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Asia USA Realty
(Singapore)
asiahomes.com
Pte Ltd
Estate Agents
Licence No. L3007306B
25 Jun 2011
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Focus:
We get for
you affordable Singapore homes
Rent or Investment |
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HOUSE-HUNTING REPORT IN 2001 FOR HISTORICAL RECORDS ONLY
English Expatriate couple with
children wants a 3- or 4-bedroom around $3,000 partially furnished. Office in Ponggol.
Viewing on May 30, 2001
2p.m
Meet at Hotel Grand Plaza
2.15pm
Gentle Villa Semi-Detached 5+1, around 3000 sq. ft built in, $5,500. 6-min walk to
the Novena subway and shopping mall, supermarkets. Do not want a house but this
house has a big living and separate dining area.
2.30pm
Oleander Towers 4+1 1700 sq. ft $4,200 fully furnished. Meet at Blk
2, 4th floor. Has a patio of 200 sq. ft. The living and dining area is pentagon-like
shaped and faces the dome roof of the swimming pool. The 4th bedroom is small as the
inside area excluding the patio, will be 1,500 sq. ft. 3-minute walk to the Orchard
subway and 2 stops to downtown Orchard Road. One of the handful of ground floor
units with patios in Oleander Towers. The parents don't mind this condo with its
patio.
3pm
 Thomson View townhouse 3+1 3800 sq. ft $4,500.
Fully renovated in 2001. Big garage with a long driveway able to park 4 cars.
Big living area of at least 400 sq. ft and similarly large master bedroom
upstairs with its new bathroom. A separate big dining area separated
 from the dining area by an air well. Big garden outside. The two
bedrooms are large and share a common bathroom.
The father just loved this townhouse as he will have many visitors and
there's a lot of space. The mater bedroom has a balcony facing green
foliage and the unit will be 100% renovated.
Opposite Thomson Plaza mall. 5-minute taxi ride to downtown Orchard Road.
1 pool, 1 tennis court, 2
squash courts, big gym, big children's room, sauna, playground, bicycle
parking area, dog pit, barbecue area. Somehow, the dated facilities
did not appeal to the daughters after seeing Seletaris. The father
liked the spacious  rooms of the townhouse. It is 3,800 sq. ft
and at least double the Seletaris condo, but it has 3
bedrooms. They are used to over one-hour commuting time to
school and dad took 2 hours to commute to work. So, the urban
location near the Seletar Reservoir and Mandai Zoo area does not bother
them.
3.30pm
Seletaris brand new condo 4+1 1636 sq. ft $3,000
Blk 511, 3rd floor. Sembawang/Yishun area. 4-storey low
rise. A holiday resort feeling. Full condo facilities. New good-sized gym,
tennis courts, bathrooms, cabinets.
Master bathroom with a framed
shower cubicle and white long bath.
The daughters appreciate the new marble-tiled bathrooms and they do not need to share
bedrooms. Seletaris was a heart stopper for the English daughters.
4pm
Sin Min Plaza 3+1 1938 sq. ft $2,800. Pools only. Key access card
via lift. 4-storey building. No maid's room but very big living and dining area with
glossy white ceramic tiles and big bedrooms. The balcony faces a busy road. 5-min taxi
ride to downtown Orchard Road. Did not appeal after seeing Seletaris.
4.30pm
Country Esquire 3+1 1680 sq. ft $3,200. 13th floor.
No air conditioners in the living and dining room.
Light brown marble tiled rectangular living cum dining area. Parquet in bedrooms.
Excellent greenery views. Lorong Puntong. One block, 60 units. 18 floors. Squash,
tennis, pool, security. Quiet countryside ambience.
5pm
Country Grandeur 3+1 1500 sq. ft $3,500 partially furnished. 17th floor.
Excellent city and greenery views. A unique concept in that the usual maid's
room is tiled in marble and air conditioned. It can be a maid's room and has its own
bathroom near the kitchen. Lorong Puntong. One block. 68 units. 4 units per floor.
Squarish living cum dining area with light brown marble tiles. Automation alarm system,
Audio-visual intercom. No balcony. Pool, tennis court, small gym (3 pieces of equipment),
security, open car park lots. Quiet countryside ambience. Bus to Bishan subway in 5
minutes.
5.30pm
Thomson 800 condo 3+1 1700sq. ft $3,500
Blk 806. Ground floor units x 2. New. Near MacRitchie Reservoir and 5-min taxi ride
to downtown.
CONCLUSION
The Kew Green townhouse appeal to the family as it fits their
specifications and look newer.
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FOR RENT |
 June
25, 2011 For Rent
Various units mentioned in the above house-hunting report are
available for rent at different times.
E-mail judy@asiahomes.com Tel:
+65 9668 6468 for updates. |
TIPS FOR
REALTORS
Case Study: The love of three English Roses
They had never been to Singapore before although their dad had been here on a 48-hour
interview earlier. Now he had accepted a job in Singapore and mum had decided on a 3 or
4-bedroom condo with a rental budget of $2,500 - $3,000 unfurnished. A couple with 3
lissome and fair preteen and teenaged daughters. Daughters who are used to having
their own bedrooms from a young age.
This case, I believe, would close, if I could find a new four-bedroom condo at $3,000 as I
guess that the children usually have their own rooms in England.
But the father has a big dining table with enormous chairs, like those you see at
"King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table." Those wide chairs with arm rests for a big English man. They are
very comfortable when you dine.
But they will never be able to fit inside a new Singapore condo of 1700 sq. ft. 4
bedrooms will have taken up some of the living and dining spaces. And if there's a
balcony, the dining area may be further reduced in area!
The utility area, to the left of the sink, can hold a stack up European washer and dryer.
The maid's room is on the left.
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Mum cooks and the
kitchen of Seletaris, being twice the size of the Oleander Towers will appeal to her.
There will be no maids and the utility room can be a store room.
The kitchen is spacious compared to many new 4-bedroom condos like Oleander Towers and
Trellis Towers. |
Fully equipped kitchen with granite counter top and stainless steel sink. |
The kitchen is spacious |
"What's your daughters' favourite?" I asked Mum. It was the Seletaris
condo with its seals spouting water and the newness of the bathrooms. The tennis
court and the condo facilities in a country side neighbourhood seldom seen by Caucasian
expatriates. The parents had wanted them to know more about the multi-cultural
Singapore and this neighbourhood will have the heartlanders. The real Singapore.
Dad still prefers the Thomson View townhouse.
"I make the payments and therefore I have the final say" Dad laughed.
Actually he wanted his wife to decide. Oleander Towers and Seletaris with four
bedrooms or Thomson View of 3800 sq. ft with three bedrooms?
"Do you have a bigger Seletaris unit?" Dad asked me quietly, knowing how much
his daughters love the condo and will be spending more time there than him. A closely
knitted family with decisions to be made by consensus of the female members.
The three English roses love Seletaris. If there's a bigger apartment, it will be easy to
close. Unfortunately, the biggest is the 1636 sq. ft condo.
CONCLUSION
In this case, the Kew Green townhouse 4-bedroom and over 3000 sq ft built
in, suited the family and the case was closed.
Tips for new
asiahomes.com Realtors
You will save a lot of time looking for big 4-bedroom condos when an expatriate has 3
children. Suburban condos will fit their tight rental budget of $3,000. Most new 4-bedroom
condos in Singapore will be around 1,600- 1,800 sq. ft with most falling in the 1,700 sq.
ft size. The difficulty is to reconcile the area with the budget constraints.
Time is precious when you are self employed and therefore, qualify the tenants well and
you will succeed.
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Subdivisions (condo & house details) has some of the details
of the advertised condos. |
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Tel: +65 9668-6468, e-mail
judy@asiahomes.com for
viewings |
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ŠAsia USA Realty (Singapore) asiahomes.com
Pte Ltd. Website:
asiahomes.com.
Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, #01-1477, Singapore 319074, Republic of
Singapore
Estate Agents Licence No. L3007306B
Salesperson Name/Registration No. Sing Kong Yuen/R030822Z
Asia USA Realty
(Singapore) asiahomes.com Pte Ltd
Finding Affordable Homes
For Expatriates |
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