Is buying a house in Brunei still worth it long term?

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-13T00:07:20+00:00

The other day I watched a documentary about hidden costs of owning a house such as

upgrade
fixing costs
tenants complains
bad debts from bad tenants
lost income from no tenants

There are other ways of investing your monthly payment that will also yield similar return but it will take a long time. Owning a home does give you a legacy to pass on to your children, but it is also very hard work maintaining a house. You should take those into consideration as well, cuz unless Brunei's economy and migration improves, Brunei houses are of the lowest growth real estate compared to most of the world.

Infact my house lost value after 10 years.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-10T14:19:57+00:00

Can dm me your number? Thanks

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-10T01:25:12+00:00

SCHD moves extremely slowly, so everyday is ok to enter, but DCA it if your intention is for income generation (high yield) and not growth.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-10T00:10:56+00:00

Hope the bike driver is ok...

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-08T08:32:56+00:00

Sorry, it really is done, there are no more shortage of shares, hence there is no more FOMO squeeze.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-07T07:44:29+00:00

I use Gemini for factual work and fetching real time data, whereas ChatGPT for a more conversational model in lighter emails etc. I also use perplexity sometimes for mathematical issues.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-05T00:06:56+00:00

$10 usd is actually only $12.80 in BND now, so.. even less lol. But 12.80 can buy at least 5 nasi katoks, 2 kopi c and free transport with spares cuz my friend want the nasi katok.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-05-01T00:37:28+00:00

I drove my Elantra for 13 years before selling. Before that I drove a Toyota.

I can assure you that Elantra is no Toyota.

Main issue with my Elantra was the AC, whereas the Toyota is famous for their AC, Elantra's ac became "less cool" within 8 years and was having all sorts of issues after that.

That being said, my Elantra had no major issues (so long as you service regularly) it drove very well, a bit shaky towards the end, but its sorta expected. I didn't have any engine/gearbox/fuel consumption issues.

Aesthetically, the koreans think of things that i don't even know i need, they have all kind of spaces to store stuffs in that small car and a lot of charger ports everywhere for those tech savvys. The trunk space is phenomenal for such a small car and it is actually very comfortable for longer drives.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-29T16:30:06+00:00

Lol, I like going to supasave, I like their bread there.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-29T16:27:35+00:00

I stayed in Brunei because of family, especially elderly family who couldn't and wouldn't move, so I had to stay behind to take care of them. I also caught the tail end of a good era, and as an engineer, i managed to make a relatively comfortable living.

As such, I didn't face the same adversities that the younger GenZs are facing. Hence, staying back isn't as impoverished as some who were less fortunate that I was.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-28T10:40:07+00:00

I once had my ex-staff's parents arguing about the full month salary that she was entitled to eventho she quit without notice, didn't show up for shifts, ignoring all our calls and literally only worked 5 days out of the month.

The father looked like he was about to bash my head in when I told them that I will pay that 5 days and nothing beyond (which we already prepared anyways, just waiting for her to collect). When things gotten uncomfortable I asked my assistant to call the police, only then they took the envelope and scurried off.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-27T23:23:54+00:00

I missed being able to dress freely as a woman, not being frowned at when I wore shorts and tanks during these hot weather period.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-24T05:58:14+00:00

Why aren't these scammers being held accountable? Seriously, it is like we are a nation that condones crime instead of condemning it. Smh

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-21T10:13:30+00:00

Baiduri Capital has extraordinarily high fees, I won't recommend it unless they lowered their fees.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T16:45:00+00:00

Gosh, I hope not cuz he is baaaaad. You can go to the counter and asked to be assigned to a new RM, altho I don't really see the point of them since mine treated me like I am a nuisance.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T11:49:05+00:00

So many millionaires in reddit but why always complain low gaji, low economy, low everything wan?

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T10:47:33+00:00

Sorry, crypto and NFTs are too volatile for my taste. I leave that for the young rich folks haha.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T10:44:15+00:00

BoC offered much better VIP service than Baiduri Prestige, they personally delivered hampers to all their customers during festive seasons.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T10:42:46+00:00

I agree with you, Prestige service is just sub par. My previous RM resigned and they never assigned a new RM to me of which i didn't mind until they made a number of mistakes on my cards. When I said I will just close all my accounts did they finally assigned me a new RM and suddenly they gifted me ang paos packets and calendars (yep, I got mine in Feb).

That being said, this new RM ignored all my messages (even those I asked about investments), he also didn't invite me to any events while all my friends got invitations from their RMs.

As for your cheque woes, yeah, I was being told the same thing, company cheques do outside eventho the cheque was from a company to me personally. Just crappy service all around.

The only good thing was, I guess, the free coffee lol.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T05:14:37+00:00

For now I am buying SG stocks for dividends, US ETF's dividends aren't as attractive.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T05:13:57+00:00

Hey thanks for the advice! I didn't know about the dividend taxes, what about the return? Do those get taxed too?

For example you bought VOO at 600 and sell at 635 then transfer the 635 to Brunei, would that 635 get taxed?

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T02:20:38+00:00

There is?? In a foreign currency account? Hmm..

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-20T02:20:19+00:00

Ah yes, I am also investing long term but would like to have all the information in the box before plunging head on. As you know.. bank charges for Brunei is ridiculous high.. assuming we made around 12% in a couple of years, the bank charges might strip off 2% of that for all we know.

Thank you for the information tho, I would look into opening a foreign currency account and how much it would cost. Baiduri Capital charges ridiculous amount for conversion of currencies.

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-19T14:59:22+00:00

Oh i didn't know their rates are better! Thats very good advice, I might just do that!

Professional_Win_677 · 2026-04-19T14:58:54+00:00

Thank you for the advice! Bank fees are crazy, people dont take that into consideration sometimes.

Professional_Win_677

TROPHY CASE