kalimantan

There are a few topics here in the forum discussing the different brands or types of leather sofa retailers sell. I would like to know in layman terms the following without salesman talk. a) Leather sofa - means OUTSIDE is leather skin ? b) What does the INSIDE of the sofa contains ? The INSIDE of the sofa determines the comfort level as well besides the OUTER SOFA LEATHER SKIN ? C) Of the leather skin itself, what type of ANIMALS are suitable for leather skin ? What are the common Animal skin used for leather ? d) Does any country specialize in the leather skin ? e) Does the leather skin itself contains GRADES ? f) I always hear leather skin - crocodile, etc. Does crocodile skin makes sofa ? Topic is focus on sofa materials. please do not talk about length or width, etc

i've not bought anything before EL, so i cannot comment on their products or sales talk. But i read this thread and i may consider these points: a) EL marketting approach may target to those mass market type eg toyota value. They are not targetting on the higher end, like Mercedes/bmw sofa. b) i am sure forum members know that when they buy sofas and can feel the comfort and discomfort of the materials. So if u sit on a sofa and feel like toyota, perhaps that is the value or $ you should pay. Not a cents more. c) I bought my sofa $7k from castila premium few years back, and still very happy about it. I guess one have to pay for a price for expensive stuffs. When i buy something, i always consider these points in order. (u may say i m crazy) 1. Buy a product, pay a price. Ask yourself what is the depreciation rate (rough calculation) per month. Anything exceeded life-span, you earn its value already. Taking eg of my sofa, i tell myself last 7 years good enough with one year depreciation of 1k, which translate $83 per month. 2. Always buy good quality that can outlast your own generation life-span. Serious man, i prefer to buy something that can pass to next generation where possible. Eg I buy quality watch that can pass to my children, 100% burma teak wood stuffs that can pass down, property that can pass down. Like that you won't feel cheated. 3. I learnt that whenever i hve a new home and buy furniture , if i buy cheaper sofa or stuffs, very likely u will re-buy over the years which is a hassle ! So ask yourself when you buy from EL, ask yourself how long YOU PLAN the product to last.

Please correct me if i am wrong. Had a chat with a recent 56 year old collegue and i asked him about cpf changes and his lifestyle after turning 55 years old ...from a good chat, now i know how the minimum sum scheme works in layman terms (no time to read those guidellines from cpf) ... To start off, must understand old model of cpf a) age 55, withdraw everything, then draw your money until no money left. If you survive or age more than the population, you have to depend on your dependents / govt for money (but you know govt won't give u money if your life-span out-live your finances) b) New model (i hope i ask my collegue the right questions and he answer everything truthfully). for calculation, let's say all of us turn 55 years old now and minium sum requirement is 150k 1. pledge property for half value, which means you pledge 150k to cpf. 2. can take immediate 50% cold hard cash which is 50% x 150k = 75k 3. the other 75k will be manged by insurance as annuity - or publicly known as cpf life. 4. Withdraw the 75k bit by bit until you die. If you outlive that 75k, u earn ! 5. If you do not out-live before the consumption of 75k, the left-over goes to your dependents. Also your house also goes to dependents (if you wish). Am i correct on the new model ?

WEll done ! You are the man ! At least people who wish to buy knows what price range from the list of top-tier to bottom down. The list is like properties, listing from Orchard Road, Nassim, etc all the way to some hdb sites with no mrt. Therefore people can easily make purchase based on certain brands, etc

actually i am a layman to the cpf minimum sum thing ...why not thought of minimum sum as .. a) a drawn down amount bit by bit until you exhaust all like a annuity ? Annuity pays you for LIFE. (if u live till 100) ? Does all singaporeans really want to take all amount (and control it) than let the govt manage via cpf methods ? b) Whenever the govt raise cpf minimum sum , i will always try to match it via cash in bank or whatever liquidity method you prefer eg stocks or funds. Why not work hard to do it this way ?

Honestly which layman will go to understand the term "top grain", "cow" or animal codes out there since layman do not get to see the process of slaughtering,etc We layman knows only cow milk (at least our AVA super good and ensure public confidence). Now i am not saying who is more knowledgeable on the "materials" used here. How about giving brand names so layman can easily "perceive" the brandname ? For example in IT Tablets, we can say Apple is the pioneer and innovate so layman can easily see the "best" of it. However Apple do not tell us what complicated parts it use inside for most layman can never understand !. For sofas, is there a real-leather brand names out there ? Eg da-vinci, etc in ascending order ? This way those who buy bottom down the list need not pay a high-con price of it. Those we pay the premiums at the top level knows the "quality is surely there". Does anyone knows the list or each retailers are just advertising ?

I like dealing with numbers, so i would like to know what are the financial planning courses to take. Having nothing to do at night, i read up H1, M5, M8, M9 exams and cleared all of them for the fun of it. Can any experts guide me any formal courses to take ? I am not a financial consultant, but i am a IT professional :-)

i bought my 3+2 full leather from castilla modern in 30 sept 2007 Paid for $7k (include gst) I know it is a good sofa because whenever guests comes, they sit on it and refuse to get up. Even kids / maid sit, refuse to give up unless called by their parents / employers to get up ! My son likes to jump on it for 3 years and it still it is a good sofa ! I do not believe cheap means good, unless i am really conned by them on the price.

I wish to point out a few things after reading the threads .. a) Rimblock : not all citizens (eg me) treat their tenants badly. I sublet a hdb room for $450/pax for 3 years and still never increase rent or make life difficult for tenant. also i allow tenant to pay rental at end month rather than each month upfront. So she happy until now :-) b) pantieleen : you should not blame PR for everything. If PR got business mind, it means they are smart. Unless you cannot stand anyone smarter than singaporeans, then i very worry that your children (if any) are to be fully protected by our govt. I do not allow my children to be fully protected by "too pro-singaporean" policy, this will make them worst off in the long run. c) Rimblock : i've to disagree with you that PR / Citizen own only ONE residence in singapore. In financial concepts, property is a investment class too. It is up to INDIVIDUALS to decide their own financial plans. Eg i can only buy silver, but cannot buy gold ? Or i can buy stocks A, cannot buy stock B ? Therefore anyone can buy any number of properties and manage their risks. d) Definition of illegal subletting - as long as they pay taxes and ensure tenants are legal with proper pass, what is illegal sublet ? Define illegal ? Does the tenants create neighbourhood problems ? Maybe the govt should "explain in clear cut" matter what constitute illegality ?In that way, jealous singaporean won't shoot here and there and keep the town councils busy.

agreed with your theory ... BUT ... 1. Whether singaporeans buy and sell or rent at high price - some are hearsay , some are facts. But did u know that they have to pay rental tax as well ? If your friends can do that, why can't you ?

i can understand why people want big space even though the couple is a first timer. And if u look at long term, bigger space is good for mental health, rather than a cage ! For newbie getting married, plan for bigger space, than do a "upgrade" in future for a big space. For myself although i have a family of 4, the minimum "next" stay must be at least bigger than what i stay now. Again i cannot afford it since price is high, but to stay in a small 1500 sq feet now. And for your info, my mum ALONE stay in a 125 sq meter and don't even want to share out .so everyone appreciate big space, etc. I guess maybe in future, the trend could be combining 2 of 3-room flat or jumbo ...that could be a plus for people wanting big space.

there is no reasonable COV. If Bill gates pay for 100k cov, to him is peanuts. If you consider 100k cov, you post in this forum. I suggest you look around than pay for such cov. Do not be tempted by big size unit and the love of it. Remember LOVE is BLIND ...after purchase it, you regret for life ... Sometimes it is NOT your luck to buy such a big house ...if you are lucky, people offer you smaller cov. But it is face-front unlucky that you are "forced" to pay for high cov. I suggest you move on and look for alternative unit. However do not blame the market price for the ups as interest is very low now. Life is like that. I am sure when market is down, it will certainly be a buyer market as well.

since you already "own" the place 100%, keep it that way. when a person pass-on, you can "will" it to your spouse + children.

Sorry i do not get thie point "the higher the price of property = higher rental = higher tax " higher property price - because owners want to cover mortgage, they want to rental high - that i understand. But if market is no good and high retrenchments, those owners will suffer as well. It depends on the situation when one bought the property.

My opinion 1. No banning of PR buying HDB flat. (i mean PR with spouse, not siblings, etc) 2. Should not artifically peg the price for "affordability" to people's income. Because if a day comes when i earn $1k, can i sell my previous hdb and buy another "cheaper" housing ? Affordability should be based on people's income with respect to market conditions. To put bluntly, don't buy something a person cannot afford. Otherwise if "income-affordability" policy starts, the next GE election will say "can i buy pte or land property" at cheaper price as well ? Or worst, some *** in opposition comes with idea "singaporeans can buy cheap in Orchard Road area. 3. Definitely a no-no to bring the price down for the whole population to score a point for opposition parties to satisfy those have not bought it. I am sorry. that is a fact of life, no one should bring down my flat value for political reason. The only justification to reduce flat-value should be of unforeseenable or economic reasons, eg WAR, disaster (flood area i won't buy), global economy financial crisis, market supply, etc 4. As to PR not taking citizenship, i feel it is individual NATURAL choice. The same question can be put forth to singaporeans if dual citizens allow, will you give up singapore citizenship if you are PR of some other countries ? So we should not "attack or bias" PR from our views. 5. Why PR wants to come SG ? Simple : good education, safety, law and orderly society, good governance etc All those intangible benefits are established well by the old guards. If our old guards did not do well, eg gangster, shooting, etc continues, you think PR interested to come to SG with family ? 6. As to some rumours on some PR (very limited i guess) bought a HDB flat and rent out a few room, singaporeans also can do that. It is just that singaporean value more privacy than PR and thus do not wish to rent-out (and singaporeans blame PR for such reason !). I myself also sublet a room out and i know what is privacy value, but i choose to look at money coming in each month :-) 7. Why PR wants to return to home country ? Singaporeans may not known what is the PR host country tax system like. Say i am a US citizen and i work in US AND PAY 30% TAX upfront after getting salary. USA then provide free medical or anything free, etc. Now i come to singapore to work, so naturally i want to "gain back" my tax benefits when retire. What is wrong with PR thinking that way ? So you think Germany is a good place to retire from some stories ? Bring singaporean there for a few days of cold food, and singaporeans definitely wish to fly back the next day ! Singapore is a good food paradise ! I work in German company and all my collegues always complain about the food in Germany, cannot ta-han ! And FYI : MOST Germans want to come to Asia ! Singaporeans should stop admiring people who can retire back to host country with the "wow" factor. BY THE TIME PR grow old, the host country may have changed and singapore could be a relative good place to stay. It depends on the right time, right factor from fengshui point of view. 8. Why must singaporean bother about the wealth of others ? Please accept the fact that no one is born equally. If Bill Gates make his children PR, definitely his children is entitled to buy hdb flat. What has that HDB policy got to do with a person's background wealth ? 9. Is singapore a good place to retire ? YES DEFINITELY ! Why worry about money, when you should start financial planning at young age, and there is a thing called annuity where the objective is to pay you indefinitely when you run out of resources when you live till 100. Don't complain no money and blame govt for high cost of living. Individual should be responsible and take-charge for your own lives. Accept the fact that Singapore is a flat piece of land with no resources and we import everything. So global price up, take it ! Make your own financial returns beat more than inflation ! Sooner or later, other poorer countries also face high cost of living in years to come. There are many poorer and mis-managed countries which has higher inflation than Singapore ! Time now is 1:50am. All above are sleepy thoughts. FYI : I am a singaporean too in the 40s with 2 young kids (not even primary school yet), and i don't whine and whine about life. I am competitive than PR because i willing to accept a lower pay. With lower pay, i manage my finance well and have sufficient properties. I am born in poor family with no inheritance.

hello all ... think i should have said earlier that which party or individual wins - based on fengshui perspective , rather than putting all internet or rally speeches in ... Just want to view things in fengshui way ..(you guys are still right on politics issues, but for once, can we move away from it purely) since this is a fengshui topic in this forum ? example, can we say "so and so" has the "look" - facial fengshui ? For me i realised one thing on the banner (pictures of candidates, etc) that is put up on the streets...seems like PAP banner is always on-top of the opposition banner ... As for miniister salary, i wouldn't know how the information is decided, if it is true, than opposition would have use it long ago ..why surfaced out of the blue ?

So election fever here. So far all the fsm in the papers diam diam (very quiet) ... Any students want to share from your master view ?

http://www.barossasingapore.com/ Dec 2010 - i ask them to make a tv console for me (i only want best teak burmese wood). Cost me $1900. Can only deliver in March. I love it ! Simply no regrets. Suggestion for you a) go to any shops and take photos of the design first. b) show your photos to David (owner of the shop above) and he will customize for you. David himself is passionate about woods, so he has a deep understandings of the woods used in the industry. For me, if i wish to replace any furniture, i will go to him without 2nd thoughts. Price may be expensive, but you buy only ONCE and use it for LIFE. Teak wood last for generations which you probably aware. Only thing is the shop may not have enough manpower and thus may be late in delivery.

I spent $7k for a 3+2 sofa few years back. Still in good condition. Only need to get professional service to do cleanup twice a year. I am not an expert in sofa, but i believe cheap or heavy discounts may not last a long time To add-on on my experiences on whether it is a good sofa from customer view: a) since i stated i m no good in sofa materials, i rely on good brand names. b) if you invite guests to come to your place and even children refuse to give up sofa seats to others, then you know that it is a good sofa. c) i've bought other cheap sofas before, you will realised that no one like to sit or rest on the sofas for long time.

another question to your "misleading" thread : about owning 2 hdb pty You own a hdb flat already, then you inherit another hdb pty from pass-on parents. What will hdb do ?

when u come to purchaes property, never get involved with parents (directly or indirectly). When quarrels occurs, you will be sandwich in between.

hdb loan charge high interest. it is the interests of consumer moving to bank lower interests ... but .... you all know lah .... there are other disadvanges as well ...

Shallow men believe in luck Brave men believe in Cause and Effect.

My master bathroom sink has a 2 door cabinet below. One of the door is spolit which i removed it already. I suspect the door wood is no good which after so many years spolit. I am looking for a contractor to rebuild the door cabinet. Please reach me at jkklim@hotmail.com and i can attach photos. Alternatively pleaes recommend good contractor to me. Thanks

Net worth = total asset less total liabilities. Residential house is excluded from total asset calculations (only can add 2nd property owwards). Therefore most people so-called total asset is worth much less.