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"We reject this offer of S$3,000 rental" said Mrs Wong, the Landlord of a 4+1 Costa Rhu Condo, with beautiful views of the river (if you go to the balcony).   However, her high floor unit has a living room facing the roof of the Oliva Block and therefore, no view when you enter the living room. 

Such low offers to this particular landlord were too common in September 1998, a recessionary period.

(Update as at September 2001, the Costa Rhu 4+1 units rent from $5,000 - $7,000)

The reasons for such ridiculous low offers were due to 3 unfavourable characteristics (investors to note):

• the living/dining room view is obstructed by a view of the terracotta tiled roof of the opposite block (Oliva block) when one enters the condo.   During the pre-construction off-the plan purhase, this 16th floor unit was presumed to have direct waterfront views of the Kallang River but the Oliva block's roof horribly blocked all waterfront views from the living area when the unit was built.  The only way to rent this unit was to offer a lower rent than comparable units.
  
  The Asia USA Realty associate had to quickly bring the prospective Tenant to the balcony to show the pool view on the left hand side and the green sparkling waters of Kallang River on the right hand side.
  
  This unit had low rental offers of around $3,000 - $4,000 for past 4 months (in late 1998).   There were so many other brand new units with unblocked waterfront views, some low floors renting around $4,000 - $5,000 as Costa Rhu is a massive development with over 500 units.

• the bedrooms are  irregularly shaped, being pentagon or hexagonal instead of being rectangular or squarish. It will be difficult to position the furniture.  Apparently, this Livonia unit's rooms are designed to have window views of the Kallang River.

• the bedrooms are smaller despite the fact this is a 2,050 sq. ft apartment.

"Meet this prospect and negotiate for a higher rental" advised Asia USA associate as the quality of the Tenant was excellent, being an international auditing firm. Since there were many competing offers which were rejected, why not be proactive and meet?

The Tenant had just arrived in Singapore and had contacted Asia USA by fax with the following specifications of Singapore housing.

There were factors in favour of Costa Rhu compared to Mandarin Gardens.

• Costa Rhu was brand new (in 1998) with brand new appliances and bathrooms while Mandarin Gardens condos were dated.. 
• Big balconies but Mandarin Gardens condo do have big balconies in the living area and off the master bedroom too.
• High quality of marble floor tiles in the living area.   Mandarin Gardens had ceramic tiled flooring unless renovated.
• Big swimming pool and gym.  Mandarin Gardens has a big swimming pool too.
• Mini-mart has just opened (September 9, 1998).   Mandarin Gardens has a mini-mart too.
• Big maid's room. Caucasians generally feel that maids should live in decent living space.  Mandarin Gardens has a smaller maid's room. But newer condos such as The Makena, The Aspen Heights, Tanglin Regency have incredibly (to Caucasians) small "maid's room", sufficient for one bed for a maid less than 5 foot tall.
  
  However, this unit's maid's room does not have windows although there are such units in Costa Rhu's 4+1 waterfront views in the Livonia xx-10 series.

The Tenant's offer has several advantages such as:

• Company lease of 2 years.
• Established well know international auditing firm.
• Option to extend another year.
• Commencement of lease immediately.
• No washing machine, fridge, dryer required by the tenant, saving around $4,000.
• No curtains needed for the bedrooms, saving $3,000. The Landlord has put in horizontal blinds for all bedrooms, despite advice from Asia USA associate. The showflat had blinds and therefore, the Landlord installed blinds which are costly and may be rejected by prospects.
  Pastel-coloured curtains will do for investment condos.
• Tenant does not bother with co-ordinated look. Curtains in living/dining room and horizontal blinds may clash.
• Professionals - chartered accountants are unlikely to sacrifice their reputation by not paying rental or absconding.

"Be fair to the Landlord as rental for such a high floor and waterfront units is higher than $3,000" explained Asia USA Realty associate. "Don't forget to bring your cheque book".

After a pleasant dinner at the York Hotel, the Tenants were shown the Condo at night, with Suntec City's edge decorated with lights, the bright Millennia Tower's cone and the quiet romantic waterfront ambience of Costa Rhu.

$3,300 rental was agreed.  The realtor had the  Letter of Intent signed on the spot and the lease was signed the next morning.

Many offers are lost because of the tardiness in completing the legal requirements of the tenancy agreement.

In this case, the prospective Tenant was decisive and used the Asia USA tenancy agreement.   There was no procrastination to see more units as the Tenant knew the deal was value for money.  

It must be hot and humid for the wife who had to carry the 3-week old baby by hand.    Baby Max slept throughout the house-hunting.

After reaching Singapore, Max had colic after midnight and was rushed to Mount Elizabeth Hospital.   Next day, he went house-hunting in the afternoon, sleeping through 4 units at Costa Rhu, one at The Makena and one at The Aspen Heights Condo in downtown.

For the landlord, in this case, the net rental amount will be more than $3,300 since the Tenant agreed to take the unit as it is.

Sometimes, the Landlord overlooks the fact that he does not need to buy the appliances and this is better than fully or partially furnishing the condo since capital expenses are not tax deductible for the new unit.  In any case, the next Tenant may want to change the furniture.

For Tenants, check with the accountants from your Company. If the lease is a corporate one, you may be entitled to high tax savings since you may pay only 10% of the rent and therefore taxed on 10%. In a personal lease, your tax may be 100% of the rent since you may not be entitled to deductions.