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201 Tanjong Rhu
Road. Completed: 1995. Total no. of units: 152 condominiums.
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2002. Parkshore condos |
2012. No more
construction around Parkshore |
2-bedrooms:
92, 93, 97 sq. m
3-bedrooms: 123 - 160 sq. m
4-bedrooms: 216 sq. m
Living/dining - marble tiles. Bedrooms: parquet.
Facilities:
swimming pool, tennis court, squash court, playground, BBQ area,
jogging track, 24-hour security system, clubhouse, covered car park
and multi-function room.
Advantages:
Countryside resort ambience.
Low
density. Not as crowded as Pebble Bay or Costa Rhu. Sea views from
higher floors.
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
Photo 3 |
Photo 4 |
Photo 5 |
Photo 6 |
Photo 7 |
Photo 8 |
Photo 9 |
Photo 10 |
Photo 1.
Pool and Parkshore apartments with balcony.
Photo 2.
Foreground: Parkshore Condo on right side, Pebble Bay Condo
on left side. Background: Tanjong Ria Condo (triangular
roof), Casuarina Cove opposite Tanjong Ria Condo and
Waterside Condo at furthest end (where the road "ends").
Photo 3.
Parkshore 3+1, 1700 sq ft, $4,500 10th floor.
Panoramic sea views all rooms. Living room with balcony and
sea view.
Photo 4.
Parkshore. Same unit as Photo 3. Ensuite master bedroom with
sea views.
Photo 5.
Parkshore. Same unit as Photo 3. Bedroom with sea view.
Photo 6,
7, 8 & 9. Costa Rhu 4+1. 8th floor. Livonia.
Panoramic river front view, living room and master bedroom
and ensuite guest bedroom.
Photo 10.
Costa Rhu 4+1. Ground floor garden (arrowed), patio and
panoramic river view. See more pictures at
Costa Rhu
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TIPS FOR
REALTORS
Case study
was written in Jan 1, 2003
All terms and conditions to be in writing.
"I am flexible" said a busy senior civil servant in a government
ministry when asked whether she would be prepared to negotiate
on furnishing allowance.
When asked
for proof of ownership of condo, this government officer said
her husband was joint owners and she would receive the good
faith deposit cheque payable to the husband. For some reasons,
she did not fax over the proof of ownership. The Singapore
government servants are reputed for integrity and the Asiahomes
associate accepted her word.
Issue:
Lease
terms and conditions in Landlord's tenancy agreement provided by
the Landlord differs from the Letter of Intent. Rental for the
Costa Rhu unit was $5,000 fully furnished, with $500 for the
Tenant to pay the utilities and maid's services. 3+1, 1776 sq
ft, Costa Rhu, Charonia block, panoramic sea view from bedrooms.
- $6,000
furnishing allowance giving the Tenant freedom to select his
own supplier, not the Landlord's was not mentioned. (Landlord
complained that $4,000 would be sufficient as she has her own
connections, but would the quality be satisfactory?)
"Don't
worry, I know what to buy for Tenants" said the confident civil
servant. She would not have reached that level of management if
she had not been domineering.
"You will
get a black sofa set?" enquired Asia USA associate, as this is
the commonest practical (cannot see dirt and last longer). The
answer was black. The Tenant wants his own choice of colours and
Caucasians dislike black lounge set.
- The
servicing of the air conditioners by the "Landlord" changed to
the "Tenant".
-
Agreement of the Landlord to pay the Tenant $500/month was not
stated. Asia USA advised that the $500 be paid via Asia USA as
management agent.
"My lawyer
said it is not permitted for Asia USA to receive the $500 and
anyway, it is not mentioned in the Letter of Intent" said the
flexible landlord, after the good faith deposit had been given
to her husband. What has the lawyer to do with this?
Asia USA
believes there is no statutory requirement stating that the
managing agent cannot receive $500 on behalf of the Tenant. It
is a contract between the Landlord and the Tenant. The rationale
for this procedure is that the Tenant (being a government
authority or even a corporation) would not accept a precedent of
rental housing being rebated to the Tenant's employee (the
Occupant).
The Agency
does not accept a fee from this arrangement, but use it to close
the case and get referrals from the Tenant for a good job done
(saving money for him). In this case, the company would like
accept the $500 being payable to the agent monthly and the
Tenant does not need to pay from his pocket the utilities bill.
(Rental being $4,500 although he has a $5,000 rental allowance).
- " 2
matters I am uncomfortable with," said the Tenant with a
patient voice.
- We are
uncomfortable with the fact that the lease agreement now shows
the name of the landlord different from the first copy (faxed
direct by the Landlord). The good faith deposit had been paid
to Mr L and now the 2nd copy (unknown to the
Realtor) showed Ms S. Please get the cheque back"
- The
Company, being a British government body, would not want me to
accept the $500 monthly and therefore, we would have to edit
the lease agreement as $4,500 instead of $5,000. Is that all
right?"
There
needed to be more explanation that Ms S was the only Owner while
Mr L (the husband) had no shares in the condo. Lease would
commences 4 days later and here, there was a problem of bona
fide ownership. If the flexible "Landlord" had faxed over the
proof of ownership, she would know that she was the owner and
there was no point giving the cheque to her husband. Asia USA
normally insert the names of co-owners in the lease but in this
case, the Landlord said it was all right.
(Advices
to new realtors: You have to be very cautious as there are scams
going around. In this case, the Landlord being a government
employee, we thought she was OK but you can see the problem with
not following the SOP (standard operating procedure, SOP).
After
accepting the explanation that Ms S was the genuine Landlord,
Asia USA had to control the damage.
As time
was short and the Landlord was having meetings, we issued a
cheque of $5,000 to the Tenant and get a $4,500 cheque as good
faith deposit. We had to rush to the Landlord's house to collect
back the $5,000 and gave her the replacement good faith of
$4,500 & 2 months' security deposit of $9,000.
The
Landlord's lawyer (being paid by the Landlord) obviously had to
give his advice that the realtor should not be trusted, without
realising that this advice could result in an aborted deal. The
spirit of flexibility was just not there with Ms S.
Advices
to new realtors:
In such
cases, the landlord wants to be "do-it-yourself" and there is no
point in countering her decision as your time and energy would
be better spent on other matters. Communicate with minimum
words as this is a domineering type of Landlord and you get into
unhappy situations when you offer advices.
The SOP
(standard operating procedure) of Asia USA Realty is as follows:
- Prepare
Letter of Intent with terms and conditions agreed by both
parties and commission agreement payable by the Landlord. Or
go straight to the Tenancy Agreement.
- Ask the
Landlord for proof of ownership before giving the good faith
deposit. Or check the relevant government websites. In private
condos, unlike the HDB, the person paying the maintenance fees
or property tax may not be the owner.
- Prepare
the lease agreement incorporating agreed terms and conditions
in the Letter of Intent simultaneously and get both parties to
sign if there is no initial Tenancy Agreement provided by the
Landlord (corporate landlord usually provides this agreement).
- Get
utilities and phone installation work done for Tenant.
- For new
condos such as the Costa Rhu, the agent may need to be present
for installation of gas meters.
- Handing over. Get
inventory lists checked by the two parties - landlord and
tenant and yourself as the agent.
UPDATE IN 2011. CEA prohibits "dual
representation" by one agent. So, you cannot act for both
the Landlord and the Tenant if you want to keep your licence.
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March
9, 2012
For Rent