Lionel Yeo Real Estate

29/01/2024

Buying an Executive Condo is reserved for the privileged class.

You need to 过三关斩六将 (Pass three levels and kill six generals)

The First 3 Levels
1. Combined Income Ceiling of $16k
2. Mortgage Servicing Ratio of 30%
3. Downpayment

Here is the contradiction -

1. You must NOT earn too much money to fall within the income ceiling

2. You MUST earn a lot of money to get your desired 75% max loan.

3. You should have accumulated quite a sizable sum of CPF savings for the downpayment, which would mean both you and your partner are earning quite well.

Once you can cross these 3 hurdles, only then you punch your ticket to balloting day.

Balloting day also doesn't mean anything if you do not get your unit. This is the 斩六将 part

1. Que number if it falls within the available number of units

2. 2nd timer quota of 30% on launch day

3. How open are you to select balance units that you did not shortlist

4 - Your family member who asks you not to buy, buy a big resale flat

5- Your friend that says EC prices were only $400psf last time, now $1400 psf cannot buy

6- The last one is yourself - when you start to self-doubt if what your friends and family said is correct.

Self-doubt often becomes a real issue when consumers are not empowered with the right knowledge and information.
In the case of EC, the common narrative that buyers get from most salespeople is just EC sure make money one!, 走过路过不要错过.

Over the past few years, I have seen many of my clients whom I have brought to purchase brand new EC reaping their rewards now.
Thus, I’m able to fully understand the initial pain & suffering that we have gone through together to make their home purchase a reality.

Buying an EC is never easy but it can be achieved with proper financial planning, loan structuring & a pinch of good luck



Central

21/01/2024

The Orchard Road rejuvenation that has been ongoing

05/10/2023

Criteria for PRs and Foreigners on acquiring landed property on Singapore mainland.
Approval granted to PRs to purchase landed property.
2020 - 24
2021 - 51
2022 - 34

The Government takes a very strict approach when granting approvals for foreigners to own landed residential properties in Singapore mainland. Second Ministe...

06/04/2023

Did you know that URA's "Floor Area Harmonisation" policy will reduce the net saleable area for new launches and lead to higher costs for developers, effective from 1st June 2023?

Developers currently have three main levers to maintain a reasonable risk-to-reward ratio when taking on new projects: reducing land bids, reducing unit sizes, or increasing selling prices.

What scenario or combination of scenarios is most likely to play out?

How will property prices be affected down the road?

Consider reaching out to explore your options and take the next steps towards your goals.

Our team is here to assist you and provide you with the information you need.


Data Driven. Pure Facts. No Hype.

09/03/2023

The deceased would have been rolling in his grave if his CPF savings had been inherited by his ex-wife instead of his daughter.

Thankfully, justice and common sense prevailed.

CPF nomination is the process of appointing a person or persons to receive the CPF savings of a CPF member in the event of their death.

Doing your CPF nomination is highly encouraged to ensure that their loved ones get their CPF blessings when they are gone.

It is a simple process that can be completed online on the CPF's website.

All you need to have is your nominee's name and NRIC, the percentage that you would like them to have

You would also need to have 2 witnesses acknowledged that they are aware that you are making a CPF nomination.

The information is confidential, and your 2 witnesses will not have the details of your CPF nomination.

Reviewing your CPF nomination once in a while, particularly after a major life incident, is also important.

It is to make sure that your CPF monies don't end up in the 'wrong hands', particularly after a divorce.

CPF nomination and a will made during the marriage will remain valid even after a divorce.

Failing to revoke and create a new Will means that your assets could be inherited by your ex-spouse as per your previous Will and nominations.

If your ex already took everything during the divorce, don't give them another chance to do it from beyond the grave!

Court orders man's CPF savings to be released to daughter instead of estranged ex-wife. This is even though the man made 2 failed nominations.

04/12/2022

Victory is sweetest when the odds are stacked against you.

What do you do when you are dealt with a horrible balloting queue number and fighting for a highly contested unit? Have faith and trust that I will get it for you.

Whatever things that you wish for, believe that it will happen and you will receive it.

Congratulations my friend, glad to be part of your home journey all these years. Looking forward to your new home!

13/10/2022

With the latest cooling measures and much anxiety over interest rates, inflation and global supply chain issues, what can we expect of our local property market in 2023?

Are prices going to crash? Will interest rates continue to rise? Should you time your entry into the market?

With so much uncertainty in the air, planning ahead for your next move becomes more important than ever.

Lionel Yeo
+65 9277 2999



Data Driven. Pure Facts. No Hype.

29/09/2022

While waiting for your turn to be the next million-dollar HDB, here comes the cold water to dampen your dreams.

Summary & Implications

TDSR Interest Rate Computation is based on 4% instead of 3.5% -> Meaning you can only get a smaller loan

HDB Loan-To-Value reduces from 85% to 80%. -> Meaning you have to downplay more and take a smaller loan

Private Property Owners have to wait out 15 months after disposal of their private residential property before eligible to buy a non-subsidised resale HDB (not applicable to those aged 55 and above) -> Meaning private property owners got to find bunk in with their family or rent for 15 months before they are eligible to buy a Resale HDB.

Cheers MAS-MND-HDB, a long Friday ahead.

Ministry of National Development

15/09/2022

Do you know that most properties go through a 3 stage life cycle?

How will learning to identify such properties with growth/stagnation/decline tendencies help you achieve financial freedom with greater certainty?

Let me share with you how my long-time client realised his property had stagnated for a long time, reaching the decline phase, and I helped him to recycle his assets.

My client is a businessman and a seasoned property investor who started investing in properties since the 1980s. They owned bungalow, multiple condos, shophouses, shops and warehouses till today. They made money in the 1980s through business, and being the prudent type with little or no financial knowledge, they invested everything they earned into real estate. They started to buy condos, warehouses and shophouses to generate passive income and store of wealth for the next generation.

I've been managing their portfolio of rental properties, and I realized that some of their property has not been performing well for a while. The rentals were not growing, the vacancy period was getting longer, and the prices were not appreciating. I analyzed and prepared some information for them and explained how they should exit some of their underperforming assets.

They went thru the information and agreed with my analysis that it is time for a "trade-in". They told me to go ahead and put up those properties that I've selected up for sale.

Some of the properties that I've sold for them include
-Warehouse bought for $100+k Sold for $700+k
-HDB shophouse bought for $300+k , Sold for $800+k
-HDB Shophouse bought for $600+k, Sold for $1.3+m

My client properties achieved between 200% to 600% gain. It is impressive, BUT it was achieved over the course of 20 years to 30 years. If you annualise the returns over 20 to 30 years, the numbers become less impressive.

My clients have managed to recycle some of the funds unlocked from the sale into better properties that have the potential for growth and planning for life after retirement.

Find out how this can be easily analyzed and what factors impact the growth potential of any property, and you too can be on your way to becoming a much savvier property investor!

Lionel Yeo
92772999


Data Driven. Pure Facts. No Hype.