Oz Buzz

“He who has a ‘why’ to live will always find the how.” 

––Nietzsche

The 27thANNUAL LANDRUSH CONFERENCE IS COMING UP FAST. This year’s theme: How to make money and how not to lose it! 
Speakers present and debate investment opportunities: Edmonton deals, BC’s north, Phoenix real estate deals, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Langley, Transit oriented developments, Richmond, Insurance musts, Mortgage secrets, US foreclosures, US tax liens, Forecasts on economy and most Canadian markets with a special focus on Alberta and BC and Investor focus. Watch what you invest in 2019. Go to landrushcanada.com for details.

#OZBUZZ #LANDRUSHCANADA #REALESTATEMARKET #REALESTATEPHILIPPINES #REALESTATEPMALASIA #REALESTATEABUDHABI #DUBAI #REALESTATEVANCOUVER #REALESTATECANADA #WORLDVIEW #LIVELIFELARGE  #REALESTATEBRITISHCOLUMBIA #HOTPROPERTY #REALESTATEPODCASTS #QUESTIONS #INTERESTRATES #FORECASTS #BOOKCARPEDIEM #CANADABUDGET

Today’s Issue:

  • REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOTS – PHILIPPINES, MALASIA, ABU DHABI, DUBAI
  • QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS
  • FOREIGN BUYERS? UPDATE
  • HOT PROPERTY $50,000 BUYS YOU 20% TURN
  • PODCASTS: NEW! TOOLBOX
  • OZZIE’S OPINIONS ON EVERYTHING
  • BOOK RECOMMENDATION “Carpe Diem Regained”
  • NEW BUDGET: GOODIES OR SMOKE AND MIRRORS?

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

Comment: Several comments on investing in the Philippines. One in particular warned about corruption: To register a property you need payoffs that may go right up to the city hall. Another advised: “Make sure that a) Title is actually registered in the name of the seller, b) Deal with a known quality developer c) Obtain a written guarantee from the developer (in a pre-sale) that there are no more than 40% foreign participants in the particular development, d) Research developer. Only buy from long-term established ones. e) Find a local you can trust! Finally, a Vancouverite (now living in Philippines) writes: “Corruption exists, payoffs exist, it takes a month to register a title, mortgage appraisers are owned by the bank (they are not independent) … but payoffs are ‘part of life in Asia’ and are minute in relation to the general size of the investment. Returns have been outstanding notwithstanding.
Major Point: You roll the dice, you win or lose… Make sure you understand the dice.

Q: The tremendous economic collapse in 2008/2009 brought the world to the brink of extinction. Could it happen again?
A: 
Not sure about that kind of a ‘brink’, but yes, of course it could, as long as we tax payers tolerate the bailouts. From the fraudulent creation of the subprime market, no one was punished, no one went to jail, and billions were absorbed by taxpayers and innocent investors. Investors? Companies created AAA products that were actually junk and the rating agencies approved them! A MUST WATCH is the movie “The Big Short” – It’s on Netflix. The movie ends claiming that we – since 2015 – have created new and similar instruments again and thus are doomed to repeat.

Q: I liked your bit on inflation but can’t find the past issues you refer to.
A: 
Oz Buzz was started in mid 2018. There are several comments on inflation/deflation in those 20 issues during 2018. However, 25 years worth of issues of Jurock’s Real Estate Insider have carried the arguments a) inflation will win, b) there are 2 kinds of inflation – hard asset as distinct from the goods and services inflation numbers favoured by governments.

Q: Like your numbers. I think the benchmark price would be better. 
A: We are doing an Oz Buzz toolbox shortly which will include a discussion on all “numbers” and what exactly they mean, and what you should look out for.

Q: Canada budget looks very helpful. Something good?
A: 
This is a very quick look at the new federal budget housing measures. Initially it seems a little like smoke and mirrors. Shared equity mortgages have never been popular, and banks may have hesitation about lending when in fact CMHC has a $40,000 lien on the property. As for the RRSP angle: The first-time buyers that it aims at simply don’t have a lot of money in RRSPs. If they could afford that, they would buy a home instead.
This is an election year, so monies are spent on goodies that help win votes. By leaving the stress test in place and failing to do enough to stimulate the economy while piling on debt, the Liberals have guaranteed the Canadian housing market will remain in a deep freeze for a long while.

Q: I read somewhere that new experiences build new brain cells. You must be exploding with your brain cell growth. Love your Facebook posts! Thanks. How do you make the videos of only pictures with music?
A: Thanks. I have a big head already. If you have windows 10, you have the app: Photos. Let it find photos on your computer. If you can’t find them, you did not put your photos into “pictures”. This is vital. Once there…click in “Photo app” on create video…select your photos…click on text…write, click on music…add a synched song…The rest your app does!

SPOTLIGHT: THE THRILLA IN MALAYSIA, ABU DHABI and DUBAI

Spot light on Malaysia: We spent time in Port PenangKuala Lumpur, and Langkawi. Different tax systems make a Mercedes. (That in Canada costs $100,000, in Singapore $250,000 but in Langkawi tax free and only $50,000.)

Malaysia’s GDP growth rate remained at around 5.4% in 2018. It’s expected to remain at a similar level or improve increase further in 2019. Kuala Lumpur is the most expensive place to buy real estate during the last two decades. It doesn’t come as a surprise as it’s the capital, financial hub, and the most popular city among expats and tourists. By the end of Q2 2018, the average house price was RM 772,000 (USD $186,000), which is considerably high compared to the national average. The price increase in terms of percentage is still on par with the national average of around 5%.

Below you can find a comparison of average prices in different places during 2018: Kuala Lumpur: RM 772,000, Selangor: RM 468,000, Sabah: RM 445,000, Sarawak: RM 437,000.

Foreign buyers: Malaysia increased the minimum investment requirements to RM 1 million for foreign buyers, but there is still a surge in applications for the MM2H program, especially among Chinese buyers. Under the MM2H program, you get a 10-year renewable visa.

Buyers market: The booming market has let to over construction. The Malaysian government decided to put a temporary ban on the construction of high-end condominiums worth more than RM 1 million (around USD $245,000). Thus, the stock of residential units declined by 20%.

Taxes: There is stamp duty increase from 3% to 4% of property worth more than RM 1 million but a reduction of the duty for houses under 400,000.

UAE Abu Dhabi, Dubai 
What a clean, crime free world good leadership and oil…can create! Of course, there was a boom and now values re declining. The declining property prices in the UAE makes the market favourable for investors and tenants. Attractive prices for completed properties has also widened the pool of buyers. Surprise: Rent to own is popular (!?).

Foreign buyers: The new 10-year residency visa in the UAE could give eligible residents a stronger feeling of permanence in the country and increase property investments. The five-year retirement visa – with the condition of owning a property here – could also see more residents viewing the UAE as a long-term option. The new residency visas are also expected to boost the Dubai and Abu Dhabi real estate market in 2019, with more residents seeing the UAE as a long term option.

BTW: While Dubai remains better known as tallest building, tallest hotel, ski resort (yes!) and a thousand ‘bests’ … it actually owns only 5% of the UAE while Abu Dhabi owns 87% – with the 5 other  emirates making up the difference.

Buyers’ market: Strong oversupply point to continuous decline in prices for 2019.

HOT PROPERTY

  1. Chilliwack, All-inclusive investment in Chilliwack! Property under $200,000. Complete renovations top to bottom. Quality tenant. Positive cash flow. Full Property Management for 1 year. Fast growing area with potential. BONUS: 1st year’s strata fees covered resulting in $300/month cash flow. Average ROI over 20% per annum. Required $50,000 (25% down).
  2. Edmonton 85,000 reduction for downtown new condos 
  3. Downtown Vancouver: Unobstructed 17th floor view, unique condo WITH a proper Den and separate office. Superb location at International Village. Steps away from everything, shopping, schools etc. Price: $588,888.00

THIS WEEK’S BOOK

‘Carpe Diem Regained’. What a fine book. Roman Krznaric revisits the origins of the most often used phrase and considers that the phrase has been hijacked. He then explains his solutions in an interesting, believable and eyebrow-raising fashion.

AUDIOBOOK

Too busy to read? Want to listen to Ozzie’s book for free? Sign-up for a free trial at Audible by clicking HERE and get Real Estate Action 2.0 FREE!

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

Go to www.realestatetalks.com – Some 2,500 members (47,009 posts) talk real estate. Ozzie created this bulletin board in 1998!
If you are in a real estate related industry of any sort (realtor, appraiser, lawyer, home inspector, etc.) list yourself in Ozzie’s free British Columbia real estate directory at www.bcred.ca. (12,566 visitors last month)

OZZIE’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

You can watch all my videos and most of my podcasts on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/jurockvideo

RADIO

On air with Michael Campbell on fabulous MONEYTALKS every Saturdaysometime between 8:30AM – 10 AM. The Hot Property that we discuss there, is available by subscribing to the Oz Buzz Dispatch at Jurock.com

HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT?

You can reach me at info@ozbuzz.ca with all of your questions, comments and concerns regarding the Oz Buzz publication.

LIVE LIFE LARGE

We attract what we think about
What we want, we attract
What we love, we attract
What we fear, we attract
What we want with passion, we attract faster.
I attract the essence of that to which I give thought
What I want, I attract
I will be clear about what I want
I focus on what I want

I will grow into my future best!

Look up all the “Grow into your future best” cards at: www.commitperformmeasure.com

Go to LandrushCanada.com … Check it out…!
Write to Max@jurock.com for a sponsorship package…

Oz Buzz Podcast

Disclaimer

Please note that any response to any email or any invitation to any meeting is accepted on the understanding that “Jurock Real Estate Insider (JREI)”, “OzBuzz (OB)”, “JCIR (JC)” as the case may be, are not responsible for any result or results of any action or actions taken in reliance upon any information contained in this posting or meeting, nor for any errors contained therein or presented thereat or omissions in relation thereto. It is further understood that the said OB or JREI, or JCIR as the case may be, do not, pursuant to this posting, purport to render legal, accounting, tax, financial, planning, or other professional advice. The said OB and JREI and JCIR may or may not own properties discussed at meetings or receive or not receive referral fees at any meeting you may attend as a result of this posting or invitation. The said OB and JREI and JCIR, as the case may be, hereby disclaim all and any, liability to any person, whether a purchaser of any offering, a reader of any offering, or, otherwise, arising in respect of this postings and of the consequences of anything done or purported to be done by any such person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or any part of the contents of these postings. If you respond to any posting OB or JREI and JCIR or attend any meeting from and by said companies, we fully expect that you get independent legal/tax/investment/mortgage advice as the case may be.

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