Colin Lim

Colin began his career as an engineer with a manufacturing firm. After honing his analytical skills, he moved into finance where, during his time with two major foreign banks, he worked as a mortgage banker and a relationship manager that specialised in wealth management. He currently oversees a team of mortgage advisors and has helped homeowners finance more than a total of SGD$1 billion worth of property.

An update on fixed deposit-pegged home loans: Rising rates

A home loan package with its interest rate pegged to a bank’s fixed deposit rates was considered extremely innovative, back when DBS first introduced such a product in 2014. Now, this has become a norm, with most banks having offered or are still offering loan packages pegged to fixed deposit rates. The fixed deposit rate loan packages have been well-received by homebuyers, partly because there is a perception that banks will not raise interest rates too much, whereby doing so

Colin Lim October 8, 2018

5 clauses you shouldn’t miss when refinancing your mortgage

Refinancing your home loan: Here’s what you need to know Refinancing a loan can help you to save thousands on your mortgage payments, but that is not the case for all loans! Before diving into refinancing, there are a few important conditions and dates that we have to know to ensure we really secure those interest savings. 1) Interest Reset Date One thing you have to be aware of when refinancing is the Interest Reset Date. This critical date is

Colin Lim April 12, 2018

Dual-key units: An alternative method to owning a second property

While every Singaporean talks and dreams about owning multiple properties across the sunny island, and then retiring comfortably on the stable stream of rental income – how many actually achieve it? And why is it tough for those who are struggling to achieve it? As for majority of the population, after saving the bulk of your salary for years to finally be able to put the down payment on your first property, congratulations! You have now successfully landed yourself in

Colin Lim February 12, 2018

Collective sales in Singapore: Frequently asked questions

En bloc is a collective sales method that is unique to Singapore with private developers acquiring the whole development and/or adjoining properties under one single transaction. This is governed by the Land Titles (Strata) Act. The recent slew of en bloc properties in 2017 has proven that the market is indeed in its recovery phase. For the uninitiated, you might be wondering what the big deal about en bloc property is. Thus, to help give you a better understanding, the

Colin Lim December 22, 2017

FAQs on The Use of CPF For Home Purchase

Undeniably, purchasing a property is a major decision, and probably the heaviest financial commitment for most of us. However, the use of Central Provident Fund (CPF) to pay the down payment and make monthly financial obligations has been a popular and widely-considered option for many home buyers in Singapore. Are you, too, considering to finance your new home with CPF savings in the near future? Here is a short list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to clear your doubts: First

Colin Lim November 17, 2017

Make your money work harder for you: Mortgage interest offset accounts

Housing loans are one of the biggest financial liabilities we have in our lifetime. With the current low interest rate environment, a $500k loan over the low interest would still amount to a $120k payment towards interest over a 30-year tenure. Here, I’ll be sharing more about how we can reduce the so-called $120k paid towards interest. What is a Mortgage Interest Offset Account? It is a repayment account tied to your mortgage – the account acts like a savings

Colin Lim November 10, 2017

Update on Australian Property Financing

For many Singaporeans, one of the top choices of country for overseas property investment is Australia. Unsurprisingly, it is also the top choice for Malaysians, and amongst the top three choices for Indonesian and Hong Kong investors. Being the preferred location for studies and retirement, along with a stable economy, perceptions of higher yields and lower risks are some of the reasons for the continuous flow of property investors. However, in today’s market, Australian property investors are finding it increasingly

Colin Lim October 12, 2017

5 reasons why your home loan application will be rejected (and how to avoid it)

Are you stuck in a situation where you’ve applied to multiple banks for your housing loan and have gotten rejections from them, yet the bankers were unable to disclose the reason(s) to you? Here, I’ll share some common loan application issues – the exact reasons why your loan was not approved and how you can “repair” the application. 1. You have bad credit ratings or bad repayment conduct (Or perhaps the Joint Borrower.) Credit card bills are always overdue or

Colin Lim August 15, 2017

The home owner’s guide to leveraging on CPF Housing Grants

Taking the first step in making a good decision on your first property purchase will give you a better overall real estate experience. While property prices have moved up over the years, Singaporeans who wish to purchase their first HDB property should not allow this to get into their way. The CPF housing grants was introduced on 3rd March 2006, to help Singaporeans with their first HDB property purchase. Determined mainly by household income, the grants aimed to assist Singaporeans

Colin Lim June 6, 2017

Should you rent or buy a property in Singapore?

A real estate purchase is a huge financial commitment, and is probably the biggest purchase many of us will make in one lifetime. This is especially so in Singapore where homes do not come cheap; it’s one of the main reasons why most of us continue to live with our parents until the day we get married, and step foot into our matrimonial homes. Houses developed and sold by the Housing Development Board also come with certain eligibility conditions. For

Colin Lim April 7, 2017