Investing a Dream Home for Fresh Graduate?

The article really posed a funny question and yet interesting talk about better investment plan from the folks at Primeland Estate can offer. I am haunted without home and even impossible to invest a house 9 years now. So how the fresh graduate capable of doing that? Not unless they are from rich family or had huge saving and middle working class with 3-4k salary per month.

The article didn’t really describe much how this plan going to work. Maybe attending the exhibition could help you more understanding their plans. I didn’t, but instead went to HSBC bank to look for the home loan specialists on Thursday for advice on investing a home by taking a day off. It was worth it and able to learned better including avoiding future risks. He says, don’t be fool by the bank brochure that thinking getting home loan are easy like cars.

First he asked me how much deposit money I can manage to work out together with my family. Is my saving in the bank are enough to cover. This is very important planning steps and require large amount of money be ready to cover the costs during work processing. Yes, you are not even yet in the investment phase. If this is your emergency use funds, you also needed to think twice hard and careful on the spending.

During the processing, you are requiring depositing at least $5k into the bank depending on the house developing price you planning to buy. After that, you need pay the home insurance around $1.5K depending on your current ages and how many persons involve in the investments. Then you need to ready at least $4k for approval stuffs and letters from law. Total amount require for stand by at least $9K ready.

Secondly, they require your monthly salary details and any current loan. For average working class like me, forget about new car loan and let say my mom has good income who is working. Still, it’s not even possible to finance monthly and after the deduction I only have $50 dollar LEFT per month or a little more including adding my sister into the investment. Both of us are not going to survive that in one week.

There are ways to reduce that strain is to put down 70k-100k deposit. That way, the monthly loan will be lower. Another way which suggest by many investment expert is too rented out the apartment or houses to people cover the monthly loan for you. Saying is easy, but in reality, the problem here is I don’t even have that kind of money, not even today able to save $500 into the bank saving yearly. Even if I choose not to buy toys, travels and stop spending. You are going to make your life miserable and stupid.

Again, not yet finish. Once your bank loan is approved, the developer or sales will provide documents and for the signing. However, there is one page you need to take note called progressive payment. Here is one of the documents I got from the developer as per your info and example how it might looks like below.

The payment is schedule as per the work progress in the following order: -

• 1st progress payment - 10% Signing of Sale and Purchase Agreement and Lease Agreement
• 2nd progress payment - 10% Completed footings and stumps, ground floor columns & beams, ground floor slabs, electrical conduit, drainage piping systems
• 3rd progress payment - 15% Completed first floor columns & beams, electrical conduit, drainage piping systems
• 4th progress payment - 15% Completed roof covering roof beams and trusses
• 5th progress payment - 15% Completed finishing on brick walls, windows and doors frame
• 6th progress payment - 10% Completed finishing on ceiling filling, doors and windows
• 7th progress payment - 10% Completed finishing on ceiling filling, doors and windows
• 8th progress payment - 10% Completed clearing of site, removal of all unnecessary materials, site inspection by relevant parties
• 9th progress payment - 5% Collection of Occupational Permit and keys of house

What do these means? It means you are going to pay every progress when the developers completing each phases during the construction. Since you are applying home loan from the banks, don’t think you are getting 100% of these loan. Yes, you heard that right, the bank only will provide 80% and the 20% left is you to cover it, not them. Let say if I buy a semi-detach house cost BND$198,000. I have to pay BND$39,600 (20%) for the first and second progress payment with my own pocket money. Oh and don’t forget you paying the monthly loan as well.

Many people didn’t realize of such issue which is why from the beginning you needed ready at least $70-100k in your pocket. So this pose a big question how the fuck the fresh graduates are possible to invest a home if they are average working class with 1K+ salary? Yes, you can work this out with your sibling. Shit could happen either out of jobs, died on accidents or couldn’t afford the loans.

Are there any 70-90k apartments and semidetached house in Brunei? No there isn’t any selling at that kind of price and only the National housing have that, of course subsidies by His Majesty and never let PR to apply.

This is why I find the news article stupid and funny. Okay, maybe the investment plan only mostly works for the middle working class and rich people. By the time I saved up that kind of money, I am already long dead before owning a house or apartment in Brunei. If you are studying in overseas and completed University diploma, stay and start a good challenge life there especially if you are PR. I see fresh graduate comes in and out of Brunei because many of them know it’s impossible to invest something when the pay is so low and that’s reality that the standard of living here is also slowly rising.