0117Singapore real estate educational stories for asiahomes.com realtors, excerpts from "The Internet Realtors, Singapore", sponsored by  AsiaHomes Internet.

No pain, no gain?

She had big round bluish grey eyes with black radial lines, set like two mesmerizing diamonds in the fairest snow-white oval shaped face ending in a sharp chin, framed by golden yellow hair and radiating a happy smile.  The fairest complexion, the Teochew girls of Singapore are reputed to possess but she was even fairer than the fairest of them. You would be forced to give her more than a second look as she looked like the so beautiful princess from the fairy tale books from Britain.  

She took all the three remote controls in the two-bedroom apartment from the newest upscale serviced apartment in Singapore, the Treetops and laid them neatly on the coffee table.  Suddenly, she took one unit and flung it onto the floor.  There was no time to stop her.  Fortunately, nothing was broken and the  lady executive in black was too busy to know. She was doing an excellent presentation of her unit as more than an upscale serviced  low rise and low density development to know that a remote control was flung onto the carpet.  "Treetops is second to none," she emphasized as she came into the living area.   
Second to none in Singapore?  "Probably, with the exception of the only one competitor," she said as she espied my incredulous expression. She listed  the disadvantages of having to go through the car park to access the facilities in the competitor.  This slim executive certainly was as good in her job knowledge as she was as good in her looks.

Actually, the American family had not asked me to show them the competitor which was, of course, listed in SERVICED APARTMENTS IN SINGAPORE.  

It was really difficult for the young American daddy and mummy to focus on the inspection of apartments while the fourteen-month old was so active. 

"Any fruit juice for Madison?" I asked as the child became restless as we left the Treetops. She had stopped drinking milk and was on real food.

After seeing the upscale Treetops, it was very hard to persuade the Daddy to see Orange Court which was just across the road and the rent was at least 40% lower.

"As I don't know your budget, I have included the Orange Court which is over 1,200 sq. ft," I said.  Of course, Orange Court was not in the thoroughbreed pedigree as Treetops and the viewing was cancelled.  

It was 12 noon in Singapore but it would be 10 p.m in Kansas , USA. The jet lag had set in for the American family.   The rain had stopped.  It was hot and humid for the Caucasians.  Daddy suddenly remembered that he had left the important baby bag left in The Ascott apartment.  Fortunately, the Friesian cow black and white pattern bag was retrieved.

It was a happy serviced apartment inspection tour for us but the worried Daddy had to be on the lookout for Madison who loved to touch switches of the television and was wandering around. At The Ascott Serviced Apartment, I just managed to pull her back just as she knocked her head going under a high table separating the living from the dining area.  I played catch the match box with her and that only distracted her for a few seconds.  Dad took some time to go up and down the steps of the breakfast room with her. "We would be late for the other appointments," I said as I had allotted 20 minutes per apartment.

At the waterfront Riverside View, I played ball with the fake water melons, grapes and persimmons in the fruit basket while her parents inspected the unit and admired the sparkling green Singapore River. 


I was contacted via email and I had made the appointments for the American family after they had short listed what they wanted to see.  There was no other way to contact them and they would call me in the morning when they arrived in Singapore. Would they call?

It was a big risk as there might be delays in the flight and other cancellation.  My whole morning could be wasted.  That's the risk an internet realtor had to take.   No expatriate turning up.  The internet brought me the opportunity to earn a small livelihood as a self employed internet realtor.  It brought in many risks too.

Many surfers would ask for information and used them for their own realtors.  In the internet world, it is a "no pain, no gain" venture.

Madison made this one of the most memorable apartment hunting trips for me. Baby sitting an active toddler enabled the parents to focus on the inspection and talk to the apartment executives. It was not part of a realtor's job but it was just great fun. I guess it would not be fun if you don't love kids.   

P.S. How do asiahomes.com internet realtors know which expatriate will turn up for house or apartment hunting after scheduling by long distance email?  Nobody knows but most of them do turn up.

You Got Tenant, Apartment Owner? Looking for Tenants is like winning a war. You need to know where your enemies can be found. You need to advertise in www.asiahomes.com where prospects interested in Singapore properties are likely to be found. Why not place an affordable internet ad to contact prospects direct and save you a few thousand dollars in agency commission? Telephone +65 9668 6468, E-mail judy@asiahomes.com