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  1. So we have checklists for buying a new car, and why not one for a new home? I've consolidated what I have previously written here, so everyone can benefit and also contribute and some of the info comes from other bros. Before we even go into the list, there are some basic things to do: - make sure everyone in the family agrees to this purchase, and whether it's for investment or as a home - check your financials well and get a large enough budget to buy and for renovations or other costs - do your homework! Check the online property forums, buy and sell places and see what your money can buy and which regions suit your needs best So, now onto the buying process Is it going to be landed, a flat or a condo? Some of the general principles which apply to all three types: Is the home paid for or is the seller still in debt and not bankrupt How many owners are there, and any divorce in process. Who is the legal owner or executer of the property if the owner is deceased? Is it tenanted and when does the lease run out Can you break the lease How old is the place. As a general rule, most places under 10 years can do without major renovations and you can use the piping, aircons and wiring. Most places above 20 years old will need more extension renovations - freehold, 999 years or Leasehold (how many years left) - location - is it within 1km to a primary school and how many places are there - sun direction - North South is the ideal - developer matters too - some are cheap and use poor quality materials - neighbours - good ones to whom you can entrust your keys, psycho ones, and nosy ones - visit the location at different times - if you go over a weekend it's usually quiet and the traffic is light, so see at at peak hours and see if there's any choke points and if the streets around it become very noisy or is there a school or some place that attracts a lot of noise - amenities eg market, food places, 24 grocery, petrol station, postbox - near work - near a clinic or GP - MRT, bus or good roads etc to work, school etc - wind : how well ventilated it the place - how high is the place - the interior of the place, can you salvage the parquet floor for example - TV reception - is there a fibre / home line (will cost $288 to run a new fibre line for example) - where is the mains and the PUB meter located - do you have the plans for the electricals Items specific to an apartment: - the shape of the unit, any odd unusable corners, how square is it - how many units are there? Is it going to be too crowded over the weekends to swim? - what are the amenities? Sometimes too many water features, landscaping or pools will mean higher costs to maintain - pools: regular shape? Good for swimming laps or merely for wading? Any lifeguards? - maintenance fees - sinking funds - more units will mean more people to share costs. Small developments will need larger contributions to fix items like lifts, repainting costs etc - number of lifts, is it private - ratio of parking lots to units and the number of visitor lots - number of entry and exits, side gates - how much power is there? As a rule, you need a minimum of 45A and up - any provision shops? - who runs the place? which security company do they employ? - get a copy of the house rules - eg no moving in hours and are there a lot of AirBnB listings? Items specific to houses: - plot ratio and GFA - zoning and potential developments of the area - who was the designer or builder and are they still around - cul de sac - land size, is it square or narrow, can you expand the built up area? (remember to account for set back if you do more than A&A) - soil analysis - is it reclaimed land - fengshui : water, wind and mountains etc - at a junction - noise level in the neighbourhood - any new developments - renovations or reconstruction can continue for years around the place - is there going to be enbloc or a new road running through the area - if the homes near you are going to be replaced by flats, the roads can be much busier - parking - flooding / ponding - any religious building around you or a popular eatery that attracts a lot of visitors eg illegal parking during peak periods and noise levels - any piped in gas... so you don't need to use gas tanks - any retaining wall, and is it near a 24 hour gas station - noise and fumes - is the place close to electrical plant or substation - how much power is there? Single Phase or Triple Phase (most modern terrace houses will have a triple phase 63A main DB, which can support the needs of most homes, even those with a swimming pool) Don’t forget to check for termites and mossies. How windy and well ventilated the place is. How wide is your lane and even the type of roof and tiles used. Bring a builder along to give you an idea of renovation costs.. But before you even look around, do the financials first. Make sure you have a loan approved in principle and also enough cash for the renovations with a 20 percent buffer. Then bring the check book for every viewing. A basic renovation for a landed place can go from 2-300k, and for a A&A you might be looking at twice that. Adding a new roof 50k, and a new floor around 150k. A tear down? It can be 600k and up and these costs don't include furniture or fittings. Time is the other factor you have to budget in. Add 20% to any schedule, especially if you are doing it around Chinese New Year or Christmas. Be detailed in your planning, for example: If you are doing a rebuild, make sure you work with your builder and neighbours. A small road - like the Countryside one, yes that 'wide' road, may not be able to take a full truck or a cement mixer coming in. And with such a long road, you need to coordinate with the entire road of owners, so they clear the road such that the truck can come in. Trust me, it's not a given nor an easy task. If a car gets scratched... be prepared for an ugly scene. So also check that your contractor is registered and has insurance. One of your neighbours might own a limited Maclaren that your builder just happens to nick whilst transporting your tiles into your plot... Are there any other persons building in the same area, maybe you two can work together and save cost on building materials or if the other person started first, they can share some of their experiences Is there space for your builders to park? Is there good road outs of your estate or are you reliant on a single exit which can get very clogged up during peak hours? Here's a BCA owner's checklist guide Finally, I would like to start that I'm not an agent. I'm just trying to share since others have helped me before and I'm giving a little back so everyone can benefit. But YOU and you alone need to get that info you need. No one will spoon feed you and there's no charity. You find those good deals, with the aid of a good agent. Look at as many areas as you can, and take your time. But timing is everything and sometimes, that dream home just pops up and you have to be ready. You snooze and you lose... Good luck! BCA Homeowners Guide.pdf
  2. I didn't see any thread on this, but think we should share what not to buy, based on bad experience. To start off, do not buy this Blue coloured Baygon. It leaks. It's made in China. One fine day, all of a sudden after a couple of weeks, I smell insecticide. I didn't sprayed any, but it just whiff around. Later, I realized it came from this Baygon. I didn't believe it at first, but found the half-can, now completely emptied. The seal is bad. It leaked by itself some time. Happened now to 2 bottles. Don't waste your money. https://www.amazon.sg/gp/product/B072LF1G6G/
  3. Heard usd will slowly appreciate. I am thinking of converting some sgd to usd thru money changer. Any comment or recommendations?
  4. Gotta admit, I'm not a huge SUV fan. Been there, done that https://carbuzz.com/features/7-reasons-you-should-buy-a-sedan-over-an-suv
  5. As above I am looking to buy merc C class with the promo of paying b class price for C class. Did a check on second hand ones as well but they are all in the range of 120-130K when the new one is 139K. Hmmm it seems like it is a good deal to buy brand new? Feedback anyone?
  6. It dawned on me last night, that in the long term, as I grow older, it would make more sense to actually rent. Some of the reasons being that 1. Am single, so i have no need to put my assets in property. summore, nobody to pass on to 2. As I age, I free my properties for liquidity 3. I dun really need a home, but sth to sleep. I can sleep in a tent for alli care...hahaha, or get a MAser and sleep in it. Been reading and this argument has been debated ad nauseum. Discuss. http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2013/11/11/should-you-buy-a-house-or-rent-the-economics-of-homeownership/ Should You Buy A House Or Rent? The Economics Of Homeownership 4 comments, 4 called-out Comment NowFollow Comments All the 20-somethings who have jobs are asking me: should we buy a house or keep renting? The answer isn’t so easy. The common wisdom for decades was to buy a house as soon as you can, because it’s a great investment. That “wisdom” turned lots of people upside down in the past decade. Let’s take a cold, hard look at the economics of owning a home. In the past, the own-or-rent decision was largely about whether to live in a house or apartment. That’s no longer true. Condos allow ownership of a multi-family residence, and the opportunities to rent a stand-alone house are greater than ever before. So the own-rent decision should be apples-to-apples with comparable properties. If you are thinking about moving from a small apartment and buying a medium sized house, you’ll find that it’s more expensive simply because you’re getting more square footage and a yard. Is housing still a good investment? Since 1975, housing has appreciated by an average of 4.5 percent per year. (Good data start in 1975.) Estimates of housing appreciation since 1890 (courtesy of Robert Shiller) show 3.0 percent annual increases in nominal value, and just a hair above zero after adjusting for inflation. Stocks, on the other hand, have a long-run average return of 9.8 percent including dividends. Housing seems to be a great investment in good times because it is usually leveraged to a great degree. With a 20 percent down payment, a price increase of just three percent turns into a 15 percent increase in the homeowner’s equity. (Do some arithmetic with a hypothetical $100,000 home to verify that result.) Real estate proponents call this the “cash-on-cash” return. However, leverage applies to the downside as well. With 20 percent down, a 20 percent price decline wipes out all of the buyer’s equity. That’s not an outlandish scenario, we’ve learned from the price declines of the recent housing bust. Interest on home mortgages is deductible, which sounds good but is frequently overrated. Yes, it’s deductible. But the deductibility doesn’t offset the fact that you are paying someone interest. It’s an expense, and you are worse off because of it. If you want a big tax deduction, you could make a contribution to charity. You’ll end up with less money than before your contribution despite the deduction. The same is true for interest expense. It may be worthwhile, all things considered, but it’s still an expense. Talk to your accountant first, because the actual benefit from a deduction varies from family to family. The housing-stock market comparison ignores a key point: housing pays something like a dividend in that you can live in it without paying rent. To be as good as stocks (on average), the benefit from living in a house has to pay an “occupancy dividend” of about seven percent. So if you’re thinking of a $200,000 home, you need to get $14,000 per year of benefit from living in it. That’s comparable to $1,167 of monthly rent, before we get around to the pesky details. When you rent, the landlord picks up the taxes, insurance, maintenance and sometimes utilities. If you buy, plan on replacing the water heater some years, the back fence other years, the roof occasionally. Hope that you don’t need to replace all of them the same year. If you are going to hire out all of the maintenance, you’ll probably pay more than your landlord does. The landlord is in the business of maintaining properties and is probably very efficient. However, if you can do some of it yourself, your cash outlays will be much less than the landlord’s. And you can do it yourself if you’re be willing to learn. Try Googling “leaky faucet” and you’ll find plenty of advice. Most people thinking about buying compare monthly payments to rent, which is a good starting point. However, some of that monthly payment goes to principal. It’s like saving. To put buying on a level playing field with renting, look at just the part of the monthly payment that will go to interest. Example: you borrow $200,000 house with a 30-year mortgage at 4.25 percent. Your monthly payment would be $993, but $285 of that would be going to principal. (Your parents will be surprised that you’re paying so much to principal. When they got their first mortgage, rates were much higher and only a small portion of their payments went to principal.) To do your own calculations, use Excel functions PMT, IPMT and PPMT. Transaction costs are large in housing. Real estate agents charge six to seven percent commission on sales, which will make moving expensive. You can sell the house yourself, but keep in mind that it’s a lot of work and your house may not be exposed to as many buyers, reducing the price you can get for it. This argues against buying unless you are confident you want to stay in the house for several years, preferably even longer. Renters should keep in mind that they do not control their housing destiny. If the landlord decides to sell the property, you’ll be looking for a new home. The landlord can also raise the rent at the end of the lease. The landlord can also decide not to rent to you, though that’s rare for people who are well behaved. One of the benefits of owning a house is the ability to do with it what you want (subject to neighborhood rules, of course). When your daughter wants her bedroom walls black, you can be the cool parents who show her how to use a paint roller. You can build that gazebo in the back yard and have toilets in any color of the rainbow. Owning a house gives you some flexibility, but also requires flexibility. When you get a bonus from work, you can upgrade your housing by adding a hot tub. Renters don’t have that option. When you lose your job, you can defer replacing the carpet. Flexibility is required of you, too. When the roof starts to leak, there’s no telling the rain that this is a bad time. You need to have reserves for unplanned repairs. So now you’re ready for the economist to give you a conclusion. However, there are too many emotional factors for a mathematical solution. I recommend running the numbers as best you can, then asking yourself if the psychic benefits are worth the cost
  7. I saw many ads of condo units with tenancy, it may be good to have some rental income during that interval but are there any catch with such arrangements? For example tenant spoil furniture, not willing to move out or what are the major catches one should look out for?
  8. i was just thinking, instead of every now and then we see ppl asking this car or that car, why not we have a place to share all our buying decision process. Everyone has a different buying process, depending on priority. So share share here what is yours. in fact its quite funny to see ppl copy and paste technical information, when sgcarmart has a function where we can compare 3-4 cars side by side. It even has a green tick to indicate which car has the best feature in that comparison. I think a compile thread of a buying process may help some who have no idea what they want. But they want to buy. What i use: want/need recognition I want to change car/I need to change car. deadline. My budget (fix range), any price below or above is out. type of car New or used Information collection searching the internal for information related to the range identified from step 1 short list Evaluation test drive feel the car features and requirements. final short list Finally, negotiate and BUY the one you like most! from 1000cc to 3500cc, from new cars to 9 yr old cars, there are at least a few hundred models to choose from. $90000 cash can buy you a brand new PRC made car in full cash, it can also buy you a used big conti car with a loan. Not to mention the inbetweens. So have a buying process, it can help you save alot of time and headache.
  9. https://www.reuters.com/business/elon-musk-says-he-will-buy-manchester-united-2022-08-17/ Elon Musk says he is buying Manchester United August 17, 20229:49 AM GMT+8 Aug 16 (Reuters) - Elon Musk, the world's richest person, on Tuesday tweeted that he was buying football club Manchester United Plc (MANU.N), without offering any details. Musk has a history of being unconventional and making irreverent tweets, and it was not immediately clear whether he planned to pursue a deal to secure Manchester United. "I'm buying Manchester United ur welcome," Musk said in a tweet. The team is controlled by the American Glazer family. Neither the family nor Musk immediately responded to a request for comment. British newspaper The Daily Mirror reported last year that the Glazers were prepared to sell the club but only if they were offered in excess of 4 billion pounds.($4.84 billion) Musk is currently trying to exit a $44 billion agreement to buy the social media company, which has taken him to court. Manchester United is one of the world's best supported football clubs. They have been champions of England a record 20 times and have won the European Cup, the most prestigious club competition in the global game, three times. Dissatisfaction among fans at the Glazers' perceived lack of ambition to bring in top players intensified after the club finished sixth in the English Premier League last season, while crosstown rivals Manchester City won a second successive title. The football club had a market capitalisation of $2.08 billion, as of Tuesday's stock market close. Manchester United fans have in recent years protested against the Glazers, who bought the club for 790 million pounds ($955.51 million) in 2005, due to the team's struggles on the pitch. The anti-Glazer movement gained momentum last year after United were involved in a failed attempt to form a breakaway European Super League. Some fans have urged Musk to buy Manchester United instead of buying Twitter. Musk has a history of unconventional actions and comments, making it difficult sometimes to tell when he is joking. His ambitions range from colonising Mars to creating a new sustainable energy economy, and in the process he has built the most valuable car company in the world, electric vehicle maker Tesla, rocket company SpaceX, and a slew of smaller firms. One is a tunnel maker called the Boring Company. Musk has appeared to smoke marijuana in a podcast and fought U.S. regulators over his comments about his plans for Tesla, including an abandoned effort to take it private. Forbes estimates his fortune at $270 billion. ($1=0.8268 pounds)
  10. Since aliexpress is a website for all kinds of merchants selling stuffs, you are bound to meet a bad one, like ebay. Aliexpress offer buyers protection, but their protection is quite useless if you don't monitor each and every purchase carefully. Since shipping always takes a long time, get delayed or go missing, you have no idea, but wait. Then the protection runs out and your "protected" money is gone. Unless you track your purchase everyday and make a dispute before it ends. Or else good luck to you. When I make a complaint to aliexpress, they tell me to buy from seller with good reputation. Well, this one has "good" reputation, but when things go wrong, the shipment ended up returned to them, they have so far refused to return my money after repeatedly messaging them. I've considered my money lost due to unscrupulous seller. The seller is AUTO SUPPLIES SHOP Store No.521062 Do not buy any items from them, unless you want to test water with your money.
  11. When we are choosing a washing machine, we will see the machines indicated with their capacity such as for 7kg, 10kg etc. So how do I know if I have overloaded the machine w laundry? I have yet to see a machine that comes with indicator that I have overloaded it.
  12. Yahoo news From The Independent : Army’s new £3.5bn tank fleet ‘can’t travel faster than 20mph safely’ The army was forced to pause trials of its new £3.47bn fleet of tanks over design issues, which reportedly left them unable to travel safely faster than 20 miles per hour. Problems with the new Ajax armoured fighting vehicles - which are supposed reach speeds of 40mph - also include not being able to fire cannons on the move, the Daily Telegraph reports. The paper cited a government report saying the speed restrictions had been caused by excessive vibrations in the tanks and that crews were limited to 90 minutes inside them at a time. The report, due to be published next month, says the tanks cannot reverse over obstacles more than 20 centimetres high, that personnel must wear noise-cancelling headphones when operating them and undergo ear tests afterwards, and that the Household Cavalry Regiment "cannot conduct effective collective training" in them. More read : https://sg.yahoo.com/news/army-3-5bn-tank-fleet-082839651.html
  13. Hi All, I am thinking of getting a COE car with 1 year or less till scrap. The purpose is for my wife who has a class 3 licence to familiarise herself with driving again after attending refresher course at the driving centre. I have a car myself but she is not comfortable in handling it due to size, power and importantly, the modifications done for me to drive as a disabled driver (note: my car can be driven by a normal person as the pedals are intact and function normally). The aim is to build her confidence and not worry about knocks. Eventually, she will drive my car when she needs to. The budget is below $10k and she has always wanted a Honda Jazz/Fit which is perfect for a starter car. I am ok to share the cost with her. Would this be a sound decision? Thanks everyone in advance for your inputs:)
  14. Hi, anyone knows if my son who is one of the named occupier for a 3G unit is still eligible to apply a BTO for his own family after a certain period of years? We are due to attend and select a unit this friday 26 April. need an answer b4 we decide whether if we still want to proceed to take up a 3G or not. TIA
  15. I am asking this question is that it seems like Proton are treating us as a fool. Example, they have came out Waja with Campro engine more than 8 months ago (I knew because my in-law drives one) and we are still not selling it here. Waja with Campro engine could clock at least 650km per full tank with the way my in-law drive in Malaysia. He told me that Waja without Campro engine could only clock max 580km per full tank. Since in Singapore we are paying so much for a car, Proton is not selling us their latest/best car. Same thing goes for Perduo, Myvii has been selling like hot cake in Malaysia and is a good car but in Singapore it is still not available, they are still selling Kelisa..... Don't proton owners in Singapore felt short charge? No wonder their sales never go up.
  16. Hi In light of increasing petrol prices, i am toying with the idea of registering a company in order to buy 2nd hand one of those small diesel vans with a 2nd row of seats (like Renault Kangoo or Opel Combo). Reason being my bro is getting licence soon so need to find a 2nd vehicle Has anyone done this, and what are the limitations? Speed/lane limit is one i know, as well as cannot go to JB (no big loss). Will there be any other complications/problems that might arise? i heard insurance will only cover passengers who are registered employees.... PS: i posted this qns elsewhere, but didnt get much response. Try my luck here....
  17. Hi all, Anybody buying furniture from JB and deliver to your Singapore home before? If yes, please recommend the shop and address. Got some RM stuck in MY bank so thinking to spend it for my BTO. Beside paying 7% SG GST any other thing need to take note? TIA
  18. Hello peeps, anyone here looking to buy oversea property? Or anyone buying 1 in Melbourne? I am looking to get one apartment and im looking at Melbourne as it is more of a safe haven to invest in IMO. The price is pretty steep, capital growth is not that fantastic but in long term holding, I think it should be an uptrend. Anyone has any advice of getting one in Docklands area? Is it overpriced? This one looks like it is just beside CBD wor. Any expert here with advice? https://investoprop.com/melbourne-cbd-apartments-for-sale/ This is one is the one in Docklands. https://investoprop.com/new-developments-projects-melbourne-southbank/ And this one in Southbank.
  19. Hi, Need to ask the experts here. I bought used cars from direct sellers before and we did direct transfer and cashier order hand over in LTA. There is a line in the LTA transfer form for the seller to declare that he has no more outstanding loan. My question is , how do I know if one really has no outstanding loan? can one make a false declaration and end up my car get towed by finance company after the ownership is transferred? I guess once the ownership is transferred, finance company cannot reposes the car from the new owner?
  20. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/click-and-buy-a-hyundai-car-online-from-friday Buy your next car in the same way that you do with veggies and DVDs? Actually I bought my car in Oz online more than 10 years ago, and saved $8000. So I am already a supporter. If there are substantials savings, and everything is in black and white, why not? Plus you don't need to see the 'face color' of the sales rep, and if you are in another country, you won't be charged more due to any racial bias and you can choose all specs according to your needs.
  21. i want to buy a set of headphones, budget $60 - $80 that is comfy and delivers good sound quality. I noe audio technica is a good brand, and so what are the other good brands out there? i'm using my headphone for movies and songs, so can a gaming headset work for all these stuffs? Any recommendations?
  22. Hi all, Tried searching but can't get a comprehensive ans on this. Only managed to get bits and pieces of info here and there. I'm looking at getting a new E Class, not sure E200 or E250. Definitely PI as i find the sales service at CnC not that great and it's too overpriced compared to buying from PI. I have bought from PI before but only jap cars, never continental. I understand the general feedback from most people is that conti cars run on more electronics so there's a higher tendency for conti cars to have abit of electronic issues/replacements that need to be done from time to time even though Merc is supposed to be the best in terms of reliability for conti cars. So i have a few questions as follows: 1. Which workshop has one of the best equipment, experience in servicing Merc cars? Can they handle it if there are real serious issues or under what situations can i only turn to CnC for their help? (i hear names like MBM, Auto Spritz, Star Black etc) 2. If i turn to CnC, is the admin fee still $500 or has this changed? What other docs would i need? 3. Is the warranty and the workshop basically the same? Which warranty coverage is generally the most reasonable? 4. I'm not looking to pay the cheapest but just want to pay reasonable pricing to service the Merc. Which workshop would be best? Lastly, is the E250 worth getting over the E200? Seems like from Merc SG website, the specs look rather similar. Thx all
  23. Six essential tips for becoming a smarter parallel import car buyer https://www.sgcarmart.com/news/writeup.php?AID=312
  24. Christmas is coming soon. It's a time of giving and receiving.. so have you got your eye on anything special? A car, a watch? Is it a want or a need?? When you get it, how are you going to hide it / explain it to your wife or better half or partner ?
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