Case
study:
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
February 2, 2002
This house-hunting trip to source Maplewoods and Thomson 800 with balconies
with a European couple with two teenagers shows that "time is of the
essence".
The family had stayed in Singapore for the past two years and know all about
the two condos. They had seen many units and contact me for the last two weeks
for help. I checked all sources from the internet, newspapers for the
past 3 months. Never say die.
We saw the few condos available. The rental budget was to be less than $3,000
per month.
One Thomson 800, vacant for around two weeks was found.
1625 sq. ft $3,300
Block 808
below 10th floor (rented as at Feb 2 2002).
The expatriate took 3 days to let me make an offer, but he would not want
to give a proper Letter of Intent which I had given to him by email. I
structured a Letter of Intent with his wish to have the Landlord polish the
marble floor of the living area, the scratches on the wooden floor, repair a
loose laminate cover of the master bathroom door, to replace a burnt
electrical point and to re-paint the whole apartment for $2,900.
The Landlord had another offer of $3,000 without the need to do any
rectification work. I informed my client by phone immediately. He
took a day to think about it, probably not believing that there are really
expatriates who would be silly enough not to demand a decent apartment to live
in. When he wanted to offer $3,000 and on the same terms which I thought would
not be of any help.
I put in an offer of $3,010 for this nice family to attract the Landlord and
to close the deal as I don't see the Landlord favouring this family if the
rent offered is the same.
The extra amount will be out of my pocket. However, the Landlord had accepted
the Letter of Intent and good faith deposit in the last 24 hours.
Thomson 800 condos are around 2 years old and though there may be recession in
Singapore, there is a demand for Thomson 800 by Caucasian expatriates.
A 1600 sq. ft Thomson 800 condo, facing the hospital and the mortuary, could
not rent at $4,500 but $3,000 was extremely attractive especially after
we had done our market survey on Maplewoods and Thomson 800.
This case study illustrated to me what "time is of the essence"
means in real estate.
I just felt sad that this nice family had lost out on an apartment within
their specifications and budget. I just can't produce another one as the
$3,000 type at 1600 sq. ft is relatively rare. Thomson 800 is almost
fully occupied and it will be almost impossible to find another one. For the
expatriate family, time is running out too as their lease will expire soon.
This time I must put up the white flag and say die.
There are many of such cases. I remember this Shaw Plaza penthouse, brand new,
4-bedroom, 4000 sq. ft with big balconies for entertaining guest going for
$6,500 in October 2000!
The rent was acceptable. The expatriate took 4 weeks to show some
interest to put in an offer. Somebody had taken his favourite unit and
the other 3 had also been taken up. No doubt, the location was not that great
for Caucasians but there were others who just didn't mind. You just can get a
new penthouse for $6,500 nowadays.
I hope other expatriates reading this case study will be decisive enough and
understand the need to be proactive with counter offers in cases where supply
is very limited. The demand may not be there but it just needs one offer
to soak up the supply of value for money apartments and houses in Singapore.
Do not let good meaning colleagues and local Singaporean friends tell you that
the Landlord is crying out for Tenants and bleeding to death as they are not
aware of certain situations as described above.
Good luck to your house hunting.
david@asiahomes.com
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For more information on rentals or FREE house-hunting for expats relocating to Singapore, email
Judy Quek, tel: +65 9668 6468.
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