CONTENTS
1.  Duchess Crest 4-bedroom condos for rent
Duchess Crest 4 bedroom pictures.
2.  Be Kind to Pets case study.
3.  Case study: Closing on a Condo without a maid's room.
4.  More Duchess Crest pictures at:
http://www.asiahomes.com/singaporeapartment/homexpat/73_homepat.htm

Last Updated: 02 November, 2001

FOUR-BEDROOM UNITS AVAILABLE FOR RENT:
Update: It is not practical to provide the latest update. There are a handful of units for rent.  Please email judy@asiahomes.com  or tel: +65 9668 6468 to make appointments to see the units. 

FOR RENT Nov 4, 2001. 

4-bedroom 1700 sq. ft.  With and without balcony  $6,000 - $7,000
                      4-bedroom plus family area  2100 sq. ft $8,000. 
Duchess Crest Condo details of bedrooms, visit
http://www.asiahomes.com/singaporeapartment/homexpat/73_homepat.htm


INFO ON DUCHESS CREST

No. of units: 251
2-bdrm: 87-124 sq. m 
3-bdrm: 125-159 sq. m 
4-bdrm: 145 -210 sq. m (some have no balconies, some have balconies).
Townhouses 5+1: 380 - 396 sq. m  (rentals asked $12,000 in 2001).

Completed: Around 1997

Location: 50 - 90 (even numbers), Duchess Avenue, off Bukit Timah Road.

Interior: Living/dining area - marble tiles. Bedrooms - parquet. Built-in wardrobe, kitchen, cabinet, cooker hob & hood, white (MEG brand) oven, air-conditioning system. A powder room available in bigger units.

Facilities: Swimming pool, wading pool, separate lounging pool with jacuzzi on one end of the condo near Blk 54, steam bath (see photo on left) inside the changing rooms (male and female), 2 tennis courts, 24-hour security system, BBQ area, covered car park. A small gym and playground with few wooden horses are available. Big multi-function room to host birthday parties. A "playground" (not in the architect's planning) with a few bobbing horse has been installed near the gym.  

Shuttle bus services to downtown
45-minutes per bus
Early morning and evening - bus goes to Newton subway.
During the day - bus goes to Holland Village, Tanglin Mall and Orchard subway. 

Around 15-minute walk to the Coronation Shopping Plaza but there is a petrol station with provisions down the road. Swimming lessons for toddlers and Yoga lessons for the adults are some of the services introduced. 

A car will be useful. Occupancy rate around 90%.  Majority of tenants are Caucasian mothers with small children. 

1. The Dominion #04-06. Facing North South. Plunge pool view from the right hand side of balcony but the living area faces other apartments opposite (see photo on left). Bedrooms 2, 3 & 4 faces Duchess Avenue where construction of a 3-storey detached is in progress. More privacy, being the 4th and top floor, compared to ground floor units.

2. The Esquire #03-06. Facing West but the sun brightens the balcony. Building view (end of one block of building) has a dramatic visual impact, discouraging most prospective tenants, as if you are facing a big wall. However, those who like privacy will prefer this than a facing of the balconies of opposite units. However, this unit is hard to rent because there is a BBQ area on the right hand side (ground floor) and there will be noises during weekend BBQ.

3. The Esquire #02-01 Corner unit. Facing West and end block as in The Esquire#03-06. On the left side of the balcony, across Duchess Avenue, there is the construction of the 3-storey detached in progress. The master Bathroom of the corner unit has 3 windows which bring in daylight (see photo on right) and this layout appealed to the Dutch husband.

4. The Nobelese, 2 units (one corner and one intermediate). Views of the apartments opposite and the
Hwa Chong Junior College in bedroom 2 and 3 (see photo on left, below).
However, this high school has only one morning session and being a high school, will be less noisy. The built-in areas of corner and intermediate units are 1774 and 1722 sq. ft respectively, with the corner unit having a walk-in closet. Choice units without the school view have been snapped up fast over the past 8 months.



Why Duchess Crest is popular with Europeans and families?

Characterised by low rise and low density living and small "useless" balconies (see photo on left). However, you could place a small table and 2 chairs. The 2-year olds love to climb this balcony.

Good quality finishes of the bathrooms. However, the shower cubicle does not look as high class as in some condos, being framed by white "plastic" strips (see photo above). Luxury condos have "frameless" shower cubicles. With so many European children, a small "playground" with a few wooden horses was carved out from a small area near the gym. A tropical resort ambience is prevalent especially during the cool evening when children swim and mothers meet.

The units in the photos below are 4-bedroom units without a maid's room, are available for rent at $6,000. Tel: Asia USA +65 9668 6468 or email judy@asiahomes.com.

ADVERTISEMENT. The Wilby Residence, off Bukit Timah Road and near Sixth Avenue,  for rent.

Caucasian expats love balconies.  Condos with balconies attract Caucasian tenants easier than those without. However, the sliding doors of the living area have to be locked to prevent climbers like the boy in the picture.  
   
A picture of a big balcony of the Wilby Residence which is also a Caucasian enclave.  Suites expats whose children study at the Tanglin Trust School or the German and Dutch School. 

Tel: +65 9668 6468.  254 3326, judy@asiahomes.com  

Case study: Closing on a Condo without a maid's room.
"The lift door closed and Martine is inside!" a worried mother was telling the Asia USA Realtor.

The Dutch parents were discussing the units in Duchess Crest at the first floor lift lobby area, not noticing that Martine had gone into the lift when it opened and closed by itself.

It was real panic for the young couple. Dad was prepared to run upstairs. However, the realtor noted that the lift's electronic reading showed "B1".

Daddy sprinted to the basement car park as there was no direct access from inside the lift lobby.

The mummy and I took the lift down to Basement 1 and there was Martine looking worried. He could not have "escaped" out to the basement car park because the door needed a card to open from the outside and an adult to press a button to open from inside the lift lobby. Now we had to look for the Daddy. We went down by the lift to get the Daddy.

Martine climbing the balcony of the 4th storey apartment of The Wilby Residence which is for rent at $6,500 (3-bedroom).(Click thumbnail to view larger image). The Duchess Crest 4+1 bedroom at $6,000 has almost identical pattern encouraging toddlers to climb.

He was a very intelligent 2-year old boy. He said "yes" to everything and even when his daddy said he would throw him out from the balcony. However, when his daddy asked him to punch the Realtor, he did not say "yes".

This case was difficult to close as there was a Great Eastern Mansion 3+1 at $6,000 rent, offered by another realtor. Maplewoods 4+1 1800sf was offered at $4,500 and was highly recommended by the Dutch people. At that price, it probably faces the main road or construction. Gallop Gables 3+1 had a dark kitchen, the 4+1 was asking $9,500 rent. The Wilby Residence 3+1 was asking $6,500 rent.

The Dutch couple did not have a good impression of Duchess Crest during the first visit at 2 p.m and they could not appreciate the facilities as they were taken via the basement car park by the Owner's representative. Furthermore, this 4+1 unit did not have a maid's room. The Dutch husband considered it inhumane to house a maid in that small 50sf area (see photo right). The door is the back door for delivery people. The maid's bathroom will be at the left of the photo and the main kitchen will be at the right and towards you.

A folding door could be installed from the back door to the partition, but the 50-sq-foot space was really very small and may fit a dwarf domestic helper. Most expats use it as a breakfast area. It can be used to dry clothes as there is not much space. There is the maid's bathroom nearby. This should not have been designed as the area could be converted to make the kitchen bigger.

Therefore, the Duchess Crest 4-bedroom unit was not number one. You really could feel that there is a jig-saw puzzle missing. Most likely you would lose the case to the Realtor with the Great Eastern Mansion 3+1 at $6,000. It has 3 bedrooms plus a maid's room unless the expatriate took The Wilby Residence at $6,500.

Desperate situation called for desperate solutions as you had one last chance.
If you think through this problem, the 4th bedroom could be used as a maid's room. If the maid shares a room with Martine, the couple could still have 2 extra rooms. One would be a study room and one would be a room for guests. This proposal convinced the Dutch couple to re-visit Duchess Crest. The earlier 2 units were taken but there was one suitable.

Conclusion: The Great Eastern Mansion 4+1 bedroom unit was shown but it was fronting the flyover. The 3+1 was not shown by the Asia USA Realtor. 12 units were shown by the Asia USA Realtor and 5 units were shown by the other realtor.

The decision made was the Duchess Crest 4 bedroom without the maid's room in view of the fact that Duchess Crest has so many facilities and a resort ambience. The Great Eastern Mansion lacks a tennis court. 

Luck does play a part in this type of situation. 22 hours of house-viewing were spent by the Asia USA Realtor over one day and 2 afternoons. This could be considered a quick closing as some expats see over 100 apartments over a few days and then found the right one with "the other realtor!".

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