Duty Stamp Fee (IRAS) - What is it in Singapore Rental Context?

There has been a misconception that stamp fee are required to be paid only when buying of properties. There are many people oblivion of the fact that there is actually duty stamp fee in real estate or property leasing.

What is Stamp Duty?

Stamp Duty is actually the fee payable by the tenant to the landlord. In Singapore, only when the tenancy agreement or the rental contract is Stamped by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore or in short IRAS, it wibe considered as a valid contract or a legally binded document.

How much does Stamp Duty cost?

Many people do not know how to calculate stamp fee and would only rely on agent to quote the amount payable by the tenant. Agent would usually ask for a higher amount, this would one of the opportunity to make more money from the tenant. I would not call this cheating as it is a price quoted by the agent and the tenant being oblivion agrees to pay that amount.

Formula for calculation of Stamp Duty fee -

For one year tenancy agreement:

(Agreed monthly rental amount multiply by 12) divide by 250 (rounded up to the nearest dollar)

For two years tenancy agreement

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Articles that you may be interested in -

How To Buy Private Properties In Singapore?

How to Rent a Unit Without a Property Agent?

What are the advantages of consolidating your debts?

I am sure many people in the current world are feeling financial strain and stress. The root cause of the problem is usually Credit Cards. But there are also people who got their debts from business failure or family issues.

Debt plays a very important role in the economy, it contributes to the growth of the economy when everyone has a job and can pay their loans. But when people start to be out of job, these debts become bad debts and it could crash the economy.

Luckily, there is one type of loan known as the payday loan consolidation. It basically ends the debtors' worries by helping to reduce the total interest rates and make sure the payments are made on time. It is because all your loans are being centralised into one single loan and on the whole reducing the total interest rates payable.

Sexy Nude Model Caused a stir in China Village

A nude model is posing for photographer in a village in China. Villagers found it to be somewhat wrong and wanted to chased the model and the photography team away. This sight has been deemed to be vulgar and wrong. I agree that there only a very thin line separating vulgarity and elegance.

The model planned to dedicate herself to the art. Little could she realised that such nude photography act would end her getting shooed away by tree branches. On June 9, 2010, at the scenic area of Xinmi, a naked female model posing for nude photography was shooed away by the local villagers.

You got to read on for the full story from the original news source.

(Extract from AP) Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to delist shares from NYSE

Now, the questions that everyone would ask is - What happens to the current stock holders of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Well, I would say, the delist offer price to the current holders will be substantially more than the price it holds now. It should benefit the stock holders who have just encountered a 50% decrease in their stock value all of the sudden. But nobody knows now, unless someone comes along and address this issue.

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By Lynn Adler Lynn Adler – 53 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N), the largest U.S. home funding companies, will delist their shares on the New York Stock Exchange after Fannie Mae fell below and Freddie Mac held near minimum price requirements, the companies' regulator said on Wednesday.

The companies, each taken under government control in September 2008, said they no longer met NYSE listing standards and that shares would trade in the over-the-counter market.

The regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, directed the companies to delist common and preferred stock from the NYSE and any other national securities exchange.

It said the delisting order was not taken due to the companies' performance.

"FHFA's determination to direct each company to delist does not constitute any reflection on either Enterprise's current performance or future direction, nor does delisting imply any other findings or determination on the part of FHFA as regulator or conservator," FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco said in a statement.

Stock exchange requirements for maintaining price levels and curing deficiencies were the driving force for moving to delist, he said.

Common shares of each company have hovered near the NYSE required minimum average closing price of $1 for more than 30 trading days and for most months since the conservatorships began in September 2008.

Fannie Mae's closing stock price has recently been below the required average price, which would mean either delisting or a "cure" to restore the price. Curing would not assure maintaining the minimum or avoiding loss of shareholder value, according to the regulator.

Freddie Mac's shares had been holding just above the minimum.

"A voluntary delisting at this time simply makes sense and fits with the goal of a conservatorship to preserve and conserve assets," said DeMarco.

In NYSE trading in late morning on Wednesday, Fannie Mae's shares traded around 45 cents, down 51 percent, and Freddie's shares were quoted at about 61 cents, down 50 percent.

"If you run the numbers there is no value for shareholders," said Malcolm Polley, president and chief investment officer at Stewart Capital Advisors in Indiana, Pennsylvania, which does not own shares in either company.

"For them to even be trading on an exchange I think is ludicrous."

The two companies have tapped more than $145 billion combined in federal aid, and have an open credit line with the Treasury Department through 2012.

The government is relying heavily on them to stabilize the U.S. housing market after the worst crash since the Great Depression. But record foreclosures and defaults ate away at the companies' capital, leading them into conservatorship.

The long-term fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is in question, as Congress next year is expected to begin overhauling the entire U.S. housing finance system. That process could take years to play out.

"I think this is a technical action rather than a meaningful action," said Michael Youngblood, principal, Five Bridges Capital LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. "There is no consensus within the (Obama) Administration on the future of the agencies."

The OTC trading is expected to start around July 8.

Fannie Mae said in a statement that the switch should not affect its ability to provide liquidity and stability to the mortgage market, or its focus on foreclosure-prevention and refinancing under the Making Home Affordable Program.

Freddie Mac said it expects its shares will be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board "so long as market makers demonstrate an interest" in trading the securities.

"The stocks are traded by appointment only. I can't see this will meaningfully affect the holders of their stocks," Youngblood said.

Both companies said they will still file periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(Additional reporting by Richard Leong in New York and Corbett Daly in Washington; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

[TIPS] How to rent an apartment without the help of property agent in Singapore?

Many people has a misconception that in order for a unit to be rented out or vice-versa, you need a property or real estate agent. The truth is you can actually do it yourself. Well, in the past where Internet was not so widely used, to a certain extend, an agent is usually required to do the job due to the work involved.

What rental agents do?

1. The agent needs to publicize the intention of the landlord to rent out the apartments, flats, condominums or house with details and indicating the desired rental price on the papers.

2. Another agent who incidentally has ready tenants will try to contact the agent putting up the advertisement in the hope tmatch the deal.

3. The agent will then liaise with their clients, the landlord and the potential tenants to the apartment or the material real estate for a viewing session.

4. The agent representing the landlord would provide a standard copy of a tenancy agreement which terms and agreement clauses can be found anywhere on the Internet for both parties, the landlord and the tenant to entered into a tenancy agreement.

5. When the deal is done, the agent who represents the landlord will take his commission which is equivalent to half of a month's rental fee if the tenancy agreement last for 2 years, the commission will be equivalent to a month's rental fee. As for the agent representing the tenant, he will get the same amount from his client.

But, as Internet became more and more widely used, this has really in my opinion eliminated the need for an agent to get involved in sourcing for tenants or landlords. Tenants and landlords can placed their advertisements anywhere like Property Guru to indicate their intentions without the help from agents.

>>Read on for full report ...

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How to buy a private property with a little cash in Singapore?

Property price has rocketed everywhere in Asia. Due to the economic recovery, there are many people jumping into real estate investment which has further increase the prices of property. This article tells interested first-time buyer what there is to know when buying a private property.

There has been a trend for adults of age ranging from 29 to 35 are buying small private properties for investment. The small private property can be anything between 600 square feet to 750 square feet. Some of these apartments are also known as studio apartment. The fact that economy is recovering, many in these age group are mostly single and hope to jump into the band wagon to profit from the property boom that is expected to continue in its inclining trend in Singapore.

The most frequently asked questions by these group of people are -

1. How to buy a condominium with little cash?

2. Can I take a full loan?

3. Can I cover the loan with rental?

Well, the minimum sum of cash that you have to pay is not a small amount. The first payment is known as the booking fee which is 5 to 10% of the agreed amount for the purpose of the property or real estate. For example, if the property that you are buying cost $800,000, the minimum booking fee payable is $40,000. Parties will then entered into an Option to Purchase Position. This option is valid for 3 weeks. It will be exercised when another Sales and Purchases Agreement is entered with the balance down-payment paid to the seller.

There are many property websites that enable interested property buyers to surf and browse. But the comprehensive of all is Property Guru. It comes with listings as well as real estate calculators to check how much you will be paying for your real estate loan.

>>Read on for full article

[News] Asian shares advance on US jobs market recovery

By ALEX KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer Alex Kennedy, Associated Press Writer – Mon Apr 5, 4:11 am ET

SINGAPORE – Asian stock markets were mostly higher Monday after an encouraging U.S. jobs report offered the latest sign the global economy is on the mend.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.5 percent to 11,339.30, Singapore's benchmark index also increased 0.5 percent, Indonesia jumped 1.7 percent and India gained 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi index added 0.1 percent to 1,724.99 while Thailand dropped 0.4 percent.

On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department said employers added 162,000 jobs in March, the largest job gain in three years. The unemployment rate stayed at 9.7 percent for the third straight month.

"The U.S. recovery is showing new strength," said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor for MasterCard Worldwide in Singapore. "Demand for Asian exports is stabilizing and has recovered from last year's trough. Domestic demand in Asia is also rising steadily."

The Dow Jones industrials rose 0.7 percent to 10,927.07 on Thursday, a new high for the year. Wall Street was closed for Good Friday, as were other major markets around the world.

>>Read on for full report...

New iPhone Could End AT&T's U.S. Monopoly

By YUKARI IWATANI KANE, TING-I TSAI And NIRAJ SHETH

Apple Inc. plans to begin producing this year a new iPhone that could allow U.S. phone carriers other than AT&T Inc. to sell the iconic gadget, said people briefed by the company.

The new iPhone would work on a type of wireless network called CDMA, these people said. CDMA is used by Verizon Wireless, AT&T's main competitor, as well as Sprint Nextel Corp. and a handful of cellular operators in countries including South Korea and Japan. The vast majority of carriers world-wide, including AT&T, use another technology called GSM.

With Apple developing a phone with CDMA capability, its exclusive U.S. arrangement with AT&T dating to 2007 appears set to end.

Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, declined to comment. An AT&T spokesman said: "There has been lots of incorrect speculation on CDMA iPhones for a long time. We haven't seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur." Apple declined to comment.

Separately, Apple plans to release a new version of its current iPhone this summer, continuing its practice of annual upgrades at about the same time of year, said people briefed on the matter. The model is likely to be thinner and have a faster processor, two people familiar with the device said.

For AT&T, the Apple relationship has been crucial, helping to make the carrier the U.S. leader in lucrative smart-phone market share. According to comScore Inc., AT&T has over 43% of all U.S. smart-phone customers, compared with 23% for Verizon. These customers are especially attractive because they generally pay higher monthly rates for data plans.

For several quarters, AT&T's growth has come almost single-handedly from the iPhone. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the carrier said it activated 3.1 million new iPhones. In comparison, it counted only a net total of 2.7 million new subscribers as some customers moved from other phones to iPhones.

"You're not going to lose the iPhone [exclusivity] and make up growth somewhere else without bearing the cost," said Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. research analyst Craig Moffett.

The people briefed on the matter said the upgraded GSM iPhone is being made by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which produced Apple's previous iPhones. The CDMA iPhone model is being made by Pegatron Technology Corp., the contract manufacturing subsidiary of Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc., said these people.

One person familiar with the situation said Pegatron is scheduled to start mass producing CDMA iPhones in September. Other people said, however, that the schedule could change and the phone may not be available to consumers immediately after production begins.

Representatives of Pegatron and Hon Hai declined to comment.

>>Read on for the full news report..

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iPhone is really a monopoly is only one single factor that brought AT&T's market share up. This reminds me of SingTel before Starhub and M1 gets to sell iPhone in Singapore. Many people like myself have ported to SingTel just because of the need to get our hands on iPhones.

[NEWS] Baiting the cyber-scammers

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writerMarch 26, 2010: 4:54 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- To Internet fraudsters promising vast riches in exchange for advance fees: meet the scambaiters.

These self-described Web vigilantes go after alleged e-mail scammers claiming to be Nigerian princes, U.S. soldiers in Iraq or Chinese businessmen. They say they need your help (i.e. your money) to access fake multi-million dollar accounts or palaces full of gold.

Most people recognize these e-mails for what they are and delete them without replying, but enough victims actually fall for these scams to keep them coming.

And then there are the scambaiters who answer the e-mails and feign genuine interest in sending money, as a ploy to send the scammers on a wild goose chase.

Mike Sodini, a firearms importer and owner of the Web site ebolamonkeyman.com, says he started scambaiting in 2001, when he worked at an Internet real estate marketing firm that got inundated with scam e-mails.

Sodini started writing back out of curiosity "to see how the operation would go" and he said it soon became a hit with his co-workers, who would gather around his computer to read his farcical dialogue.

"I started it to make my friends laugh and see what was going on," he says. "I didn't have a motive of, 'Let's get these guys."

In his responses, he would masquerade as characters that were "crazier than the scammers," he says, including a porn star and a racist rube. "There were times when I would pretend I was a Nigerian scammer and I would say, 'Dude, what are doing? I'm one of you."

For further fun, Sodini got alleged scammers to make fools of themselves by posing in photos and holding signs with offensive statements. He says he would get them to do this by claiming it was "for tax purposes," which was a ruse, since he never intended to send them money. He says he'd also convince them to make numerous trips to airports and Western Unions, lured by the promise of money packages that never arrived.
More financial scandals to come?

The name of his site comes from his first scambait, a long-running e-mail dialogue that ended when he finally accused his fraudulent pen-pal of being a scammer and said he wasn't good enough to win the scammer-of-the-year award, which was "a cute Ebola monkey." He has posted this exchange on his Web site.

Sodini says he "retired" from active scambaiting about four years ago, when the fraudsters got savvy to his ploys and started identifying him as "Ebola Monkey Man" within the first couple of e-mails. But he continues to run his site, featuring past dialogue with scammers and photographs of them holding signs, as well as fan mail and hate mail.
Death threats and witch doctors

"Rover," a scambaiter since the 1990s who would not provide his real name, doesn't see his efforts as a joke, but as a mission. In stringing along alleged fraudsters, his goal is "to take their eye off the ball" by luring them away from potential victims, because "they're spending time with us instead of spending time with other people."

Rover owns the scambaiting site 419eater.com, which is a reference to the Nigerian criminal code for fraud. He says many of the fraudulent e-mails originate in Nigeria, but they also come from England, the Netherlands and China. Some scams are ripped from recent headlines, with fraudulent appeals to help earthquake victims of Haiti and Chile.

"[The scammers] will go after anybody that they perceive has the time to give them," he says. "They're obviously just sending out hundreds and hundreds of e-mails."

>>Visit the original article news post for full report

Its Time For Online Business To Include Credit Card Payment Feature

E-Commerce is once again in business focus. The economy although having its ups and downs, it is nonetheless recovering. And we all could feel the recovery going on.

Businesses using web advertisement has evidently increase as marketing affiliates are flourishing with businesses once again after the 2008 to 2009 recession. Many countries are already out from recession. It is time to capitalize on the unlimited possibility of the Internet to increase net revenue now.

Credit Card processor is no longer something new, but consumers now expect to be able to pay via credit card. So that makes credit card processing an essential part of the overall operation. It is therefore now time to think about including credit card payment ability to enhance your business in the hope of benefiting from this economy recovery.

Five Star Credit Card Processor Solution is one of the best sites that offer such services. It gives your online website a good competitive advantage to those that do not have the ability to accept credit card business at a very reasonable rate.

[NEWS ABSTRACT] Windows Phone 7 Series website collapses under weight of traffic

Windows Phone 7 Series seems to be on the way in penetrating into the lucrative 'Smartphone pie'.

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Microsoft's iPhone-bashing marketing campaign hits buffers
By Kelly Fiveash • Get more from this author

Posted in Mobile, 16th February 2010 11:37 GMT


The Windows Phone 7 Series website is currently titsup less than a day since Microsoft launched its iPhone-competing gadget.

We asked the company what had gone wrong, but at time of writing Microsoft hadn't got back to us with comment.

The website has one simple message that reads "Service Unavailable".

Microsoft baptised its smartphone yesterday, giving it the clunky name of Windows Phone 7 Series - which seems to be Redmond's attempt at distinguishing its gizmo from the Apple iPhone and Google Nexus crowd by giving it a car-like moniker.

Earlier this morning Paul Wright, who describes himself as a 'Windows Mobile Marketing Maverick', blamed heavy traffic to the site for its current, unscheduled lie-down.

"Due to the unexpected number of click-thru's to the Windows phone 7 Series website it's decided to crash, will have it back up asap," he said on his Twitter account about two hours

Stock Market Jokes

1. Have you ever encountered this before?

During a bull market, you decided to load a stock counter. Immediately after you bought the counter, the bull dies and a bear hugs you from behind. The counter out of the sudden, plummet.

You decided to counter the situation by selling off the counter cutting your loss and at the same time short the counter. Seconds after you have shorted the counter, a bull suddenly charged towards you and the counter started to go up again.

2. What is the definition of a Bull Market?

I have a friend he told me that he had made lots of money from the stock market. He insisted that it is going to be a Capricorn effect (A bull trend during the start of the calender year). I told him that the stock market is way more complex than that. It does not move on a straight line. Not taking the advice, he expectantly lost a great deal through contra trading subsequently.

The definition of a Bull Market is actually a up-going market that will cause investors to mistake themselves as financial genius.

3. Who are brokers?

They are this people who helps you to buy, sell and manage your stock investment needs. They are usually the one who made people broke.

4. Sometime when you made a mistake of buying a certain down-trend stock, you really hope that your broker will one day come up to you, while holding your hands telling you that actually he did not buy that stock for you. Well, we all know that this is not going to happen.

5. Who are institution investors?

They are the people who decides the fate of a stock. If they buys, the stock price is going to rocket. And when they sell, the stock crashed.

>>Read on for the full jokes article