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.

Purchasing a HDB – Should you maintain the $20,000 balance in your CPF OA?

Back in August 2018, the Housing Development Board (HDB) announced that flat buyers can now opt to keep up to $20,000 each in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Ordinary Account (OA) when taking up a loan from HDB. Previously, flat buyers were required to fully utilize all funds in their CPF OA to offset the loan amount when taking a HDB loan. Homebuyers who purchased flats under the Build-To-Order (BTO) and Re-Offer of Balance Flats (ROF) schemes in 2018 are

Thomas Chew January 31, 2019

Management Corporations: How do they regulate control in condominiums, and is it sufficient?

For condominium owners (or prospective owners), it is important to understand that their properties are always regulated by a Management Corporation (MC) whose role is to regulate the control, use and enjoyment of the common property in a strata title development through by-laws. This article aims to ensure an understanding of how the MCs implement these laws consistently. Firstly, it is imperative to know the presence of by-laws – which are essentially the means to regulate community living as well

Thomas Chew November 29, 2018

4 factors that will affect your flat’s resale value

Despite the decline in Housing Development Board (HDB) resale prices in Q1 2018, the volume of flats sold is said to have increased according to a recent report by The Straits Times. It can be inferred that more HDB flat owners are opting to sell their HDB flats – more so those in mature estates to capitalise on the appreciation in property values. For someone hoping to sell off their flat, making your flat stand out like a sore thumb

Thomas Chew October 26, 2018

Is your property agent any good?

We have all heard horror stories of property agents (such as the story of the agent who embezzled $830k from his overly trusting client), each with varying degrees of awfulness. We have also heard of good experiences with property agents, whether it be from our relatives or friends, who have had smooth transactions because of these agents. In the agent world, there is definitely the good, the bad and the ugly. The question is, which does your property agent belong

Thomas Chew September 21, 2018

Increasing mortgage rates: Keeping up with the market

Singapore’s residential property market has indeed shown rapid signs of recovery so far this year (2018). However, the bullish performance of the market as well as the economy has sparked concerns of an ever-increasing interest rate. Currently, interest rates have risen substantially and thus, although not at a rate where there is a source of alarm, homeowners are paying more for their mortgages. As such, in anticipation of rising mortgage rates, now may be a good time to think of

Thomas Chew August 30, 2018

What exactly affects real estate prices?

The real estate market in Singapore has shown significant signs of recovery so far this year from a slump over the past years. Prices are on the rise, and market sentiments are extremely bullish currently, with many investors even deeming Singapore to offer better opportunities than Hong Kong. Nevertheless, what are the factors that affect property prices? We’ve uncovered some important factors affecting the housing market, both on a macro and micro basis, that will almost certainly impact the price

Thomas Chew July 19, 2018

Should you decouple to buy another property? Here’s what you should know about it

There are many definitions to decoupling. In plain English, the Cambridge dictionary defines it as “a situation in which two or more activities are separated, or do not develop in the same way”. Thus, investors use this term to describe a situation whereby returns on asset classes diverge from the expected or normal pattern of correlation. However, when looking at Singapore properties, it means to divide the shared ownership of a property – especially that of a couple, hence the

Thomas Chew July 3, 2018

Dos and Don’ts: Living in strata-titled properties

For those living in apartments and condominiums, do you know what are your duties and responsibilities living in strata-titled properties? Have you heard of some of the by-laws on the use and enjoyment of common property as stipulated in the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (BMSMA)? Last year, you might have come across news on the golden stairway on the 20th storey of a HDB flat in Balestier that sparked debate over whether it is art or vandalism. Ms.

Thomas Chew June 21, 2018

Why the craze over en bloc sales?

If you were to flip through any newspaper, or to scroll through any newsfeed on your devices, there is a high chance of you coming across some kind of news about en-bloc sales in Singapore. With all the en-bloc craze and your friends going on and on about their hopes for their homes to go on en-bloc, what exactly is en-bloc? What kind of developments are sold in en-bloc sales? Sale of the entire strata development Sale of entire property

Thomas Chew May 30, 2018

Singapore Private Residential Market: Going Forward in 2018

Coming off a rather intriguing year where the private residential market seemed to pick up momentum at the end of 2017, this year is poised to be one that embraces the whole impact of the recovery phase. The aforesaid momentum gained last year can be said to be rather unprecedented, with rapid en bloc sales as well as increase in demand across all private residential property types. In this article, we will identify the underlying factors that are likely to

Thomas Chew April 6, 2018