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Archive for May 11th, 2008

Older ‘new’ condos on the market

Posted by luxuryasiahome on May 11, 2008

Leftover units offer immediate occupation, but buyers should take note of some things

With property developers holding back major launches as they wait out the gloomy market sentiment, eager buyers have had to turn to other avenues for a home.

Some with urgent housing needs are looking at older ‘brand-new’ condominiums – developments that have been completed for a number of years but still have unsold units.

At the 384-unit, 99-year leasehold Tanglin View, developed by Far East Organization, there are about 20 units left. Most are three-bedroom units, with an asking price of $1,400 psf.

At several of these condos, which have had unsold stock for a few years, all the remaining units have been taken up in recent months.

Far East Organization, for instance, held an open house last month for the leftover units at its four-year-old Water Place in Tanjong Rhu. The 437-unit development is now fully sold.

The company’s Tanglin View has about 20 unsold units, going for $1,400 per sq ft (psf).

But do such properties make good buys?

Some of the condos might have been priced above the market at the time they were launched, which is why there are still unsold units, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, the director of business development and marketing at Savills Singapore.

But now that their surrounding projects are mostly sold out, it might be worth paying a premium for immediate occupation or immediate rental income at these completed units, he added.

Another advantage is that buyers get to see the actual unit they are buying – the views, fittings, defects and so on, said consultants.

‘What you see is what you get, so there is less scope for misunderstandings,’ said Mr Colin Tan, the head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International.

What to look out for

Apart from the standard considerations – location, price and design – completed condos come with a few more checkboxes for you to tick off before you sign that contract.

Buyers should ask what the developers have done with the unsold condos since they were completed.

In some cases, the developers have left the units empty, which is what GuocoLand has done with Le Crescendo in Paya Lebar, where would-be buyers can see the actual units that are on sale.

Other developers rent out the unsold homes for interim income, but are willing to sell them with the tenancies.

At The Equatorial, developer City Developments is selling one last two-bedroom unit, tenanted, for $2.1 million.

If the unit has been rented out for five years or more, buyers should check the electrical wiring and plumbing to see whether they need to be changed, said Mr Tan.

‘The danger is that, on the surface, everything looks new and you think the same goes for services that cannot be seen,’ he noted, adding that ‘false ceilings can hide a lot of internal problems’.

While new condos come with a 12-month liability period for defects, this might not apply to condos that have been completed for some time, especially if they have been rented out in the meantime.

Consultants recommend that buyers check with the developers to see if they are willing to make good any defects found within a reasonable period.

For 99-year leasehold condos, it is also important to find out when the clock started ticking on the lease. ‘The buyer needs to check on the remaining lease period as these condos may be marketed as being new,’ said Mr Tan.

Orchard Scotts in Scotts Road, for instance, was completed last year, but its 99-year leasehold tenure started ticking in 2001.

Similarly, River Place in Havelock Road was completed in 2000 but the 99-year lease took effect in 1995.

Can you get a discount?

Some developers, such as Far East Organization, occasionally hold promotions for their completed projects in order to offload the units.

In the past few months, it has offered discounts on completed condos such as Icon in Tanjong Pagar, The Lakeshore in Jurong West and Hillview Regency in Bukit Batok.

Last week, it is understood to have offered stamp duty reimbursements for Hillview Regency units.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung’s executive director, Ms Margaret Thean, said whether you can get a discount is ’subject to location’.

‘If a project is situated in a prime location, it is unlikely you will get a bargain. But if it’s a mass market project and on the outskirts, you’re likely to have more room to negotiate,’ she said.

Source : Sunday Times – 11 May 2008

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My brother doesn’t want China bride to inherit flat

Posted by luxuryasiahome on May 11, 2008

Q My uncle and brother bought an HDB flat together as joint tenants. They paid the mortgage in full. My uncle died a few years ago, so my brother automatically became the sole owner of the flat. He married a Chinese national last year.

What can my brother do to prevent his wife from getting the flat should he suffer any mishap? He feels that she does not deserve to get the flat as she has not contributed a single cent to the household.

A It would be advisable for your brother to make a will in which he wills away his assets, including the flat, to specified beneficiaries other than his wife. It would also be advisable not to register her officially as a permitted occupier of the flat, as this could give rise to complications over her continued right of occupancy and, ultimately, the disposal of the flat after his death.

That said, as his wife, she is his dependant and would have played some sort of spousal role. Thus, it might not be fair or conscionable for him not to leave anything at all to her after his demise.

It might, therefore, be prudent to bequeath to her some part of his assets, whether in cash or other forms. If he wants to bequeath Central Provident Fund monies, he must make a specific nomination. Otherwise, these will be divided according to intestacy laws, under which his wife would have a share of his CPF.

If your brother fails to provide for her (or for any lawful children from their marriage), she is entitled as his dependant, under Chapter 138 of the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act, to apply to the courts for reasonable maintenance to be paid out of his net estate.

The court will assess her claims and other relevant factors – such as her income-earning ability, present or future sources of capital or income, and conduct towards your brother. If the court deems it appropriate, it will make provision for her reasonable maintenance from your brother’s net estate.

If your brother does not wish to bequeath to her any part of his estate and his reasons are sound – for example, he has more than adequately provided for her in his lifetime (by, say, putting some cash, assets or savings under her name), or if her conduct towards him or the marriage justifies his actions in leaving her out of the will – he should make this clear in his will.

The court will then assess the case in the light of the reasons provided in his will.

Lim Choi Ming
Partner, KhattarWong

Advice provided in this column is not meant as a substitute for comprehensive professional advice

Source : Sunday Times – 11 May 2008

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Home away from home overseas

Posted by luxuryasiahome on May 11, 2008

Every fortnight, Mr Shahul Hameed, 50, packs his wife and three daughters into the car and drives across the Causeway.

The family’s retreat is a 2,400 sq ft, two-storey semi-detached house in Gelang Patah, Johor. It is part of a gated community called Leisure Farm Resort Residences, located 30 minutes from Singapore.

Their home away from home is where they can indulge in fishing, cycling and take the occasional boat trip to the nearby island of Tioman.

Mr Shahul, a financial planner with NTUC Income, bought the Balinese-style property, which features dark wood finishes and floor-to-ceiling glass windows, about four years ago for RM537,000.

In Singapore, he owns a 1,600 sq ft condominium apartment in Sims Avenue, which cost him $732,000.

He says: ‘When you have money just sitting in your bank, you tend to spend it. So I thought why not buy a second home nearby?’

The family has benefited from the regular weekend getaways, he claims. Since buying the house, he has consistently exceeded sales targets at work. His three daughters, whose ages range between five and 19, have performed better in their studies.

He adds: ‘I believe a change of environment now and then helps you lead your life in Singapore better.’

Owning a holiday home overseas may no longer be a luxury afforded only by Singapore’s super-rich, as more regular folk like Mr Shahul invest in overseas properties too.

Others discovered by LifeStyle include a teacher, an owner of a small business and a marketing consultant, though not all agreed to be interviewed.

Retired teacher Natahar Bava, 62, and his family own a semi-detached house at Sunset Way. But they spend holidays at their second home at the Kennedy Bay Resort in Perth, where their beach-facing, two-storey villa boasts an unobstructed view of the Indian Ocean.

Mr Bava, who has three daughters aged between 20 and 37, bought the house in 1997 for A$400,000 for his second daughter when she enrolled at a university there.

But the girl chose to live in the university hostel instead, so the property became the family’s holiday accommodation.

They visit as often as three times a year to rejuvenate, often paddling out to sea in a pair of kayaks they own.

‘It was a good turn of events that fulfilled an original dream I had,’ says Mr Bava. In 1982, he had taken a group of students to Perth on a school field trip. Smitten by the tranquillity of the place, he swore to one day own a home there.

‘WA (which stands for Western Australia, the territory Perth is located in) also means ‘wait a while’,’ he says in reference to the slower pace of life there.

Being an ‘average Singapore citizen’, he was only able to afford a place 15 years later, he adds.

There are no exact figures to the trend, but in general, developers and property companies who market overseas projects here point to a growing interest among Singaporeans to put their money in homes offshore.

At Colliers International, which has launched recent projects in places like Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand, business in the overseas sector grew four to five times from 2004 to 2007, says its associate director of international projects Michael Tan.

Executive director of DTZ South-east Asia, Mr Heng Hua Thong, adds that the number of overseas property launches in Singapore has also increased.

‘At least every month you have one project launched in Singapore. That’s definitely more compared to one or two years ago,’ he says.

With the local property market only just settling after a spate of sky-high property prices, it makes sense for some to look elsewhere where risks are not so great, says managing director of Orange Tee Global Properties Dave Loo.

The agency markets developments in places like Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Thailand’s market, for instance, has undergone several tax revisions recently to entice foreign investors. An apartment in a place like Phuket can go for as low as $100,000, adds Mr Loo.

While it is still more common for Singaporeans to buy for investment, he estimates that between 30 and 35 per cent of his customers buy properties to use as holiday homes or for their children who are studying overseas.

For the former purpose, resort destinations like Phuket or Bali are naturally more popular than city locales, he adds.

Prominent National University of Singapore lecturer K. K. Seet, for instance, bought a 2,000 sq ft, Thai-Balinese house in Pattaya for $300,000 in September 2006.

Says the 40-something bachelor: ‘I’ve always wanted a house near the sea, which would be impossible to achieve in Singapore, unless one is prepared to fork out millions for Sentosa Cove.’

He bought the house somewhat unexpectedly while on holiday in Pattaya, and now visits about three to four times a year.

Dr Seet says he was attracted to the city’s contrasting flavours, such as the sight of a high school band performing on a pedestrian boulevard, ‘while go-go girls were twirling around poles in a nearby bar even as busloads of tourists were tucking into a seafood buffet in an adjoining restaurant’.

‘It’s this heady mixture where everything is ‘live and let live’ that is fascinating,’ he adds.

Industry players like Mr Peter Thng, executive director of Reapfield Property Consultants, agree that the demographics of overseas home buyers have diversified to include middle-income earners. The agency has sold properties in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Malaysia.

He says: ‘This is not surprising given the affluence of the society and also the fact that many have either lived, studied or worked overseas.’

In the 1990s, middle-aged businessmen formed his main group of customers. Today, apart from professionals, ‘civil servants such as teachers and military personnel form the bulk of our client base’, he says.

For Singaporeans scouting for holiday homes, proximity is perhaps the biggest selling point. Properties in the region, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Australia are favoured, though countries like Malaysia – which offer advantageous exchange rates – have extra appeal.

In a recent survey carried out by Malaysia’s Real Estate and Housing Developers Association, Singapore was identified as its top foreign market. Malaysia has a My Second Home programme, which allows foreigners with a certain amount of capital to buy houses there.

At Johor’s Leisure Farm development, 49 per cent of buyers are Singaporeans or expats based here, says its sales manager Peter Lim. ‘Their profiles include professionals, businessmen, people looking for a shortcut to their dream home.’

Indeed, with holiday homes becoming a prized asset, few owners are willing to rent out their place to vacationers to cover costs. Says Dr Seet: ‘I’m not interested. What if they wreck the place?’

Still, those interviewed by LifeStyle say the returns on their investments have been far from poor. Mr Bava, for instance, reckons his Perth abode is now worth more than twice the A$400,000 he paid.

Mr Shahul is even planning to buy a third home at Leisure Farm, a bungalow 21/2 times the size of his current semi-detached house.

If he cannot find a suitable buyer for his existing Johor property, he will still keep it, ‘as a present for my children’, he says with a smile.

‘When you have money just sitting in your bank, you tend to spend it. So I thought why not buy a second home nearby? I believe a change of environment now and then will help you lead your life in Singapore better.’ - SHAHUL HAMEED, a financial planner, who bought his house in Gelang Patah, Johor, which he visits every fortnight with his family, daughter Nur Istiqamah, eight, wife Nur Asyiqin Abdullah, 35, and daughters Nur Diyanah, five, and Zaakira Mahreen, 19

‘It was a good turn of events that fulfilled an original dream I had.’ - NATAHAR BAVA, who bought a house in Kennedy Bay Resort in Perth, in 1997

‘I’ve always wanted a house near the sea, which would be impossible to achieve in Singapore, unless one is prepared to fork out millions for Sentosa Cove.’ – DR K. K. SEET, NUS lecturer, who has a 2,000 sq ft Thai-Balinese house in Pattaya

Source : Sunday Times – 11 May 2008

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Geylang: Rents go up, shops move

Posted by luxuryasiahome on May 11, 2008

Forget the red-light district.

The way rents are going, Geylang is now the red-hot district.

The demand for properties between Lorong 1 and 25 is so hot that rents have shot up, and some long-time businesses are being forced to move out.

One such casualty is the famous Tanjong Rhu Pau.

It had to give up its lease for its Lorong 21 corner unit because the landlord more than tripled the monthly rent, from $9,000 to $30,000.

Said the boss of Tanjong Rhu Pau, Mr Yap Peng Wah, 62: ‘We had to move. We had no choice.’

The increase meant an additional monthly expenditure of $21,000 on the 1,600 sq ft unit.

‘We would not be able to sustain our business with such high overheads,’ said Mr Yap.

He explained that his manpower costs are high as he has to employ more than 10 employees to make the buns and pastries by hand.

‘Even with a rent between $10,000 and $20,000, the business would not be profitable,’ he added.

So Mr Yap moved to another 1,600-sq-ft unit, at the corner of Guillemard Road and Lorong 34.

His rent there? Just $4,500.

‘The rent here is half of what I paid previously, but business has dipped by about 30 per cent,’ he said.

‘Some of our old customers happen to drive by here and spot us. Most say they were wondering where we had moved to.

‘The only good thing is this part of Geylang is less complicated.’

MISTAKEN FOR PROSTITUTES

His partner, Mr Lee Kwang Hua, 52, said: ‘At our previous location, we lost some female customers, because they complained that some men mistook them for prostitutes when they come to our shop.’

Still, Mr Yap had hoped to relocate within the same part of Geylang initially.

‘It was impossible to find a unit in the same area because the prices kept climbing,’ he said.

‘It’s a landlord’s market there because many businessmen want to open coffeeshops in the stretch between Lorongs 6 and 25.’

Mr Yap attributes the property boom along this stretch partly to the active night life.

‘The general property boom did push up the property prices, but here in Geylang it is also because of the presence of the women,’ he said.

‘A lot of businesses want to open coffeeshops here because there is so much human traffic. The retirees come from all over Singapore to look at the girls and hang out at the coffeeshops.

‘Without them, the coffee-shop businesses would collapse,’ he commented.

He cited the example of a coffee shop on Lorong 23.

‘Between 1997 and 1999, the coffee shop changed ownership because the business was poor,’ he said.

‘But once the China girls appeared in the area around 2000, all the men came, and now the business there is booming.’

Yong He Eating House, a favourite haunt among foodies, also had to move out because of the sky-rocketing rent.

The eatery, which has been selling its Taiwanese soya beancurd and youtiao in Geylang for the last decade, moved to a Lorong 27A corner unit in January.

$20,000 TO $40,000

Mr Dong Rong, 50, the boss of the eatery, said his landlord at the original location near Lorong 9 had wanted to double the rent from $20,000 to $40,000. The lease for the 2,200 sq ft unit expired last December.

He now pays $28,000 a month for a 3,600 sq ft unit.

‘The property market boom is the main reason, but the China girls also played a part in driving up business in the area,’ he said in Mandarin.

‘There was a scramble to open coffee shops to catch the business from the men who come to Geylang to look at the girls and chat them up.

‘It doesn’t cost much to drink a coffee or have a beer and they can sit there all day to look at the girls and make friends with them.’

But while the coffee shops thrived on the constant flow of business from male customers who flock to Geylang to gawk at the prostitutes, it did little to boost his business.

He said: ‘Our customer base is different, we attract locals and tourists who come here for our Taiwanese snacks.’

PARKING PROBLEM

Indeed, he felt the volume of traffic in this part of Geylang was not too good for his business.

‘Too many cars, and there is always a traffic jam. Many of our customers complained that they could not find parking in the area, so they would stay away,’ he said.

He finds his new location better, as parking is less of a problem for customers.

The bigger space also suits his plan to expand his eatery into a Taiwanese food court.

‘The increased rent was a blessing in disguise for us,’ said Mr Dong.

‘But other tenants who are still located in that stretch may have to move when their current leases expire.’

On the other side of Geylang, business tenants have not been spared the rising rents hitting the popular stretch of Geylang Road.

Near Lorong 21, along Sims Avenue, durian seller You Chee, 37, said his boss, who renewed the lease in January, is now paying $10,000 a month for the corner ground-floor shophouse.

That is almost double the previous rate of $6,000 a month.

Mr You said his boss is looking for another location, possibly out of Geylang.

‘We have no choice but to move. The rent is too high. We have seen many of the other businesses move out because of the increased rent,’ he said in Mandarin.

‘We have been here for four years, and built up the business from scratch. I feel sad to leave this place.’

Source : New Paper – 11 May 2008

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Shortage of places at international schools shows little sign of easing

Posted by luxuryasiahome on May 11, 2008

The shortage of places at international schools in Singapore shows little sign of easing, even as many have announced expansion plans.

The latest is Tanglin Trust School which says it will add another 700 places from next year.

The situation is of concern among business groups and even the Singapore government.

For many foreign companies, doing business in Singapore is getting more costly. Amidst rising office and housing rents, the growth in expatriates – from 798,000 in 2005 to 875,500 a year later – has worsened the shortage of places in international schools for their children.

David Boden, chairman of Select Committee on International Schools, American Chamber of Commerce, said: “We did a study that started out with 68 respondees, from our members, and they said, ‘yes, we do see an issue’. We have at least 22 of those companies that had probably an additional 200 expatriates coming in the next year, probably 300 children within those families coming…and then found out that about 35 percent actually had kids already on waiting lists, and not just at the American school.”

The Singapore American School has stopped accepting applications from non-US citizens since late 2007.

It now only accepts applications from US citizens, green card holders and children of employees of American companies.

Others, like Tanglin Trust School, guarantee a place in return for a hefty placement fee.

Steven Andrews, CEO of Tanglin Trust School, said: “It’s still possible to gain entry into the school through normal wait list procedures without joining either the Guaranteed or Standard Placement Rights scheme. But for those companies who do want to plan, it is much more helpful.”

About 80 places out of a total enrolment size of 2,250 at the Tanglin Trust School are open to this “placement rights” scheme.

The United World College and more recently, the Canadian International School, are also offering it.

The Canadian International School says its plan is “without question, a response to market conditions”.

For the schools, the placement fees can help provide funds for expansion projects.

The Tanglin Trust School, for example, estimates it can raise about S$80 million from the scheme alone.

The school will enlarge its senior section over the next few years to take in another 700 pupils. The first phase is expected to be ready by September 2009.

It now has 600 children waiting to be admitted in August this year.

That’s just one-third of the queue at the United World College of South East Asia.

Its Dover campus has over 1,900 on its list for August 08 intake.

The length of a wait list can often look intimidating, especially when the numbers stretch into the thousands.

But many international schools say these are sometimes exaggerated, and should be taken with a pinch of salt, as many parents tend to put themselves on multiple wait lists in order to maximise their chances of securing a place for their child.

Joanna Bennett, a Singaporean married to a British national, got her sons enrolled into United World College of South East Asia’s new East campus.

Its 6-ha Tampines campus will open in 2010 and take in 2,500 students. But a temporary East campus in Ang Mo Kio will open next September and take in 440 students.

When Joanna first applied to the Dover campus, she was told the wait could last three years.

But even as expansion plans by United World College of South East Asia and other schools enabled parents like Joanna to move up the queue, wait list numbers are growing.

And many say physical expansion is not a long-term solution.

Schools and business groups want to work more closely with each other and with the Singapore government to better address the issue.

The American Chamber of Commerce, which has convened a select committee on the issue, says its member survey this year will focus on the shortage of places in international schools.

Details are expected to be out in August. -CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 11 May 2008

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Two new bridges = a 9km scenic walk

Posted by luxuryasiahome on May 11, 2008

The wet morning yesterday did not dampen the excitement of Telok Blangah resident Habib Ismail.

He was among 500 residents who watched Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially open two pedestrian bridges – Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch.

With these bridges, Telok Blangah Hill Park is now linked to Mount Faber on one side and Kent Ridge Park on the other.

An avid walker, Mr Habib, 44, a father of two, joined Mr Lee and the other residents on a tour of the bridges.

The bridges complete a 9km chain of greenery in the Southern Ridges, which consist primarily of three large hill parks – Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park.

Henderson Waves, at a height of 36m, is Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge. A wave-shaped, steel-and-timber structure, it spans 274m across Henderson Road. The other bridge, Alexandra Arch, spans 80m across Alexandra Road.

The parks were previously separated by roads and wooded vegetation. Now, one can walk ridge-to-ridge, starting from HarbourFront MRT and ending at West Coast Park.

In 2002, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it would link up parks in the Southern Ridges as part of the Parks and Waterbodies and Identity Plans.

The project, which took two years to complete, cost $25.5 million.

Apart from the two bridges, the Southern Ridges now also boast the Forest Walk, a 1.3km-long elevated walkway that cuts through secondary forest at Telok Blangah Hill Park; and Marang Trail, which links HarbourFront MRT to Mount Faber.

Mr Lee also officiated the opening of the $13 million Horticulture Park – or HortPark for short.

With 20 theme gardens, HortPark is South-east Asia’s first one-stop gardening and lifestyle hub.

The 23ha park, which has been open since December last year, took two years to build and also serves as a park connector between Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park.

In his speech, Mr Lee noted that such projects ‘provide a first-class living environment for all Singaporeans’.

He also announced upcoming plans to link the Southern Ridges to the Keppel Waterfront as part of a broader plan to develop a recreational and leisure hub in the south.

This includes having a park connector from Alexandra Arch to Labrador Park, building a mangrove boardwalk at Berlayer Creek and having a waterfront boardwalk that connects Bukit Chermin to VivoCity, with waterfront views along the entire stretch of Keppel Bay.

Details of these plans will be released soon, the URA said.

About 1 million visitors to the Southern Ridges are expected annually, and with the bridges open 24 hours a day, lovebirds might be expected to make a beeline for them after dark, especially as Henderson Waves offers panoramic views of the city and southern islands.

Mr Habib, a senior research supervisor, had stopped his daily jogs at Telok Blangah Hill Park due to work commitments. He is digging out his sneakers again.

‘I’m making plans to walk along the new walk with friends,’ he said with a smile.

Source : Sunday Times – 11 May 2008 

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