House hunting in 2000
House viewing
Thursday June 22 2000
$3000-$3200
3 bedroom near Clarke Quay. 2 years, corporate lease. New condos, except Grangeford. Young
single Australian wants new and big condo at $3,000, preferably River Place condo.
2pm
Meet at Tan Chong Serviced Apt.
2.15pm
Kim Yam Hts, around 8-10 minutes walk to the Somerset subway.
3+1 1636sf $4,000
#FF-03, 5th - 10th floor. Brand new full condo facilities.
Maisonette. 3 bedrooms at level 2. Living/dining squarish and spacious at level 1.
2 bedrooms have attached bath, with either long bath or shower stall . No oven.
Good-sized maid's room.
Bright kitchen. Unblocked views. Facing school field but school will cease operations in
Dec 2000.
Felt good on entering this apartment. Owner insists on $4,000 rent and has rejected
$3,500 rent offer.
2.25pm
Kim Yam Hts 3+1 1300sf $3500
Meet agent at lobby.
FF-05 above 10th floor. Pacific Mansions building in the distance.
2.35pm
Kim Yam Hts 4+1 1550sf $4,500
Meet agent at lobby.
FF-02 5th - 10th floor. Facing Aspen Hts condo. No shower stall in
master bathroom. Master bedroom is irregular hexagonal shaped.
2.45pm
Kim Yam Hts 3+1 1227sf $3200.
Meet agent at lobby.
FF-05 2nd-5th floor. Unblocked green field views, with Pacific
Mansions in distance. "Terrace" for 2nd floor unit seen but not accessible for
tenant. Bedroom 2 has pool view.
3pm
Kim Yam Hts 3+1 1226sf $3500 fully furnished Meet agent at lobby.
FF-05 15th - 20th floor. High floor, city views. Young yuppie owner has painted
various room walls in bright red, blue ceilings, yellow paw prints Big fish tank
separates living and dining area. Bright yellow leather type living set. Interior
decor will suit a non-conservative tenant.
3pm
Kim Yam Hts 4+1 1550sf $4500. Meet agent at lobby.
FF-01 10th-15th floor. Facing Aspen Hts condo. No shower stall in master
bedroom. Rectangular shaped living and dining area.
3.15pm
Langsdon Ville
Kim Yam Road.
Brand new. Small pool, basement car park only. 52 units. Inner units face
Aspen Heights. Some units may be near a Buddhist temple. Characterized by bay
windows and light green bathroom accessories. Audio-visual intercom.
Marble flooring in living/dining area and parquet in bedrooms. Utility area may be
so small that only washing machine can be accommodated.
|
3+1 1100sf $3500
3+1 1700sf $4500, #10-06 is a maisonette facing Aspen Heights.
Maisonette has a high ceiling living area which has been partitioned by a trellis beam
so that flower pots can be hung.
On level 2, the area behind this trellis will have a fence barrier. The space beside the
barrier be a family area with a bathroom nearby and exit door for this duplex. There are 2
bedrooms, the master having pink long bath. No shower stall.
On level 1, 1 bedroom with a door to the green sink, WC and shower bathroom which is
also a powder room shared with the living area.
Utility area has just enough space to fit a washing machine and kitchen is considered
very small.
4pm
Mutiara View 3+1 1200sf $3500. Brand new. Swimming pool, children's
pool, function room and small gym. Basement car park and security. Light
coloured marble flooring in the living/dining area. White kitchen appliances and
counter tops.
A 2-minute walk to River Valley Road and then to Great World Shopping mall (Cold Storage
supermarket) but not walking distance to the Tiong Bahru subway.
4.30pm
Grangeford 3+1 1754sf $3800.
Meet agent at lobby. 5-min walk to Orchard Road. Older condo but pool has been upgraded .
No gym. All wooden flooring in living and sunk dining area and bedroom.
Older kitchen cabinets.
Dislike the "aged" condo although location is great. Will suit families as
rent per sq. ft is reasonable.
CASE STUDY - FOR ASIAHOMES.COM REALTORS
"Agents have been
showing me rubbish apartments," said the single expatriate
Australian house-hunting for a new spacious condo near Robertson Quay and Mohammed Sultan
Road for $3,000. An owner of a 1,900 sq. ft maisonette at Casafina
in East Singapore, at least 45 minutes by bus to Suntec City was willing to
lease at $3,000. But he wanted River Place Condo,
an upscale downtown waterfront condo.
The cheapest rent for River Place 3+1 1400 sq ft was $3,800. The Kim Yam maisonette
listed above was asking $4,000. He didn't like Langsdon Ville as it did not
have full condo facilities. Grangeford was old.
There was unlikely to be a new 3+1 condo 1600 sq. ft with full facilities like River
Place or Kim Yam to be available for $3,000 partially furnished.
In this case, the housing agents could only show poor quality downtown
condos to the expatriate as the demand was still great for new better
quality condos.
Expats negotiating house allowance must try and get a $4,000 - $6,000 budget
in 2000 if they want an upscale 3+1 downtown condo as rentals are generally
higher than those in suburban areas.
In 2004, rentals have
dropped drastically as a consequence of over building of condos, post Iraq
war and post SARS.z
EXPATS RELOCATING TO SINGAPORE
Contact
judy@asiahomes.com or tel: +65
9668-6468 to get the most affordable Singapore homes of their choice. |
It
is hard for breeders to understand the "Single Pup Syndrome". In
this situation, the bitch has only one pup. It grows past the normal 59 -
63rd day after first mating. No puppy born. No signs of contraction. The
breeder waits and waits.