#6: Advice for Loans, Credit Scoring, Property Purchasing and more! | ft. Jo’An & Clive | SFSG S2 E6

Podcast

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/7msShVQXdhGENXfXuEbbrr?utm_source=generator

Ever wondered what a mortgage advisory firm does? This is Sofa So Good with Redbrick, Singapore’s largest independent mortgage brokerage firm. We have Jo’An and Clive seated with Melvin, talking all about mortgage loans. Do you know that waiving off your credit card annual fee and subsequently cancelling the usage of it altogether may contribute to a bad record in your Credit Bureau Report?

Other important concepts such as leveraging, variable and fixed interest rates and equity term loan will be discussed in depth in this sit-back-and-chill session. If you are considering to purchase a second property, what are some tips (and tricks) that Jo’An and Clive have to share with you?

Find out more in this episode of Sofa So Good with Redbrick! Reach out to Redbrick here for your mortgage needs: https://www.redbrick.sg/

You can also see our video on this topic!

Our Author/Guests

Melvin Lim

Melvin Lim is CEO and co-founder of PropertyLimBrothers Team (PLB Team) – a leading real estate team in Singapore that serves its clientele and projects with unique crafted content and marketing and advertising campaign.

Clive Chng

Clive helps his clients maximize investment returns on their mortgage portfolios through unbiased advice on loans selection and clarity on loan structuring and cash flow management.

Jo’An Tan

Jo’An is one of the pioneering advisors with Redbrick Mortgage Advisory, she has personally structured over $900M worth of loans across 900 properties Linkedin

Transcript

1 (Jo’An)
00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,759
Okay, I’m not very old.

2 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:02,759 –> 00:00:04,299
– We can tell our audience how old you are.

3 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:12,880 –> 00:00:16,039
– All right, so welcome back to our Sofa So Good.

4 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:16,039 –> 00:00:16,879
In this episode,

5 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:16,879 –> 00:00:19,679
we’ll be talking everything about mortgage loans,

6 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:19,679 –> 00:00:21,699
as well as some of the latest cooling measures

7 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:21,699 –> 00:00:23,500
that just popped up last week

8 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:23,500 –> 00:00:25,600
and we’re also gonna chat with Redbrick

9 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:25,600 –> 00:00:29,640
on the interest rates forecast for the year 2022 onwards.

10 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:29,640 –> 00:00:31,879
So thank you, Jo’An as well as Clive

11 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:31,879 –> 00:00:33,299
for coming onto Sofa So Good,

12 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:33,299 –> 00:00:34,899
we’re very happy to have Redbrick with us.

13 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:34,899 –> 00:00:36,060
For the context of our audience,

14 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:36,060 –> 00:00:37,700
maybe just give us a little bit of introduction

15 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:37,700 –> 00:00:40,200
about yourself, maybe we start with Jo’An first.

16 ( Jo’An )
00:00:40,200 –> 00:00:43,140
– Sure, okay, prior to joining Redbrick

17 ( Jo’An )
00:00:43,140 –> 00:00:45,759
I was (working) in a bank, a local bank,

18 ( Jo’An )
00:00:45,759 –> 00:00:50,460
so I was handling more SME clients, SME towkays,

19 ( Jo’An )
00:00:50,460 –> 00:00:52,579
assisting them to grow their businesses

20 ( Jo’An )
00:00:52,579 –> 00:00:54,719
and expand their businesses through banks financing.

21 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:54,719 –> 00:00:55,560
– Right.

22 ( Jo’An )
00:00:55,560 –> 00:00:58,280
– So that was me prior to joining Redbrick.

23 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:58,280 –> 00:00:59,219
– Right, great.

24 ( Melvin Lim )
00:00:59,219 –> 00:01:01,100
And I heard from Clive

25 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:01,100 –> 00:01:04,420
that you are (one of the) old birds in Redbrick.

26 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:04,420 –> 00:01:06,640
How many years have you been in Redbrick?

27 (Jo’An )
00:01:06,640 –> 00:01:07,680
– Six years.

28 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:07,680 –> 00:01:08,920
– Six years yes. – Six years okay.

29 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:08,920 –> 00:01:10,680
– Okay, okay, great and how about Clive?

30 ( Clive )
00:01:10,680 –> 00:01:13,000
– So yeah, I’ve been with Redbrick for four years already,

31 ( Clive )
00:01:13,000 –> 00:01:14,900
previously, I was actually a project manager

32 ( Clive )
00:01:14,900 –> 00:01:16,239
in an oil and gas firm,

33 ( Clive )
00:01:16,239 –> 00:01:18,500
I was there for about seven years

34 ( Clive )
00:01:18,500 –> 00:01:22,140
and then I think what motivated me to come out

35 ( Clive )
00:01:22,140 –> 00:01:24,299
and look into property investments

36 ( Clive )
00:01:24,299 –> 00:01:25,819
is (because) I wanted to be a property investor too.

37 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:25,819 –> 00:01:26,659
– Right.

38 ( Clive )
00:01:26,659 –> 00:01:28,939
– Because we all wanted to learn how to grow our money

39 ( Clive )
00:01:28,939 –> 00:01:31,120
so that motivated me to come out

40 ( Clive )
00:01:31,120 –> 00:01:33,680
and yeah in a blink of an eye it’s been four years.

41 ( Melvin Lim / Clive )
00:01:33,680 –> 00:01:35,519
– Right. – Very exciting,

42 ( Clive )
00:01:35,519 –> 00:01:36,739
very exciting.

43 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:36,739 –> 00:01:37,579
– Great.

44 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:37,579 –> 00:01:40,239
Later, we’ll be asking you a lot more about

45 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:40,239 –> 00:01:41,500
what Redbrick does-

46 ( Clive / Melvin Lim )
00:01:41,500 –> 00:01:43,120
– Sure. – And I believe that Redbrick

47 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:43,120 –> 00:01:47,359
has been one of the key players in Singapore

48 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:47,359 –> 00:01:51,379
in terms of supporting clients for mortgage loan needs,

49 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:51,379 –> 00:01:52,599
as well as advisory.

50 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:52,599 –> 00:01:54,280
What do you think of the latest cooling measure

51 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:54,280 –> 00:01:57,879
in terms of the drop in 5% of TDSR from 60% to 55%,

52 ( Melvin Lim )
00:01:57,879 –> 00:02:00,000
what do you think will be the impact in the next few months?

53 ( Clive )
00:02:00,000 –> 00:02:02,019
– I feel in my own personal opinion,

54 ( Clive )
00:02:02,019 –> 00:02:06,159
it wouldn’t be a very significant impact,

55 ( Clive )
00:02:06,159 –> 00:02:08,300
it will impact, in my opinion,

56 ( Clive )
00:02:08,300 –> 00:02:10,479
the people who are really looking to…

57 ( Clive )
00:02:10,479 –> 00:02:12,439
For example, if you are talking about HDB-goers,

58 ( Clive )
00:02:12,439 –> 00:02:14,199
maybe the people who are buying $1 mil

59 ( Clive )
00:02:14,199 –> 00:02:16,800
and above HDB, where they really want to stretch

60 ( Clive )
00:02:16,800 –> 00:02:18,080
their loan eligibility.

61 ( Clive )
00:02:18,080 –> 00:02:20,639
But otherwise, traditionally when we look at clients

62 ( Clive )
00:02:20,639 –> 00:02:22,199
and they take up a mortgage loan,

63 ( Clive )
00:02:22,199 –> 00:02:24,539
they wouldn’t stretch their eligibility

64 ( Clive )
00:02:24,539 –> 00:02:26,680
all the way to 60% limit.

65 ( Clive )
00:02:26,680 –> 00:02:30,020
Generally what we see is like the 40%, maybe 50%,

66 ( Clive )
00:02:30,020 –> 00:02:33,259
so even if it comes down to 55%, to them it’s still…

67 ( Clive )
00:02:33,259 –> 00:02:37,400
Actually there’s no requirement for me to leverage so much.

68 ( Clive )
00:02:37,400 –> 00:02:42,240
So in that sense, yes, it will hit a fair bit of people,

69 ( Clive )
00:02:42,240 –> 00:02:44,419
a handful of people who are looking to really stretch

70 ( Clive )
00:02:44,419 –> 00:02:44,919
and leverage-

71 ( Melvin Lim / Clive )
00:02:44,919 –> 00:02:48,620
-Right – But generally I think it’s still okay for most people.

72 ( Melvin Lim )
00:02:48,620 –> 00:02:50,860
– How about Joanne, what did the TDSR impact?

73 ( Jo’An )
00:02:50,860 –> 00:02:54,979
– I don’t think it will slow the market down, in my opinion,

74 ( Jo’An )
00:02:54,979 –> 00:02:56,159
echoing what Clive said,

75 ( Jo’An )
00:02:56,159 –> 00:03:00,060
probably what will impact is the borrowing ability,

76 ( Jo’An )
00:03:00,060 –> 00:03:02,479
so instead of maybe looking at a $1 mil property

77 ( Jo’An )
00:03:02,479 –> 00:03:07,479
maybe they will just look at a $900K worth kind of property.

78 ( Jo’An )
00:03:07,479 –> 00:03:09,860
So I believe that there still be activity in the market,

79 ( Jo’An )
00:03:09,860 –> 00:03:11,740
people are still looking to buy,

80 ( Jo’An )
00:03:11,740 –> 00:03:13,259
just in terms of purchasing power

81 ( Jo’An )
00:03:13,259 –> 00:03:15,460
it might be a little bit, I don’t know, lower?

82 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:15,460 –> 00:03:16,639
– Right, right.

83 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:16,639 –> 00:03:22,139
And on average, how many loans does Redbrick process a month

84 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:22,139 –> 00:03:23,939
just to have a gauge like in terms

85 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:23,939 –> 00:03:25,259
of the amount of demand-

86 ( Clive / Melvin Lim )
00:03:25,259 –> 00:03:26,560
– Yeah – For mortgage loans.

87 ( Clive )
00:03:26,560 –> 00:03:30,699
– Probably when you combine like refinancing

88 ( Clive )
00:03:30,699 –> 00:03:32,159
and new purchases,

89 ( Clive )
00:03:32,159 –> 00:03:34,620
probably be 400 or 500 cases in a month.

90 ( Melvin Lim / Clive )
00:03:34,620 –> 00:03:35,659
– Right. – Yeah.

91 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:35,659 –> 00:03:36,960
– For application of-

92 ( Clive )
00:03:36,960 –> 00:03:38,319
– For actual cases-

93 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:38,319 –> 00:03:39,639
– Actual successful? – Done deals.

94 ( Melvin Lim / Clive )
00:03:39,639 –> 00:03:40,479
– Right, wow! – Yeah.

95 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:40,479 –> 00:03:41,300
– Okay.

96 ( Clive )
00:03:41,300 –> 00:03:45,819
– So then we’re probably looking at a range of $500 mil

97 ( Clive )
00:03:45,819 –> 00:03:47,180
about there per month-

98 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:47,180 –> 00:03:48,080
– The volume, yeah.

99 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:48,080 –> 00:03:49,199
– This is the volume of loans-

100 ( Clive )
00:03:49,199 –> 00:03:50,039
– Yeah.

101 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:50,039 –> 00:03:51,039
– That’s being dished out?

102 ( Clive / Melvin Lim )
00:03:51,039 –> 00:03:52,060
– Yeah. – Okay.

103 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:52,060 –> 00:03:55,879
– Okay and we were trying to tabulate,

104 ( Melvin Lim )
00:03:55,879 –> 00:04:00,419
what will be the key impact in terms of before,

105 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:00,419 –> 00:04:01,819
and after this route of TDSR.

106 ( Clive )
00:04:01,819 –> 00:04:03,020
– Yeah.

107 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:03,020 –> 00:04:06,060
– And then we were looking at the amount of eligibility

108 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:06,060 –> 00:04:09,259
in terms of loan that might be affected.

109 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:09,259 –> 00:04:12,520
So before 16 December 2021

110 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:12,520 –> 00:04:15,800
and then after 16 December, 2021

111 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:15,800 –> 00:04:20,920
basically for somebody that is about 40 years old

112 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:20,920 –> 00:04:25,759
loaning 75% from the bank, we see this slight drop,

113 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:25,759 –> 00:04:27,660
so basically somebody that was earning $10K,

114 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:27,660 –> 00:04:30,040
they can loan about $1,198 mil-

115 ( Clive )
00:04:30,040 –> 00:04:30,620
– Yeah.

116 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:30,620 –> 00:04:33,759
– Now it will become $1.098 mil-

117 ( Clive )
00:04:33,759 –> 00:04:34,199
– Yeah.

118 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:34,199 –> 00:04:36,680
– Which resonates with what Jo’An just mentioned,

119 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:36,680 –> 00:04:39,860
meaning that people might start to look at a tier

120 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:39,860 –> 00:04:43,279
in terms of the overall quantum, slightly lower tier.

121 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:43,279 –> 00:04:45,899
But the next question is that,

122 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:45,899 –> 00:04:48,620
usually when we see such trends

123 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:48,620 –> 00:04:52,959
back in the days like 2011, 2012, 2013,

124 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:52,959 –> 00:04:57,800
do you think that this is like a prelude or a hint

125 ( Melvin Lim )
00:04:57,800 –> 00:05:00,319
that there might be more cooling measures coming soon?

126 ( Melvin Lim )
00:05:00,319 –> 00:05:02,759
Like what do you think is the ground view?

127 ( Clive )
00:05:02,759 –> 00:05:05,139
– I personally feel that the government,

128 ( Clive )
00:05:05,139 –> 00:05:08,079
after the few lessons in the last few rounds

129 ( Clive )
00:05:08,079 –> 00:05:10,720
have taken a more preemptive kind of approach

130 ( Clive )
00:05:10,720 –> 00:05:13,180
in controlling prices in the market.

131 ( Clive )
00:05:13,180 –> 00:05:15,819
I think these cooling measures were sort of expected

132 ( Clive )
00:05:15,819 –> 00:05:17,879
and then it finally came out at the end of the year,

133 ( Clive )
00:05:17,879 –> 00:05:19,939
I think many people were expecting it to come earlier,

134 ( Clive )
00:05:19,939 –> 00:05:21,699
we were also pleasantly surprised that,

135 ( Clive )
00:05:21,699 –> 00:05:24,019
oh, okay, it finally came out.

136 ( Clive )
00:05:24,019 –> 00:05:27,040
But I think it’s a very preemptive approach, right?

137 ( Clive )
00:05:27,040 –> 00:05:29,879
I believe the government has already given some leeway-

138 ( Melvin Lim )
00:05:29,879 –> 00:05:30,720
– Yeah.

139 ( Clive )
00:05:30,720 –> 00:05:32,740
– In terms of letting the property prices climb,

140 ( Clive )
00:05:32,740 –> 00:05:36,360
because we also know in terms of supply chain disruptions

141 ( Clive )
00:05:36,360 –> 00:05:38,819
has slowed down the construction industry.

142 ( Clive )
00:05:38,819 –> 00:05:40,959
And that’s why we also see some people moving

143 ( Clive )
00:05:40,959 –> 00:05:41,980
to the resale market

144 ( Clive )
00:05:41,980 –> 00:05:44,519
because you don’t have to wait for six, seven years

145 ( Clive )
00:05:44,519 –> 00:05:47,519
for your BTO to complete for example.

146 ( Clive )
00:05:47,519 –> 00:05:50,420
So yeah, I think they take a very preemptive approach,

147 ( Clive )
00:05:50,420 –> 00:05:53,459
I don’t think they would…

148 ( Clive )
00:05:53,459 –> 00:05:54,819
I would not like to assume

149 ( Clive )
00:05:54,819 –> 00:05:57,480
that this is a prelude to something bigger-

150 ( Clive )
00:05:57,480 –> 00:05:59,220
Right, I always like to treat it like,

151 ( Clive )
00:05:59,220 –> 00:06:00,980
okay, they have these measures here

152 ( Clive )
00:06:00,980 –> 00:06:03,000
then they will stabilise the market

153 ( Clive )
00:06:03,000 –> 00:06:05,199
and then we will see in future what happens

154 ( Clive )
00:06:05,199 –> 00:06:07,319
and they’ll probably react to that again, yeah.

155 ( Clive )
00:06:07,319 –> 00:06:08,459
– Yeah.

156 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:08,459 –> 00:06:11,300
– And I think that they sort of like warned

157 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:11,300 –> 00:06:12,819
about two weeks back when they released an article

158 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:12,819 –> 00:06:14,660
about MAS being worried about household debt.

159 ( Clive / Melvin Lim )
00:06:14,660 –> 00:06:15,480
– Yes. – Yeah.

160 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:15,480 –> 00:06:17,160
– What is your personal view Jo’An,

161 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:17,160 –> 00:06:19,720
about the household debt level in Singapore

162 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:19,720 –> 00:06:21,879
like based on the loans that you process

163 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:21,879 –> 00:06:24,980
on a daily basis with your team?

164 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:24,980 –> 00:06:29,199
Are most people going for the full 75% loan, full leverage?

165 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:29,199 –> 00:06:31,779
Although our leveraging is already quite low

166 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:31,779 –> 00:06:35,319
because we have to come up with 25% plus stamp duty and stuff

167 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:35,319 –> 00:06:36,220
it’s already very protected, right?

168 ( Clive )
00:06:36,220 –> 00:06:37,259
– Yeah.

169 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:37,259 –> 00:06:39,699
– So, but are there a lot of buyers

170 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:39,699 –> 00:06:42,420
actually going for lesser amount of percentages,

171 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:42,420 –> 00:06:45,439
what do you think or what have you seen?

172 ( Jo’An )
00:06:45,439 –> 00:06:47,259
– I think for the last three to four months,

173 ( Jo’An )
00:06:47,259 –> 00:06:49,579
we do see buyers buying

174 ( Jo’An )
00:06:49,579 –> 00:06:52,839
and then they are taking a full leverage.

175 ( Jo’An )
00:06:52,839 –> 00:06:53,899
So going for-

176 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:53,899 –> 00:06:54,680
– Which is quite the norm.

177 ( Jo’An )
00:06:54,680 –> 00:06:57,759
– Yeah, going for the maximum of 75% whenever they purchase.

178 ( Melvin Lim )
00:06:57,759 –> 00:06:58,899
– Right because interest rates are-

179 ( Clive )
00:06:58,899 –> 00:06:59,740
– Low.

180 ( Melvin Lim / Jo’An )
00:06:59,740 –> 00:07:01,959
– Fantastically attractive. – Correct.

181 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:01,959 –> 00:07:04,980
– What is the lowest interest rate right now

182 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:04,980 –> 00:07:06,720
in the month of December 2021

183 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:06,720 –> 00:07:10,100
from various different banks based on what you’ve seen?

184 ( Jo’An )
00:07:10,100 –> 00:07:13,839
– Generally, the lowest is about 0.86%-

185 ( Jo’An )
00:07:13,839 –> 00:07:15,160
– Thereabout.

186 ( Melvin Lim / Jo’An )
00:07:15,160 –> 00:07:16,100
– Okay. – For floating rate.

187 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:16,100 –> 00:07:17,879
– Floating rate, okay. – Yeah, variable.

188 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:17,879 –> 00:07:21,180
– And coming to variable and fixed rate,

189 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:21,180 –> 00:07:24,519
what is your usual advice to customers right now?

190 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:24,519 –> 00:07:27,860
Would you advise them to go for fixed or variable?

191 ( Jo’An )
00:07:27,860 –> 00:07:31,899
– I think right now given the market conditions, right?

192 ( Jo’An )
00:07:31,899 –> 00:07:34,459
Given the latest US Fed meeting, right?

193 ( Jo’An )
00:07:34,459 –> 00:07:36,540
They said they’re gonna have two hikes next year

194 ( Jo’An )
00:07:36,540 –> 00:07:39,100
and three more hikes right, for the year,

195 ( Jo’An )
00:07:39,100 –> 00:07:40,279
the next year-

196 ( Jo’An )
00:07:40,279 –> 00:07:41,160
The following year.

197 ( Jo’An )
00:07:41,160 –> 00:07:43,899
So very likely for me, I’ll be advising my clients

198 ( Jo’An )
00:07:43,899 –> 00:07:45,199
to take on a fixed rate.

199 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:45,199 –> 00:07:46,040
– Okay. – Yeah.

200 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:46,040 –> 00:07:47,699
– What is the fixed rate right now?

201 ( Jo’ An )
00:07:47,699 –> 00:07:49,660
– Generally we’re looking at about…

202 ( Jo’An )
00:07:49,660 –> 00:07:51,220
The rates have gone up quite a bit-

203 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:51,220 –> 00:07:51,740
– Okay.

204 ( Jo’An )
00:07:51,740 –> 00:07:54,500
– So right now at this moment, it’s about 1.3%.

205 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:54,500 –> 00:07:55,800
– Okay.

206 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:55,800 –> 00:07:57,779
And maximum for some of the banks,

207 ( Melvin Lim )
00:07:57,779 –> 00:08:01,699
what is the maximum period to lock in a fixed rate?

208 ( Jo’An )
00:08:01,699 –> 00:08:04,379
– There is fixed rates from minimum of two years,

209 ( Jo’An )
00:08:04,379 –> 00:08:05,500
all the way up to five years,

210 ( Jo’An )
00:08:05,500 –> 00:08:07,000
those are the common ones.

211 ( Jo’An )
00:08:07,000 –> 00:08:10,500
So I think for two years, somewhere around 1.3%,

212 ( Jo’An )
00:08:10,500 –> 00:08:15,459
five years right now, about 1.95% thereabout.

213 ( Melvin Lim )
00:08:15,459 –> 00:08:16,339
– Okay.

214 ( Melvin Lim )
00:08:16,339 –> 00:08:17,319
– So your personal opinion

215 ( Melvin Lim )
00:08:17,319 –> 00:08:19,379
is that you’ll usually advise to lock in right now

216 ( Melvin Lim )
00:08:19,379 –> 00:08:23,180
because of the latest meeting, just a couple of days back.

217 ( Jo’An )
00:08:23,180 –> 00:08:24,339
– Two days back, yeah.

218 ( Melvin Lim )
00:08:24,339 –> 00:08:25,180
– Okay. – Correct.

219 ( Melvin Lim / Jo’An )
00:08:25,180 –> 00:08:26,879
– Right. – I think right now for me,

220 ( Jo’An )
00:08:26,879 –> 00:08:28,379
if I’m the one taking the housing loan,

221 ( Jo’An )
00:08:28,379 –> 00:08:31,019
I also want to hedge for the future in case-

222 ( Jo’An )
00:08:31,019 –> 00:08:34,779
Because I’ve seen how the interest rate has increased,

223 ( Jo’An )
00:08:34,779 –> 00:08:36,720
I think about two years ago,

224 ( Jo’An )
00:08:36,720 –> 00:08:39,220
so I would want to protect myself

225 ( Jo’An )
00:08:39,220 –> 00:08:40,720
and I would share the same to my clients.

226 ( Melvin Lim / Clive )
00:08:40,720 –> 00:08:41,559
– Right. – Yeah.

227 ( Melvin Lim )
00:08:41,559 –> 00:08:42,379
– So two years back,

228 ( Melvin Lim )
00:08:42,379 –> 00:08:43,840
what was the highest you have seen?

229 ( Clive )
00:08:43,840 –> 00:08:44,799
– Wow!

230 ( Jo’An )
00:08:44,799 –> 00:08:45,940
– Two years back, yeah, wow!

231 ( Clive )
00:08:45,940 –> 00:08:47,720
– Well, for a very short period of time

232 ( Clive )
00:08:47,720 –> 00:08:50,360
it was at 2.88% fixed rate

233 ( Clive )
00:08:50,360 –> 00:08:52,620
it hit and came down.

234 ( Clive )
00:08:52,620 –> 00:08:54,860
But generally within that period of time,

235 ( Clive )
00:08:54,860 –> 00:08:58,139
a month or two we were seeing a 2.48%, 2.68%-

236 ( Clive )
00:08:58,139 –> 00:08:59,159
– About there. – Yeah.

237 ( Melvin )
00:08:59,159 –> 00:09:00,200
– Okay.

238 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:00,200 –> 00:09:03,879
So, Jo’An was from the bank before, right?

239 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:03,879 –> 00:09:05,679
In your career history,

240 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:05,679 –> 00:09:08,620
what was the highest you have ever seen?

241 ( Jo’An )
00:09:08,620 –> 00:09:11,240
– Career history, okay.

242 ( Jo’An )
00:09:11,240 –> 00:09:12,500
I have ever seen…

243 ( Jo’An )
00:09:12,500 –> 00:09:14,759
Because I was dealing more commercial properties,

244 ( Jo’An )
00:09:14,759 –> 00:09:18,220
I think the highest I’ve seen was…

245 ( Jo’An )
00:09:18,220 –> 00:09:20,179
I think…

246 ( Jo’An )
00:09:20,179 –> 00:09:23,840
Okay, I’m not very old.

247 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:23,840 –> 00:09:25,460
– We can tell our audience how old you are.

248 ( Jo’An )
00:09:25,460 –> 00:09:28,500
– Based on my short stint in the bank for about

249 ( Jo’An )
00:09:28,500 –> 00:09:30,440
a good four years thereabout.

250 ( Jo’An )
00:09:30,440 –> 00:09:32,539
I think the interest rate I ever seen highest

251 ( Jo’An )
00:09:32,539 –> 00:09:34,100
was close to 3%

252 ( Melvin Lim / Jo’An )
00:09:34,100 –> 00:09:35,600
– 3%, okay. – Close to 3%.

253 ( Melvin Lim / Jo’An )
00:09:35,600 –> 00:09:36,559
– Okay. – Yeah.

254 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:36,559 –> 00:09:40,759
– Okay, in fact, during our internal meetings,

255 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:40,759 –> 00:09:43,679
we always like to refer back to this Morgan Stanley report

256 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:43,679 –> 00:09:47,259
because a lot of our clients will ask like,

257 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:47,259 –> 00:09:49,139
what happens when interest rates increase?

258 ( Clive )
00:09:49,139 –> 00:09:49,980
– Yeah.

259 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:49,980 –> 00:09:51,799
– I mean, globally, the phenomenon is that,

260 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:51,799 –> 00:09:52,919
when interest rate increase,

261 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:52,919 –> 00:09:54,799
the usual behaviour is that price will be affected.

262 ( Clive )
00:09:54,799 –> 00:09:55,639
– Yeah. – Correct.

263 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:55,639 –> 00:09:57,720
– So interest rates increase,

264 ( Melvin Lim )
00:09:57,720 –> 00:10:00,120
would then relate to a lower purchasing power

265 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:00,120 –> 00:10:03,279
from consumers, it has effects (on the) demand

266( Melvin Lim )
00:10:03,279 –> 00:10:08,200
and it might cause a drop in terms of property prices.

267 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:08,200 –> 00:10:10,960
But strangely in Singapore, it sounds a little bit different

268 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:10,960 –> 00:10:13,299
because out of like the five rounds

269 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:13,299 –> 00:10:16,559
of interest rates increment,

270 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:16,559 –> 00:10:19,440
basically the property prices increase

271 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:19,440 –> 00:10:22,139
along with the interest rate pricing, right?

272 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:22,139 –> 00:10:25,840
Only one round, which was in 1996, 1997,

273 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:25,840 –> 00:10:29,519
there was a drop because of the Asian Financial Crisis.

274 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:29,519 –> 00:10:33,279
Like in your opinion or maybe not why- Or maybe not why

275 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:33,279 –> 00:10:37,080
I would say like, do you think Singapore is different?

276 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:37,080 –> 00:10:39,820
Like in terms of our property markets scene like,

277 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:39,820 –> 00:10:42,039
because out of five rounds,

278 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:42,039 –> 00:10:44,299
four rounds actually increased in price,

279 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:44,299 –> 00:10:45,940
when interest rate increased.

280 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:45,940 –> 00:10:50,320
So in your own context,

281 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:50,320 –> 00:10:53,940
in terms of the real estate landscape here,

282 ( Melvin Lim )
00:10:53,940 –> 00:10:57,500
what are some of your thoughts about our landscape in Singapore?

283 ( Clive )
00:10:57,500 –> 00:10:59,059
– A few thoughts actually for me,

284 ( Clive )
00:10:59,059 –> 00:11:00,500
first thought is that,

285 ( Clive )
00:11:00,500 –> 00:11:02,139
because we’re Asians, right?

286 ( Clive )
00:11:02,139 –> 00:11:04,919
We typically tend to view properties

287 ( Clive )
00:11:04,919 –> 00:11:07,820
as something that we have to buy, that’s Asians,

288 ( Clive )
00:11:07,820 –> 00:11:09,919
not so sure about the Western folks,

289 ( Clive )
00:11:09,919 –> 00:11:12,220
but generally, yeah.

290 ( Clive )
00:11:12,220 –> 00:11:14,399
– So that’s number one

291 ( Clive )
00:11:14,399 –> 00:11:16,100
And when interest rates go up,

292 ( Clive )
00:11:16,100 –> 00:11:19,500
it also just means that the economy is getting better,

293 ( Clive )
00:11:19,500 –> 00:11:22,799
And if the economy is getting better, like in 2020 and 2021,

294 ( Clive )
00:11:22,799 –> 00:11:24,700
amidst the recessionary environment,

295 ( Clive )
00:11:24,700 –> 00:11:27,799
we see a lot of people in the tech space

296 ( Clive )
00:11:27,799 –> 00:11:28,899
buying properties like crazy.

297 ( Clive )
00:11:28,899 –> 00:11:30,340
Right?

298 ( Clive )
00:11:30,340 –> 00:11:34,240
And these are the people whose incomes have grown largely.

299 ( Clive )
00:11:34,240 –> 00:11:36,639
And as the economy gets better,

300 ( Clive )
00:11:36,639 –> 00:11:38,159
so people still continue to buy

301 ( Clive )
00:11:38,159 –> 00:11:40,179
and generally when you talk about interest rates

302 ( Clive )
00:11:40,179 –> 00:11:43,480
in Singapore, amongst other countries,

303 ( Clive )
00:11:43,480 –> 00:11:45,340
they are relatively low.

304 ( Clive )
00:11:45,340 –> 00:11:47,220
– You’re talking about the 1-ish%, 2%

305 ( Clive )
00:11:47,220 –> 00:11:49,720
and then you go into like Australia and other countries,

306 ( Clive )
00:11:49,720 –> 00:11:52,360
then you start seeing the 4%, 5%, 6%, right?

307 ( Clive )
00:11:52,360 –> 00:11:56,059
So when you look at it in that way as an investor,

308 ( Clive )
00:11:56,059 –> 00:11:57,460
if I want to buy a property

309 ( Clive )
00:11:57,460 –> 00:11:59,980
and today I can finance my property

310 ( Clive )
00:11:59,980 –> 00:12:02,559
at a cost of let’s say 2%, for example,

311 ( Clive )
00:12:02,559 –> 00:12:04,200
as an investor, 2% it’s like…

312 ( Clive )
00:12:04,200 –> 00:12:06,940
After inflation is close to zero, right?

313 ( Clive )
00:12:06,940 –> 00:12:11,500
So, I think generally that’s the mood in Singapore at least

314 ( Clive )
00:12:11,500 –> 00:12:13,799
and also a variety of factors

315 ( Clive )
00:12:13,799 –> 00:12:16,620
because interest rate is just probably only one factor

316 ( Clive )
00:12:16,620 –> 00:12:20,460
that may have a smaller weightage I would say,

317 ( Clive )
00:12:20,460 –> 00:12:22,700
in terms of (contributing) towards the decision

318 ( Clive )
00:12:22,700 –> 00:12:24,399
whether to buy a property or not.

319 ( Clive )
00:12:24,399 –> 00:12:27,320
So if I really want to buy a property for investment,

320 ( Clive )
00:12:27,320 –> 00:12:29,100
yes, interest rate is one factor,

321 ( Clive )
00:12:29,100 –> 00:12:30,899
but it’s not going to be a large weightage

322 ( Clive )
00:12:30,899 –> 00:12:33,159
of whether I should buy or not.

323 ( Clive )
00:12:33,159 –> 00:12:35,080
Whether I should buy or not will then determine

324 ( Clive )
00:12:35,080 –> 00:12:37,080
on whether there’s potential.

325 ( Clive )
00:12:37,080 –> 00:12:40,519
Yeah, so it’s a part to play, but not a very huge part

326 ( Clive )
00:12:40,519 –> 00:12:42,539
if you’re talking about lower interest rates,

327 ( Clive )
00:12:42,539 –> 00:12:43,539
– It’s just one of the factors.

328 ( Melvin Lim )
00:12:43,539 –> 00:12:44,379
– Yeah.

329 ( Clive )
00:12:44,379 –> 00:12:46,100
– One of the factors.

330 ( Jo’An )
00:12:46,100 –> 00:12:48,919
– And Singapore is one of the countries

331 ( Jo’An )
00:12:48,919 –> 00:12:51,460
that give such a very high loan-

332 ( Melvin Lim )
00:12:51,460 –> 00:12:52,279
– Yeah.

333 ( Jo’An )
00:12:52,279 –> 00:12:55,059
– So compared to Australia or even US, right?

334 ( Jo’An )
00:12:55,059 –> 00:12:56,320
The loan-to-value,

335 ( Jo’An )
00:12:56,320 –> 00:12:58,860
right now in Singapore we can go up to 75%.

336 ( Jo’An )
00:12:58,860 –> 00:13:04,080
I think back in UK or even Australia, 50%,60% is the norm.

337 ( Jo’An )
00:13:04,080 –> 00:13:07,159
So I think for Singapore, like what Clive shared,

338 ( Jo’An )
00:13:07,159 –> 00:13:10,159
I think most Singaporeans with a minimum down payment,

339 ( Jo’An )
00:13:10,159 –> 00:13:14,779
you will be able to own a safe haven, right?

340 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:14,779 –> 00:13:17,559
And I think Singapore is very different because our landscape

341 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:17,559 –> 00:13:20,080
in terms of land supply is small.

342 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:20,080 –> 00:13:23,039
And then population is still gradually increasing

343 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:23,039 –> 00:13:24,360
I think there’s a lot of different factors

344 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:24,360 –> 00:13:25,580
that comes into play.

345 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:25,580 –> 00:13:28,320
based on studies, I think one most important factors

346 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:28,320 –> 00:13:32,419
is that our BTO market is sort of like the invisible support

347 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:32,419 –> 00:13:34,059
for the property prices,

348 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:34,059 –> 00:13:36,399
because usually when somebody moves from BTO

349 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:36,399 –> 00:13:38,480
to sell off in the resale market

350 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:38,480 –> 00:13:40,980
and they move up to the condo market and landed market,

351 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:40,980 –> 00:13:43,820
it’s often like, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,

352 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:43,820 –> 00:13:45,480
in terms of the support level.

353 ( Melvin Lim )
00:13:45,480 –> 00:13:48,080
Have you seen a lot of HDB upgraders

354 ( Melvin )
00:13:48,080 –> 00:13:49,960
recently in the past two years

355 ( Melvin )
00:13:49,960 –> 00:13:51,679
when you are processing loans?

356 ( Clive )
00:13:51,679 –> 00:13:52,639
– I have, yeah.

357 ( Jo’An )
00:13:52,639 –> 00:13:54,080
– I think back in the days

358 ( Jo’An )
00:13:54,080 –> 00:13:57,240
where decoupling was- as in HBD still approve,

359 ( Jo’An )
00:13:57,240 –> 00:13:58,940
for the husband to sell, yeah.

360 ( Melvin Lim / Jo’An )
00:13:58,940 –> 00:14:00,360
– Five years back, yeah. – Correct.

361 ( Jo’An )
00:14:00,360 –> 00:14:01,899
We see more people keeping HDB

362 ( Jo’An )
00:14:01,899 –> 00:14:04,259
and then the other owner would just exit

363 ( Jo’An )
00:14:04,259 –> 00:14:06,100
to buy a private property.

364 ( Jo’An )
00:14:06,100 –> 00:14:08,899
But I remember the news it came out on 1st April,

365 ( Jo’An )
00:14:08,899 –> 00:14:09,960
I can’t remember, she was like,

366 ( Jo’An )
00:14:09,960 –> 00:14:12,639
all of us thought it was an April Fool’s joke but it wasn’t, right?

367 ( Jo’An )
00:14:12,639 –> 00:14:16,419
So HDB put a stop to such a transfer.

368 ( Jo’An )
00:14:16,419 –> 00:14:19,019
And then now we are seeing more people selling their HDB

369 ( Jo’An )
00:14:19,019 –> 00:14:22,700
and each husband and wife will buy a private each.

370 ( Clive )
00:14:22,700 –> 00:14:23,399
– Yeah.

371 ( Jo’An )
00:14:23,399 –> 00:14:26,220
– I saw more of that for me.

372 ( Clive )
00:14:26,220 –> 00:14:28,360
– A lot more HDB upgraders.

373 ( Clive )
00:14:28,360 –> 00:14:30,480
Generally when I speak to clients

374 ( Clive )
00:14:30,480 –> 00:14:32,100
who are looking to buy properties,

375 ( Clive )
00:14:32,100 –> 00:14:33,940
they’re also selling their HDB at the same time,

376 ( Clive )
00:14:33,940 –> 00:14:36,259
so a lot more this year, actually.

377 ( Melvin )
00:14:36,259 –> 00:14:38,379
– Right, are you seeing like a lot as well?

378 ( Melvin )
00:14:38,379 –> 00:14:39,480
Like what Jo’An mentioned,

379 ( Melvin )
00:14:39,480 –> 00:14:41,580
like buying two properties one under each name?

380 ( Clive )
00:14:41,580 –> 00:14:42,659
– If they can they would.

381 ( Clive )
00:14:42,659 –> 00:14:43,980
So for the clients when we talk to them

382 ( Clive )
00:14:43,980 –> 00:14:46,100
and we work out the loan eligibility

383 ( Clive )
00:14:46,100 –> 00:14:46,940
and they find out that,

384 ( Clive )
00:14:46,940 –> 00:14:50,080
oh, you mean I can get this amount of loan and my wife can?

385 ( Clive )
00:14:50,080 –> 00:14:53,059
Then they will start to think, maybe we should buy one each.

386 ( Melvin )
00:14:53,059 –> 00:14:54,340
– Buy under one name?

387 ( Clive )
00:14:54,340 –> 00:14:55,480
– Yeah.

388 ( Jo’An )
00:14:55,480 –> 00:14:57,700
– And I think because over the years

389 ( Jo’An )
00:14:57,700 –> 00:14:59,740
after accumulating so much in your CPF, right?

390 ( Jo’An )
00:14:59,740 –> 00:15:02,379
When you sell, the CPF proceeds go back

391 ( Jo’An )
00:15:02,379 –> 00:15:05,100
and you’d be surprised that each husband and wife,

392 ( Jo’An )
00:15:05,100 –> 00:15:08,139
they can qualify for a decent amount (for a) condo.

393 ( Jo’An )
00:15:08,139 –> 00:15:09,919
Yeah, so I think that’s one of the strategies

394 ( Jo’An )
00:15:09,919 –> 00:15:14,379
that I think most Singaporeans are aware and are trying to-

395 ( Melvin )
00:15:14,379 –> 00:15:15,399
– So talking about strategy,

396 ( Melvin )
00:15:15,399 –> 00:15:16,600
I think our audience would be very interested

397 ( Melvin )
00:15:16,600 –> 00:15:20,320
to hear about some of the strategies to plan forward,

398 ( Melvin )
00:15:20,320 –> 00:15:23,440
especially if they are upgrading from their HDB apartment

399 ( Melvin )
00:15:23,440 –> 00:15:26,120
and now the only way is to sell off

400 ( Melvin )
00:15:26,120 –> 00:15:29,460
if you don’t wanna pay ABSD for the next property.

401 ( Melvin )
00:15:29,460 –> 00:15:32,840
So, what are some pre-planning that can be done?

402 ( Melvin )
00:15:32,840 –> 00:15:35,559
And I think our audience would be very interested to know

403 ( Melvin )
00:15:35,559 –> 00:15:38,440
about some of the factors to ensure that

404 ( Melvin )
00:15:38,440 –> 00:15:40,600
when you are ready to take up a loan,

405 ( Melvin )
00:15:40,600 –> 00:15:43,340
you are not affected by some of your habits

406 ( Melvin )
00:15:43,340 –> 00:15:45,580
over the past year

407 ( Melvin )
00:15:45,580 –> 00:15:47,500
to affect your loan eligibility.

408 ( Melvin )
00:15:47,500 –> 00:15:49,840
So maybe Clive can share a little bit about some of the…

409 ( Melvin )
00:15:49,840 –> 00:15:52,860
Maybe we’ll call hygiene factors,

410 ( Melvin )
00:15:52,860 –> 00:15:56,139
to make sure that you have a very solid foundation

411 ( Melvin )
00:15:56,139 –> 00:15:57,559
for a loan qualification.

412 ( Clive )
00:15:57,559 –> 00:15:58,580
– Sure, sure, no problem.

413 ( Clive )
00:15:58,580 –> 00:16:00,139
Let’s talk about that and then later on,

414 ( Clive )
00:16:00,139 –> 00:16:01,559
I want to rewind a bit, right?

415 ( Clive )
00:16:01,559 –> 00:16:03,259
And then I want to go back to the point

416 ( Clive )
00:16:03,259 –> 00:16:06,200
where you mentioned about pre-planning right?

417 ( Clive )
00:16:06,200 –> 00:16:07,340
To own another property

418 ( Clive )
00:16:07,340 –> 00:16:09,919
and maybe sometimes even keeping the HDB, right?

419
00:16:09,919 –> 00:16:13,340
So some of the hygiene factors is definitely commitments,

420 ( Clive )
00:16:13,340 –> 00:16:16,179
so if you want to buy a property,

421 ( Clive )
00:16:16,179 –> 00:16:18,139
you just wanna make sure that you don’t go

422 ( Clive )
00:16:18,139 –> 00:16:20,460
and buy a car before that, you know what I mean?

423 ( Clive )
00:16:20,460 –> 00:16:23,240
So, make sure you take care of the large ticket items first,

424 ( Clive )
00:16:23,240 –> 00:16:25,159
in terms of commitments,

425 ( Clive )
00:16:25,159 –> 00:16:28,519
the banks will look at the amount of credit card loans

426 ( Clive )
00:16:28,519 –> 00:16:32,320
you have, tuition loans, car loans for example.

427 ( Clive )
00:16:32,320 –> 00:16:35,799
So if you are prepared to buy a property in the near future,

428 ( Clive )
00:16:35,799 –> 00:16:38,240
you probably wanna hold back on those spendings

429 ( Clive )
00:16:38,240 –> 00:16:40,919
and just make sure that it’s all prompt payments, right?

430 ( Clive )
00:16:40,919 –> 00:16:43,039
So the important thing about the banks is that,

431 ( Clive )
00:16:43,039 –> 00:16:46,720
one thing is commitments, the other one is repayment history.

432 ( Clive )
00:16:46,720 –> 00:16:48,059
What is your habit like?

433 ( Clive )
00:16:48,059 –> 00:16:50,200
If you have a habit of defaulting on payments,

434 ( Clive )
00:16:50,200 –> 00:16:51,820
then the chances of getting your loan approved

435 ( Clive )
00:16:51,820 –> 00:16:53,679
is also significantly reduced,

436 ( Clive )
00:16:53,679 –> 00:16:56,360
so that is definitely the main factor, right?

437 ( Clive )
00:16:56,360 –> 00:16:58,600
Then of course you have the other factors like age,

438 ( Clive )
00:16:58,600 –> 00:17:00,120
some people would…

439 ( Clive )
00:17:00,120 –> 00:17:01,100
And when I talk about age,

440 ( Clive )
00:17:01,100 –> 00:17:02,600
some people at the end of the year,

441 ( Clive )
00:17:02,600 –> 00:17:03,879
they’ll be like, hey, you know what Clive?

442 ( Clive )
00:17:03,879 –> 00:17:05,000
I want to buy a property,

443 ( Clive )
00:17:05,000 –> 00:17:06,799
but maybe I should buy in the new year

444 ( Clive )
00:17:06,799 –> 00:17:10,579
because Chinese New Year coming, auspicious right?

445 ( Clive )
00:17:10,579 –> 00:17:12,980
Then the loan tenure drops by one year,

446 ( Clive )
00:17:12,980 –> 00:17:14,900
depending on which bank you go to.

447 ( Clive )
00:17:14,900 –> 00:17:16,700
Certain banks will recognise your age

448 ( Clive )
00:17:16,700 –> 00:17:18,400
based on the year of birth,

449 ( Clive )
00:17:18,400 –> 00:17:19,740
other banks would recognise your age

450 ( Clive )
00:17:19,740 –> 00:17:23,619
based on the month of birth, even up to the day of birth.

451 ( Clive )
00:17:23,619 –> 00:17:25,240
So it depends. It affects your loan eligibility

452 ( Clive )
00:17:25,240 –> 00:17:27,819
if it’s longer or shorter by one year as well.

453 ( Clive )
00:17:27,819 –> 00:17:29,099
So those are the factors to consider

454 ( Clive )
00:17:29,099 –> 00:17:30,299
if you are slightly older

455 ( Clive )
00:17:30,299 –> 00:17:33,799
but if you’re younger like our colleague over here, right?

456 ( Clive )
00:17:33,799 –> 00:17:34,680
Then no worries,

457 ( Clive )
00:17:34,680 –> 00:17:36,500
you can get the maximum loan tenure, right?

458 ( Clive )
00:17:36,500 –> 00:17:37,740
At the end of the day.

459 ( Clive )
00:17:37,740 –> 00:17:42,240
So besides commitments, loan tenure, repayment history,

460 ( Clive )
00:17:42,240 –> 00:17:47,400
yeah, if you had any other history of bad debts before, right?

461 ( Clive )
00:17:47,400 –> 00:17:50,160
You might want to even go to the extent

462 ( Clive )
00:17:50,160 –> 00:17:53,079
of buying your own Credit Bureau Report to see what shows up

463 ( Clive )
00:17:53,079 –> 00:17:54,640
and not wait till the last minute.

464 ( Clive )
00:17:54,640 –> 00:17:56,759
And I cite the case for example,

465 ( Clive )
00:17:56,759 –> 00:17:59,660
a couple comes to me and say, Clive you know what?

466 ( Clive )
00:17:59,660 –> 00:18:01,240
Usually when they wanna buy a property,

467 ( Clive )
00:18:01,240 –> 00:18:02,819
you get an in-principle approval.

468 ( Clive )
00:18:02,819 –> 00:18:05,460
Clive, no need, my income is high and strong,

469 ( Clive )
00:18:05,460 –> 00:18:07,920
I can get the loan, in fact, I only need to borrow

470 ( Clive )
00:18:07,920 –> 00:18:10,140
like based on 30% of my income.

471 ( Clive )
00:18:10,140 –> 00:18:11,880
So don’t need to do in-principle approval,

472 ( Clive )
00:18:11,880 –> 00:18:13,359
we straightaway go and view the unit,

473 ( Clive )
00:18:13,359 –> 00:18:15,299
we like it, we place the option.

474 ( Clive )
00:18:15,299 –> 00:18:17,019
Okay, so they placed the option

475 ( Clive )
00:18:17,019 –> 00:18:18,779
and then we applied for the mortgage loan

476 ( Clive )
00:18:18,779 –> 00:18:19,920
and the banks comes back and say,

477 ( Clive )
00:18:19,920 –> 00:18:21,839
oh sorry, we are not able to grant you a loan

478 ( Clive )
00:18:21,839 –> 00:18:24,019
because three years back, for example,

479 ( Clive )
00:18:24,019 –> 00:18:27,380
in your credit bureau history, there was a record.

480 ( Clive )
00:18:27,380 –> 00:18:30,440
One of the banks, you signed up for a credit card, remember?

481 ( Clive )
00:18:30,440 –> 00:18:32,099
A lot of promotions with credit cards,

482 ( Clive )
00:18:32,099 –> 00:18:33,940
you sign up, you get a luggage, right?

483 ( Clive )
00:18:33,940 –> 00:18:36,579
So you get the luggage and then you don’t use the card,

484 ( Clive )
00:18:36,579 –> 00:18:38,599
the bank charges you an annual fee

485 ( Clive )
00:18:38,599 –> 00:18:40,140
and then you don’t wanna pay for it, right?

486 ( Clive )
00:18:40,140 –> 00:18:42,339
You call the banks and you say, I want to waive it off,

487 ( Clive )
00:18:42,339 –> 00:18:43,200
then the banks will be like,

488 ( Clive )
00:18:43,200 –> 00:18:45,519
no, we’re not gonna waive it off for you,

489 ( Clive )
00:18:45,519 –> 00:18:47,319
they you say okay, I wanna cancel the card.

490 ( Clive )
00:18:47,319 –> 00:18:48,160
They cancelled the card

491 ( Clive )
00:18:48,160 –> 00:18:50,420
but they didn’t waive off the fees for you,

492 ( Clive )
00:18:50,420 –> 00:18:51,599
then that will be a record

493 ( Clive )
00:18:51,599 –> 00:18:52,980
and you don’t know about it.

494 ( Clive )
00:18:52,980 –> 00:18:54,240
So until you apply for a loan,

495 ( Clive )
00:18:54,240 –> 00:18:57,200
then you oh, no, there was a record there.

496 ( Clive )
00:18:57,200 –> 00:18:59,180
Then in order to clear it, and if it’s three years ago,

497 ( Clive )
00:18:59,180 –> 00:19:01,799
the banks won’t have your records three years ago.

498 ( Clive )
00:19:01,799 –> 00:19:03,599
But the record is still in the Credit Bureau,

499. ( Clive )
00:19:03,599 –> 00:19:04,500
so that affects you.

500 ( Clive )
00:19:04,500 –> 00:19:08,200
So these are the hidden stuff that people don’t usually see,

501 ( Clive )
00:19:08,200 –> 00:19:10,859
so we always encourage them to get an in-principle approval

502 ( Clive )
00:19:10,859 –> 00:19:12,000
before they even make a purchase.

503 ( Melvin )
00:19:12,000 –> 00:19:13,460
– Right, what happened with that case?

504 ( Melvin )
00:19:13,460 –> 00:19:15,920
Like they needed a longer time to clear it

505 ( Melvin )
00:19:15,920 –> 00:19:17,859
and by that time the option is affected.

506 ( Clive )
00:19:17,859 –> 00:19:19,539
– Yes, so if they have already placed the option

507 ( Clive )
00:19:19,539 –> 00:19:20,900
to purchase, that’s a risk

508 ( Clive )
00:19:20,900 –> 00:19:24,099
and then they’re at the mercy of the banks in a way,

509 ( Clive )
00:19:24,099 –> 00:19:26,079
so the banks will impose conditions.

510 ( Clive )
00:19:26,079 –> 00:19:29,779
Okay, we’re able to grant you a loan. Instead of 75%,

511 ( Clive )
00:19:29,779 –> 00:19:32,299
maybe I grant you a 70% loan, do you want it?

512 ( Clive )
00:19:32,299 –> 00:19:34,400
They’d be like, I don’t have a choice sometimes

513 ( Clive )
00:19:34,400 –> 00:19:37,019
and sometimes they will grant you a 75% loan,

514 ( Clive )
00:19:37,019 –> 00:19:39,140
but they will impose additional conditions like,

515 ( Clive )
00:19:39,140 –> 00:19:42,960
I want you to place 24 months of instalments with me

516 ( Clive )
00:19:42,960 –> 00:19:45,079
or one year’s worth of instalments in the bank,

517 ( Clive )
00:19:45,079 –> 00:19:47,200
then we will draw it down from there.

518 ( Clive )
00:19:47,200 –> 00:19:48,619
So it’s an additional cash out,

519 ( Clive )
00:19:48,619 –> 00:19:50,259
especially if you’re buying a huge property

520 ( Clive )
00:19:50,259 –> 00:19:51,579
with a large quantum,

521 ( Clive )
00:19:51,579 –> 00:19:54,700
one year’s worth of money instalments is $70K, $80K

522 ( Clive )
00:19:54,700 –> 00:19:56,940
just sitting there and deducting it every month,

523 ( Clive )
00:19:56,940 –> 00:19:59,619
I mean, it doesn’t make sense to especially investors

524 ( Clive )
00:19:59,619 –> 00:20:00,720
who roll money

525 ( Clive )
00:20:00,720 –> 00:20:02,220
– Yeah, so these are the things to think of.

526 ( Melvin )
00:20:02,220 –> 00:20:05,480
– Right, how about your advice for like people

527 ( Melvin )
00:20:05,480 –> 00:20:07,960
that are switching jobs, right?

528 ( Melvin )
00:20:07,960 –> 00:20:09,819
Usually when they are planning to buy a property,

529 ( Melvin )
00:20:09,819 –> 00:20:12,839
but they want to switch jobs,

530 ( Melvin )
00:20:12,839 –> 00:20:16,019
minimum how many months of like salary slips

531 ( Melvin )
00:20:16,019 –> 00:20:18,960
nowadays do banks look at?

532 ( Jo’An )
00:20:18,960 –> 00:20:21,059
– I think the general one the banks will need

533 ( Jo’An )
00:20:21,059 –> 00:20:22,839
a minimum three months,

534 ( Jo’An )
00:20:22,839 –> 00:20:25,380
but I think if you are one month into the job,

535 ( Jo’An )
00:20:25,380 –> 00:20:29,319
you’re able to show a documentary proof, right?

536 ( Jo’An )
00:20:29,319 –> 00:20:31,960
I think the banks are still willing to take in

537 ( Jo’An )
00:20:31,960 –> 00:20:33,039
and like what Clive said,

538 ( Jo’An )
00:20:33,039 –> 00:20:34,880
they could potentially set a conditional approval

539 ( Jo’An )
00:20:34,880 –> 00:20:38,220
like, when completion comes let’s say in two months time

540 ( Jo’An )
00:20:38,220 –> 00:20:42,619
and I wanna see another two months’ of payslips.

541 ( Jo’An )
00:20:42,619 –> 00:20:47,559
Yeah, so I think usually for job switch for employed staff

542 ( Jo’An )
00:20:47,559 –> 00:20:49,640
usually it’s fine.

543 ( Melvin )
00:20:49,640 –> 00:20:52,640
– And maybe share a little bit about your process

544 ( Melvin )
00:20:52,640 –> 00:20:55,200
of helping your clients to do in-principle approval,

545 ( Melvin )
00:20:55,200 –> 00:20:56,700
how fast does it take?

546 ( Melvin )
00:20:56,700 –> 00:20:59,559
Usually what does it entail and things like that?

547 ( Jo’An )
00:20:59,559 –> 00:21:01,259
– So I think for in-principle approval,

548 ( Jo’An )
00:21:01,259 –> 00:21:05,339
generally, the banks can come back to us as quick as…

549 ( Jo’An )
00:21:05,339 –> 00:21:06,319
I mean, depending on the banks,

550 ( Jo’An )
00:21:06,319 –> 00:21:09,160
it can be as quick as some banks come back within the day,

551 ( Jo’An )
00:21:09,160 –> 00:21:10,380
but typically we’ll share

552 ( Jo’An )
00:21:10,380 –> 00:21:13,480
that probably within three to four working days.

553 ( Melvin )
00:21:13,480 –> 00:21:15,279
– And does your client have to come down to your office

554 ( Melvin )
00:21:15,279 –> 00:21:18,400
or through Zoom or like how is the process like now?

555 ( Jo’An )
00:21:18,400 –> 00:21:20,059
– It depends, I think pre-COVID,

556 ( Jo’An )
00:21:20,059 –> 00:21:22,599
we will always want to meet up with our clients

557 ( Jo’An )
00:21:22,599 –> 00:21:26,599
to share with them what this AIP is about

558 ( Jo’An )
00:21:26,599 –> 00:21:28,119
and then share with them,

559 ( Jo’An )
00:21:28,119 –> 00:21:29,880
if you’re gonna buy a private property,

560 ( Jo’An )
00:21:29,880 –> 00:21:31,700
plan a cashflow with them

561 ( Jo’An )
00:21:31,700 –> 00:21:34,099
and then subsequently help them process the documents

562 ( Jo’An )
00:21:34,099 –> 00:21:35,519
for the approval in-principle.

563 ( Jo’An )
00:21:35,519 –> 00:21:36,920
So it was pre-COVID,

564 ( Jo’An )
00:21:36,920 –> 00:21:39,259
I think now with this new normal,

565 ( Jo’An )
00:21:39,259 –> 00:21:43,019
we are mainly meeting our clients over Zoom.

566 ( Melvin )
00:21:43,019 –> 00:21:44,779
– Okay and back to the strategy part

567 ( Melvin )
00:21:44,779 –> 00:21:46,140
just as Clive was mentioning, like,

568 ( Melvin )
00:21:46,140 –> 00:21:47,420
what are some common strategies

569 ( Melvin )
00:21:47,420 –> 00:21:48,799
that you’ll always share your clients

570 ( Melvin )
00:21:48,799 –> 00:21:51,440
when it comes to upgrading from their HDB apartment

571 ( Melvin )
00:21:51,440 –> 00:21:53,740
and trying to multiply their portfolio?

572 ( Clive )
00:21:53,740 –> 00:21:56,420
– So for clients sometimes, right?

573 ( Clive )
00:21:56,420 –> 00:21:58,880
Depending on their requirements that we will advice,

574 ( Clive )
00:21:58,880 –> 00:22:00,420
but some clients come up to me and say,

575 ( Clive )
00:22:00,420 –> 00:22:01,619
Hey, Clive

576 ( Clive )
00:22:01,619 –> 00:22:03,400
I wanna buy a condo for investment

577 ( Clive )
00:22:03,400 –> 00:22:06,339
but eventually I still want to stay in my HDB, right?

578 ( Clive )
00:22:06,339 –> 00:22:07,880
So how can I do that?

579 ( Clive )
00:22:07,880 –> 00:22:09,940
Especially if I’m married with my wife now,

580 ( Clive )
00:22:09,940 –> 00:22:11,019
then how can I do that?

581 ( Clive )
00:22:11,019 –> 00:22:13,200
Because we don’t wanna sell the HDB.

582 ( Clive )
00:22:13,200 –> 00:22:14,740
So actually they can actually…

583 ( Clive )
00:22:14,740 –> 00:22:17,420
When they buy the HDB, one can be an owner,

584 ( Clive )
00:22:17,420 –> 00:22:19,079
the other one is an essential occupier,

585 ( Clive )
00:22:19,079 –> 00:22:21,480
I think you guys would know as well.

586 ( Clive )
00:22:21,480 –> 00:22:25,240
So when that happens, essentially the essential occupier

587 ( Clive )
00:22:25,240 –> 00:22:27,200
doesn’t have the name in the property, right?

588 ( Clive )
00:22:27,200 –> 00:22:29,740
So they still have to serve the minimum occupation period

589 ( Clive )
00:22:29,740 –> 00:22:32,420
of five years, but five years later,

590 ( Clive )
00:22:32,420 –> 00:22:33,779
because they don’t have any other properties

591 ( Clive )
00:22:33,779 –> 00:22:37,740
under their name, they are able to own a condo

592 ( Clive )
00:22:37,740 –> 00:22:39,960
under a single name.

593 ( Clive )
00:22:39,960 –> 00:22:44,140
Generally I will still tell my clients that the HDB

594 ( Clive )
00:22:44,140 –> 00:22:47,259
is like a stepping stone for you to upgrade,

595 ( Clive )
00:22:47,259 –> 00:22:49,480
because you can do so many different things

596 ( Clive )
00:22:49,480 –> 00:22:53,559
on a private property that you can’t do on HDB.

597 ( Clive )
00:22:53,559 –> 00:22:56,200
So there’s another debate where people always say,

598 ( Clive )
00:22:56,200 –> 00:22:59,900
oh, you don’t really own the HDB, you’re renting a HDB.

599 ( Clive )
00:22:59,900 –> 00:23:01,660
So, there’s other debates like that,

600 ( Clive )
00:23:01,660 –> 00:23:03,599
but yeah, depending on the client’s requirements,

601 ( Clive )
00:23:03,599 –> 00:23:06,799
they may just want to stay in the HDB because of locality.

602 ( Melvin )
00:23:06,799 –> 00:23:08,359
– I agree with the stepping stone part,

603 ( Melvin )
00:23:08,359 –> 00:23:10,680
I mean, some families when they’re starting out,

604 ( Melvin )
00:23:10,680 –> 00:23:12,579
they want to settle their family first

605 ( Melvin )
00:23:12,579 –> 00:23:14,559
and they want a property

606 ( Melvin )
00:23:14,559 –> 00:23:16,880
to kickstart the whole family planning process

607 ( Melvin )
00:23:16,880 –> 00:23:18,880
and HDB is a great stepping stone,

608 ( Melvin )
00:23:18,880 –> 00:23:21,619
especially ’cause now with grants and things like that,

609 ( Melvin )
00:23:21,619 –> 00:23:22,779
it’s great for young couples.

610 ( Melvin )
00:23:22,779 –> 00:23:27,660
But of course, like what you mentioned the key thing

611 ( Melvin )
00:23:27,660 –> 00:23:30,059
about HBD apartment versus private properties

612 ( Melvin )
00:23:30,059 –> 00:23:32,559
is that there’s so many inherent factors

613 ( Melvin )
00:23:32,559 –> 00:23:34,200
that’s not present in HDB

614 ( Melvin )
00:23:34,200 –> 00:23:37,140
and so it’s only subjected to policies.

615 ( Melvin )
00:23:37,140 –> 00:23:40,480
And of course, one principle in real estate investing globally

616 ( Melvin )
00:23:40,480 –> 00:23:42,720
is that a lot of real estate investors,

617 ( Melvin )
00:23:42,720 –> 00:23:46,180
they technically purchase properties and they don’t exit,

618 ( Melvin )
00:23:46,180 –> 00:23:48,400
they always extract equity out of it

619 ( Melvin )
00:23:48,400 –> 00:23:50,839
when property values appreciate

620 ( Melvin )
00:23:50,839 –> 00:23:53,259
and that can only be done with private properties.

621 ( Melvin )
00:23:53,259 –> 00:23:56,859
HBD apartments no matter how much appreciation they enjoy,

622 ( Melvin )
00:23:56,859 –> 00:23:59,339
even if you are staying at certain properties

623 ( Melvin )
00:23:59,339 –> 00:24:00,579
that has appreciated by $1 mil,

624 ( Melvin )
00:24:00,579 –> 00:24:02,400
you can’t extract your gain

625 ( Clive / Jo’An )
00:24:02,400 –> 00:24:04,539
right? – Unless you sell.

626 ( Melvin )
00:24:04,539 –> 00:24:07,180
– And equity term loan is something

627 ( Melvin )
00:24:07,180 –> 00:24:11,940
that’s the inherent factor of a true blue real estate

628 ( Melvin )
00:24:11,940 –> 00:24:13,779
for private properties.

629 ( Melvin )
00:24:13,779 –> 00:24:16,380
So talking about equity loans, right?

630 ( Melvin )
00:24:16,380 –> 00:24:19,319
Usually what are some of the key things to note,

631 ( Melvin )
00:24:19,319 –> 00:24:22,299
if somebody is keen to extract equity

632 ( Melvin )
00:24:22,299 –> 00:24:24,579
from their property that has already appreciated

633 ( Melvin )
00:24:24,579 –> 00:24:27,200
and then how do you all usually go about the advice to clients

634 ( Melvin )
00:24:27,200 –> 00:24:29,059
on the equity term loan?

635 ( Jo’An )
00:24:29,059 –> 00:24:30,980
– I think for equity term loan,

636 ( Jo’An )
00:24:30,980 –> 00:24:32,759
the two main factors we look at

637 ( Jo’An )
00:24:32,759 –> 00:24:34,759
is the current market value of the property,

638 ( Jo’An )
00:24:34,759 –> 00:24:36,960
as well as the CPF used.

639 ( Jo’An )
00:24:36,960 –> 00:24:39,720
So the more CPF you’ve used, right?

640 ( Jo’An )
00:24:39,720 –> 00:24:44,119
Then generally the owner can extract lesser equity loan,

641 ( Jo’An )
00:24:44,119 –> 00:24:48,279
so we’re trying our best to see if we can help them

642 ( Jo’An )
00:24:48,279 –> 00:24:50,579
to get a higher valuation.

643 ( Jo’An )
00:24:50,579 –> 00:24:53,559
So you’ll be surprised that of all the 16 banks, right?

644 ( Jo’An )
00:24:53,559 –> 00:24:56,220
Different banks work with different valuation companies

645 ( Jo’An )
00:24:56,220 –> 00:25:00,920
and some are more conservative, some are more aggressive.

646 ( Jo’An )
00:25:00,920 –> 00:25:03,640
So from there depending on how much our clients…

647 ( Jo’An )
00:25:03,640 –> 00:25:05,720
How much equity loan they’re looking for,

648 ( Jo’An )
00:25:05,720 –> 00:25:08,339
we’ll refer them to the right partners.

649 ( Melvin )
00:25:08,339 –> 00:25:10,740
– Okay, if a client comes to you

650 ( Melvin )
00:25:10,740 –> 00:25:13,680
and then the client said that hey,

651 ( Melvin )
00:25:13,680 –> 00:25:17,359
I found this property that I think is quite undervalued,

652 ( Melvin )
00:25:17,359 –> 00:25:19,920
although in today’s market it’s very difficult to find

653 ( Melvin )
00:25:19,920 –> 00:25:21,519
and the client is quite confident

654 ( Melvin )
00:25:21,519 –> 00:25:24,480
that they want to do equity term loan down the road.

655 ( Melvin )
00:25:24,480 –> 00:25:27,500
What is the fastest period from the day

656 ( Melvin )
00:25:27,500 –> 00:25:29,599
that they purchase this property,

657 ( Melvin )
00:25:29,599 –> 00:25:31,440
let’s say it’s a resale property,

658 ( Melvin )
00:25:31,440 –> 00:25:32,660
to the day that they can refinance,

659 ( Melvin )
00:25:32,660 –> 00:25:34,960
what is the minimum period fulfilment

660 ( Melvin )
00:25:34,960 –> 00:25:36,200
for the first letter of offer?

661 ( Clive )
00:25:36,200 –> 00:25:39,200
– Generally, I would say depending on the bank as well,

662 ( Clive )
00:25:39,200 –> 00:25:41,799
but I would say conservatively nine months.

663 ( Clive )
00:25:41,799 –> 00:25:44,180
Yeah, nine months of repayment history,

664 ( Clive )
00:25:44,180 –> 00:25:46,200
then probably you can start to release equity

665 ( Clive )
00:25:46,200 –> 00:25:47,559
from the property if it’s undervalued.

666 (Melvin )
00:25:47,559 –> 00:25:48,960
– Right and definitely,

667 ( Melvin )
00:25:48,960 –> 00:25:52,180
I think that will be a flexi loan, flexi rates.

668 ( Clive )
00:25:52,180 –> 00:25:55,440
– Generally, if you’re looking at a shorter lock in

669 ( Clive )
00:25:55,440 –> 00:25:57,200
like one year or no lock in,

670 ( Clive )
00:25:57,200 –> 00:26:00,000
then it’s a variable rate already.

671 ( Melvin )
00:26:00,000 –> 00:26:04,380
– And is extracting equity very common nowadays

672 ( Melvin )
00:26:04,380 –> 00:26:07,400
through the process of refinance?

673 ( Melvin )
00:26:07,400 –> 00:26:08,720
– Very common.

674 ( Melvin )
00:26:08,720 –> 00:26:10,859
– And like, how common is it?

675 ( Melvin )
00:26:10,859 –> 00:26:13,839
And then like, usually based on your experience,

676 ( Melvin )
00:26:13,839 –> 00:26:16,180
what are clients planning for,

677 ( Melvin )
00:26:16,180 –> 00:26:19,140
like when they extract equity?

678 ( Jo’An )
00:26:19,140 –> 00:26:20,680
– I think just two hours ago,

679 ( Jo’An )
00:26:20,680 –> 00:26:22,359
I was speaking to one of my clients

680 ( Jo’An )
00:26:22,359 –> 00:26:25,839
who wish to extract equity for their child’s education.

681 ( Jo’An )
00:26:25,839 –> 00:26:29,240
So sending their kid to UK to study next year,

682 ( Jo’An )
00:26:29,240 –> 00:26:31,779
so trying to plan their finances.

683 ( Jo’An )
00:26:31,779 –> 00:26:34,779
So I’m working out to see,

684 ( Jo’An )
00:26:34,779 –> 00:26:36,759
because generally the equity term loan

685 ( Jo’An )
00:26:36,759 –> 00:26:40,180
takes about two to three months for the release.

686 ( Jo’An )
00:26:40,180 –> 00:26:41,279
So they’re trying to find out number one,

687 ( Jo’An )
00:26:41,279 –> 00:26:42,460
how much can they borrow?

688 ( Jo’An )
00:26:42,460 –> 00:26:45,299
And number two, how fast can they get the cash?

689 ( Jo’An )
00:26:45,299 –> 00:26:48,819
Yeah, so I think at least most of my clients,

690 ( Jo’An )
00:26:48,819 –> 00:26:52,019
they are drawing equity out to fund their children’s education

691 ( Jo’An )
00:26:52,019 –> 00:26:54,839
or to buy a new car.

692 ( Jo’An )
00:26:54,839 –> 00:26:57,779
Because car interest rates are so high.

693 ( Melvin )
00:26:57,779 –> 00:27:03,619
– And how about that benefit of concurrently doing refinance

694 ( Melvin )
00:27:03,619 –> 00:27:05,880
or maybe drawing out equity, right?

695 ( Melvin )
00:27:05,880 –> 00:27:07,660
How does that impact the tenure,

696 ( Melvin )
00:27:07,660 –> 00:27:09,920
what kind of other benefits are there?

697 ( Clive )
00:27:09,920 –> 00:27:12,619
– Yeah, so generally the tenure for equity term loan

698 ( Clive )
00:27:12,619 –> 00:27:14,339
is slightly longer, right?

699 ( Clive )
00:27:14,339 –> 00:27:17,799
You can borrow up to the age of 75 or 35, whichever is lower

700 ( Clive )
00:27:17,799 –> 00:27:19,599
and depending on the banks that you go to.

701 ( Clive )
00:27:19,599 –> 00:27:20,839
So when that happens,

702 ( Clive )
00:27:20,839 –> 00:27:22,680
then you’ll realise that if you’re slightly older,

703 ( Clive )
00:27:22,680 –> 00:27:25,019
you can actually release more equity from the property

704 ( Clive )
00:27:25,019 –> 00:27:28,240
because of the loan tenure that can be stretched.

705 ( Clive )
00:27:28,240 –> 00:27:29,279
So, it’s quite flexible

706 ( Clive )
00:27:29,279 –> 00:27:31,220
and the other flexible thing about equity term loan

707 ( Clive )
00:27:31,220 –> 00:27:33,119
is the interest rates too, right?

708 ( Clive )
00:27:33,119 –> 00:27:34,920
Some people have the misconception that,

709 ( Clive )
00:27:34,920 –> 00:27:37,599
oh, wow, the banks give me $400K or $500K in cash,

710 ( Clive )
00:27:37,599 –> 00:27:39,519
I need to end up paying 4% or 5%

711 ( Clive )
00:27:39,519 –> 00:27:41,660
in terms of the servicing of the loan,

712 ( Clive )
00:27:41,660 –> 00:27:44,279
but no, you follow mortgage interest rates

713 ( Clive )
00:27:44,279 –> 00:27:47,420
and that is why to investors,

714 ( Clive )
00:27:47,420 –> 00:27:50,400
an equity term loan is “I surely will do it”

715 ( Clive )
00:27:50,400 –> 00:27:53,460
because one is 1.65%, one is 2%

716 ( Clive )
00:27:53,460 –> 00:27:55,759
when I can get double digit returns

717 ( Clive )
00:27:55,759 –> 00:27:58,079
it’s almost free money to them.

718 ( Clive )
00:27:58,079 –> 00:28:00,440
Right, so whenever we talk to investors, they’ll be like,

719 ( Clive )
00:28:00,440 –> 00:28:02,500
“Okay, Clive, how much more can I extract

720 ( Clive )
00:28:02,500 –> 00:28:03,940
from this private property?

721 ( Clive )
00:28:03,940 –> 00:28:05,759
I’d like to maximise it.”

722 ( Clive )
00:28:05,759 –> 00:28:09,200
So, in order sometimes when we speak to clients

723 ( Clive )
00:28:09,200 –> 00:28:11,039
along the way, maybe at that point of time,

724 ( Clive )
00:28:11,039 –> 00:28:13,420
they wouldn’t have the ability to release equity

725 ( Clive )
00:28:13,420 –> 00:28:16,380
because maybe the property hasn’t appreciated in price

726 ( Clive )
00:28:16,380 –> 00:28:20,440
and they’ve used a larger sum of CPF on the property.

727 ( Clive )
00:28:20,440 –> 00:28:22,259
So when people come to us and say,

728 ( Clive )
00:28:22,259 –> 00:28:24,640
hey, Clive, I want to have the flexibility

729 ( Clive )
00:28:24,640 –> 00:28:26,099
to pay down on my loan,

730. ( Clive )
00:28:26,099 –> 00:28:28,160
I (want to) have a partial prepayment ability,

731 ( Clive )
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:30,400
I would then always remind them that,

732 ( Clive )
00:28:30,400 –> 00:28:32,119
hey, have you used CPF on the property?

733 ( Clive )
00:28:32,119 –> 00:28:34,279
Because if you have used CPF on the property,

734 ( Clive )
00:28:34,279 –> 00:28:37,279
have you considered paying back CPF

735 ( Clive )
00:28:37,279 –> 00:28:40,839
instead of being in a loan that charges you 1.65%

736 ( Clive )
00:28:40,839 –> 00:28:45,500
for example, when CPF you put it back it earns you 2.5%

737 ( Clive )
00:28:45,500 –> 00:28:49,220
and with lesser CPF usage on the property in future,

738 ( Clive )
00:28:49,220 –> 00:28:50,720
if you want to release equity.

739 ( Melvin / Clive )
00:28:50,720 –> 00:28:54,579
– You can get more. – Then you can get more.

740 ( Melvin )
00:28:54,579 –> 00:28:57,160
– Yeah, in fact, we also share with our clients

741 ( Melvin )
00:28:57,160 –> 00:28:59,059
that just for example,

742 ( Melvin )
00:28:59,059 –> 00:29:01,240
if somebody bought a property at $2 mil,

743 ( Melvin )
00:29:01,240 –> 00:29:02,339
like maybe five years back

744 ( Melvin )
00:29:02,339 –> 00:29:03,900
and then now let’s say if it appreciates

745 ( Melvin )
00:29:03,900 –> 00:29:07,140
to like $2.8 mil and there’s no CPF usage

746 ( Melvin )
00:29:07,140 –> 00:29:10,460
and if they can extract equity out of it,

747 ( Melvin )
00:29:10,460 –> 00:29:13,740
that extraction probably at about $600K

748 ( Melvin )
00:29:13,740 –> 00:29:18,220
can be used as a piggy bank theory,

749 ( Melvin )
00:29:18,220 –> 00:29:19,500
to put it in the bank

750 ( Melvin )
00:29:19,500 –> 00:29:22,559
and use that to slowly pay back the instalment.

751 ( Melvin )
00:29:22,559 –> 00:29:25,039
It can last them for the next eight to nine years.

752 ( Melvin )
00:29:25,039 –> 00:29:27,160
And eight to nine years later, if they want to sell

753 ( Melvin )
00:29:27,160 –> 00:29:31,200
and they would sell back at the same price of $2.8mil,

754 ( Melvin )
00:29:31,200 –> 00:29:34,619
it is still a very good strategy in that sense.

755 ( Melvin )
00:29:34,619 –> 00:29:38,299
And just now, when I was reading both your profiles,

756 ( Melvin )
00:29:38,299 –> 00:29:41,839
I also notice that Clive specialises in residential

757 ( Melvin )
00:29:41,839 –> 00:29:44,339
and then Jo’An specialises in commercial, right?

758 ( Melvin )
00:29:44,339 –> 00:29:47,500
So, maybe we’ll chat a little bit about commercial as well,

759 ( Melvin )
00:29:47,500 –> 00:29:51,559
like what are some of the very important things to note

760 ( Melvin )
00:29:51,559 –> 00:29:55,019
when somebody is keen to invest in a commercial property,

761 ( Melvin )
00:29:55,019 –> 00:29:56,700
whether is it for their own operation needs

762 ( Melvin )
00:29:56,700 –> 00:29:57,740
for their company

763 ( Melvin )
00:29:57,740 –> 00:30:00,660
or whether is it for the purpose of investment,

764 ( Melvin )
00:30:00,660 –> 00:30:04,539
do you usually advise creating an investment holding company

765 ( Melvin )
00:30:04,539 –> 00:30:07,160
to hold it or do you usually advise your clients

766 ( Melvin )
00:30:07,160 –> 00:30:08,839
to buy under their personal name,

767 ( Melvin )
00:30:08,839 –> 00:30:12,119
what are some of the considerations here?

768 ( Jo’An )
00:30:12,119 –> 00:30:14,039
– In my opinion, I think there are more benefits

769 ( Jo’An )
00:30:14,039 –> 00:30:16,859
buying a commercial property through a company,

770 ( Jo’An )
00:30:16,859 –> 00:30:21,400
either if they have an operating business

771 ( Jo’An )
00:30:21,400 –> 00:30:23,220
or if they choose to set up a holding company

772 ( Jo’An )
00:30:23,220 –> 00:30:24,160
to buy the property.

773 ( Jo’An )
00:30:24,160 –> 00:30:27,400
– I think one of the main benefits is that,

774 ( Jo’An )
00:30:27,400 –> 00:30:32,380
someone can seek reimbursement of the GST,

775 ( Jo’An )
00:30:32,380 –> 00:30:36,099
yeah, because I think it’s very common for GST to be charged

776 ( Jo’An )
00:30:36,099 –> 00:30:38,839
when one purchases a commercial or industrial property

777 ( Jo’An )
00:30:38,839 –> 00:30:41,140
and that 7% is gonna increase soon, right?

778 ( Jo’An )
00:30:41,140 –> 00:30:45,119
So one way around it is to set up a company,

779 ( Jo’An )
00:30:45,119 –> 00:30:46,980
I know GST register the company

780 ( Jo’An )
00:30:46,980 –> 00:30:51,160
and then it can be reimbursed later on.

781 ( Jo’An )
00:30:51,160 –> 00:30:53,240
That’s one main benefit.

782 ( Melvin )
00:30:53,240 –> 00:30:57,279
– How about LTV in terms of like the loan-to-value?

783 ( Melvin )
00:30:57,279 –> 00:31:01,799
Things to take note when using a company to buy

784 ( Melvin )
00:31:01,799 –> 00:31:04,720
for own operations versus for investment,

785 ( Melvin )
00:31:04,720 –> 00:31:06,500
what are the key differences?

786 ( Jo’An )
00:31:06,500 –> 00:31:09,019
– I think generally for operating use,

787 ( Jo’An )
00:31:09,019 –> 00:31:14,000
the LTV can go up to 90% if you fulfill certain criteria,

788 ( Jo’An )
00:31:14,000 –> 00:31:16,480
so that’s unheard of in the residential market.

789 ( Melvin )
00:31:16,480 –> 00:31:19,299
– Right, what is the criteria for 90%?

790 ( Jo’An )
00:31:19,299 –> 00:31:21,359
– 90% generally the bank looks at

791 ( Jo’An )
00:31:21,359 –> 00:31:25,079
whether is it an operating business?

792 ( Jo’An )
00:31:25,079 –> 00:31:29,240
So right now, at the banks are dishing out 90% loans

793 ( Jo’An )
00:31:29,240 –> 00:31:33,759
for operating businesses and if the profile is good, right?

794 ( Jo’An )
00:31:33,759 –> 00:31:35,359
And let’s say the property leasehold,

795 ( Jo’An )
00:31:35,359 –> 00:31:36,660
these are some of the hygiene factors

796 ( Jo’An )
00:31:36,660 –> 00:31:37,660
that the bank look at,

797 ( Jo’An )
00:31:37,660 –> 00:31:40,960
the director’s profile, the business nature

798 ( Jo’An )
00:31:40,960 –> 00:31:43,720
as well as the…

799 ( Jo’An )
00:31:43,720 –> 00:31:49,740
Business nature, director’s profile and whether is it for…

800 ( Jo’An )
00:31:49,740 –> 00:31:51,140
And the lease of the property.

801 ( Jo’An / Melvin )
00:31:51,140 –> 00:31:53,279
– The lease of the property, the balance lease

802 ( Jo’An )
00:31:53,279 –> 00:31:55,140
-Correct. So generally industrial and commercial

803 ( Jo’An )
00:31:55,140 –> 00:31:56,359
Generally industrial,

804 ( Jo’An )
00:31:56,359 –> 00:31:58,279
60 years, 60 years lease

805 ( Jo’An )
00:31:58,279 –> 00:32:01,299
and then most of it now is like 30-year leasehold.

806 ( Jo’An )
00:32:01,299 –> 00:32:03,140
So the banks will look at all these factors

807 ( Jo’An )
00:32:03,140 –> 00:32:08,839
before deciding “Should I grant this business owner 90% loan?”

808 ( Melvin )
00:32:08,839 –> 00:32:10,059
– For operating companies,

809 ( Melvin )
00:32:10,059 –> 00:32:13,640
is there like a guideline, like example,

810 ( Melvin )
00:32:13,640 –> 00:32:15,740
a newer company that’s been operating for like two years,

811 ( Melvin )
00:32:15,740 –> 00:32:19,140
is there a guideline, like things

812 ( Melvin )
00:32:19,140 –> 00:32:20,980
that banks would definitely look at

813 ( Melvin )
00:32:20,980 –> 00:32:23,180
in terms of like a minimum amount of revenue

814 ( Melvin )
00:32:23,180 –> 00:32:25,440
or minimum amount of profit or like,

815 ( Melvin )
00:32:25,440 –> 00:32:28,200
what are some of the guidelines?

816 ( Jo’An )
00:32:28,200 –> 00:32:30,220
– So generally the banks will zoom

817 ( Jo’An )
00:32:30,220 –> 00:32:32,660
into the financial standing of the company,

818 ( Jo’An )
00:32:32,660 –> 00:32:34,240
so they will look at things like

819 ( Jo’An )
00:32:34,240 –> 00:32:37,819
your profit and loss statement, the revenue, the EBITDA,

820 ( Jo’An )
00:32:37,819 –> 00:32:41,000
they will look at things like the balance sheet,

821 ( Jo’An )
00:32:41,000 –> 00:32:42,579
they’ll zoom into the assets and find out

822 ( Jo’An )
00:32:42,579 –> 00:32:44,980
whether this company is overly geared.

823 ( Jo’An )
00:32:44,980 –> 00:32:48,680
Then to determine whether this company is good

824 ( Jo’An )
00:32:48,680 –> 00:32:51,779
for 80% loan or 90% loan.

825 ( Melvin )
00:32:51,779 –> 00:32:57,940
– Will they still look at the director’s personal TDSR?

826 ( Jo’An )
00:32:57,940 –> 00:33:04,799
– Actually, they wouldn’t really zoom into it,

827 ( Melvin )
00:33:04,799 –> 00:33:06,400
– But they will still check

828 ( Jo’An )
00:33:06,400 –> 00:33:08,779
the profiles of the directors?

829 ( Jo’An )
00:33:08,779 –> 00:33:10,400
– ‘Cause ultimately the directors and shareholders,

830 ( Jo’An )
00:33:10,400 –> 00:33:12,799
they are the beneficial owners of the company,

831 ( Jo’An )
00:33:12,799 –> 00:33:14,059
so one of the hygiene checks

832 ( Jo’An )
00:33:14,059 –> 00:33:16,460
is they will zoom into the Credit Bureau,

833 ( Jo’An )
00:33:16,460 –> 00:33:17,640
which is what Clive shared.

834 ( Jo’An )
00:33:17,640 –> 00:33:21,180
So they also look at whether on the director’s Credit Bureau Report

835 ( Jo’An )
00:33:21,180 –> 00:33:23,539
whether their credit history,

836 ( Jo’An )
00:33:23,539 –> 00:33:26,119
do they have prompt repayment conduct?

837 ( Jo’An )
00:33:26,119 –> 00:33:29,640
So that is one determining factor on whether this fella

838 ( Jo’An )
00:33:29,640 –> 00:33:32,220
or this company is good for the loan.

839 ( Jo’An )
00:33:32,220 –> 00:33:35,880
So, there’s not much of the income actually,

840 ( Jo’An )
00:33:35,880 –> 00:33:37,500
in my opinion, more on the repayment conduct

841 ( Jo’An )
00:33:37,500 –> 00:33:38,480
of the directors and shareholders.

842 ( Melvin )
00:33:38,480 –> 00:33:41,539
– Right, right, so meaning like if two directors

843 ( Melvin )
00:33:41,539 –> 00:33:43,519
and both of them own multiple properties,

844 ( Melvin )
00:33:43,519 –> 00:33:44,460
residential properties,

845 ( Melvin )
00:33:44,460 –> 00:33:48,019
it doesn’t really affect the company’s ability to loan

846 ( Melvin )
00:33:48,019 –> 00:33:51,880
as long as the revenue and balance sheets are healthy.

847 ( Jo’An )
00:33:51,880 –> 00:33:54,920
– In fact that adds on to the net worth of the director.

848 ( Melvin )
00:33:54,920 –> 00:33:57,579
– Adds on to the net worth as well, right.

849 ( Jo’An )
00:33:57,579 –> 00:33:59,819
– I mean sure there could be leverage,

850 ( Jo’An )
00:33:59,819 –> 00:34:02,500
but I think one way the banker could mitigate this

851 ( Jo’An )
00:34:02,500 –> 00:34:04,279
is you can share that the directors

852 ( Jo’An )
00:34:04,279 –> 00:34:06,779
and the shareholders have this amount of net worth,

853 ( Jo’An )
00:34:06,779 –> 00:34:09,559
this amount of private properties under their name.

854 ( Jo’An )
00:34:09,559 –> 00:34:12,099
Yeah, so this gives the bank additional comfort

855 ( Jo’An )
00:34:12,099 –> 00:34:16,440
to grant this company this X amount of a loan.

856 ( Melvin )
00:34:16,440 –> 00:34:20,780
– Right and coming to Clive,

857 ( Melvin )
00:34:20,780 –> 00:34:23,460
one of the very popular questions is of course,

858 ( Melvin )
00:34:23,460 –> 00:34:26,539
pertaining to foreign buyers buying properties

859 ( Melvin )
00:34:26,539 –> 00:34:27,800
and of course, foreign buyers

860 ( Melvin )
00:34:27,800 –> 00:34:30,880
they don’t have a working employment history in Singapore,

861 ( Melvin )
00:34:30,880 –> 00:34:33,780
so usually how does the pledging and unpledging process work

862 ( Melvin )
00:34:33,780 –> 00:34:35,059
for foreign buyers?

863 ( Clive )
00:34:35,059 –> 00:34:37,019
– So if they’re foreign and if they’re working

864 ( Clive )
00:34:37,019 –> 00:34:38,300
in a different country I suppose,

865 ( Clive )
00:34:38,300 –> 00:34:39,659
so, it really depends on the banks as well.

866 ( Clive )
00:34:39,659 –> 00:34:41,579
Some banks strictly don’t do it,

867 ( Clive )
00:34:41,579 –> 00:34:42,940
because they don’t feel comfortable,

868 ( Clive )
00:34:42,940 –> 00:34:44,800
but there are other banks that do,

869 ( Clive )
00:34:44,800 –> 00:34:48,900
it helps if the customers are working in an MNC, right?

870 ( Clive )
00:34:48,900 –> 00:34:51,500
If they run their own business in the other country,

871 ( Clive )
00:34:51,500 –> 00:34:52,760
it might be a little bit tricky

872 ( Clive )
00:34:52,760 –> 00:34:55,460
because in Singapore, you still can check on ACRA

873 ( Clive )
00:34:55,460 –> 00:34:56,719
whether you’re the business owner,

874 ( Clive )
00:34:56,719 –> 00:34:59,019
but in other countries it’s difficult to check, right?

875 ( Clive )
00:34:59,019 –> 00:35:01,579
So if you’re working in an MNC as an employee,

876 ( Clive )
00:35:01,579 –> 00:35:02,800
offshore foreigner,

877 ( Clive )
00:35:02,800 –> 00:35:05,019
yes, the banks can still grant you a loan.

878 ( Clive )
00:35:05,019 –> 00:35:06,679
There might be certain restrictions,

879 ( Clive )
00:35:06,679 –> 00:35:09,820
depending on the amount of loan that you want to take,

880 ( Clive )
00:35:09,820 –> 00:35:11,219
the larger the loan quantum,

881 ( Clive )
00:35:11,219 –> 00:35:13,500
the banks sometimes might not feel comfortable

882 ( Clive )
00:35:13,500 –> 00:35:17,539
lending you leverage at 75%, it may come down, right?

883 ( Clive )
00:35:17,539 –> 00:35:20,420
And there will be additional conditions imposed as well,

884 ( Clive )
00:35:20,420 –> 00:35:22,260
so the banks might say, okay,

885 ( Clive )
00:35:22,260 –> 00:35:25,000
we will lend you, but you need to pledge two years

886 ( Clive )
00:35:25,000 –> 00:35:28,239
worth of money instalments with the banks, right?

887 ( Clive )
00:35:28,239 –> 00:35:29,460
As assurance.

888 ( Clive )
00:35:29,460 –> 00:35:32,599
So the banks will always want to have comfort

889 ( Clive )
00:35:32,599 –> 00:35:35,219
on loan servicing ability, right?

890 ( Clive )
00:35:35,219 –> 00:35:38,239
As long as you’re able to prove that you have the ability

891 ( Clive )
00:35:38,239 –> 00:35:40,719
to service the loan and the income that you’re getting

892 ( Clive )
00:35:40,719 –> 00:35:44,739
is a legit income, then the banks will still grant you a loan,

893 ( Clive )
00:35:44,739 –> 00:35:46,960
yeah, it really depends on the bank’s credit policies.

894 ( Melvin )
00:35:46,960 –> 00:35:48,099
– Right, right.

895 ( Melvin )
00:35:48,099 –> 00:35:51,900
Is pledging more common or unpledging more common

896 ( Melvin )
00:35:51,900 –> 00:35:53,840
for foreign purchases?

897 ( Clive )
00:35:53,840 –> 00:35:56,300
– The foreigners would always prefer personally

898 ( Clive )
00:35:56,300 –> 00:35:58,820
to show funds, unpledging, right?

899 ( Clive )
00:35:58,820 –> 00:36:00,780
Because it doesn’t tie themselves down,

900 ( Clive )
00:36:00,780 –> 00:36:02,800
but the banks would prefer that they pledge,

901 ( Clive )
00:36:02,800 –> 00:36:04,820
because they have commitment, right?

902 ( Clive )
00:36:04,820 –> 00:36:06,980
Especially for foreign buyers,

903 ( Clive )
00:36:06,980 –> 00:36:07,900
because it’s difficult to tell

904 ( Clive )
00:36:07,900 –> 00:36:09,300
where the funds are coming from

905 ( Clive )
00:36:09,300 –> 00:36:11,860
and it depends on where you are.

906 ( Clive )
00:36:11,860 –> 00:36:14,139
If you are in certain more sensitive countries,

907 ( Clive )
00:36:14,139 –> 00:36:17,960
where there are capital restrictions in terms of capital outflows,

908 ( Clive )
00:36:17,960 –> 00:36:20,219
then that may also further hinder

909 ( Clive )
00:36:20,219 –> 00:36:22,579
the kind of approval process, yeah.

910 ( Melvin )
00:36:22,579 –> 00:36:24,960
– What are some like very simple calculation method

911 ( Melvin )
00:36:24,960 –> 00:36:27,460
to like know how much that you need to pledge

912 ( Melvin )
00:36:27,460 –> 00:36:28,360
and things like that

913 ( Melvin )
00:36:28,360 –> 00:36:29,840
or do you have tools on your website?

914 ( Melvin )
00:36:29,840 –> 00:36:32,840
What do you usually use?

915 ( Clive )
00:36:32,840 –> 00:36:34,039
– In relation to foreign buyers?

916 ( Melvin )
00:36:34,039 –> 00:36:34,880
– Yes.

917 ( Clive )
00:36:34,880 –> 00:36:36,480
– It’s really based on, for example,

918 ( Clive )
00:36:36,480 –> 00:36:38,880
based on the quantum that you’re looking to borrow

919 ( Clive )
00:36:38,880 –> 00:36:41,619
and then we calculate 24 months worth of instalments

920 ( Clive )
00:36:41,619 –> 00:36:43,840
based on an interest rate of 3.5%, for example.

921 ( Clive )
00:36:43,840 –> 00:36:45,679
Yeah, so then they’ll take that amount

922 ( Clive )
00:36:45,679 –> 00:36:47,679
and they’ll request that you pledge.

923 ( Clive )
00:36:47,679 –> 00:36:50,400
Other banks might also on top of pledging of funds

924 ( Clive )
00:36:50,400 –> 00:36:52,079
ask you to earmark…

925 ( Clive )
00:36:52,079 –> 00:36:54,639
Because pledging of funds you can eventually get it back,

926 ( Clive )
00:36:54,639 –> 00:36:57,019
then other banks will ask you to earmark funds

927 ( Clive )
00:36:57,019 –> 00:36:58,659
on top of pledging 24 months,

928 ( Clive )
00:36:58,659 –> 00:37:01,820
you’re gonna earmark 24 months of instalments with me

929 ( Clive )
00:37:01,820 –> 00:37:04,840
and every month, I’ll draw the instalments down from there.

930 ( Clive )
00:37:04,840 –> 00:37:06,360
So at least in the next two years

931 ( Clive )
00:37:06,360 –> 00:37:08,059
I guarantee that you won’t default a loan.

932 ( Melvin )
00:37:08,059 –> 00:37:09,539
– So they want you to pre-deposit first.

933 ( Clive )
00:37:09,539 –> 00:37:11,199
– Yeah, correct.

934 ( Melvin )
00:37:11,199 –> 00:37:15,280
– And maybe we can share with our audience,

935 ( Melvin )
00:37:15,280 –> 00:37:17,880
like what are some of the tools that are available

936 ( Melvin )
00:37:17,880 –> 00:37:20,880
for everybody to use on the Redbrick website?

937 ( Clive )
00:37:20,880 –> 00:37:22,739
– Yeah, I think there are certain calculators

938 ( Clive )
00:37:22,739 –> 00:37:24,440
on the Redbrick website that they can use

939 ( Clive )
00:37:24,440 –> 00:37:26,079
to calculate very simply, right?

940 ( Clive )
00:37:26,079 –> 00:37:28,639
If they want to buy a property according to their income

941 ( Clive )
00:37:28,639 –> 00:37:32,159
and commitment, how much number one they can qualify for?

942 ( Clive )
00:37:32,159 –> 00:37:34,199
And if there is a shortfall,

943 ( Clive )
00:37:34,199 –> 00:37:37,199
what are the amounts that they will need to pledge

944 ( Clive )
00:37:37,199 –> 00:37:39,980
or show to attain the desired loan amount?

945 ( Clive )
00:37:39,980 –> 00:37:42,460
So very simple calculators that are available online,

946 ( Clive )
00:37:42,460 –> 00:37:45,179
calculators that help you with your calculation

947 ( Clive )
00:37:45,179 –> 00:37:48,300
of the Buyer’s Stamp Duty, Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty,

948 ( Clive )
00:37:48,300 –> 00:37:51,260
Seller’s Stamp Duty even, yeah.

949 ( Clive )
00:37:51,260 –> 00:37:52,980
And sometimes I don’t know whether we’re working on it,

950 ( Clive )
00:37:52,980 –> 00:37:55,519
but ROI as well, sometimes.

951 ( Melvin )
00:37:55,519 –> 00:37:59,940
-Maybe some advice for younger purchasers,

952 ( Melvin )
00:37:59,940 –> 00:38:01,239
if let’s say they are planning to purchase

953 ( Melvin )
00:38:01,239 –> 00:38:03,719
their first private property,

954 ( Melvin )
00:38:03,719 –> 00:38:06,820
what would be maybe the top three advice for them

955 ( Melvin )
00:38:06,820 –> 00:38:09,340
when it comes to relation of loan

956 ( Melvin )
00:38:09,340 –> 00:38:13,300
and planning for the future?

957 ( Jo’An )
00:38:13,300 –> 00:38:16,039
– I think number one, which is what Clive has shared earlier

958 ( Jo’An )
00:38:16,039 –> 00:38:18,219
is really to keep your spending minimal,

959 ( Jo’An )
00:38:18,219 –> 00:38:21,340
the few months prior to buying or just use the debit card

960 ( Jo’An )
00:38:21,340 –> 00:38:24,619
instead of your credit card if possible.

961 ( Jo’An )
00:38:24,619 –> 00:38:27,440
You’ll be surprised how much a credit card

962 ( Jo’An )
00:38:27,440 –> 00:38:32,679
spending has on the impact on your borrowing ability.

963 ( Jo’An )
00:38:32,679 –> 00:38:35,820
Yeah, that’s number one.

964 ( Clive )
00:38:35,820 –> 00:38:37,500
– I think there are other considerations

965 ( Clive )
00:38:37,500 –> 00:38:39,059
for first timers as well,

966 ( Clive )
00:38:39,059 –> 00:38:41,460
the consideration for them usually it’s like,

967 ( Clive )
00:38:41,460 –> 00:38:45,440
hey, should I buy a $1.5 mil condo

968 ( Clive )
00:38:45,440 –> 00:38:47,000
or should I buy a $2 mil condo

969 ( Clive )
00:38:47,000 –> 00:38:48,760
which I need to stretch a bit, right?

970 ( Clive )
00:38:48,760 –> 00:38:49,739
So those are the considerations.

971 ( Clive )
00:38:49,739 –> 00:38:52,219
Then it really boils down to what they wanna do with it for.

972 ( Clive )
00:38:52,219 –> 00:38:53,659
In terms of leveraging,

973 ( Clive )
00:38:53,659 –> 00:38:57,079
I would tell them if you are looking at your TDSR,

974 ( Clive )
00:38:57,079 –> 00:38:59,940
as long as you hover around the range of 50%, 55%,

975 ( Clive )
00:38:59,940 –> 00:39:02,320
which is the current measures, coincidentally,

976 ( Clive )
00:39:02,320 –> 00:39:04,000
then that is still something that’s comfortable

977 ( Clive )
00:39:04,000 –> 00:39:06,000
because in the next five years, 10 years,

978 ( Clive )
00:39:06,000 –> 00:39:07,960
your income would grow, right?

979 ( Clive )
00:39:07,960 –> 00:39:09,539
And when that happens,

980 ( Clive )
00:39:09,539 –> 00:39:11,880
then you might want to think of decoupling

981 ( Clive )
00:39:11,880 –> 00:39:14,179
and even moving on, so it depends on your plans.

982 ( Clive )
00:39:14,179 –> 00:39:15,699
And sometimes they also tell me that,

983 ( Clive )
00:39:15,699 –> 00:39:18,639
oh, I have kids and I want to buy this property right now,

984 ( Clive )
00:39:18,639 –> 00:39:19,739
but later on I will shift,

985 ( Clive )
00:39:19,739 –> 00:39:21,340
because I need to move to another place closer

986 ( Clive )
00:39:21,340 –> 00:39:22,820
to that school, right?

987 ( Clive )
00:39:22,820 –> 00:39:24,000
So those are the considerations.

988 ( Clive )
00:39:24,000 –> 00:39:25,980
So I will say that, then maybe in this case,

989 ( Clive )
00:39:25,980 –> 00:39:27,900
if you know that you are going to move,

990 ( Clive )
00:39:27,900 –> 00:39:30,360
then you might not want to buy like a 5-bedder

991 ( Clive )
00:39:30,360 –> 00:39:31,280
or something like that

992 ( Clive )
00:39:31,280 –> 00:39:33,679
where only the two of you are staying in, right?

993 ( Clive )
00:39:33,679 –> 00:39:35,039
So those are the considerations.

994 ( Clive )
00:39:35,039 –> 00:39:36,760
But from a loan perspective,

99 ( Clive )
00:39:36,760 –> 00:39:38,139
I generally will tell them

996 ( Clive )
00:39:38,139 –> 00:39:40,760
that although now the government allows you

997 ( Clive )
00:39:40,760 –> 00:39:44,659
to leverage up to 55% of your income towards the property,

998 ( Clive )
00:39:44,659 –> 00:39:47,820
you’ll probably want to keep it about the 40%, 50%

999 ( Clive )
00:39:47,820 –> 00:39:48,860
just to be safe.

1000 ( Clive )
00:39:48,860 –> 00:39:50,199
Just to be safe.

1001 ( Melvin )
00:39:50,199 –> 00:39:52,000
– Right, great thanks.

1002 ( Melvin )
00:39:52,000 –> 00:39:55,239
Yeah, any final advice for our audience before we end

1003 ( Melvin )
00:39:55,239 –> 00:39:58,699
today’s chat, maybe we start from Jo’An first.

1004 ( Melvin )
00:39:58,699 –> 00:40:01,619
Any final tips that you wanna share?

1005 ( Jo’An )
00:40:01,619 –> 00:40:03,519
– I think if you’re looking to buy a property,

1006 ( Jo’An )
00:40:03,519 –> 00:40:05,599
it’s very important to do your approval in-principle,

1007 ( Jo’An )
00:40:05,599 –> 00:40:08,780
but how you define, so for example, your basic income

1008 ( Jo’An )
00:40:08,780 –> 00:40:11,820
and how the bank is define a basic income is very different,

1009 ( Jo’An )
00:40:11,820 –> 00:40:14,320
so it’s important to get the commitment from the bank

1010 ( Jo’An )
00:40:14,320 –> 00:40:15,179
that, hey, you know what?

1011 ( Jo’An )
00:40:15,179 –> 00:40:17,440
I’m gonna extend this amount of loan to you,

1012 ( Jo’An )
00:40:17,440 –> 00:40:19,699
before you go and place the option

1013 ( Jo’An )
00:40:19,699 –> 00:40:22,219
and then do a valuation check before,

1014 ( Jo’An )
00:40:22,219 –> 00:40:25,619
to ensure that you are not overpaying for the property.

1015 ( Jo’An )
00:40:25,619 –> 00:40:30,500
That’s the two things that I think is very important.

1016 ( Melvin / Clive )
00:40:30,500 –> 00:40:31,780
– How about Clive? – I think for me,

1017 ( Clive )
00:40:31,780 –> 00:40:35,219
it’s you really need to do forward planning.

1018 ( Clive )
00:40:35,219 –> 00:40:38,300
If you know that you want to be investing in properties,

1019 ( Clive )
00:40:38,300 –> 00:40:40,920
there are certain things that you can do deliberately

1020 ( Clive )
00:40:40,920 –> 00:40:43,820
in structuring your loan that would gear you up

1021 ( Clive )
00:40:43,820 –> 00:40:46,340
for a more efficient purchase in future.

1022 ( Clive )
00:40:46,340 –> 00:40:48,139
So if you know that, right?

1023 ( Clive )
00:40:48,139 –> 00:40:50,579
And you must really forecast it,

1024 ( Clive )
00:40:50,579 –> 00:40:51,659
you can come back and we say, okay,

1025 ( Clive )
00:40:51,659 –> 00:40:53,980
when we sit down at the table to buy a private property,

1026 ( Clive )
00:40:53,980 –> 00:40:55,519
how do we structure the loan

1027 ( Clive )
00:40:55,519 –> 00:40:57,880
so that in future it’s much easier?

1028 ( Clive )
00:40:57,880 –> 00:40:59,300
And there are a lot of tools,

1029 ( Clive )
00:40:59,300 –> 00:41:01,880
especially when you buy into a private property, right?

1030 ( Clive )
00:41:01,880 –> 00:41:05,440
That can really help you grow your entire portfolio

1031 ( Clive )
00:41:05,440 –> 00:41:07,320
in the residential market and then after that,

1032 ( Clive )
00:41:07,320 –> 00:41:08,760
you will start looking at the commercial market

1033 ( Clive )
00:41:08,760 –> 00:41:10,960
because you don’t wanna keep paying,

1034 ( Clive )
00:41:10,960 –> 00:41:13,719
especially now third property 25% ABSD,

1035 ( Clive )
00:41:13,719 –> 00:41:15,500
so you’re going to the commercial market

1036 ( Clive )
00:41:15,500 –> 00:41:18,179
to stop paying ABSD, right?

1037 ( Clive )
00:41:18,179 –> 00:41:19,280
So those are the plans,

1038 ( Clive )
00:41:19,280 –> 00:41:22,719
you must really forecast 10, maybe 15 years down the road,

1039 ( Clive )
00:41:22,719 –> 00:41:25,639
if you can, then we can work backwards to see

1040 ( Clive )
00:41:25,639 –> 00:41:28,340
how we can streamline the purchases along the way.

1041 ( Melvin )
00:41:28,340 –> 00:41:31,460
– Thank you for staying tuned with us on this episode

1042 ( Melvin )
00:41:31,460 –> 00:41:33,480
and everything about mortgage loans,

1043 ( Melvin )
00:41:33,480 –> 00:41:35,119
so if you want to know more about Redbrick

1044 ( Melvin )
00:41:35,119 –> 00:41:37,079
and their services, as well as their advisory,

1045 ( Melvin )
00:41:37,079 –> 00:41:38,460
you can head onto their website,

1046 ( Melvin )
00:41:38,460 –> 00:41:41,159
you can also look for Clive and Jo’An, their team,

1047 ( Melvin )
00:41:41,159 –> 00:41:42,780
I think they’ll be very happy to chat with you further

1048 ( Melvin )
00:41:42,780 –> 00:41:44,460
about your plans whether is it refinancing

1049 ( Melvin )
00:41:44,460 –> 00:41:46,139
or purchasing that first home.

1050 ( Melvin )
00:41:46,139 –> 00:41:47,800
So thanks for staying tuned to Sofa So Good

1051 ( Melvin )
00:41:47,800 –> 00:41:48,840
and we’ll see you soon, cheers.

1052 ( Jo’An / Clive )
00:41:48,840 –> 00:41:50,340
– Thank you. – Thank you.

1053
00:41:50,340 –> 00:41:52,780
because we don’t want to have any surprises from the bank

1054
00:41:52,780 –> 00:41:54,639
after you place the option,

1055
00:41:54,639 –> 00:41:58,000
so I think there are many calculators online.

Related Podcast