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.

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.

The Redbrick Team February 4, 2017

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

The Redbrick Team January 5, 2017

Living in a Condo vs landed property in Singapore

Condo vs landed property Singapore Singapore is a wonderful place to live and work in. People from all over the world flock here to enjoy this busy and beautiful land of opportunities. And of course, everyone has to live somewhere. There are magnificent luxury condos available, but you can also enjoy your own, exclusive landed house. Which should you pick? As with every decision you make, considering the pros and cons of living in a condo vs landed property in

The Redbrick Team December 27, 2016

US Fed secures interest rate hike

After months of speculation, the US Federal Reserve has finally raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25%, a collective vote which saw the key rate increase from 0.5% to 0.75%. While this hike was considered a conservative one, rates might continue to rise at a faster pace in the coming year, due to the new Donald Trump administration. Members of the Federal Open Markets Committee, who controls the interest rates, are predicting an increase in spending, and up to three

The Redbrick Team December 15, 2016

HDB property taxes lowered for 2017

HDB flat owners, rejoice! According to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), your property tax next year will be lowered. Owners of all private property will either see a decrease as well, or no changes made to their taxes. Property owners will receive their tax bills by the end of 2016, and payment has to be made by 31 January 2017. The payable property tax for each HDB flat type are as follows: Assistance will be provided to those

The Redbrick Team November 29, 2016

SIBOR and SOR see increase after months of stagnancy

With Trump as President-Elect, there is a likelihood that his administration could encourage spending to fuel inflation, and an 80% chance that interest rates will hike in December. Closer to home, Singapore’s domestic interest rates saw an increase on Tuesday (15 Nov), on both the three-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) and the three-moth Swap Offer Rate (SOR). Having remained static at around 0.87% for close to 4 months, SIBOR rose to 0.88% on Monday, and again to 0.91% on

The Redbrick Team November 16, 2016

Singapore company in billion-dollar deal with consortium that includes Warburg Pincus

First it was Neptune Orient Lines, then SMRT. Now a third Singapore listed company, ARA, is soon to be bought out by an association of investors in another billion-dollar deal. These investors include Warburg Pincus LLC, a U.S. private equity firm, as well as the founder of ARA Asset Management Ltd. The offer made to buy ARA is valued at S$1.78 billion. Founded in 2002 by John Lim, ARA manages real-estate investment trusts (REITs) in Asia. ARA Asset Management manages property

The Redbrick Team November 14, 2016

Property Quotient: A Real Look At Real Estate, the second instalment

In June, The Redbrick Team hosted her very first real estate summit, the first of many to come. Without a doubt, its success was highly attributed to the strong support of fellow partners and clients, and this fuelled the team’s enthusiasm to put together the second instalment ahead of its original timeline. Apart from a change of scenery, we had a completely new panel of speakers, and a whole different set of door gifts in our Redbrick goodie bag. Our

The Redbrick Team November 11, 2016

11 tools every homeowner should have

One of the responsibilities that come with home ownership is the ability to improve and maintain your house. You might even be passionate about do-it-yourself projects after spending a day at IKEA. Depending on how proficient you are at putting together pieces of wood, it may take as fast as a couple of hours or up to a day. But of course, don’t expect to get anything done unless you have a basic toolbox in your home. A toolbox is

The Redbrick Team October 19, 2016

Foreigners picking up more properties in Singapore

The co-owner of Hong Kong luxury jewellery business Temptations Jewellery recently purchased a duplex penthouse at Nassim Park Residences for S$21.2 million. Naina Buxani purchased a 6,878 sq ft penthouse, just two units away from another penthouse that was purchased last year by her husband, Mahesh. Each penthouse unit consists of four bedrooms, a family area and a private swimming pool. Prior to this, Mrs Buxani purchased two four-bedroom units in the same development in June this year. Aside from

The Redbrick Team October 19, 2016