Sometimes..it is looking at people really doing it with confidence that you will be moved to re-examine your truism.Originally Posted by Laguna
But of course..at this stage... i damn scared...
Sometimes..it is looking at people really doing it with confidence that you will be moved to re-examine your truism.Originally Posted by Laguna
But of course..at this stage... i damn scared...
Yup. I only like to ask people what they are doing.. Will not ask them to give advice. Coz what they do is more important than what they tell you. Bankers can give advice.. the real doers INVEST! ..Originally Posted by chestnut
Agreed. I need to go in. But I can only think of commercial in Singapore or the Australia market. I think I am seeing what is happening in singapore in 2009, happening in australia market. Their interest rate is climbing down now and people who are stuck with high loan interest for years will think the same way as me.. it is an abnormality that wil correct itself soon. But it won't..
of course.. investing is about TAKING ACTION. I talked too much.. Do too little.
Bonds was also thru a half-year purchase at different timing. Most of it was acquired after I disposed of my stocks before the august 2011 selldown. Of course, i re-acquired stocks again from jan to feb 2012.. but not as much weightage.
Well.. Too conservative loh. Now trying to open up. Anyway, Dr MIchael Leong also don't leverage .. the shareinvestor founder who sold out his company to SPH for $10mil. He's only investing in shares and properties for him is for staying not investing. Just pointing him out to share there are people like him who is rich and still don't believe in leverage and properties. While some are as rich but believe totally in properties and leverage.
I'm now swaying to the properties and leverage camp.. but a little too late in singapore perharps.
Focus, Focus
ur too focus. I recalled most of your postings, were focused on the achievements in the past, min leverage, missed here and there...etc
just take stock and decide where you want to go, what you want to do...and game move on like that...
u have the knowledge, perhaps lack of little wisdom and gut feel
Focus, specialise in something and I believe you have found it. I am in no way advocating properties.
There are people who make way more out of spotting good stocks then a person who had gone in with properties.
So you choose what you want. But please dont look at the swimming pool and keep telling yourself "wouldn't it be nice if I can swim like this guy (butterfly strokes)", but you cant even change to a swimming trunk let alone, touch the pool. It will bring you pain.
You are already doing well and I wish you well in your endeavour.
One more thing, you keep talking about leverage - I hope you are in no way referring to me. I am way under leverage !!! Hahahahaha. Why? I want to sleep well at nite but bloody problem is I keep waking up in the middle of the nite and realised, people at my age generally have this problem. Hahahaha.
Cheers !!!
Last edited by chestnut; 17-10-12 at 17:52.
thanks both chestnut and laguna.
yup. sitting on my butt.
Analysis paralysis.
That's why my nick is focus.. i realised i need focus.. and ACTION..
so maybe need a new nick.. JUSTDOIT.
Laguna.. ya.. take stock and move on .. I will do that definitely. ACTION ACTION ACTION.
chestnut, not talking about you. I'm just saying too much leverage on financial instruments is no no for me. I will be scared to sleep every nite. But maybe those who have more wisdom are using it successfully. Not me.
Last edited by focus; 17-10-12 at 20:01.
Focus : sharing with us your decision...
Yes, same here.Originally Posted by chestnut
Now, I have distant quite a number of friends due to my so called "ADVICE" but they did not act on, and blamed me heavily. Somehow, itch again, made calls in REITs and BONDs early this year...got whack again.
Poor thing. The happiest moment for me was when my 1 down bought investment properties and now happily collecting rental. But w this financial measure, I told them they cannot play anymore. If not I need to give them big increment. Then I will get shit. So sadOriginally Posted by Laguna
Sometime, it is just a matter of keeping your ears on the ground.
I recalled the fateful dinner that we had in July 2009, a group of us doing the usual friendly bantering, tcss over nothing important, and the conversation veered to condo investment, which one was good to buy la, potential yields la and so on. I told them "listen, this is what my agent has been telling me...the best buy now is landed!...FH terraces in Serangoon Garden, Thomson, Sembawang Hill are being offered at about $500 psf".
And then we had the chorus of reactions, "sure or not,...not possible la,...don't bluff". At the end of more bantering, four of us decided to explore the possibility further in earnest.
We retained the agent to scout for units in these areas for our review, and eventually each bought a unit, I picked up one, my wife another, all in original condition, single storey terraces on land about 2000 sqf built in the 1960s, at prices $1.0 mil to $1.2 mil each.
We spent another $500,000 or so each, to tear down the old dwelling to reconstruct a new 2.5-storeys building in 2010. One of us, a lady in early 40s, sold her reconstructed unit at $2.0 mil just after its completion. Another, a young chap in mid 30s, he was staying in a 3-rooms HDB with her widowed mother, didn't do anything to the old house at all, but sold it off just 2 months ago at $2.0 mil, grossing him $1.0 mil in just over a year. His deployed capital? Just more than $250,000.
When we looked back, we all thought that the situation was really weird. In July 2009, the stock markets had already recovered most of its plunge, the economy was not great but ok, with still some unemployment issue, and yet this mispricing opportunity was presented to us. Once we acted on it, the rest is history.
Spoken like a champ. I keep my eyes wide open and my ears ever listening. Look at history. It always repeats somewhat w some twist here and there. If u see the climb to 1997, it is somewhat similar. Landed was last to cheong. So history repeats itself. Dig back some newspaper clippings if u can find and the same story. Landed limited. Very exclusive, blah, blah, blah...
Only for Singaporeans.
Then came 1997 Asia financial crisis. It was this that put a halt to the entire show. If not it would have continued.
But wat remains the same is: with a MAJOR crisis and huge unemployment coupled w long recession, the prices will drop big time. I have asked anyone to show me when prices drop big time and did not correlate to the long recession but none can show me proof.
That's why I keep stressing- knowledge of past is an important guide to the future. Notice I used the word GUIDE.
That's how great conquerors win the battle.
Well done mr secretary.
Originally Posted by Secretariat
Bro, what you said is so true.
In fact, what intrigued me to the landed sector, there is also an interesting case.
My wife, one of her ex-subordinate, a single lady in mid-40s, she lived in a HDB flat with her retired parents. She is a dog-lover, she has 3 purebred dogs, and so she was always complaining that, "aiyah, HDB flat ah no room for her dogs la, her dogs not enough exercise la, pangsai very troublesome la...etc". She vowed to get a landed just for the dogs, and no terrace, must be semi-d with a big compound for the dogs to run on...
And so, early 2009, she bought a semi-d, FH, at the area just a short distance from where FEO's Cabana is, a rather nice terrained place. $1.4 mil, put in another $700,000 for reconstruction, totaled $2.1 mil. Moved in with her dogs, her parents rented out the HDB, living happily seeing her happy dogs.
But where are they now?
About 4 months ago, my wife received her resignation, she sold the semi-d at $4.8 mil, and migrated everyone to Vancouver Canada, together with the dogs (she got the PR there, and her parents still on social visit passes). Bought a house there at about $300,000 Canadian, and in progress of opening a small cafe to keep herself busy while looking for a permanent job.
So, she has not been the one sophisticated about investment, parked all her money in FDs basically, indulged on her dogs etc, and the dogs led her to a decision that changed her life totally.
How many lucky people are like that? I rather be lucky then smart. But if you have both, Shiok.
This is what I call a total alignment of stars. Right time, right place, Everything fall in place. She also has done many good deeds in life and this is the return she received. I strongly believe in Karma. If people do you wrong, ignore them. If you want, do good deeds but expect no return but somehow the returns will find their way to you.
Enjoy your landed. You deserve it.
Originally Posted by Secretariat
走狗屎运Originally Posted by Secretariat
i sibei jealous
Bro, dont be jealous. Be happy. Because got such people, there is a possibility that your turn might come.Originally Posted by taggy
I am always happy when I hear of people's success and sad when I hear of their failure.
Second option, keep 3 big dogs. Hahaha. Second option is just TCSS.
Woof, woof....hahahaOriginally Posted by taggy
Oh yes, she is a very nice lady. Quite pretty also, but no love here in Singapore. Maybe in Canada.
how does she has so much money to buy and reno the landed ?
amazing lady
ABN Amro finds liquidity in Singapore dollar bond market
ABN Amro wades into the Singapore market with a S$1 billion tier-2 issue as banks look to shore up their capital structures.
By Denise Wee | 18 October 2012
Keywords: abn amro | singapore dollar bond | tier 2 | hybrid | loss absorption | dbs | ubs | standard chartered
With Basel III around the corner, banks worldwide are looking to shore up their capital. Last night, ABN Amro closed a S$1 billion ($822 million) tier-2 issue, and proved that there is ample demand for European hybrid paper in the Singapore dollar bond market. The deal attracted a whopping S$17 billion of orders from 170 accounts.
“It was the first public bond deal for ABN Amro in the Sing dollar market, and they achieved cost savings of about 30bp compared to the dollar market for the same structure,” said a source. “There is clearly unfulfilled demand for European bank paper in Singapore dollars.”
The Dutch bank does not do much business in Singapore — not enough to justify raising S$1 billion anyway — and the bank is expected to swap the proceeds.
The tier-2 paper has a loss-absorption feature, so it was also a test of investor appetite for such bonds. They will have statutory loss absorption only if ABN’s regulatory regime in the Netherlands calls for it.
The 10-year non-call five-year bond priced at a yield of 4.7%, at the tight end of the 4.7% to 4.8% final guidance. The hybrid priced at a spread of 379bp over the five-year swap offer rate (SOR). There is a single reset at the fifth year at a spread of 379bp over the prevailing five-year SOR if the bonds are not called, and no step up.
Singapore investors were allocated 65%, other Asian investors 31% and European investors 4%. Private banks were allocated 58%, fund managers 31%, banks 5%, insurers 3% and other investors 3%.
ABN Amro is rated A2 by Moody’s and A+ by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, but the subordinated bond was a few notches lower and is expected to be rated BBB+ by S&P and BBB by Fitch.
DBS, Standard Chartered and UBS were joint bookrunners.
© Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.
and this lady is Secretariat's wife's subordinate.. if her subordinate is earning enough to do a downpayment (using 20% as the bare minimum but maybe she paid down more?) + reno of at least 1mil, then imagine how much Secretariat's wife is earning!Originally Posted by Lovelle
i am sure Secretariet also richie rich as he himself also made from landed. "He and his wife bought a landed each"....Originally Posted by Vincegoh
poorie poor like me always admire these pple... hopefully when i'm 40 i can also emulate them and be able to plonk down 700k on renovation!Originally Posted by Lovelle
Aiyah, don't have to come up with a lumpsum of $700,000 for reconstruction one mah? Even if she has it, it still made sense to borrow since the interest rate was so low (still low today). It is called construction loan, LTV guideline applied, and after TOP obtained, convert it into an ordinary housing loan.Originally Posted by Vincegoh
My wife ah, I don't know her earning leh...what she earns is hers, what I earn also hers...hahaha.
But seriously, if you know of people working for listed American MNC, their (those qualified ones) yearly stock options can be shocking. One Country Manager that I know, based in China, his stock option exercised last year grossed him $500,000. Which he promptly used as part deposits for 2 units of Watertown, before the wife or mistress got to the money.
I think that what Chestnut has pointed out are very true; historical prices, prices correlation with interest rate, with other investment class of instrument such as stock, knowledge of finance, risk reward etc etc.
When I first studied the landed sector, financing of reconstruction etc, many times the reaction was also..."like that also can ah?".
With the knowledge, the risk of executing a plan, the downside risks, can be better measured.
Copied the following from another thread
Just to consolidate discussion on bond under this thread
Originally Posted by cbsh38584Originally Posted by LagunaOriginally Posted by LagunaOriginally Posted by focus
Have no experience with Bond.Originally Posted by Laguna
Could you explain what is leverage cost of 1.5-1.8%.
If one buys and sells the bond, what is the total cost involved 2.5-3.0%?
That means if Bond pays say 4% per year, if one sells within a year, does it mean its only 1% returns if Bond prices remains the same?
Any other hidden costs ivolved?
Thanks
This is too much to write for me.Originally Posted by ekl2ekl2
Let Focus, Chestnut, the younger ones to share with u. They are better than me.
the only Bond I know is James Bond.
yaya, I am waiting for the SKYFALL......Originally Posted by carbuncle
I nvr miss any of the James Bond show...
Adele sings the theme song.Originally Posted by Laguna
I like her.
However I think the theme song does not seem to suit her voice.
Bond is in a huge bubble ... underweight
Ride at your own risk !!!
extracted the following from eCO thread
Originally Posted by cbsh38584Originally Posted by kane