Thomas Chew

Thomas takes pride in helping people with their financing needs. Before joining Redbrick, he enjoyed a celebrated career in the local banking scene, acquiring numerous sales and service awards to his name. Many years on in banking, Thomas takes his experience and now specializes in mortgage advisory. Exuding confidence in his work, he believes that every client should be prepared to be wowed by his award winning service.

Should You Use CPF To Pay Off Your Home Loan?

What is CPF & what can it be used for? If you don’t know yet, 20% of the gross income of all Singaporeans and PRs below 55 years old is directed into their CPF account. CPF acts as a social security net and offers a savings account for your mortgage repayments. You will have 3 accounts (eventually 4 accounts) Your CPF Ordinary Account (OA) is aimed to help you achieve homeownership. It can be used for Special Account is created

Thomas Chew November 1, 2023

Affordable Home Loans: Discovering the Best Options for Your Dream Home

Did you just purchase your first HDB flat? Buying a HDB flat is not cheap, and many of us would therefore take up an affordable home loan from either the bank or HDB. However, as many of us know, the interest rates for bank loans have recently risen. So, which should I choose between a bank loan and a HDB loan? We would be going through the differences between bank loans and HDB loans. At the same time, we will

Thomas Chew July 13, 2023

Buying your HDB Resale Flat: What is Cash Over Valuation?

With the current hot property market, the transacted prices of many resale HDBs have become higher than their valuation. This has led to rising Cash Over Valuation (COV). If you are keen to purchase a resale HDB flat with limited funds in the bank, COV is a key item you should keep a lookout for. What Is Cash Over Valuation (COV)? As the name suggests , Cash Over Valuation (COV) refers to the difference between your property price and valuation

Thomas Chew December 28, 2022

How To Spot A Good Property And Finance It With The Lowest Interest Rate In Singapore

With numerous sales launches upcoming for both HDBs and private properties, it can be a challenge when finding the right property for investment or personal stay. Are you able to spot a good property when you see it? Are you thinking of just going with the lowest interest rate in Singapore without considering the necessary factors? Thomas Chew is an associate director at Redbrick Mortgage Advisory. He has a wealth of experience in the real estate sector and multitude of

Thomas Chew June 29, 2022

Are You Aware Of The Benefits Of Refinancing Your Home Loan In Singapore?

It is not common in the world of real estate that all of the stars align. It may sometimes be hard to match a good deal on a property with ideal refinancing and low interest rates. In this article, we discuss the reasons you may wish to refinance your property, how you can refinance and the benefits of doing so. Let’s dive in. Why you may wish to refinance your property In previous articles, we mentioned the characteristics of a

Thomas Chew May 11, 2022

10 Features You Must Know When You Take Up A Mortgage

We recently shared the 7 Secret Bank Policies that could increase your chances of obtaining an approval for your loan application. Today, we will explain more about the 10 mortgage features that are available in the market. On the surface, home loans can appear to be seemingly straightforward products – you take a loan for your property which you pay off over the stipulated tenure. However, home loans usually comprise of large quantum, which collectively pose significant risks to the

Thomas Chew December 23, 2021

Rain, Rain, Go Away: Singapore’s problem with flash floods

For those suffering from travel bug bites and sighing at the inability to travel to Norway or Japan to catch snow during the Winter season, the weather here in Singapore has not disappointed much in the first two weeks of 2021. With temperatures reaching an all-time low of about 21.4℃ due to heavy torrential rainfall, making it the perfect weather to snooze and stay in bed. Most of us will enjoy grabbing a cup of hot chocolate and tucking into

Thomas Chew January 20, 2021

Can you own a home in Singapore with no savings?

Unbelievable but yes, one can have the opportunity to own a home with an initial sum of $0. This is a shocker for most, especially since Singapore has a global reputation for being one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in. Sadly, you do not qualify for this opportunity if you are not a full-time student/NSF and are above 30 years old. Under the Staggered Downpayment Scheme and Deferred Income Assessment Component recently introduced by the Housing Development

Thomas Chew April 17, 2020

How to avoid getting into trouble with the law when renting out your apartment

Facebook, the world’s most famous social media platform, creates zero content. Alibaba, the most profitable retailer, does not carry any inventory. Similarly, Airbnb is also part of this ongoing phenomenon – Airbnb, the world’s most renowned accommodation provider, owns no real assets. In this age of digitalization, profits lie in the interface. This has resulted in a huge shift in the tourism industry; gone are the days where people visit local travel agents to plan for their holidays. In this

Thomas Chew March 20, 2020

Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) vs Build-to-Order (BTO): 5 things to note before choosing SBF

For young couples in Singapore, asking your partner “want to BTO?” is essentially akin to a marriage proposal, albeit an utterly unromantic one. Build-to-Order (BTO) exercises have always been the medium through which countless Singaporean couples have obtained their first home, and this will probably continue to be the case well into SG500. However, there is another option home-seekers can consider besides BTO and resale flats: Sale of Balance Flats (SBF). What are Sale of Balance Flats (SBF)? SBFs can

Thomas Chew February 26, 2020