Alternative Real Estate Investments

As a global city with a robust economy, Singapore’s real estate market is driven by a confluence of factors. We have a well-regulated environment, a highly developed infrastructure, and a strategic location. The city-state’s status as a major international financial centre, and a reputation for safety.

We have a wide range of properties and by-products in real estate. From high-end residential properties in the heart of Orchard Road, trophy assets to hardcore township out of CCR. Especially in the OC Region which has seen significant rises in property prices over the last 3 years.

I’ve always been a fan of investing and also owning real assets. In Singapore, we are quite a different animal as compared to the rest of the world. Two main factors will be:

  1. Our really long-term and sound housing board strategy
  2. Our high occupancy rate

These did not just come by chance. There is a drive from the government which was successful. The plan for FDI and local brands going overseas made the difference. That was how we succeeded in making our name and reputation known to the rest of the world.

Owning real estate is more of an emotional decision sometimes and one has to be prudent. As we do not have a crystal ball, we always have to depend on experience and research to make decisions. Most recently, many people would have been priced out of certain types of real estate. There are still other ways of getting into real estate with a lower notional or quantum via investing.

One way is Reits Investing and again everyone should really do their own due diligence. I’m not a fan of chasing market upside. (All that said, it really also depends on the situation). I put in some monies into Reits and also into Syfe Reits portfolio when markets were lower 2 months ago. My expectations of a Federal interest rate reduction were taken into consideration.

If you would like to try out Syfe Robo Reits, do check it out via my link here: https://www.syfe.com/invite/wealth/SRPTSMQ5J

I’m a little concerned about picking stocks usually. First of all it is because of my own experience, second because most of the time I was too busy while I was working. Many times, I am unable to adjust my portfolio due to market changes and sad to say, the losses then slowly became bigger. Either I cut loss or I continued to be a long-term holder. Heh.

During COVID, there were several businesses, robos, investing firms that came up. It was pretty interesting. That was also when I discovered Real Vantage. I have invested in that for almost 3 years now and they are sort of an overseas REITs player who makes deals available to the retail investor. The investing form is similar to REITs but in the form of debt or fixed income.

They are a local firm with founders formerly in REITs or real estate businesses. They source deals globally but over the last three years, I’ve seen deals from the United States, the United Kingdom, From HongKong, mostly Australia and once for Singapore (if I remember correctly it was to fund the development of a pair of bungalows or Semi-Detached). Technically, appreciation depends on the deal. Most of these investments is similar to a fixed income investment where you receive coupons on a monthly or quarterly basis.

One thing I’m certain is that they are pretty sustainable. It isn’t some fly-by-night firm and there’s some shared interest. It is a little bit like crowdfunding for the masses but it is licensed and done properly. I’m quite comfortable with how they do things and it does look like they are expanding slowly as business picks up.

Pros

  • Global investing
  • Investing amount is small. Easy to fund via SGD
  • Options to invest in local CCY or the investment CCY (Risk will be FX risks)
  • Quite an experienced team
  • They have been around for more than 3 years now
  • Every opportunity comes with a webinar to understand the investment better
  • Q&A to answer all the questions
  • Pretty good reviews on the internet.

Cons

  • Some mixture of foreign currency
  • Limited to mostly income sort of returns
  • For people who are not too open to non-financial and well-known financial institutions, it is probably a stumbling block.

I don’t see why it is not worth a try since some of the deals do look interesting. I have invested in some industrial, some residential and some mixed developments. If you don’t mind, give it a go at my link here https://www.realvantage.co/register?ref_uuid=07e38f8c-eb0b-11ec-88a3-0273d1e11af4

You get a benefit of the 0.25% additional on the investment amount which is pretty decent. I’ll get the same in return.

Conclusion

I can’t tell anyone this is worth your time to do all these because we have different values in terms of time and what it gives back to you. If you would like to give it a go, please do use my referral link: https://www.realvantage.co/register?ref_uuid=07e38f8c-eb0b-11ec-88a3-0273d1e11af4

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations

These pictures were taken off AI visuals for reference.

Today’s Deal of the day – Dobin App

At the start of 2024, there were signs that new offerings were being put out for deal seekers but as it seems, after January, there has been a drag of three months. Nothing much now except for Dobin. Before we start, let me just say that this is an affiliated link and by doing some actions, you do help me in keeping the lights on this blog. Please do try the app out. I have been using it for the past 6 months and I must say it has one of the better apps available without annoying advertisements.

At the same time, I can track expenses and connect my banking apps. Today is the last day for the referral. You can sign up and refer your friends and family to get cash rewards too. Besides that point, the main aim is to use the friendly app for tracking personal expenses. Personally, I prefer this app over the rest since there are no pesky advertisements and they are done here locally in Singapore. Support local I guess.

Here is the download link: Dobin Download

Do use my referral code please: ZUPUNWI

And remember to connect at least one bank account or one credit car on Dobin.

What You Need to Do:

  • Open the Dobin App and tap on the referral widget on your home screen.
  • Share your exclusive referral code with your friends & family.
What Your Friends Need to Do:

  • Download Dobin and enter your promo code during sign-up.
  • Connect at least 1 bank account or credit card on Dobin.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

Do use my referral code please: ZUPUNWI

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Today’s Deal of the day – Max Miles

2024 has been kind to us. There’s a bit of budget around most things available to the common man out there. Today is no exception with the introduction of Max Miles Ang Pow for extra miles. This is a limited-time promotion and is valid only until 24th Feb 2024 or up to 1 million max miles. So this is going to go out pretty quick.

Here are some free miles provided by max miles: Ang Pow Link

Do use my referral link if you would like to sign up: Sign Up Here!

What’s Huat with heymax?

  • This Lunar New Year, heymax will be gifting every Maxer up to 1,000 Max Miles to share with friends and family as ang baos!
  • Additionally – you get referral bonuses and new users get more Ang Baos when they sign up! Huat ah!
  • Not only can you give, but you can also receive up to 10 Ang Baos filled with Max Miles from fellow Maxer

Eligibility for Activity Participation

 The event will run from 10 February to 24 February 202 and you will get up to 1000 max miles

Activity Summary

Is there a limit to the number of Max Miles I can earn from ang baos?
  • Every user can receive and open up to 10 ang baos. There is no cap on the total Max Miles earned.

How can I redeem my Max Miles earned from Huat with heymax?

  • Any Max Miles earned from Huat with heymax can be redeemed through the usual redemption options as follows:

  • You can transfer your Max Miles to our 20+ airline and hotel partners. For airline or hotel transfers, the minimum transfer amount is 1,000 Max Miles at a 1:1 ratio.

  • You can redeem a minimum of 1,000 Max Miles for a $10 gift card.

Will my Max Miles expire if I don’t use them during the campaign period?

  • Max Miles do not expire. Any Max Miles you earn will remain with you after the campaign ends and can be redeemed through the usual redemption options on heymax.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

Do use my referral link if you would like to sign up: Sign Up Here!

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Another Ang Pow Promotion for Grabs – Limited

Chinese New Year is around the corner and there seem to be multiple promotions during the festive period. I hope everyone has a great new year and I do have something that I would like to share with you. These deals are kind of hard to come by and they depend on festive, promotions and company budgets. While some people might have stability in their lives, some don’t, and let’s make that simple and happy this 2024. I have another CNY Ang Pow Promotion that I would like to offer to anyone interested.

This article is brought to you via the Life Journey Blog Affiliate Partnership with Moomoo.

This special promotion is brought to you via the Moomoo Futu Trading app. If you use a normal referral code that gives you $660 in the welcome package. By using my unique link here Sign Up link, you get an additional $20 cash voucher by funding just S$100 on top of the welcome package that I have put below. The threshold is really low here.

Another Ang Pow
Moo Moo is licensed by MAS

The process is as follows:

For clarity:

a. Click on the signup link here to Open Account. Sign up and submit your details

b. Using any of the 4 deposit methods

  1. Deposit via Direct Debit – DDA
  2. Bank Transfer (Add  MooMoo as the payee)
  3. PayNow
  4. Transfer via Wise (Another payment App)

c. Transfer or Fund SGD 100 and wait for your rewards. That’s a 20% Return on Investment (ROI) that is risk-free.

d. (Something special) – The first 10 who have completed the signup and funding. Put in your details here: Contact List so that I can give you a little Ang Pow of S$5 for your efforts once I have verified the sign-up is complete. My only request is that you join my telegram group at Life Journey Telegram.

Those who already have the Moomoo accounts would have been long-time deal hunters so this is specially done for all of you who don’t have a lot of funds to play around to get some cash using limited resources.

Campaign Period

The campaign will commence from 2/11/2023 at 10:00PM SGT – 23/1/2024 at 9:59PM SGT** (“Campaign Period”).

Eligibility for Activity Participation

New users who have never opened a Moomoo SG universal account and/or deposited funds before 10:00PM SGT on 2/11/2023.

Activity Summary

When new users complete tasks, they can get corresponding rewards, such as free stock/ cash coupons and free real-time quotes.

As I mentioned earlier, this is for you only. Only when you use this link here Sign Up here and Fund $100 to get an additional $20 (Until 23 Jan 2024 only) and deposit S$100, you will receive an additional S$20 cash coupon from Moomoo. Treat that as a special treat.

Welcome Rewards worth up to S$660 (New Users)

Task Rewards
Successfully opened Moomoo SG universal account Reward 1

(i) Lifetime commission-free in the U.S. stock market*

(ii)  Free Level 2 US stock market data

(iii) (iii) Limited time access to free Level 2 SG Market Data (worth $20/month). Effective till 31st March 2024

(iv) Free Level 1 China A-share market data

(v) Free Level 1 Hong Kong market data

(vi) 1 Year commission-free for SG market (includes only stocks, ETFs and REITs)

(vii) Moomoo Cash Plus 5.8% p.a. Guaranteed Returns worth up to S$380 (Applicable to the first S$80K subscription, valid for 30 days only)

Deposit a cumulative amount of at least S$3,000 before 23/1/2024 at 9:59 PM, complete 3 cumulative buy trades and redeem rewards before 9:59PM SGT on 30/1/2024. Maintain assets for 30 days. Reward 2

(i) Receive 1 x Stock Bundle#: AAPL, NVDA TSLA, SE, NIO (worth S$70)

Deposit a cumulative amount of at least S$10,000 before 23/1/2024 at 9:59 PM, complete 8 cumulative buy trades and complete buy trades and redeem rewards before 9:59PM SGT on 30/1/2024. Maintain assets for 90 days. Reward 3

(i) Receive 3 x Stock Bundle#: AAPL, NVDA TSLA, SE, NIO (worth S$210)

Who is Moomoo?

Backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, Moomoo makes trading accessible with a gamified, easy-to-use interface.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

By using my unique link here Sign Up link, you get an additional $20 cash voucher. The first 10 in my google forms get additional Ang Pow after verification.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Another easy $5 from CapitaLand app

After all that hype and pretty good promotion AngPow vouchers for Lendlease Malls. I must say Capitastar pales in comparison. This is another easty$5 voucher from the CapitaLand app to get. It is little wonder that they are not even too concerned with the fact that their properties are located in areas that are pretty prime and have relatively decent or good location value. 

If you have not heard about the Lendlease promotion shopping app. Read my article here: Lendlease $20 free money. Hopefully you will still be in time for the promotion which is limited to 5000 sign ups.

Another easy $5 voucher from Capitaland and additional $5 on spending

Well, better than nothing. The initial quote is to go to the app click on profile on the top left, followed by Rewards for the code “LNY10OFF’

1. The initial $5 e-Capitastar voucher is only valid for 10 days and for the 1st 5,000 redemptions

Note that only 1 redemption per Eligible Shopper during the promotion period

2. The next 5 comes when you spend $100 at participating Capitamalls and for the 1st 500 redemptions per participating mall

Note that 1 redemption per Eligible Shopper, per mall, per day of the Promotion Period

Not fantastic but yeah, save while you can. If you do not have a Capitastar Shopping App, then you probably need to get one first in order to get those deals.

There’s no refer programme at the moment so probably get the one from the official app for a $5 sign up bonus by Capitastar themselves.

Capitastar Discount
Capitastar Promotion T&Cs

The CapitaStar Rewards Programme

CapitaStar is a card-less Rewards Programme with no membership fee or expiry. They reward you with STAR$® (on top of all other rewards on your everyday spend) when you make purchases at participating retailers across CapitaLand Malls. STAR$® are awarded automatically when receipts uploaded via the CapitaStar App are approved.

The STAR$® accumulated in this programme can be used to exchange for eCapitaVoucher and/or exclusive Deals on the CapitaStar Mobile App. 

Note: All purchases (including purchases with eCapitaVoucher as payment mode) made in ION Orchard are not eligible to earn STAR$®

How does CapitaStar work

1) SHOP or SPEND
Shop at any participating CapitaLand Malls (with min $20 spend per receipt) or at Jewel Changi Airport (with min $10 spend per receipt) and retain your receipts to earn STAR$®.  

2) EARN 
Simply snap your receipt with min S$20 spend and upload via the CapitaStar Mobile App ($1 spent = 5 STAR$®).
Receipts of purchase(s) must be submitted no later than the next day of purchase (11.59pm) to be eligible for STAR$®.  

3) REDEEM 
Redeem eCapitaVouchers via the CapitaStar Mobile App (5000 STAR$ or 4500 STAR$ for Passion Card Members = $5 eCapitaVoucher). You can also redeem exclusive shopping and dining rewards on the CapitaStar Mobile App to enjoy greater savings!

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

If you have not heard about the Lendlease promotion shopping app. Read my article here: Lendlease $20 free money

Use my referral code ‘DZEqaq’ when signing up or click on this link: New Lendlease Sign-up link

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Quick Ang Pow $20 for Lendlease app

This one comes a little at time but at limited supply.

Happy redeeming for new lendlease app owners.

You can spend at Parkway, Somerset 313, Paya Lebar Square and JEM malls for now.

Ang Pow
Example of how it looks like

Lendlease Promotion Refer for each to get $20 in e-Vouchers

First time I am seeing a referral $20 for $20 for both referral and referee.

If you restart the app, you need to rekey in the code to get the vouchers. Otherwise nothing will be allocated.

The app is a bit glitchy so be warned for now.

Only 5000 new lendlease sign ups get S$20 SIGN UP gift. Grab it early.

Once you download the app, you can only choose referral code or promocode. For this sign up promotion, the $20 for $20 is the most efficient one for now.

Use my referral code ‘DZEqaq’ when signing up or click on this link: https://lendleaseplusapp.page.link/gSRGPaWJpByeKrgz8

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

Use my referral code ‘DZEqaq’ when signing up or click on this link: New Lendlease Sign-up link

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Investing or Gambling or Punting

I recently read quite a bit of online articles to explore fresh new ideas and I came across some blogs discussing the fact that investing is gambling and also several others that discuss Singaporeans being overly confident with themselves. I mean there’s really no right or wrong answer to these and I personally feel that it is a little bit of a righteous standout or declaration. Yes, we all know that many people are snobbish but I would like to think that most Singaporeans are smart, clever, and full of empathy. The ones who are snob are usually the affluent group. Probably think that with a 6-digit asset, they have the right to everything.

That said, our small country has exceptional talents. These people don’t voice or come out to talk about their opinions in public. Usually, they can avoid it in its entirety or put their opinion on where it matters the most. After all, we are still humble Singaporeans, aren’t we? There was an increasing trend in the last decade about some topics that irk me a lot, let me list them down:

Kiasu/Kiasi

Meaning scared to lose or scared to die. It was prevalent in the last decade where FOMO exists today and I felt that it was uncalled for because people just flock to what most people did. It kind of made many next-gen be contrarian

Best

The concept of best has been something I disliked for some time now. At least for 30 years. For 30 years, I have been hearing the words best and “bestest”, even words that do not exist in the English dictionary appear in my everyday life. My question is, what is best? Who determines the best or why is it the best? Is what one defines as the best really the best? I beg to differ in all aspects. There is no best, there’s only what one thinks is the best. By the way, it doesn’t mean cheap means it is no good.

Similar to the way one measures a valued company. It’s not the best but it is the most valued. Then again, value is perceived hence my point – beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

Invest in gambling

It is said that gambling is punting, investing is gambling of sorts and investing is a study of risk management. If one sees risk management the same as gambling then I’ll ask, why invest and spend so much time understanding a company or an investment? Life is an entirety of risk and we understand the risks, manage the risks, and reduce risks to enhance our lives, our experiences, and our money.

Lady luck plays a big part in our lives no doubt. Some people seem to have more of those but I’ll say, you make your own luck. If lady luck is not on your side, it is probably because it is the wrong lady. Some find their lady earlier and some later. There’s no loser at the end, it is part of the risk management and tools we can use to enhance our priority.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy or general rule for your every life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join in the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services. 

If you have not opened a Moomoo account to start your investing journey, you can give it a go here to recieve rewards up to S$660 (T&Cs apply). Cliek here to Open a Moomoo account

Thank you in advance. It keeps the light running on my blog. Cheers!