803221- Affordable Homes

House Agent's Licence

No. AD041 - 07306B

Singapore Real Estate, Rent, Condos, condominium, Rooms, House, Affordable, expats, expatriates, Cheap housing, Asia USA Realty, asiahomes.com
Visit www.asiahomes.com

Focus: Finding affordable homes for expatriates

Asia USA Realty (Singapore) asiahomes.com Pte Ltd
Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lorong 8, #01-1477, Republic of Singapore 319074

Owners renting to US/European companies: expatriates looking for affordable rentals,
tel: (65) 9668 6468, 254 2728, 254 7944, fax: (65) 256 0501,
email: drsing @asiahomes.com. Contact: Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow),
MRCVS, Managing Director
See www.asiahomes.com for free services to expats, advices to newcomer Landlords/Realtors/Tenants.

Affordable Homes for Expatriates
Ref: 803221

Sulky "Tai Tai" wives and American School housing

For Rent:

Near American School housing
Brand new terrace house: from $7.5. Bungalow with pool $13,500.
Brand new terrace houses $3K p/f (communal pool, gym, security)
Brand new semi-detached $7K p/f and $6K p/f (communal pool, gym, security). Others.

Advice to all landlords: When you know that your spouse is not happy with the rental offered, forget about 2^nd viewing because it is a waste of time. A second viewing merely short-list your unit. In this Condo case ($2,800 p/f accepted by husband, 3 bedroom NO maid's room, 2,200 sq. ft, maisonette), the husband was very happy to receive the Australian couple. He told me his wife would not be around but in this case, the wife probably felt the need to assert herself and "check out the prospective tenant". She was sitting expressionless and didn't respond to introductions by her husband, maintaining a silence which was broken by the tennis court players outside the house.

I always advise landlords to be absent as it is easier for prospects to voice their frank criticism which may be countered by the Agent. By hanging around and following the prospects, you may inhibit their concerns and if you are unhappy with criticism, it shows that you are a fussy or bad landlord.

It is best to leave the house if you want a higher probability of success because you may feel sensitive to criticisms of your house. Also, your spouse's attitude or racial discrimination must be known (in above case, a Caucasian husband and Indian wife) since your wife is usually a "Tai Tai" (Singaporean Cantonese slang for women from rich families and who need not work after marriage). "Tai Tai" usually wear silky type blouses and look well groomed and fair. Many of them are astute and friendly helpers of their busy money-making husbands though.

Advice to new housing agents: In such cases, when one spouse is not happy, it will be best to avoid this 2^nd viewing at night as you may as well spend time with your beloved ones. In this case, you are already disadvantaged by the absence of a proper maid's room and the tennis court facing (noise).

For Rent as at March 21, 1998:

Door step of American School

Ref: 803201. 3-storey intermediate terrace houses, 7+1 bdrm, 3,600 sq. ft built-in, 5-min walk to American School, $7,500 and $8,000 p/f. 2 adjoining units brand new; suits expats who want to be neighbours.

Ref: 803204. Bungalow with pool. 10-min walk to American School, $13,500 . Brand new.

Ref: 803205. 3-storey corner terrace houses, 6+1 bdrm, 2,300/2900 sq. ft (land/builit in). 5-min walk to American School, $8,000 p/f. Brand new. Guest room without attached bath on first level. Separate bathroom on first level. Kitchen very small but inside spacious. Utility room need to be used for American sized fridge and washer/dryer to be kept outside under awning. Beautiful chandliers.

Ref: 803206. 3-storey corner terrace houses, 7+1 bdrm, 3137/3,600 sq. ft (land/built in). 5-min walk to American School, $8,000 p/f. Brand new. Kitchen bigger and bright. On first level, utility room too small for maid. Squatting toilet next to utility room; guest room with own attached bath downstairs probably can be used as ironing room or maid's room. Can see expressway but shielded by one house from expressway.

Ref: 803207. 3-storey corner terrace houses, 7+1 bdrm, 5-min walk to American School, $8,000 p/f. Brand new. Kitchen bigger and bright. On first level, utility room too small for maid. Squatting toilet next to utility room; guest room with own attached bath downstairs probably can be used as ironing room or maid's room. Can see expressway but shielded by one house from expressway.

Ref: 803211. 3-storey intermediate terrace houses, 5+1 bdrm, 10-min walk to American School, $7,500 p/f. Brand new. 5 attached baths all with long baths.

10-minute drive to American School and to Raffles Place
Saves travelling time for spouse working in Raffles Place and yet only 10 km to American School. School bus fare S$420/quarter/child.

Ref: 803202. 3-storey intermediate terrace houses, 5+1 bdrm, $3,000 p/f. Brand new. Several units available. Pool, gym and 24-hours security. Communal pool.

Ref: 803208. 3-storey semi-detached houses, 5+1 bdrm, $5,000 p/f. Brand new. Several units available. Pool, gym and 24-hours security. Communal pool.

Ref: 803209. 3-storey corner terrace houses, 5+1 bdrm, $4,500 p/f. Brand new. Several units available. Pool, gym and 24-hours security. Communal pool.

Ref: 803203. 3-storey corner terrace houses, 5+1 bdrm, $6,500 p/f. Brand new. Secluded tranquil Yio Chu Kang residential area, 10-minute drive to Raffles Place, 10 km from new American School.

Ref: 803210. 3-storey semi-detached houses, 4 or 5+1 bdrm, $7,000 p/f. Brand new. Secluded tranquil Yio Chu Kang residential area, 10-minute drive to Raffles Place, 10 km from new American School.

There are no worst nightmares than having a bad landlord. If surfers want a responsive landlord, AsiaUSA recommends the Tanglin Regency, Ocean Park and the 2 Grand Chateau units listed below as the landlords had been checked out. Examples of calculating landlady given in the H J Heights Condo.

Call AsiaUSA 9668 6468, 254 3326 for viewing.

Attached: Views on Woodlands housing/expat housing allowance

Subject: Re: House in Woodlands
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:58:43 -0800
From: AAA.@pacific.net.sg>
To: drsing <drsing@pacific.net.sg>

Dr Sing, thks for the advice, will advertise more often as u suggest. i now have my handphone with me all the time.
At 02:38 AM 1/20/98 +0000, you wrote:

Jan 20
Should be no problem for you to rent at that budget. Usually it is the timing. I always ask Owners to advertise 3 times/week themselves and be contactable at all times.. That seems to be the fastest way to get tenants from agents all over Singapore or direct. I have 3 European couples but they are not your type. Your target will be American School families.

Will keep your unit in mind.

(Viewed unit March 21, 1998. Ref: 803201 above. Take-up rate increasing now as rental season starts. Client has US$5,200 (S$8,300) budget but wife wants a corner terrace). With two 9- and 13-year old boys, client changes idea of living in condos downtown and prefers boys to have "American" friends. It would broaden the child's outlook in life if he can live near the locals and experience the multi-cultural diversity of Singaporeans. For the whole day, they will have American friends and after school, it will be good for them to have "Asian" friends.

S$8,000 - 9,000 housing allowance for US expat - senior managers.

AAA wrote:
The woodlands rental appears high compared to your Braddell Bungalow, but this seems to be the market. My brother recently also rented out a corner terrace for $9.2k to an expat working in Caltex. i am also working for an American oil company and i know the budgets for our expats are in region of $8-9k/mth for majority of them and higher for higher level managers.

(Advice to all Landlords - Rental depends on budget given to expat and not the "market rate" as in Sales of properties. Keep your unit very clean - no black stains and urine smell in toilets, install quality lighting and pastel coloured curtains and contact all realtors (those who focus on rentals). US expats with high rental budgets of over $8,000 usually prefer condos and not Woodlands housing. As at March 22, 1998, corner terraces are renting below $8,000 p/f because of lower demand. Asking rentals around $8,000 negotiable.

i had my first viewing today - a American lady working part-time at the school. the agent indicated they have budget of $7.5k so this was the rental i asked for as a start. i hang around the Woodgrove area quite a bit on weekends and i see more and more expats looking around and moving into the houses there. last sunday afternoon, i bumped into one and found out he was looking to rent a bungalow in the woodlands area - he had two young kids with him. hope info is useful to you.

Regards