Case study written in 1999:

TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME LANDLORDS
What makes one corporate Landlord more successful than others?

The Bayron management is a forward looking one as it does takes short leases of minimum of 3 months as well as long leases so as to maximise rental income. (In 2002, The Bayron does not rent short term as demand is greater than supply)  

Prompt payment of commission.
The rental realtors are welcome and paid promptly within a 7 days. Realtors earn their living on commissions and therefore they tend to remember kinder Landlords who pay without procrastination. 

There is no hassle chasing for money. Some corporate landlordd (infamous amongst rental realtors who prefer not to do business with him) take more than 4 months to pay the agents' commission. 

Rental Services. 
Responses to view apartments and after rental services and from the management are excellent. With prompt payment of agency commissions, all rental realtors in Singapore have The Bayron in their minds and it is no wonder that the apartments are almost 99% full at any one time in 2000, better than most hotels in the same location.  The Bayron is around one year old.

With its great location, the management could just demand long leases and no further discussion. However, it knows the competitive market and new condos are being completed all the time.   

If you can get almost 100% occupancy as a corporate landlord and all rental realtors to recommend your investment condos, you are doing something right and successful.  

As units have had been sold to individuals, there is now private individuals competing against an efficient marketing machine of the corporate Landlord and it is likely that the latter will win, hands down if the factors for success are still retained. 

Be realistic, know what your competitors are renting and be flexible.  
Private individual landlords may have to re-think their investment strategy if they want maximal income.  It may be troublesome to attend to short leases, to provide furniture and to get lower rentals and some Owners are prepared to wait for the correct rental. 

The waiting period can be as long as six - twelve months of vacancy and the realtor marketing for the Owner gets fatigued by the unrealistic asking rental, no matter how positive thinking he or she is.  

Realtors here don't get paid if they don't close and therefore, the Owner cannot expect full hearted marketing of his investment property.  The Owner will be the first to be worn out after 10 viewings!

Success is achieved by being a flexible Landlord in a competitive market as many more new condos are released by the developers in 2003. Early occupancy and a higher number of months you rent are sound investment decisions.  If you wait for your higher rental target, please be sure that your unit is unique. 

It may be very well and tastefully renovated to the Caucasian's pastel favoured eyes and this include light brown wooden flooring, quality wooden cabinets and bright kitchens and new baths, no gaudy colours lighting and furniture. You may justify a higher rental and with time of 3 - 6 months, you may get one tenant. If it is just one of the common units, do be flexible and rent fast.

As at 1 Dec 2002, the Bayron is around 90% full occupancy and therefore the Landlord need not offer 3-monthly leases which can be quite troublesome administratively!

Asiahomes'  Tips for first-time Landlords

Singapore Festival  - Hungry Ghost Festival
The photo of candles and ashes look sinister unless you have a similar custom in the USA or Europe. Expatriates may see the Chinese burning "money" notes or papers, joss sticks, candles and offering food and fruits on an altar or on the pavement, in the August-September period.

This will be the Hungry Ghosts Festival. On a visit on September 9, 1999, the older estates like Toa Payoh will be full of smoke, unlike the newer ones in Bishan or where you live.

For generations, the Chinese-educated has inherited the belief that they should offer food and other things to appease the ghosts of those who died a traumatic death or without families.

The bureaucrats have had been trying hard to encourage the burning of "money notes" in a common container so as to avoid littering. There are hefty fines for littering the public areas, yet the practice still goes on.

In the heartland where there are many Chinese-educated Chinese, it is politically dangerous to be issuing summons for littering as politicians could lose a seat during a re-election.

Prohibition of communication with apparitions or spirits is an emotional issue for the Chinese-educated but it is not only one issue to lose an election ward!

The older generation will celebrate this Festival but I expect that 20 years from now, the practice will be extinct as the younger generation embraces Western cultures and computers. You will then not experience the haze and smoke pollution from the burning ashes in newer housing estates (the Housing & Development Board apartments) like Bishan. Private houses may have their own containers for their burning of the material offering to the spiritual  world of the departed.

Asiahomes Internet hopes you will have a good stay in modern Singapore, enjoying the cultural practices of the various races.

In conclusion, the above photographs represent a very small percentage of the several thousand listings Asia USA Realty has. They are put up for the benefit of expatriates looking to relocate to Singapore, negotiating for housing allowance. Please contact judy@asiahomes.com for any property you wish to inspect.