The Redbrick Team

The Redbrick Team

Redbrick Mortgage Advisory is an independent advisory working with all 16 banks and financial institutions in Singapore. We have achieved an excellent track record of financing more than 40,000 properties and over SGD$5 billion in annual mortgages.

All you need to know about TDSR

How did TDSR come about in Singapore ? Imagine sitting on a table in a casino and there is a probability of more than a 50% chance of earning almost double of your bet. Wouldn’t it be a good bet? In the long run, chances are you will make a profit. Now, if this bet you place lets you cash it out at any time.Wouldn’t you want to bet on it? That was the conception many people had years ago,

US Federal Reserve increases interest rate, first time in 2017

Interest rate goes up as predicted On Wednesday, 15 March 2017, the US Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by 0.25%. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was one vote short of a unanimous vote at 9-1, with Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve bank of Minneapolis casting the dissent vote. The FOMC voted to raise the key rate to a range of 0.75-1.0%. Policymakers have targeted to raise interest rates a total of 3 times this year.

Changes made to SSD & TDSR framework with effect from 11 March 2017

In the latest announcement jointly made by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of National Development (MND) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Government has made adjustments with regard to the Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) and Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework, with effect from 11 March 2017. No changes have been made to the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) and Loan to Value (LTV) Limits, to continually encourage prudence among borrowers. Seller’s stamp duty (SSD) has been revised,

Property Quotient 3 – A Real Look At Real Estate

Redbrick’s proprietary event, Property Quotient, had its first instalment for the year on Saturday, 25 February. In case you aren’t familiar with the concept, Property Quotient is a series of real estate seminars catered to both home owners and investors. Its sole purpose is to equip guests with the skills and knowledge in their foray into the real estate arena. While our initial instalments were on a larger scale and focused heavily on the general property outlook, we decided to scale it

Conversations with: Bernard Tong, Managing Director of The Edge Property Singapore

When you first meet Bernard Tong, it may be hard to believe that prior to joining the company, the Managing Director of The Edge Property Singapore had zero experience in the real estate industry. The Edge Singapore, which runs its publications both online and offline, takes pride in their highly analytical and data-driven content, as compared to other news publications that cover mostly headlines and topical stories. This sophistication is also reflected in the user demographics of The Edge Property

Conversations with: Jacelyn Phang, Business Development Manager, Yuan Zhong Siu

You may have heard of Grand Master Hillary Phang, or perhaps walked past the Yuan Zhong Siu outlets in various parts of Singapore including Chinatown, Jurong and Serangoon. Yuan Zhong Siu is owned and managed by the New Trend Lifestyle Group, which was founded by Master Phang in 1989. In 2012, New Trend Lifestyle became the first Asian Feng Shui company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The team at Yuan Zhong Siu prides itself heavily on the expertise

Conversations with: Deborah Wee, Co-Founder of e-commerce furniture store HipVan

“If you pay peanuts, you’ll get monkeys.” We’ve all heard this phrase before, and some of us might even be inclined to believe it, given the many anecdotes that get tossed about. But what if we told you that that needn’t be the case? As brands like Uniqlo and Innisfree have proven, a lower price point doesn’t always equate to a lower quality. Meet Deborah Wee, one of the masterminds behind HipVan, a local start up that applies this philosophy

Starting the New Year right: The Redbrick Start-Of-Year Party

“A start of year party, because a year end party is just too passé.” That was the motto behind the Redbrick Start-Of-Year (SOY) Party. We invited our media, finance and real estate partners to our first ever SOY party on 6th January 2017 – held at JTResi’s stunning three-and-a-half storey conservation shophouse at 65 Club Street. We wanted to connect our friends from both the finance and real estate industries, to strengthen current friendships and form new ones. Guests arrived

Conversations with: James Soh, Founder of online renovation portal Renopedia

A quick check on the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) webpage and you can easily find blacklisted companies from various industries on the “company alert list”. The home improvement industry, where interior designers fall under, is no exception, and it’s safe to say that all of us have heard of one too many stories about unreliable contractors within the industry. Renopedia, brainchild of James Soh, believes that the website will help consumers avert the potential pitfalls of working with unscrupulous contractors.

Buyer’s stamp duty in Singapore: All You Need To Know about it

What are stamp duties? A stamp duty is a tax on documents related to the purchases and leases of properties (eg. Sales & Purchase Agreements, Tenancy Agreements etc). Stamp duties are paid to Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore aka IRAS – the same people you pay your income tax and property tax to. In Singapore, there are 2 stamp duties imposed on the buyer that you need to be aware of: Buyer’s stamp duty(BSD) and Additional buyer’s stamp duty(ABSD). Buyer’s