0430CSingapore real estate luxurious houses, townhouses features. Condos, apartments houses, rent, relocation, expatriates, classifieds

Dear readers,

WHAT MAKES A HOUSE ATTRACTIVE TO CAUCASIAN TENANTS?

Thank you, internet surfers, for your emails and business which many times do put bread on the table to support the families of my realtors.

This page, Features of a luxurious Singapore house is dedicated to all expatriate internet surfers contacting Asia USA Realty from around the world asking me for photos of Singapore housing to be emailed to them.

It is not practical to email photos individually, hence this page is dedicated to show what an upscale house in Singapore looks like.

As at Feb 1, 2002, over 2,000 photos & floor plans and research reports and tips on Singapore housing, sponsored by AsiaHomes Internet, an advertising agency specializing in internet property ads for Owners & Realtors, are presented to help you find the best value for money home.

Please email judy or tel: +65 9668 6468 if you need more information.

Naturally I hope you will write down the details and contact numbers of houses you wish to view, as advertised by other agents and contacts.

All our realtors are self employed and don't get paid by the landlord unless they find you a home.

I hope your stay in Singapore will be a pleasant one. Welcome to Singapore.

Dr Sing Kong Yuen, drsing@asiahomes.com,
Founder, asiahomes.com

I have commissioned a research report with images of interiors, on what a modern upscale Singapore house will look like for the benefit of expatriates relocating to Singapore and for first-time Landlords renovating their houses. It is practically impossible for me to email photographs to individuals.

Do email judy@asiahomes.com if you need more info.

For many Caucasian women who love to cook, a new modern and bright kitchen is very important.

In Singapore, very few kitchens are air conditioned although many Landlords have started to provide such facilities. There is a worry that the air conditioned filters may get oily and difficult to maintain. However, an air conditioned kitchen is one up on the neighbours in attracting Caucasian tenants.

Some owners want a unique floor plan by locating the kitchen in front of the living area or at the side of the living area or up on the second level.

It is best to locate the kitchen on the first floor rather than on the 2nd floor because tenants may want to host barbecue parties and it is inconvenient to go upstairs and downstairs.

A kitchen is located near and to the left the main door in Emerald Hill has an open-concept plan. Most tenants prefer the kitchen to be at the back of the house. Therefore, you reduce greatly your tenant pool if you decide on a 2nd storey kitchen or smack one near your main door, next to the living area.

In this new house, the kitchen has a modern stainless steel oven which has a stainless steel cover when not in use. This is "cool" by today's standard.

Glass blocks bar counters bring in the orange glow of bulbs during the evening.

There is an interesting light display counter to the extreme right side of the kitchen under the staircase for you to appreciate your antiques or collections. This makes effective use of the dead space under the staircase.

The living area is usually a pastel-coloured marble flooring but in this luxurious townhouse, you can appreciate the large squares of beautifully polished smooth texture black granite which is very more costly to install.

The maroon coloured strips of "chengai" wood, a tropical wood are used for the steps of the staircase and the bedrooms.

They are rarely installed in houses, even for those conservation chophouses renovated at a cost of Singapore 2 million dollars as they are very expensive.

Ducted air conditioning is present in the living and dining areas, doing away with the distracting split-unit air conditioners hanging from the walls.

There is therefore sufficient space to hang big paintings on the wall.

The wall above the back door is not a solid wall. There are 2 very big windows permitting the occupants to view the green trees and get natural daylight or starlight.

Two white electricity powered blinds provides privacy from the passer by as the clear glass window panes.

Tinting of the glass panes will reduce the amount of daylight and makes the house dark although they do provide some privacy.

Dark houses means you will need to switch on light and most Caucasians hate dark houses.

Intermediate town or terrace houses inevitably are dark unless they have air wells, skylights or windows on the walls from level 2 and 3. The problem with such high glass windows is the cost of window cleaning. Who pays for the cost? The Tenant or the Landlord?

A bright yellow tiled common bathroom breaks the monotony of dark colours of the black granite tiles of the

living area and the maroon "chengai" wooden strips.

The shower is on the left. White under counter cabinets are provided. The master bedroom is to the right of the common bathroom.

TIP FOR NEW LANDLORDS:
In 2001, I came across 2 cases where the owners have had spent a lot of money creating a luxurious home.

As bath tubs are not part of the Singapore baby boomers' upbringing or even a part of the Singaporean culture, these successful entrepreneurs of the luxurious condos and houses have had not installed long baths during extensive remodeling of older residences. These residences are unique and much better done than new ones.

When they want to rent the units at $10,000 - $20,000 per month, their target tenants, the Caucasian expatriates find that there are no long baths. Finding a tenant will take a longer time. Therefore, do plan to install a long bath tub and a shower stall, even if you don't use the long bath as you may want to rent your house in later years.

2002.
Six avant-garde Italian designer bungalows renting from $20,000 - $25,000.

The master bathroom has the stainless steel basin which is considered "cool" by people in the forefront of the fashion industry.

Stainless steel basin in the master bathroom is "cool" in the 2001 era..

Glass blocks on walls of bathrooms or simply large windows with or without skylight bring in natural daylight and make the bathrooms bright.

A shower cubicle will be good to give the tenant a choice of not having to shower in the long bath.

The white long bath is nowadays the standard in all new houses and condos in 2001. Multi-coloured long baths are out of fashion. Marble walled bathrooms are a feature of luxurious houses and some new condos too. Ceramic tiles make the house look ordinary.

The family area is on the left of the image on the 2nd level, next to the common bathroom. It overhangs the living area and is like a loft looking down a void space.

In some gigantic 3-storey houses in Woodlands, near the American School, there is a blank wall in front

so that you can project your movies. Note the railings which are deemed not child safe for toddlers who tend to climb. This townhouse will be appreciated by expat singles or couples without young children.

From the family area, the tenant can see the green trees from the 2 windows above the back door.

A private assigned covered car park is important as the car is a very expensive asset in Singapore. Cars cost 2 times more than those in the USA or Australia. This is one main reason why expats prefer to live near the subway or bus-routes to their office as they adjust to a different life style in Singapore.

Inside the house, a depressed area or an air well, said to be a light well or atrium in American housing terms, can be part of bringing Nature indoors if the occupant keeps koi fishes or an indoor garden with bonzai plants. The house must be longer to permit such luxuries.

However, the tenant must be keen on keeping fishes or willing to spend money to contract out the services.

The roof above this area may be an enclosed by a glass-paned skylight to bring in daylight.

Another part of the house near the kitchen may be an air well open to the sky. In this case, the kitchen will be at the back of the house. Plants can be kept in this air well. A Japanese garden with bonzai plants will bring in nature.

Such features appeal to Caucasians who love nature.

A back room, called guest room for the elderly may be important as older folks don't like to climb stairs. It can be used for as a dog's house, strictly for your Dalmatian but not to banish your husband or mother in law !

There must be a good-sized maid's room with windows and ventilation. This feature tends to be overlooked by the professionals who may provide a small 50 sq. ft room.

Yet there is still a small maid's bathroom outside this utility room in addition to the powder room.

Obviously, the maid can't live in this small room and the maid's bathroom takes up unnecessary space and guests feel cramped going to this small bathroom.

The audio-visual intercom (see image) and other security features
are common in luxurious houses. Connection to the police security forces may be another feature.

Panic buttons in the bedrooms and other places are selling points.

Auto-gates so that you don't have to stop the car to drive into the house are common features of many houses.

Display counters strategically located for your porcelain antiques to impress your visitors.

Antique wooden panels with attractive carvings.

A big balcony for 4 people, outside the 2nd level outside the master bedroom.

A big patio for al fresco dining.

A big garden beautifully landscaped.

An attic room with its attached bathroom and with windows looking down the living area may be just great as a study room.

Central air conditioning is too expensive to maintain nowadays and all houses have dispensed with central air conditioning.

As an alternative to houses, condos may be considered. Some reports condos are presented below for your reference.

Other features which make up the ideal luxurious home will be:

A beautifully landscaped swimming pool with water falling down from the platform. A children's pool.

A jacuzzi pool on the side with elevated wooden platform.

Water fountains and pond. Balinese figurines seem to be in fashion nowadays.

A barbecue area to host parties.

9430Singapore Dogs false pregnancy pet health and welfare educational for animal lovers, excerpts from BE KIND TO PETS, community education project, sponsored by AsiaHomes Internet.

False Pregnancy

Chihuahua has false pregnancy, Singapore.

Chihuahua has false pregnancy, Singapore.

"My friend gave me this Chihuahua saying that she had been neutered," said Ms Fuchs. "Can I can a spay certificate from you before I get a dog licence?" Ms Fuchs showed me the nylon stitches protruding from a small lump under the umbilical area of the bitch.

Ms Fuchs continued: "She was definitely spayed. My friend who was given the dog by her boss said her veterinarian had felt a row of stitches under its umbilical region in the belly area and told her that the dog had been spayed."

The licence fees for a spayed female dog is much lower than one not neutered, around three times less. However, the licensing authority requires a veterinary certificate to prove that the bitch has been spayed before issuing the licence.

I examined the bitch. The nipples were swollen and were producing lots of milk. I expressed milk from her nipples. This bitch had no encounters with male dogs. Abdominal palpation did not reveal any puppy foetuses. Nor did she look pregnant. She was very trim.

"Your dog has false pregnancy" I said. "She would not have such a condition if she was spayed. No veterinary surgeon can certify that a bitch has had been spayed just because nylon stitches were present in the umbilical area."

Some Singapore veterinary surgeons do use nylon stitches to close up the muscle layers after a spay, Caesarian or abdominal operation. These stitches don't dissolve and can be felt under the skin. The presence of such stitches cannot be used to confirm that the bitch had been spayed or had not been spayed.

Ms Fuchs was not much concerned about the economics of the licensing. She was happy to find out that her new dog was healthy. Well, not exactly normal as normal bitches does not produce milk when she is are not pregnant. A small percentage of bitches in Singapore develop false pregnancy.