Should we buy an overseas home for living after retirement? Salespeople often market foreign properties as high return investment or affordable luxury homes. The latter appeals to buyers looking for value-for-money homes overseas, either for vacation or for retirement. After all, we work hard all our life and deserve a comfortable living in our golden years. And buying … [Read more...]
Debt is stupid
“Debt is dumb. Cash is king.” - Dave Ramsey, American millionaire, author and radio personality “The Last Dance” Early this week I went Johor Bahru to watch the original Cantonese version of “The Last Dance” (破地狱). The Hong Kong film has broken six box office records, including highest opening day and total gross, taking in HK$100 million revenue 20 days after … [Read more...]
4 bank valuation facts you don’t know
Am I buying above valuation? That is the question clients asked me lately in our one-to-one property consultation sessions. Buyers often mix up a home’s asking price and fair valuation. Many cannot tell the difference between price and value. In short, price is what we pay for something and value is what it is really worth. Valuation is different for homebuyers and … [Read more...]
No new investment for retirees
Investment does not equal wealth. In fact, investing is just an action to put money into something, with the hope of generating return in the future. (Note: For those selling or marketing investment opportunities, this blog post is not for you.) Retirees can’t afford to lose a single dollar After his retirement, a famous Hong Kong disc jockey changed path to be an … [Read more...]
4 dumb property decisions we made
Homebuyers are prone to making dumb property decisions because of human weaknesses. Hong Kong author Suhei (素黑) said human beings have five major weaknesses - greedy, confused, lazy, stubborn and dumb. We need conscience and guts to admit that we have made a mistake. However, it is not difficult for us to confess that we can be greedy, confused, lazy or stubborn at times. … [Read more...]