My agency thanks many Owners who take so much trouble to list their properties for rent/sale with us. We apologise for disappointing many because there are just too many units.

Tips to first-time Landlords

• Great expectations are not realistic. Advertise yourself frequently. We advise you to advertise your properties yourself at least 3 times/week including Saturday to increase your chances of catching the eye of the prospects or realtor who looks for your type of housing. If you are busy, duplicate some keys and give to the realtor who is really active in expatriate rentals and be decisive once you get an offer which is usually below what you expect. Take the first offer if you do not want to wait months and if you have no energy to show your place.

• Advertisement by "Owner". The other advice is to give 1.5 month’s rental to get a "Managing Agent" to advertise as "Owner", and do the necessary, rather than you do it yourself. This applies to busy doctors, dentists and lawyers who really cannot spare time to open the apartment during office hours.

You need to learn to trust your realtor; after a while you will find that your wife (home-maker?) loses her zest in showing your apartment at odd times and appoints an Agent. There will be some agents hanging around your new condo.

Sometimes, it is the husband but usually the home-maker is the wife! What happens is that the home-maker will ask the Realtor to go to the home to get the keys and return them on the same day.

With so many Owners’ units available and a tight schedule of viewings of 15 or more apartments/day, if the realtor really has clients, the offer of getting the keys or co-broking is usually not accepted.

• Insert "Owner" in your Straits Times Advertisement. You will be very popular with many calls from realtors who really have no prospects but then you may strike gold. Our Agency will show apartments of "Owners" first as we need not split our agency commission with the co-broking agent. This system is now widespread in the industry due to the fact that there are more "Owners" (including representatives of Owners) advertising and giving full agency commission. The reason for Agents preferring Owners’ unit to show is financial. Many first-time Landlords still forget to insert "Owner" in the Straits Times advertisements.

The following new developments in 1997/98 are mainly Condominiums and are your competitors for the expatriates. There are more older units which now offer much cheaper rentals and if you are stick to your fixed rental target, you can be sure that there are others who will not "maintain" the expected rental value of the condominium as they have to pay their bank loans and have other family expenses to worry about. If you are inflexible, the realtors who really have the expatraite clients will just pass you by because there are just too many Owners who are accommodating and decisive.

City/central areas
UE Square (345 units), Valley Park (728 units), Aspen Heights (606 units), Evelyn Mansions (40 units) Harbourlights (139 units), Harvest Mansions (66 units), Palm Spring (167units), Wing Fong Mansions & Court (218 units), Oleander Towers (318 units), The Anchorage (775 units) The Legend (98 units), Richmond Park (159 units), Spring Grove (325 units),

Northern areas
Castle Green (664 units), Seasons Park (390 units),

Near to many International Schools
Maplewoods (697 units), Holland Grove Houses (113 units), Garlick Ville Houses (40 units), 19 Shelford (256 units), The Merasaga (116 units), Southaven 1 (157 units) Hume Park 2 (324 units), Meralodge (87 units), Dover Parkview (686 units)

Jurong/Business Park areas
Parc Vista (638 units), Westwood Park Houses (176 units),

Eastern areas
Pebble Bay (510 units), Costa Rhu (737 units), Tanjong Ria (168 units), Casuarina Cove (160 units) Escada View (80 units), Changi Court (297 units), Melville Park (1,232 units), The Bayshore (1,038units), The Makena (504 units) ) Parbury Hills (182 units), Kew Green Cluster Townhouses (111 units),

Tips to first-time Buyers & Sellers
Buyers of investment properties will have to use their judgement, as prices will decline further within next 12 months. Properties – excellent central locations like the UE Square Condos (look more than dull grey service apartments), on high floors, with unobstructed views, away from the afternoon sun and selling for S$700/sq. ft (market price is $1,000/sq. ft), may be worth investing.

Bona-fide Sellers should pay for an official valuation report from reputed Valuers and sell below valuation to attract Buyers. Sellers may rent their apartments but if they judge that they can buy back at $100,000 cheaper in a year’s time, then cut loss now and recover later. Investment properties in good locations will appreciate in 5 years’ time but you may be bankrupt by then. It will be better to cut losses.

Good luck.

Anne Brocklebank.