Recent content by drawsAndCairn

One practical first post on the local board could use a single hypothetical purchase and list every unknown separately: purchase price, financing, transaction costs, renovation, ongoing management and eventual sale assumptions. Mark each item as confirmed, estimated or unavailable. That should...

I agree on defining the property, but I’d examine data availability before building the model. If completed-price information is limited or inconsistent, a precise spreadsheet can create false confidence. Ask members what each figure represents, how recent it is, and whether renovation...

That separation should make the decision much clearer. Before committing any surplus, update the closing estimate with the people handling the transaction and confirm the payment dates with the lender. Then price the move, check the insurance excess, and obtain quotes for any urgent inspection...

Management workload is another hidden difference. Retail can involve tenant fit-out approvals, maintenance disputes, access arrangements and end-of-lease reinstatement. Even if a tenant pays some operating costs, someone still has to monitor the lease and make sure responsibilities are actually...

I’m not convinced a percentage alone answers this. On a budget that large, vague scope can overwhelm even a generous reserve. I’d first establish whether bathrooms and kitchen stay in their current locations, because moving services changes both access and sequencing. Get bidders to price the...

I wouldn’t treat HK$22,590 as automatically achievable just because it is being asked. Find out whether those comparable homes actually let quickly and whether their condition, size and terms match yours. Then calculate how many months of the roughly HK$2,530 monthly gap would be lost to...

I’m torn between valuing this by price per square metre and treating its unusually large 1-bed layout as a separate issue. The Jakarta new-build flat is about 175 m², in average condition and listed at IDR 21,520,000,000. It has good light and location, although the finishes look dated. There...

One more thing: ask for the timing of the service charges, not just their monthly amount. A payment landing near the first mortgage instalment changes the cash-flow picture even if the annual cost is affordable.

I agree that the purchase price needs confirming, but I would go further: an inspection does not make the first 90 days predictable. It can identify visible defects, yet several smaller expenses may arrive together after occupation. I would set a hard repair-and-moving allowance and refuse to...

For running costs, broad categories would be more useful than one total from a previous occupant. Please clarify which utilities the tenant handles, which charges remain with the landlord, and whether any shared services are billed separately. Usage varies too much for an unexplained figure to...

For a remote buyer, I’d split the process in two: use the portal to discover possible studios, then independently verify the building, unit details and transaction path in the relevant jurisdiction. A polished mobile search cannot resolve uncertainty about what happens after contact.

The Dubai-to-Jakarta setup raises a more fundamental issue: why was REALTOR.ca chosen for this particular search? Was it the main place you expected to transact through, or simply an additional discovery channel? Portal quality and suitability for a particular market are separate questions.