Singapore real estate,apartment, house, condo, property ads published by internet advertising agency, Asiahomes Internet asiahomes.com

0818 Singapore Real Estate, Rental Houses, Apartments, Condos, Singapore Classifieds, Internet Property Advertisements published by: Asiahomes Internet	Owners & Realtors, one direct internet ad contact expats direct, may save you over $5,000 in agency or co-broking fees. Email your ad to: judy@asiahomes.com, visit Asiahomes Internet Last updated: 18 Aug 2000 SPANISH VILLAGE research supported by Asiahomes Internet
56-68 Farrer Road. Freehold. 226 units. Completed: 1987. Low rise 4-storey buildings. Suits Caucasian families who want spacious living areas and be near Orchard Road.	Studio: 65-73 sq. m 2-bedroom: 106-109 sq. m 3-bedroom: 103-220 sq. m. The corner unit of the 3-bedroom 1,780 sq. ft has an extra bigger balcony at the side (see image on left).	Pool for swimming laps. Children's pool, Sprawling ground for kids to cycle and play. Tennis court, playground, gym, squash court, sauna, clubhouse, Security. Covered car park.
Parquet flooring still common in modern condos.	Blk 60, ....-06 Bedroom 2 has a good pool view. Suits expats who wants lots of space and balconies for lower rent.
Generous living area.	The living area has a huge balcony which faces a quiet inner road. The outside lobby has glossy rectangular ceramic tiles.	Dark brown oakwood kitchen cabinets were a fashion.
Unusual for condos to have a large balcony off the master bedroom.	However, the master bedroom is small. 2 protruding wall columns of 8 inches wide (not visible but left of bed) meant to contain the headboard of the bed means that an	extra big king-sized bed of 260 cm x 230 cm cannot be fitted into the bedroom for one Dutch couple.
	Advantages: Low density, low rise. 15-minute bus to United World College. Big balconies. 5-minute bus ride to Orchard Road & Holland Village. Many buses and taxis. In expat enclave area. Rental per sq. ft is low. Some units have been remodelled and attract tenants as they are value for money. For Rent: Aug 17 00: 3-bedroom 1780 sq. ft $4,200. Others, email judy@asiahomes.com or tel: +65 9668 6468.	Disadvantages: Caucasian wives may not like the overall old kitchen and bathrooms, the faded blue long bath and the ceramic tiled flooring when they have seen the marble flooring and white long baths of newer condos. Not near the subway but there are buses and taxis to downtown. Units facing the busy Farrer Road have difficulty in attracting tenants.

Case study:
Time is of the essence.
Training article for asiahomes.com realtors.

Summary:
Expats must be pro-active to effect closure, as the office bureaucracy can be cumbersome. Rental realtors to be aware of the safety of toddlers in high rises.

"My boss says that none of the expats stay less than one year in the history of the company. It was a multi-national American company with big offices in Orchard Road and the boss was an expat. The expat was given a one-year employment contract and a housing allowance.

So, was there a chance of the boss approving a 2-year lease for this brand Melrose Park 4-bedroom apartment renting $6,000 per month for 2 years?   The wife simply loves the newness, the white long bath, a separate bedroom with an attached bath big enough for a bed. It was a low floor with green tree views and facing the fitness area and a church's car parking lot. She saw a unit in Block 2 but the 4th bedroom was too small for bed as the apartment has a hallway. The Developer had only released a handful of units. There was a 4-bedroom in Block 2 facing a gorgeous Fort Canning View rented for $7,700. Few Owners wanted to rent for one year.

Melrose Park is a $5.00 taxi ride to the Ngee Ann City office although one may walk. The Great World Shopping Centre has shuttle buses to the Orchard subway. Best of all, it had the supermarket and retail shops for the mother of a toddler.

The boss said no. A 2-year lease could be terminated at the 14th month of occupancy if the expat has to leave the company as there is a diplomatic clause to break lease. This means that the company would have to rent 2 additional months for this expat, i.e. 14 months if the employee finishes his contract at the 12th month.

The expat wanted to settle down fast so that he could do his job. He also wanted his wife to be happy in Singapore. It was Melrose Park or nothing. At a house-hunting for a toddler-safe apartment at $6,000, the wife did not like the "old" grey and white kitchen cabinets of Palm Spring which is a low rise condo further away from the downtown. Melrose Park's kitchen, it was love at first sight.

What are the solutions?

1. Offer a higher rent of $6,200. The Landlord wanted $6,500.

2. Rent the 3+study+maid of 1550 sq. ft, but the 4-bedroom unit seen was bigger by 100 sq. ft and had a proper 4th bedroom.

3. Wait for more units to be released. But the expat prefer to move out of the serviced apartment fast and he had to travel outside Singapore. He had to pay for the serviced apartment from his housing allowance and it was not cheap.

It took over 4 days before the Landlord agrees to the $6,200 partially furnished offer.

A Letter of Intent was downloaded from the expat's computer as he had asked the realtor for one the previous day. It was given to the Company's human resource manager. She said she would not sign a "blank cheque" till the Landlord has signed it first. This was what she practised with other expats.   However she did sign as the expat wanted to start the tenancy in 7 days' time.

No, she would not have the good faith deposit cheque within 24 hours. It would take time. The expat had only Australian Dollar cheques and therefore this would not be useful.

The Letter of Intent was rushed to the Landlord's lawyer with a cheque from the realtor.

Time is of the essence in rental of new and popular condos. The expat was proactive, but the office administration frustrated him.

Would he get the Melrose Park unit? Only when the Landlord's tenancy agreement is approved by his company. The Letter of Intent was subject to contract and if the company created some objections to the tenancy agreement terms, it would lapse and the good faith deposit be returned.

Many cases are lost due to the cumbersome office administration. The fastest case I had was closed in 9 hours. The expat husband was very proactive and the office administrator was really good in the case of You are my everything.

In conclusion, expats relocating to Singapore must try and negotiate for a 2-year lease to give them the flexibility of choices to negotiate a lower rental.

Was the Melrose Park apartment safe for the toddler? At one viewing, the young lady co-broking agent opened the sliding doors of the living area to let the breezes in. The expat mother was checking out the rooms.

The toddler sat down on the edge with her legs on the plantar box (a small rectangular plant area just on the edge of the living room). She was as fast as that. I quickly pulled her in.

Rental realtors have to be aware of toddlers and not open sliding doors without keeping an eye on the young ones. They are lightning explorers and climbers.