All these interest rate and hedging talk actually boils down to your own risk appetite. if buy to flip, then you should loan to the max. if buy to self stay, then maybe you should have zero loan to have peace of mind. it is hard to advise on the "right" course of action. it all boils down to risk appetite and lifestyle.
Middle this year, I was advocating for ppl to pare down their loan cos tapering was coming and interest rates are on the way up. But now things have changed. US job numbers are weak, GDP numbers are slowing and it looks like tapering is off the cards. experts say tapering will not happen for the next 6 months and maybe even for the next 24. so how to plan? looking at the way things are, personally, I am going to take a bullish stance for at least till end 2014. was thinking of selling off an investment property later this year to reduce my exposure. but looking at the non-event (tapering) and my tenant's intent to renew his lease, it seems that I can continue to be gung-ho with my invests. currently also looking at London and if my partners can iron out the details, I can afford to take on more risks.
with regards to Malaysia, its hard to predict. The MY govt flip flops every so often. And the political will to wipe out corruption and do economic good are like my mood swings. totally unpredictable. so if forward view is cloudy, I would take the historical view. they have been rather inefficient all these yeas. my bet is that they will continue to be inefficient in the foreseeable future. so for now, I will long the SGD. Pay MYR only when required.
That's my view for now. nothing notti today.
