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...]
Know who to trust in your property decision
I must admit that I am the type of person that won’t trust others easily. Very often, I question what strangers say, especially what salespeople tell me. I am not born skeptical or cynical. It is learned over the years. After two decades investing in properties and other assets, I have my fair share of trusting the wrong source or person. There were many times I regretted … [Read more...]
Can you really afford that property?
Recently, I have been conducting a few one-to-one consultation sessions for people who are planning to buy their new home. In general, they all want to know three things - whether they should buy a particular condominium project, whether they can afford to buy, and whether this is a good time to buy. By the way, I really enjoy all these personal consultation sessions. In the … [Read more...]
Scams: Everything is fake, except the crook
Under the new normal, Singaporeans are not only learning to live with Covid-19, but also to live with scams. With lockdowns around the world, the businesses of criminals are affected by social gathering restrictions, nightspot closures and logistic disruptions. To make up for the shortfall, organized crimes are driven online for alternative sources of income. More … [Read more...]
Case Studies: How private homebuyers ended up buying crap
I talked about the five miseries that unfortunate owners are facing in my last blog post. In response, there were messages from readers sharing their own sad stories. It proves that Singapore really lacks a proper platform for owners and homebuyers to voice their grievances. One of them commented that there is a 6th misery of homebuyers – poor construction quality of … [Read more...]