iFMF Investment Academy

09/08/2022

IFMF Academy wishes all Singaporeans a very Happy National Day! May you and your loved ones find happiness, harmony, prosperity, and health.

01/08/2022

We are frequently told that it is never too early to start thinking about retirement and that we
should start saving for it in our early twenties. But how many of us considered retirement
planning when our careers were just beginning and the world was ours to conquer?

Estimates for the recommended amount to save for retirement vary according to your current
age, lifestyle, and desired level of luxury after retirement.

The good news is that you don't always need to save for retirement. You can also invest your
money in ways that allow it to work for you or, at the very least, protect your assets.

To learn more, sign up today
https://www.ifmf.edu.sg/product/wealth-management-and-retirement-planning/

14/07/2022

Did you know that your CPF Monies can be used for investments? Do you what investments options are available for your CPF monies?

If you don't, join us today by signing up for our free physical session today! Limited slots available on a first come, first serve basis.

Register your interest today by signing up here:
https://www.ifmf.edu.sg/events/

29/03/2022

Do you want to learn how you can utilize blockchain to create your own crypto currency or NFTs? What drives people to invest in certain coins like Bitcoin & Ethereum and what purpose do they serve? How are they created?

I'm sure you have a lot of questions about them, what else would you like to learn about Crypto and Blockchain? Leave your comments down below! or drop us a message!

16/03/2022

AIPRO & iFMF Investment Academy Webinar: Pathway to HUAT!
REGISTER: https://forms.gle/QJ2CFfN2qbfLN3Z68

Date: 22 March 2022 (Tuesday)
Time: 11am - 12 noon

Your business or new project not only needs funding—it needs the right type of funding. You need to know how to choose between debt and equity funding, and when to consider acquiring funds from capital markets. These outside funding sources will have their own expectations for rates of return, and the cost of this funding is driven by a number of external factors such as the state of the economy, the industry and most importantly, your financial numbers.

Making sound capital budgeting and funding decisions is a vital part of your role as a business owner and/or manager, and this course shows you how characteristics of your company finances will impact the process and prospects of raising capital.
Learn how to observe external economic data and tips for developing strategies to balance debt and equity at your firm. These concepts, when put into action, will help ensure that you are maximizing the value of your firm.

AIPRO & iFMF Investment Academy Webinar: Pathway to HUAT!

REGISTER: https://forms.gle/QJ2CFfN2qbfLN3Z68

Date: 22 March 2022 (Tuesday)
Time: 11am - 12 noon

Your business or new project not only needs funding—it needs the right type of funding. You need to know how to choose between debt and equity funding, and when to consider acquiring funds from capital markets. These outside funding sources will have their own expectations for rates of return, and the cost of this funding is driven by a number of external factors such as the state of the economy, the industry and most importantly, your financial numbers.

Making sound capital budgeting and funding decisions is a vital part of your role as a business owner and/or manager, and this course shows you how characteristics of your company finances will impact the process and prospects of raising capital.

Learn how to observe external economic data and tips for developing strategies to balance debt and equity at your firm. These concepts, when put into action, will help ensure that you are maximizing the value of your firm.

21/02/2022

After The Budget Announcements, What Should A Business Do Next?

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” Henry Ford

Hi all, this is Allan.

Ask you a question: What is Apple’s competitive advantage?

Is it their:
a) iPhone?
b) iPad?
c) MacBook?
d) The never-ending fan base?

If your answer is any of the above, you may be surprised that, they are all wrong. Apple’s competitive advantage does not lie in its products.

Apple products can be copied. We see that from the increasing China phone brands, copying Apple. The fans can also be grown with buying leads.

Most do not realise that based on basic management theory, the competitive advantage of any firm, is their human resource. This is the portion of a firm, that cannot be copied.

The first biggest competitive advantage of Apple, was Steve Jobs. Now it is Tim Cook. They also have an army of capable engineers, designers, creating that competitive edge in Apple’s top performance (Tim Cook has had a stellar run at Apple — even without another mega-smash like the iPhone).

On the bright side, if you can attract and manage good human resource, your company will automatically grow and increase revenue. On the not so bright side, if your company has high labour turn over and good workers leave, you will constantly be struggling.

The highlight of the budget this year in 2022 is “Budget 2022: $100m set aside to help firms implement training and transformation plans.”

Most companies do not start with the ideal human resources, but human resources, can also be improved. Let us start with the basics. For company sponsored courses, conducted by external training providers like MF Media:
a) Up to 70% of the course fees are funded;
b) There is a claimable $4.50 per hour absentee payroll, capped at $100,000 per enterprise per calendar year.

Regardless the quality of human resources, there is no better time than now to embark on growing and improving your company’s human resource. You can build a capable team to propel your business to the next level. Still, what is the next level?

The Next Level

Consider this. You are a 7 years old kid in Primary One level and you want to get promoted to Primary Two. What if:
a) You took 2 years to be promoted to Primary Two; or
b) You did get promoted to Primary Two; or
c) You took 6 months to be promoted.

For a), most will feel that the student was a slow learner. For b), we know the future for this student, will be dire and he may become an unimaginary burden to his parents (even if he was a special need child). For c), this child may be a genius, as his progression was faster than the average student.

The reason we can reach the above conclusions, is because growth has an average speed. If your business is growing slower than the average speed, it is a bad sign.

“In Business, You're Either Growing or You're Dying.” – Forbes. The fundamental business model that ensures survival in today’s post Covid environment, is to be poised for growth and expansion.

However, growth and expansion require funds. Good human resources need funds, conquering new markets need funds, developing new products to expand the client base needs funds.

So, why does your business need to raise funds to grow?
a) With more capital, you can scale and scale faster. With scaling, your revenue increases exponentially;
b) A growing business is a credible business. Even if you do not do marketing, the growth signals that your business is healthy, and your product can survive in the existing business environment;
c) Lots of business owners forget if a Venture Capitalist or Angel Investor invests in their business and commit to its growth, they will introduce their network of other business owners and foreign partners. This eases the path of growth for many years because the VC created a relationship with strategic partners to bring the business to a higher level;
d) Growth has its rewards and risks but the thing that all business do not want, is being unable to meet customer demands when demand grows suddenly. Covid is an example of a sudden increase in demand for anything online. Businesses that were exploring or preparing their online presence, would have taken advantage of the sudden surge in demand;
e) Finally, business owners forgot that when they grow, there may be generous funding from the government. Ironically, it may be easier to accomplish their goals when they grow, than if they stayed small. The computer system that is sorely needed for the business to run efficiently, can be funded if the owner applied (Budget 2022: $600m set aside to boost SME productivity, encourage R&D collaborations). The increase in human resources, may be funded by the government, if the business can show a plan to grow (Budget 2022: Two new schemes to help promising large companies expand).

“At the end of the day, it's all about money.” Garry Kasparov

However, “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” Henry Ford.

We at iFMF Investment Academy, understands that besides making money, businesses are about connecting people. Besides our esteem trainers, who are iFAST Directors, VCs, senior academics, there are also learners from various businesses in Singapore and the region.

What better way, than to bring everyone together, so we learn together, meet, and help each other for a better post Covid environment.

Our priority is our learners, be it professionals, business owners, or a novice investor, to reach the goals they set for themselves. What better way, than to let us become that boost, so that we all have a head start in 2022.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts and opinions. I will stop here and continue in a few days.

Leave me comments, so we can learn together.

The resources we commonly use:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifmfinvestacademy.education
Website: https://ifmf.edu.sg/landing-page

If you visit our page, please give us thumbs up and leave comments for us.

Meantime, have a wonderful day and stay safe.

17/02/2022

How Much Should I Budget For Investments?

Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions. ~A.A. Latimer

Hi all, this is Allan.

When it comes to budgeting for investments, many have their theories and systems.

However, in this article, I like to discuss some of the theories and the issues I have faced in these 16 years of investing in real estate.

The first factor to consider when budgeting your income/ wealth for investments is, how much income you earn.

Though most advisers state your income does not matter, because retirement is relative to your income and expenses. Most advocate saving enough based on your current lifestyle and your lifestyle is based on your income. In some way, it does not matter if you earn more or earn less.

The thing I do not like about this theory is that, lower income earners generally spend a higher proportion of their income on necessities. Higher income earners, can spare their income for endeavours like investments. So, necessities does affect the proportion of income you can budget for investments.

No money = no honey. Do not let anyone fool you otherwise. Not enough income = no budget for investments.

The second factor is the portion of your income and wealth you can save.

The amount saved and invested, determines the speed of increase in your wealth. For example, if I own 1 HDB and my family stays in it, the monthly mortgage is considered a liability. 5 years later, I bought a second condominium and it gives me an extra $1,000 in rental income. This $1,000 reduces my monthly payment to my HDB. If I further own 3 properties, the total monthly rental profits contributes to the budget for my 4th property.


Third factor is your age.

Advisers will state that the younger you are, the more budget should be set aside for higher risk investments. But my view is, the older you get, the more budge should be set aside for higher risk investments. The reason are:
a) the older you are, the more you need the investments to yield a return, because you want to retire.
b) you will reduce your work scope/ duties due to your advanced age.

The common situation is, most people shun investments until it is too late. They realised they need to retire but they do not have enough. So, they take big risks to earn from their investments, hoping that something sticks.

From this point of view, it makes sense to allocate at least 50% to 75% of your portfolio in growth instruments.

Finally, a common question:

Should I budget for paying down my debts aggressively, or should I budget for leveraging as much as I can, to grow the wealth aggressively.

This is my personal view:
a) Leverage as much as you can, to grow your wealth; and
b) When the markets are not in a favourable situation, for example, government rulings making it hard for me to acquire another property, I will channel my funds to pay down my debts aggressively.

So, my priority is to budget for growth. In the event I cannot, I will budget to reduce liabilities and expenses.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts and opinions. I will stop here and continue in a few days.

Leave me comments, so we can learn together.

The resources we commonly use:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifmfinvestacademy.education
Website: https://ifmf.edu.sg/landing-page

If you visit our page, please give us thumbs up and leave comments for us.

Meantime, have a wonderful day and stay safe.

07/02/2022

What Is The Secret To Success?

“The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.” Peter Ustinov

Hi all, this is Allan.

Some of you, like me, probably ate a lot during this Chinese New Year. It is making up for lost time since 2021. This CNY, we have up to 5 people per visit. With the 3 kids, I’ve 5 people in my household. So, it was good respite for my kids to see their uncles, grandma, and grandpa.

My sons indicated they are keen to learn how to play mahjong because their mom told them that their dad (me), was a prolific mahjong player when I was in my 20s and 30s. This was the time when I was studying Economics and specifically Game Theory in NUS. We used Math to play and count.

My youngest, at 13 years old, finds the game hard because there seems so many things happening at the same time. He had the misfortune of sitting on the right of his uncle, who did not feed him with cards. He on the other hand, kept feeding his elder brother to win.

He was enthralled by the game and I told him, if we played mahjong every weekend, he will get the hang of it soon.

That is the thing about success.

Learners are separated into these categories:
a) Those who just cannot afford the time to learn and do;
b) Those who do not want and not keen to learn and do;
c) Those who want to learn the “tricks;”
d) Those who try once and give up;
e) Those who try, fail, try again and eventually succeed.

A prominent real estate guru once stated that if he told us all his trade secrets, those who use his advice to succeed will be about 0.5/10 people.

It is common that the success rate is so low. Even my boss. He wants to go into the area of crypto but our office is using pen and paper for most admin functions. I am not sure what is the situation, but the path to success is not a straight line.

Our wish lists, is called scarcity in Economics. Unlimited human wants are curtailed by limited resources to fulfil these wants. It is the first thing we learn in Economics and I am aware of the limitations of our wish list.

For those who have read till here, let me state what is the secret of success:
INFRASTRUCTURE

The secret to success is building the infrastructure to support the success you want. No infrastructure = no continual success. Even if you had it, it is a lucky shot. To turn a lucky shot into a sustainable rate of return/success, you need to build the infrastructure.

You want a family where each family member owns 3 properties, that’s infrastructure building. You want wealth to go beyond 3 generations, that’s infrastructure. You want to find the next Tesla stock, that’s infrastructure. You want a portfolio where you have millions and you can spend a whole year taking care of your kids, that’s also infrastructure.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts and opinions. I will stop here and continue in a few days.

Leave me comments, so we can learn together.

The resources we commonly use:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifmfinvestacademy.education
Website: https://ifmf.edu.sg/landing-page

If you visit our page, please give us thumbs up and leave comments for us.

Meantime, have a wonderful day and stay safe.

22/01/2022

How Do I Buy Without Paying The Additional Property Tax?

“Money, it turned out, was exactly like s*x, you thought of nothing else if you didn’t have it and thought of other things if you did.”- James Arthur Baldwin

Hi all, this is Allan.

I have stated before, it is easier to park some funds into iFAST. A bond that yields 4-5% is a reasonable rate of return. Using a basic dollar cost averaging method, $100/month in a fund/ ETF/ stock can provide a reasonable result over the long run.

I am not saying that investing in a bond/ stock is riskless. Even if depositing cash in a savings account is not riskless. Besides the phishing and scammers trying to steal your savings, there is inflation risk. Let us not forget that this year, 2022, is the year we most likely see an increase in our GST from 7% to 9%. That is not including the price increase that already happened due to Covid-19 disrupting our supply chain. Singapore is reliant on imports for everything, it is natural that everything will increase.

I like to measure everything by a plate of Chicken Rice. It used to be $2.50 for a plate at Ghim Moh. However, a few days ago, my favourite Chicken Rice stall increased their cheapest plate from $2.50 to $3.50.

A quick calculation:

($3.50 - $2.50) / $2.50 = 40% price increase, from $2.50 to $3.50

Most learners are keen to discuss about property investments because it is such an entrenched birth right of every Singaporean. However, it may surprise many that Singapore is not ranked the top home ownership country in the world. Singapore’s home ownership as of 2020, is about 87.9%. Romania, which is number one, has 96.1% home ownership rates.

Some of our trainers have indicated that they do not feel anyone in Singapore owns their HDBs/ homes. We are merely paying a long-term rent but the asset does not belong to us.

I agree but if you see it that way, then nothing belongs to us. The shares we think we owned, is not ours because we do not have control over them. We can debate about the legal and equitable ownerships of our assets, but if we strip all assets to equate control = ownership, then we do not own anything. Not even our kids.

Back to today’s topic, how do I buy another property without paying excessive buyer’s tax.
The buyer’s tax we are referring to is the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, affectionately known as ABSD (click right diagram to see the actual website).

You can see, if you purchase only 1 property, you only pay the 3% buyer’s stamp duty. For the second property, you have an additional 17% buyer’s stamp duty, which adds to a total of 20% buyer’s stamp duty if you purchase a second property.

An interesting point is, if the Singapore government must implement these draconian measures to curb property prices, the logical conclusion is, there is a lot of people in Singapore who are rich enough to invest in multiple properties.

For such people (like myself), the GST increase is good news, because it will naturally increase the price of our assets. The bad news is, the home you stay in, is not an asset. It is a liability. It becomes an asset when you can extract cash returns from it.

You can the details below in many websites, and the common strategies many employ to avoid the extra 17%:
a) Buying under only 1 name. I have written in previous articles that there are some restrictions if you wish to use this method to purchase a HDB;
b) Decoupling from your current property so that one name is free to purchase another property without paying the extra stamp duty. You cannot use this method for a HDB, without a legal divorce;
c) Buying under a child’s name and the child is below 21 years old. This method is not allowed for a HDB;
d) Buying a property under a child’s name and the child is below 21 years old. You are not able to purchase a HDB under a trust, nor can you build a constructive trust with a HDB (Ong Swee Geok and another v Gee Ah Eng [2021] SGHC 119).

There are websites you can read about the above strategies, on how to accumulate more residential properties. If you need help, you can send me a message, so I can assist you on any issues.

What I am doing now:
a) My wife and I have transferred our HDB to her mom;
b) We are contemplating selling a condominium and converting another into a trust for our special needs daughter;
c) Whatever is left, we are each going to purchase a freehold studio and will eventually leave each to the 2 boys.

Is it worth the time to do so much work for the 7% to maybe 40% returns? Maybe.

I have always stated you need to enjoy the process of investing in the instrument you chose. The instrument’s characteristics should be compatible to yours. If you are afraid of risk, then you must content with a rapidly dwindling money value, as inflation eats into your funds every month.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts and opinions. I will stop here and continue in a few days.

Leave me comments, so we can learn together.

The resources we commonly use:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifmfinvestacademy.education
Website: https://ifmf.edu.sg/landing-page

If you visit our page, please give us thumbs up and leave comments for us.

Meantime, have a wonderful day and stay safe.

17/01/2022

WILL PROPERTY PRICES ALWAYS GO UP?

“The rich. You know why they’re so odd? Because they can afford to be.” –Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) Batman

Hi all, this is Allan.

Today’s question is whether property prices will always go up. The short answer is yes. The long answer is more complicated.

Some may remember that about 30 to 40 years ago, a 20,000 sqft detached house in Nassim road will cost about S$80,000 to S$90,000. Today, it cost more than S$20,000,000. We also remember how flats used to be less than S$10,000. Today, even flats at Punggol are selling at S$1,000,000.

Let us discuss the factors leading to this result.

First, Singapore is a small city state. We have 5.45 million people staying in Singapore. Our land size is 728.6 km². If we convert this into population density, our population density is 8,305/km² and we are ranked 3rd in the world, after Macau and Monaco.

Under these factors, we can safely assume that demand for land, houses will be high in Singapore.

Second, due to factors like Covid, our supply of materials, labour are disrupted. This has a severe impact on housing prices. New flats cannot be built and our kids are eagerly waiting for these homes to get married and have kids. Not everyone can produce kids in a small space. The supply disruption, will drive prices up.

Third, based on the Political White Paper in 2013, our target population is 6.9 million. The main reason is we need 30,000 new permanent residents and 25,000 naturalised citizens each year are needed to sustain Singapore's population due to the falling birth rates in Singapore.

With 6.9 million people, if we divide that by an average 4 people per household, we need 1,725,000 flats/houses. In 2020, we have 1,370,000 households.

In addition to the above, Singapore housing has no substitutes. It is either HDB, condominium or landed. We cannot stay in a tent in East Coast Park, or drive an RV around Woodlands, like Australians.

With all the factors above, it is safe to say unless we have an all-out war, where many people run off to other countries, the housing prices of Singapore will continue to rise.

This is the reason I say property investment in Singapore is a lazy man’s investment because we do not have to worry much about it if it will go up. Even if it rises 3% to 4%/ year, the quantum is high, and it still translates to a lot of money for many.

That is not including the fact that unlike a paper asset, we can:
a) Rent it out;
b) Let our parents stay;
c) Let a relative who has fallen to hard times to stay;
d) Leave it empty;
e) Use it as a vacation home. I contemplated buying a resort condominium in Pasir Ris so my kids can travel to the east to have fun on weekends;
f) Though it is illegal, many people are using it for Airbnb;
g) Let all your girlfriends and boyfriends stay, or use it when you meet your girlfriends and boyfriends (don’t flame me, I’m just listing what we can use our properties for);
h) Sell it;
i) Pass it to your kids as part of inter-generational wealth. It is not a difficult asset to manage.

This is the complicated part.

If you compare HDB home prices then and now:
a) 1970s: 4-room: Avg size - 807 sq ft; Avg price - S$20,000 (New sale)
b) 1980s: 4-room: Avg size - 807 sq ft; Avg price - S$80,000 (New sale)
c) 1990s: 4-room: Avg size - 1,022 sq ft; Avg price - S$170,000 (New sale); S$270,000 (Resale)
d) 2000s: 4-room: Avg size - 968 sq ft; Avg price - S$180,000 (New sale); S$255,000 (Resale)
e) 2010s: 4-room: Avg size - 968 sq ft; Avg price - S$376,300 (New sale); S$435,000 (Resale)

From other websites, in 2021, average price of new sale 4-room HDB is about S$402,375 and 4-room HDB resale average price is about S$533,500.

Calculating the percentage changes in each 10 years:
a) From 1970 to 1980: 300% increase (New sale)
b) From 1980 to 1990: 112.5% increase (New sale)
c) From 1990 to 2000: 5.88% increase (New sale); -5.55% increase (Resale)
d) From 2000 to 2010: 109.05% increase (New sale); 70.58% increase (Resale)
e) From 2010 to 2021: 6.92% increase (New sale); 22.64% (Resale)

Using 4-room HDB as an example, you notice:
a) The increase each year is not uniform;
b) Resale prices fell between 1990 to 2000;
c) The increase went from 300%, 112.5% to a more “normal” 6.92% and 22.64%.

This throws up questions regarding this theory that housing prices will always rise:
a) Price rising from S$20,000 to S$80,000 is possible because the quantum is small, but as the pricing rise higher and higher, will we see double digit growth forever? If HDB prices are S$1,000,000, a 22.64% increase is S$226,400 increase in a year.
b) Will the wages of our citizens be able to support high property price growth in future? Real wages stagnated from 2000 to 2010. Even for median income, between 2000 to 2010, the median growth was only 11% in 10 years. If use a simple average, our median wage only grew 1.1% every year from 2000 to 2010.

The other point is, though agents will sell a dream of high capital gains with high property price increases, if we manage to rent out our homes, the returns are better.

Example, if I purchased a flat for S$300,000 and the average price increase was 4% over 10 years, at the end of the 10th year, I can sell the flat for S$444,073. However, if I rent out the flat for a profit of S$1,000/ month, S$12,000/ year, my returns will rise from 4% to 7.4%.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts and opinions. I will stop here and continue in a few days.

Leave me comments, so we can learn together.

The resources we commonly use:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifmfinvestacademy.education
Website: https://ifmf.edu.sg/landing-page

If you visit our page, please give us thumbs up and leave comments for us.

Meantime, have a wonderful day and stay safe.

14/01/2022

IF I’M SINGLE, SHOULD I WAIT TILL 35 TO BUY A HDB?

“Money’s only something you need in case you don’t die tomorrow.” – Carl Fox (Martin Sheen)Wall Street

Hi all, this is Allan.

Singapore is not a welfare state. Having a state benefit is truly an emotional topic for all Singaporeans.

A single, 35 years old Singaporean, is entitled to purchase a HDB (new or resale) with grants. This is one of the times we enjoy high monetary benefit when we buy something, in Singapore and as a Singaporean.

To qualify as a first timer, the single Singaporean:
a) 12 months before the flat application, must not have a gross monthly income of more than $4500;
b) Must be working for the past 12 months prior to the application;
c) At the point when the flat application is submitted, he/she must be working;
d) The flat purchase must have more than 20 years lease;
e) To qualify for the full Enhanced Housing Grant, the flat purchased must have sufficient lease to cover the youngest buyer to the age of 95;
f) 30 months before you are the flat application, they must not own:
i) Private residential property (including privatised HUDC flats and ECs)
ii) House
iii) Building
iv) Land
Overseas or in Singapore.

What are the advantages of buying a HDB (new or resale) as a single?
a) If you qualify for a grant, you can receive up to $40000;
b) You can buy a new unit directly from HDB;
c) HDB has apportion units for applications who indicated they want to live closer to their parents and/or their married children;
d) The price of HDB may appreciate greatly;
e) If you purchased a HDB as a single already and later one, you marry another single who owns a HDB himself/herself, both of you can own your respective HDB.
For the grants, you can see the diagram on the right (tap the diagram to see the actual chart), the grants given are dependent on monthly income. If you earn $750/month, you will receive $40000 of grant. However, if your income is $4500/month, you will only receive $2500 of grant.

You can buy a new unit directly from HDB, but you can only purchase 2 room flexi units at non – mature estates. Still, if you do not mind buying a resale, there is no restriction on the type.

The disadvantages of buying a HDB:
a) There is an income ceiling of $7000 if you buy direct from HDB;
b) You cannot own any other properties before and after (for at least 5 years), regardless if you purchase a direct unit or resale;
c) You can only select 2 room flexi if you buy directly from HDB;
d) If your income is high, your grant is lower;
e) If you want to avoid some restrictions like income ceiling or the types of flat, you must get a resale.

Should you wait till you are 35 years old to buy a HDB?

Some factors to consider:
a) You must wait till 35 to buy a HDB as a single (I know I am repeating myself but this is truly a very important factor);
b) If you want to buy before 35 years old, you’ve to be either widowed or orphaned;
c) Your income may be above $7000, so you must buy on the resale market;
d) A resale flat in Singapore can be very expensive;
e) You cannot own other properties and must stay the minimum occupancy period of 5 years, before you can purchase another property;
f) The grants can be little if your income is high.

Lest you misunderstand, I am not discouraging singles from claiming their birth right privileges. However, as most of you who have attended our Wealth Management and Retirement Planning, you have seen the diagram on the side.

The main point that is, if you wait till 35 to purchase your first property, the gradient of your retirement planning and financial freedom, becomes much steeper than when we purchase our first property at 21 years old.

One thing I usually hear from my friends is that I bought my first HDB when I was 25 (I got married almost just after my graduation) and I started buying and selling private properties from 31 years old. I did not appreciate this feedback until lately, at 47, I understand the importance of starting early.

Coupled with some of these issues of buying a HDB at 35:
a) You are restricted to a 2-room flexi if you purchase BTO;
g) If you purchase resale, it may have more downside risk than upside potential;
b) The grant reduces as your income increases;
c) If you purchase resale, there may not be the price appreciation you wish to reap due to location, tenure, or the size of the flat;
d) You cannot own other properties or rent out the whole flat for 5 years;
e) In event the lease of the HDB drops below 70 years old, you cannot prompt the HDB “Management Committee” to consider an enbloc.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts and opinions. I will stop here and continue in a few days.

Leave me comments, so we can learn together.

The resources we commonly use:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifmfinvestacademy.education
Website: https://ifmf.edu.sg/landing-page

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