my landed in 2006 for $1.6M. Its now worth over $4M. In fact, I am able to borrow money from it from DBS at cost+1% on the property and invest it at a much higher yield. It gives me a comfortable income stream, while I live in it for doing nothing. Life could not be better.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Good for you! You're still young, so you can recycle your money and leverage. Even if you bomb out, you still have the time to start again. No risk, no gain.

I bought my landed in 2006 for $1.6M. Its now worth over $4M. In fact, I am able to borrow money from it from DBS at cost+1% on the property and invest it at a much higher yield. It gives me a comfortable income stream, while I live in it for doing nothing. Life could not be better.

Cool. Same here too. Thanks to the pro-rich governments around the world with their loose monetary policies!

We the rich get richer. I sometimes pity the poor and the middle, but this is life. They still get a small chance though. Just don't revolt like in the mid east. Haha.

[chnrxn]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Good for you! You're still young, so you can recycle your money and leverage. Even if you bomb out, you still have the time to start again. No risk, no gain.

I bought my landed in 2006 for $1.6M. Its now worth over $4M. In fact, I am able to borrow money from it from DBS at cost+1% on the property and invest it at a much higher yield. It gives me a comfortable income stream, while I live in it for doing nothing. Life could not be better.

Hi, when you mortgaged the house to the bank, what were to terms (number of years)? Did they check your ability to service the loan? What are the factors that affect the amount and the repayment period, if any.

Thanks in advance for enlightening.

Such loans are interest only - no repayment of principal and only given by DBS private bank, typically 1 month to 1 year. You cannot get them as a regular or treasures customer at about 50% of valuation. I would assume TS borrowed about $2m if his property was worth $4m.

my net worth is -20k cos i have yet to pay back my study loan. just started working.

in consulting for ~7years, single, 30

Cash:200k
Stocks/Investments:150k (recent valuation)
CPF:100k

working 50-60h weeks at times; hope to last another 10yrs in this industry, and move to something less hectic...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

my net worth is -20k cos i have yet to pay back my study loan. just started working.

Don't despair. I started off just like you, in debt, because my folks were lowly educated. While still in Uni, my folks couldn't wait for me to go out and help put food on the table. Life was tough.

Fast forward 25 hrs later, I am now what our Gahmen classify as solidly middle class (earning between 5 - 10K a month). My wife earns the same.

Because of earlier hard life, frugality and thriftiness were my middle names. We lead a simple but comfortable life. Our very disciplined habit of savings and good luck in our modest investments have helped to shore up our savings and assets. As a middle income class family, I am happy and a little proud that my wife and I have amassed the following:

1) 2 bdrm condo (fully paid & renting out)
2) 2 Jap cars (1 MPV, 1 sedan both fully paid)
3) 1M in CPF
4) 1M in cash, stock, single premium policies etc

Now our goal is to generate a constant passive stream of income of about $60K a year. We are almost there!

Originally Posted by Middle Class

Don't despair. I started off just like you, in debt, because my folks were lowly educated. While still in Uni, my folks couldn't wait for me to go out and help put food on the table. Life was tough.

Fast forward 25 hrs later, I am now what our Gahmen classify as solidly middle class (earning between 5 - 10K a month). My wife earns the same.

Because of earlier hard life, frugality and thriftiness were my middle names. We lead a simple but comfortable life. Our very disciplined habit of savings and good luck in our modest investments have helped to shore up our savings and assets. As a middle income class family, I am happy and a little proud that my wife and I have amassed the following:

1) 2 bdrm condo (fully paid & renting out)
2) 2 Jap cars (1 MPV, 1 sedan both fully paid)
3) 1M in CPF
4) 1M in cash, stock, single premium policies etc

Now our goal is to generate a constant passive stream of income of about $60K a year. We are almost there!

That's 3m in net worth. Congratulations! Care to share some of your investment tips and experience.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

That's 3m in net worth. Congratulations! Care to share some of your investment tips and experience.

I would not call it tips, because we did not go out to make it big. We dont know how and dont have the risk appetite. We were just squirreling away savings and decided to put a bit in various investments throughout the 20+ yrs. It was all due to good fortune, and timing.

Looking back, I think the HDB 4 rm flat which we got for <$90K and later selling for a 300K+ was a good step up. We went on to bite the second cherry, an exec flat at 200K+, our current home.

In our early years, as a couple without kids, we were saving 60 - 80 K a year (with bonuses). Even with kids, helped with slightly higher salaries, we were saving 80 - 100K yearly. Now we are saving 150K yearly (salary, bonuses and passive returns from investments).

We bought the condo years ago at 600K+ and now it is slightly above $1M. We also managed to grab some high yielding stocks at bargain prices not because we timed it, but simply because the cash was there. Stocks we bought at bargain prices which splitted and grow in value back to the pre-splitted prices! Eg are Comfort Delgro (previously was SBS shares), Semb Marine (bought at 83 cents), SIA (bought at $5 before it went ballistic and split)

However we are not resting on our laurels because stocks by their very nature are volatile.

Originally Posted by Mr Middle

I would not call it tips, because we did not go out to make it big. We dont know how and dont have the risk appetite. We were just squirreling away savings and decided to put a bit in various investments throughout the 20+ yrs. It was all due to good fortune, and timing.

Looking back, I think the HDB 4 rm flat which we got for <$90K and later selling for a 300K+ was a good step up. We went on to bite the second cherry, an exec flat at 200K+, our current home.

In our early years, as a couple without kids, we were saving 60 - 80 K a year (with bonuses). Even with kids, helped with slightly higher salaries, we were saving 80 - 100K yearly. Now we are saving 150K yearly (salary, bonuses and passive returns from investments).

We bought the condo years ago at 600K+ and now it is slightly above $1M. We also managed to grab some high yielding stocks at bargain prices not because we timed it, but simply because the cash was there. Stocks we bought at bargain prices which splitted and grow in value back to the pre-splitted prices! Eg are Comfort Delgro (previously was SBS shares), Semb Marine (bought at 83 cents), SIA (bought at $5 before it went ballistic and split)

However we are not resting on our laurels because stocks by their very nature are volatile.

Congrats on your investment achievements and thanks for sharing how you did it. With property prices at current elevated levels, do you think a young guy like myself will be able to replicate your investment successes with property? Call me pessimistic but I feel that the golden era where people can make good money or even strike it rich with the right bets in property is now gone. Some young people can't even afford a roof now, much less make money by upgrading with a second cherry bite.

Someone else commented in this forum that much of the property boom was due to the liberalisation of CPF (people allowed to use CPF to pay for property purchases). I would like to add that opening up to foreign buyers also contributed not insignificantly (I remember reading somewhere about the 6-storey rule). Someone investing at around those times would have benefited the most.

So, if we take property out of the picture, I guess young people are now left with just this strategy and I over-simplify: save up diligently and buy good stocks, hopefully at good prices.

What are your thoughts?