Canadian PR

[scroobal]

Not a problem bro. You, Charlie and couple of others have loads of credit in this forum garnered over the years.

Sadly these things happen all the time amongst Singaporeans and other migrant ethnic groups. It is always easier to fleece your own kind.

I am actually delighted that this has been highlighted as many never see light of day and newbies continue get fleeced. The usual is the sale of house and the other is business. Unloading of these 2 are very common. I personally know a family with 3 kids that paid for a car rental business and lost everything because it was poorly structured. The Singaporean "friend" got a commission for it.

Thanks for your compliment and I am sure you can read all my contribution in this forum and find that all my advice are very consistant and fall into a kind of sincere, about-to-be-proven tupe.

 

[eatshitndie]

better not tell the reason to get myself in some argument over the internet and I know some type of people simply like to sue and honestly I am not that "rich" like those so-claimed multi-millionare who can afford lawyers.

Thanks again for your kind words.

anybody who threatens to sue just because they got busted on an internet forum is a moron. i am actually waiting with abated breath for this moron to sue. it will be an interesting case to observe considering all the shit that will be spilled in court. girlie men hide behind skirts to sue or threaten to sue a lot on the internet, but they are actually balless. manly men take care of business by settling the issue in private.

 

[panama]

chinchai:

It's not a matter of whether he will win or lose but the "fear" of getting a registered letter from a lawyer that he/she is acting on behalf of so-and-so to sue you for defamation on the ground of: " ....... "

Asychee will not sue something posted over a talk cock forum.

More importantly, Asychee will not want to get the unnecessary attention. He is more afraid of the thousands of filipinos he conned than to sue an annonymous nick who posted a matter-of-fact remark about him. By suing someone here, he is putting himself in the spotlight and risk being sued by the thousands of filipinos.

So you may have over exaggerate things.

Your good intentions noted however.

Cheers.

 

[pohchuan]

Shall we return to discussion abt living and migrating to Canada? Let me start the ball rolling

I apply for PR in 2005, got my visa in 2009 and landed in vancouver 2010. I stayed a month in Vancouver, liked the city and decide to migrate there after I have settled those that need to be settled here in Singapore, perhaps in 2 yrs time from now.

I am a divorcee who plan to live with my ex wife who has migrated to Canada earlier with my child. She is giving me a chance to make amends, and to be a good father to my kid, but refuse to remarry me becos she is afraid of hurts. Anyway that is fine with me as long as I get to see her and my kid daily

Plan is as follow:
I have $300k cash savings and own a 4 room HDB while my ex-wife own a 3 room HDB. I am paying a $1250 mortgage and my ex-wife is paying a $750 mortgage. We will be renting out both HDB for $2000 and $1500 respectively. After deducting the mortgage, I have positive cash flow of $1500 and the HDB will be ours when the loan tenures are over in 20 years time.

With $1500, plus Canadian child benefits, I would have abt $1800 income monthly. Initially I plan to rent a basement for a year and subsequently buy a townhouse for my small family using my savings and if possible loans (not really necessary) if I have a job.

I reckon that I would have a lifetime income of $1500 from rents which should be comfortable enough for a modest living. I plan to secure only a casual job or any lower level skilled job for just slightly abv the $10/hr minimum salary. The ideas is to just have an additional $1000 net job income and provide spare time to do errands for my ex-wife and kid to bond again with them.

Going forward,I will have a $3500 positive cash flow from the flats in 20 yrs time when we finish paying off the mortgage. Incidentally I will be 65 in 20 yrs time and can start to receive retirement funds from the canadian old age pension and guaranteed minimum sum. the pension and guaranteed sum will be just abt $2500 for both me and my ex-wife together. That means a$6000 retirement income or perhaps only $3500 by foregoing the canadian pensions for some reasons.

By the time I kick the bucket, I would have left my kid with 2 hdb property in Singapore and one townhouse in Vancouver, all fully paid.

I am seriously thinking abt the abv scenario as it allows me to have an easy job, enjoy laidback life, put more efforts and time in courting my ex-wife and kid, and still can look forward to retirement income and giving 3 properties to my kid eventually.

Someone find a flaw in the abv mathematics pls; so that I can tweak it and adjust my expectation.

By the way I am not a spendthrift and enjoy eating at home. My ex-wife works but I wont be able to see her money (and that is fine with me), well, except the rental yield from her HDB flat which was originally paid by me. I plan to drive my ex-wife second hand Toyota for transport means.

Any comments? good or bad are welcome.

 

[Leongsam]

I have $300k cash savings and own a 4 room HDB while my ex-wife own a 3 room HDB. I am paying a $1250 mortgage and my ex-wife is paying a $750 mortgage. We will be renting out both HDB for $2000 and $1500 respectively. After deducting the mortgage, I have positive cash flow of $1500 and the HDB will be ours when the loan tenures are over in 20 years time.

Allow for the fact that you may end up without a tenant for months at a time plus note that refurbishment costs between tenants can cost thousands.

 

[Hock]

Pohchuan, you(and your ex-wife) need to appoint someone trustworthy as your power-of-attorney for your(and your ex-wife) flat(s). Since both of you are already divorced, what make you so sure that in future one(or both) of you will not remarry.

I predict you will return to S'pore within one year.

 

[exSINgaporean]

pohchuan:

"Incidentally I will be 65 in 20 yrs time and can start to receive retirement funds from the canadian old age pension and guaranteed minimum sum. the pension and guaranteed sum will be just abt $2500 for both me and my ex-wife together."

My name if Bernard CHAN. I am a Charatered Financial Consultant licensed only in Alberta so I cannot service you in Vancouver but I can give you some general advice and then encourage you to go to the bank to seek help from a Certified Financial Planner, CFP on retirement planning.

I tell my clients that I earn from commissions on the products I recommend so I could be bias and does have some sort of conflict of interest in my presentation of my solutions so I strongly advise my clients to double check on my suggestions and products beofre deciding. Almost 9 out of 10 take my recommendations.


What you referring are the Canadian Pension Plan, CPP, the Old Age Security, OAS and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, GIS which kick in at age 65.

Two months ago, I help a single Taiwanese lady, age 65, to draft an appeal letter to get higher allowance for her OAS as her CPP gives her only about $168 per month. I knew her when she was you age of 45 and she work odd jobs and the most she earns is about $15,000 per year and many of years she had almost $0 income. So please double check with a professional, experienced and qualified Financial Advisor in B.C. on this.
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/isp/cpp/cpptoc.shtml

I hope the Financial Advisor in BC is also familar with the Singapore side....but I doubt they dare to venture to advise you something out of their scope because of professional liabilty issues.

I am an ex-Singaporean and do keep in touch with the developements in Singapore over the CPF because some of my clients do have CPF back in Singapore. For your case, you should contact a Chartered Life Underwriter, CLU or a Certified Financial Planner, CFP in AIA or Prudential or Great Eastern to confirm my below view.

Judging from you planning of collecting rental from your HDB flats (wife and your) I deduce both of your are going to remain as Singapore citizenships. Then please check the CPF website

http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/Members/home.htm

1. If you read arefully, you will find that the new CPF ruling might land both of you in serious financial problems at age 55 (fifty five)....just 10 eyars from now.

First each of you will need to top up your minimum sum....now it is about $117,000 and 10 years from now...God knows how much....could be $150,000.

So both of you need a total of Sin$300,000! Would you have that much?
If no, then the law states that each of you will need to sign an agreement that when you sell your HDB, you will need to pledge to use the resale money to top up the difference to 50%....it could be 100% if they change it 10 years later.....knowing the PAP, they keep on changing policies for YOUR OWN GOOD.

2. Then there is the minimum medisave ...now it is $33,000 per person....10 years later it could increase to $50,000....so both of you need a total of $100,000.

3. Third is the compulsory Deferred Annity Plan which all Singaporeans and PR below age 55 must contribute into.

With my knowledge as a Financial Consultant goes, I know technically "medical insurance" premium per se are not refundable. The medicsave account can technically be term as a kind of "insurance" and if you don't use it it can be put into a common pool or at best rollover to your spouse if you have any. If you surrender your Singaporea Citizenship would they "refund" your medisave to you? Think about it.


If you read online, there are many Singaporeans who now live overseas and got letters from CPF to top up their medisave! Check it out.

So 10 years later, when you receive a registered letter from the CPF to top up this and that, and you do not have the money, you immdiately become a debtor to the government. Can they sue you?

If by then you want to surrender your Singapore Citizenship, the Singapore govt might not allow you until you settle your debt! So you might then need to borrow from a Canadian bank to "top up the medisave" to a total of $100,000 for both of you and also the CPF minimum sum of total of $300,000 and not forgetting the Deferred Annunity Plan ...could need another top up.

It could come to about $500,000 by then for both of you. At 3% inflation index, the current value is about Sin$400,000......still alot of money.

Now here is the big blow to both of you.

After you surrender your Singapore citizenships and apply to withdrawal your CPF you MIGHT receive a shock letter:

1. The medisave account is an insurance policy and the minimum sum is the said "premium" and as such when you discontinued your plan volunteeringly, there is NO refund of the "premium".

2. The CPF minimum sum was intended to be used to purchase a Deferred CERTAIN Annuity Plan as as such. By virtue of surrenderring your Singapore Citizenship you have volunteeringly opt out of the Annuity Plan thus there is NO refund of your money.

3. The contributions for those under the age of 55 is for an Deferred Annunity plan as such. By virtue of surrenderring your Singapore Citizenship you have volunteeringly opt our of the Annuity Plan thus there is No refund of your money.

In short all the above are only meant for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents to enjoy.

Don't believe me? You think I simply trying to frighten you? Well then ask the CPP board in Canada itself. Ask them what if you surrender your Candian Citizenship (or even continue living outside of Canada for more than 6 months in a stretch) can you still withdrawl from your CPP, let alone take out a LUMP sum of all those CPP you have contributed.

This is because CPP just like CPF "annuity" they are "ANNUNITY" ,period. The most you can have is a "combined" annunity with your spouse (legally married) and there's a rollover to the spouse on the death of one of them. thre is NO rollover to the children and no one can withdraw any lump sum if he/she opt out from the CPP by virtue of surrendering their Canadian citizenship.

Please check my information as it is subject to error-and-omission" and your have my permission to pass it on.

Bernard CHAN
BSc (First Class Hons), MSc, CLU, CH.F.C.
Tel. 780 433-5433

 

[pohchuan]

Thanks Bernard (ExSingaporean) for the reply

I believe others are reading your reply and have benefited a lot from the insight.

To sum up, I think you essentially have written that policies in Singapore can change over the night and we might be caught by the policy changes. This might be true and all of us lives in fear of these sudden changes.

Perhaps I can add further to the slew of fears that you mention: What if the policy is made such that rental income has to be placed into CPF to make up for the shortfall of CPF minimum sum. That will be scary. Or what if a policy is made such that CPF can not be withdrawn even if you have changed citizenship. the potential list goes on. AND it boils down to only one thing: Policy can change overnight.

So what should I do? Leave when I can? Withdraw the CPF while I can? There are various answers to the abv questions and individuals have various circumstances that make answering a challenge.

But, I am glad for the insight provided by the forumers here. Your experience and opinions on the matters has provided me a balanced perspective. Cheers!

 

[pohchuan]

Pohchuan, you(and your ex-wife) need to appoint someone trustworthy as your power-of-attorney for your(and your ex-wife) flat(s). Since both of you are already divorced, what make you so sure that in future one(or both) of you will not remarry.

I predict you will return to S'pore within one year.

Hi Hock

Someone I know mentioned that too: "That I will return to Singapore within one year". That is the reason while I plan to rent a basement initially and plan along as the pictures unfold in front of me.

So if the failure can be predicted early, why do I still forge ahead with the migration plan? Well, I can not forgo the chance for a reconciliation with my family, can I? The risks are there, but as a father and husband, I have to take that risk.

I am sure there are many fathers and husbands in this forum who can relate to my predicament.

 

[pohchuan]

Allow for the fact that you may end up without a tenant for months at a time plus note that refurbishment costs between tenants can cost thousands.

Thanks Sam for the reminder.

May I also add that I think I need to put aside a sum of money to cover any potential disputes and repairs costs.

 

[exSINgaporean]

Thanks Bernard (ExSingaporean) for the reply

I believe others are reading your reply and have benefited a lot from the insight.

To sum up, I think you essentially have written that policies in Singapore can change over the night and we might be caught by the policy changes. This might be true and all of us lives in fear of these sudden changes.

Perhaps I can add further to the slew of fears that you mention: What if the policy is made such that rental income has to be placed into CPF to make up for the shortfall of CPF minimum sum. That will be scary. Or what if a policy is made such that CPF can not be withdrawn even if you have changed citizenship. the potential list goes on. AND it boils down to only one thing: Policy can change overnight.

So what should I do? Leave when I can? Withdraw the CPF while I can? There are various answers to the abv questions and individuals have various circumstances that make answering a challenge.

But, I am glad for the insight provided by the forumers here. Your experience and opinions on the matters has provided me a balanced perspective. Cheers!

pohchuan:

I would suggest that you see your HDB flat now while the price is still high.....as another recession is imminent ...at the way USA print th emoney and the jobless rate remains at 9.5%....despite the first QE1 of almsot a US$1 trillion.

Both you and your ex-wife should get abot Can$500,000 for both HDB.

Then surrender your citizenship while you still have the time before age 55 and before they change the rules again and again.

The money in you rhands is better than being held by the Singapore govrt.....can you trust a 86 yer old man, who has just lost a wife and he himself is half-dead to be the chairman of the company to handle your money? Moreover this company's account is NOT audited by any international auditing firms!

Withdraw all your CPF. In Canadian you can look inot various index linked GIC or with Life Insurance companies like IAP (HQ in Vancouver) and Desjardins Financial Security. For eg. in Desjardins there is a Helios Plan which pays you a 4% lifetime income and this could increase if the investment goes up and they automatically locks in the higher amount for you once every 3 years and the 4% or higher interest at your age attainted is then based on this higher amount.

Check it up in their website or talk to a qualified professional life isnruance agent borker who represent these companies.....you should get an agent with a Chartered Life Underwriter, CLU designation. Talk to your bank officers.

As I say I cannot service you as I am only licensed in Alberta, unless you physically is in my province.

 

[Hock]

Hi Pohchuan,

In my opinion, your plan is not feasible. Both of you are still paying
mortgages for the HDB flats. Power-of-attorney? What happen if you
can't get tenant for months? It is better to sell immediately; get some
cash, and the remainder back to your CPF. After 3 years(out of 4) stay
in Canada, you can apply for Canadian citizenship, denounce your S'pore
citizenship, and get every cent out from your CPF. Keep yourself liquid in
Canada, opportunity to buy inexpensive real estate is just around the corner.

Basement dwelling is not suitable for a family; too many problems to mention.
You should rent ground level and higher.

"....have an easy job, enjoy laidback life" You sounded like a lazy chap.

I predict you will return to S'pore within one year.

 

[pohchuan]

pohchuan:

Withdraw all your CPF. In Canadian you can look inot various index linked GIC or with Life Insurance companies like IAP (HQ in Vancouver) and Desjardins Financial Security. For eg. in Desjardins there is a Helios Plan which pays you a 4% lifetime income and this could increase if the investment goes up and they automatically locks in the higher amount for you once every 3 years and the 4% or higher interest at your age attainted is then based on this higher amount.

Check it up in their website or talk to a qualified professional life isnruance agent borker who represent these companies.....you should get an agent with a Chartered Life Underwriter, CLU designation. Talk to your bank officers.

Hi Bernard

You always dish out good advices. I have printed your reply and keep it for reference. Yes, there is a need to look for a financial agent to get my finances fix right.

Just for the benefit of others who are reading. I am also toying with the ideas of half leg here and half leg there. That means, one of the spouse retain Spore citizenship and keeping the Canadian PR status while the other spouse obtain Canadian citizenship and withdraw out the CPF after selling the HDB. But again this method carry its risk and potential explosive family problems if there are disagreements.

By the way Bernard, any advice on high yield bonds or fix income? Perhaps from Oil companies (corporate bonds) or govt issued fix income securities. What is the average rental yield for canadian residential or commercial properties?

 

[pohchuan]

Hi Pohchuan,


"....have an easy job, enjoy laidback life" You sounded like a lazy chap.

I predict you will return to S'pore within one year.

Yes, I sounded like a lazy chap. Perhaps you are right, I am quite lazy.

I have been quite fortunate in having financial blessings, due to the fact that I have quite a knack for mathematics and stuff. Not as good as the financial experts here, but good enough to make an easy living through modest retail investment in stocks, bonds and cheap assets. I have been quite lucky so far with just moving my cash and assets through the 4 cycles of stocks, bonds, assets class and cash (in that order moving in 4 quadrants). A very simple investment timings method but very useful.

I likened the ideas of getting a fix income through HDB rental yield to be similar as having a golden goose that lays the golden eggs. The golden eggs will come as long as the golden goose is not killed. but as Bernard says, policy might changed (perhaps over night) and the golden goose may be locked up together with its golden eggs inside the CPF cells.

 

[Leongsam]

Hi Bernard

You always dish out good advices.

"Advice" is a non countable noun; you do not add an "s" to make it plural.

"Advice" is like "Rice". You say... "Please pass me the Rice." You don't say "Please pass me the rices" because "Rice", like "advice", is a non countable noun.

There are many other examples. To test your knowledge of non countable nouns, go to English Language Quiz - Countable or Non-countable Nouns (I-TESL-J) and take the test.

 

[exSINgaporean]

Hi Bernard

You always dish out good advices. I have printed your reply and keep it for reference. Yes, there is a need to look for a financial agent to get my finances fix right.

Just for the benefit of others who are reading. I am also toying with the ideas of half leg here and half leg there. That means, one of the spouse retain Spore citizenship and keeping the Canadian PR status while the other spouse obtain Canadian citizenship and withdraw out the CPF after selling the HDB. But again this method carry its risk and potential explosive family problems if there are disagreements.

By the way Bernard, any advice on high yield bonds or fix income? Perhaps from Oil companies (corporate bonds) or govt issued fix income securities. What is the average rental yield for canadian residential or commercial properties?

Stay away from the bonds now as the interest would rise bec. the US$ is losing its value. By end of this year 2010 or mid 2011 the latest, the housing crisis in America causes by the foreclosure will be twice worse than the sub-prime mortage cisis in 2008 because the bulk of the renewal is in late 2010 and mid 2011.

The teaser rate is about 3% and already there are people defaulting at this rate and thus can you imagine when the actual rate of 7% kicks in. The stupid Obama QE2 will not help but makes it worse for the whole financial market. It's like pouring karosen on fire. The unemployment still stays at 10% after the QE1 ...in fact in real term it is 16% if you add in those who have givn up hope in finding a job and those who work odd jobs.

When interest rate rises to combat inflation cuase by weak US$, the bonds will be affected badly. The bond bubble will burst by mid 2011.

Mark my words.

I have all my clients put their investments in Canadian $ and waiting for the next deep fall in DOW to 5000 or 4000 or when the EMA and others in my technical analysis indicate a trend reversal, then I will get them to buy in.

If you are going for a long term, stay away from bonds which gives 1.2 to 3% ofr a 30 years bond....no good. If inflation is 3.5% you ended up losing money in bonds!

When the market is down and all my technical indications shows a reversal, I will buy in. Currently I buy lots of silver, SLV and a few Canadian stocks. However the gain in SLV is affected by the drop in US$ when I sell them to convert to Can$. But in the last 1 month I have make 20% already.

My investment objective is double my investments each year in the stock market. When the market goes up I gain, when it goes down I also gain by buying the reverse options. When the NASDAQ was highest in March 24, 2000 I "lock in" the gains for my clients and they were so happy I did for them. So now I am the only one they turst for investing all their RRSP pension money.

My prefered mutual funds and segregated funds are: Fidelity True North, Fidelity Balanced or Asset Allocations. For my daughter who is a special needs the Caandian government contribute $4,500 to her $1,500 =$6,000 each year for saving. When the market is down to its lowest point (about lowest) I will put her investment into the Royal Bank CANADIAN Growth Dividend Fund. After 3 years later, I will buy in for her the Royal Bonds funds....average last 20 yrs at 6.5%. Pretty good for not much risk investment for her.

My 14 years old son already playing stocks now. It could be his school project 2 years later.

If you have a 20 years timeframe, you will find that CANADIAN Dividend Growth Funds outbid most of the other funds. My daughter has a 40 years timeframe. Also the Royal bank has one of the best bonds funds with the least violatility.

Check them out in the Globefund.com or any financial websites.

Ai ya, if you want to immigrate, just leave the shit hole. What the f*&k you want to put your the other leg in the shit hole...you like the smell of Lee Kuan Yew or Dragon Loong or Ho Chin's shit or what.

I tell you when you touch 55 the whole hell will break loose on you ......the whole hell is CPF. Mark my words, 10 years from now, there will be alot more of those "for-your-own-good" rules to support this ponzi scheme.

Look I don't earn a cent from you but if I see a fellow man falling down a cliff, what do you expect me to do?

Good luck.

 

[Hock]

Hi Pohchuan,

Put each leg in each sampan is not getting you anywhere.
100% sure capsize wan.

 

[Dole43]

I am seriously thinking abt the abv scenario as it allows me to have an easy job, enjoy laidback life, put more efforts and time in courting my ex-wife and kid, and still can look forward to retirement income and giving 3 properties to my kid eventually.

Someone find a flaw in the abv mathematics pls; so that I can tweak it and adjust my expectation.

By the way I am not a spendthrift and enjoy eating at home. My ex-wife works but I wont be able to see her money (and that is fine with me), well, except the rental yield from her HDB flat which was originally paid by me. I plan to drive my ex-wife second hand Toyota for transport means.

Any comments? good or bad are welcome.

Your plan sounds perfectly feasible. You have commendably prioritized being near to your kid to watch he or she grow up, and putting your family first.

You have more than enough cash to easily put a 25% down payment for a $400K property which is a typical budget for a decent single-family detached home in the GTA, maybe a little more in the GVA.

I think your main concern should start with whether you can rent out both HDB units. If you can do that legally in HDB's eyes, than that's a good start.
An alternative is to trade both HDB units for a private unit of equivalent value, even if it is a studio or shoebox as long as it is in an area that expats like. That will give you more flexibility with renting it out and increase your odds of finding tenants as long as your rent is competitive.

If you sell the HDBs as suggested by some, you get to take out more cash, and the balance goes back to CPF. Parking yet more cash with CPF is not my idea of safe haven. Unless you are a savvy investor or have a good funds manager to do it for you, diversifying into property is the best way to hedge against inflation.

You like Vancouver, and your ex-wife has a job there. But if you really want to stretch your singapore-derived spending dollar and yet be near large population centres and have a wider choice of universities for your kid, you can always consider the surrounding areas around the GTA, like I did.

And for those who are predicting your return to Singapore within a year, I'd place my bets that you won't. Cos with your kid settled down in school here, it will be quite hard for the kid to re-integrate into a Singapore school, and with your kid being here, you will be here too.

Another thing, don't start your new life in this great country in someone else's basement and houserules, that is a downgrade from your HDB flat and may make some people's predictions of you come true. You have the funds and conservative expectations, start in a decent house that your family like and start enjoying your stay here.

 

[malxsin]

Hi pohchuan,

Both exSingaporean and Dole43's advice is very good and sound.

Its always not a good idea to be neither here nor there, I think you have to make up your mind about the move and if you listen to the thoughtful advice given to you by some of the forumers here, you are unlikely to regret the move over here and more likely you will wonder why didn't you move earlier.

For your info, it was only a few months ago that my family and I landed in Canada. I know of no one in Canada and was seeking advice and info in this forum to prepare for our landing. Thanks to the advice by some of the good folks here, my family and I are able to plan for a smooth landing as well as settled in comfortably.

The people here are generaly helpful and nice. I managed to make some friends quickly including some SB forumers and so far, my family and I have managed to settled into our detached house which we bought one month after we land, bought a car and the children are already going to school etc etc. We are quite happy here and now that my family is settled down, its time for me to figure out how best to invest the little funds I have and what job or business opportunity there is for me.

I wish you luck and I am in Toronto.

 

[Hock]

Now is a bad time to buy a house in Canada. Canada is making the
same mistakes as U.S., but expects different outcome. Canadians
with no money down( zero deposit), some with 40 years amortization,
can buy houses. It will not ends well.