This was sent to me my Leon Koh, a very helpful realtor:
" Btw please be careful when selling options:
Case study
After seller sells the property to buyer A, buyer A decide to resell the option to buyer B.
Buyer B will wait for the last day of the option, before exercising the option and paying buyer A the different in price VIA CHEQUE.
However, the cheque bounced the next day!
At this time, the buyer B has exercised the option to his name and buyer A has no legal documents to claim back that resell profit Please be aware! "
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Foreigners to be allowed to buy landed property in Singapore?
Goldman Sachs have caused ripples in the Singapore community by recommending that Singapore do away with restrictions on landed property ownership by foreigners. There was an almost instant rebuttal by the Minsitry of Law (err, why are land issues handled by the Ministry of Law anyway), and indignation in the forum pages of The Straits Times are starting to come in.
My take? Lift restrictions for foreigners to own cluster landed property. Cluster landed property are more akin to condominums than pure stand-alone landed property. They are space efficient (they have relatively small floor foot prints but usually built to 4 levels) and like condominiums, they share common facilities like a communal swimming pool, gym, children's play area (and related quarterly maintenance charges)
Indeed today we do have anomalies in the system where certain cluster house developments are considered to be landed property (where restrictions on purchase by foreigners apply) whereas others in mixed developments (i.e. those whch also have apartments in the same development e.g. Glentrees, Somerville Park) are considered not to be landed property. Physically though, the "landed" townhouses in these two types of development are indistinguishable.
Allowing foreigners to buy space efficient landed property such as cluster homes will not have a major impact on land scarce Singapore, but yet give a greater choice of homes for foreigners who are attracted to Singapore to live or invest in.
Disclosure - I do own a cluster landed property in Singapore and would stand to gain if restrictions on foreign purchase were lifted.
My take? Lift restrictions for foreigners to own cluster landed property. Cluster landed property are more akin to condominums than pure stand-alone landed property. They are space efficient (they have relatively small floor foot prints but usually built to 4 levels) and like condominiums, they share common facilities like a communal swimming pool, gym, children's play area (and related quarterly maintenance charges)
Indeed today we do have anomalies in the system where certain cluster house developments are considered to be landed property (where restrictions on purchase by foreigners apply) whereas others in mixed developments (i.e. those whch also have apartments in the same development e.g. Glentrees, Somerville Park) are considered not to be landed property. Physically though, the "landed" townhouses in these two types of development are indistinguishable.
Allowing foreigners to buy space efficient landed property such as cluster homes will not have a major impact on land scarce Singapore, but yet give a greater choice of homes for foreigners who are attracted to Singapore to live or invest in.
Disclosure - I do own a cluster landed property in Singapore and would stand to gain if restrictions on foreign purchase were lifted.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Just a major bug bear about real estate agents:
1. Why do some real estate agents subscribe for caller ID barring (this means that when you receive a call from such a real estate agent, your mobile phone will not have a record of the caller's phone number). I would have thought that in this business, you would like to people to return your enquiries about properties. Instead, one's caller list has "No Caller ID", and there is then no way of returning the call.
2. Why do the rest prefer to call from fixed line phones, and almost always, hunting lines at that? Sure, we can return calls to fixed line phones, but if the estate agent rings from the company phone, you just get a "aaah - who did you want to speak to aaah"; "##$%!!! I don't know, I was just returning a missed call"; "aaaahh. wat's your name aaah?"; "Malek"; "AAAAAAH, ANYONE HERE CALLED MALEK AAH? AAAH? (then back to the phone) "Sorry aaah, no one here called you aaah, nevermind, nevermind, the person will call you again aaah, ok aah, byee aah"
Sure, fixed line calls are cheaper but for the extra $200 per month, you would get a lot more of your calls returned (and more chances of closing the deal that will pay for that month's phone bill 100 times over)
Tip #1 for real-estate agents : If you call from a mobile phone and allow your caller ID to be displayed to the other party, then you dramatically increase your chances of getting a return call or a return SMS, leading to higher chances of closing a deal.
"
1. Why do some real estate agents subscribe for caller ID barring (this means that when you receive a call from such a real estate agent, your mobile phone will not have a record of the caller's phone number). I would have thought that in this business, you would like to people to return your enquiries about properties. Instead, one's caller list has "No Caller ID", and there is then no way of returning the call.
2. Why do the rest prefer to call from fixed line phones, and almost always, hunting lines at that? Sure, we can return calls to fixed line phones, but if the estate agent rings from the company phone, you just get a "aaah - who did you want to speak to aaah"; "##$%!!! I don't know, I was just returning a missed call"; "aaaahh. wat's your name aaah?"; "Malek"; "AAAAAAH, ANYONE HERE CALLED MALEK AAH? AAAH? (then back to the phone) "Sorry aaah, no one here called you aaah, nevermind, nevermind, the person will call you again aaah, ok aah, byee aah"
Sure, fixed line calls are cheaper but for the extra $200 per month, you would get a lot more of your calls returned (and more chances of closing the deal that will pay for that month's phone bill 100 times over)
Tip #1 for real-estate agents : If you call from a mobile phone and allow your caller ID to be displayed to the other party, then you dramatically increase your chances of getting a return call or a return SMS, leading to higher chances of closing a deal.
"
Saturday, June 9, 2007
The What and the Why
So this is the fourth blog site (first being the joys of fatherhood, second the mobile business (mobilitee@blogspot.com), and third, commentary on Malaysian and Singapore politics and society)
Yes. I've moonlighted as a real estate agent in Singapore for more than a year now. Initially it was more for keeping myself busy whilst waiting for an entrepreneurial project to get regulatory approval, but now it is actually paying the bills.
But even today, I feel it hard to admit to anyone that I AM a real estate agent. It's one of those jobs (I wouldn't call it a profession yet, as future posts in this blog will indicate why) where one hesitates to admit to in a party, alongside psychiatrists, accountants and used car salesmen. Mention the word estate agent in this country (Singapore) and images of pushy aunties, young men with slick gelled hair, and dodgy/evasive/non-committal characters come to mind.
But that's where this blog comes in - to explain why real estate agents in Singapore evoke those images. And believe me, the impressions are justified...
Yes. I've moonlighted as a real estate agent in Singapore for more than a year now. Initially it was more for keeping myself busy whilst waiting for an entrepreneurial project to get regulatory approval, but now it is actually paying the bills.
But even today, I feel it hard to admit to anyone that I AM a real estate agent. It's one of those jobs (I wouldn't call it a profession yet, as future posts in this blog will indicate why) where one hesitates to admit to in a party, alongside psychiatrists, accountants and used car salesmen. Mention the word estate agent in this country (Singapore) and images of pushy aunties, young men with slick gelled hair, and dodgy/evasive/non-committal characters come to mind.
But that's where this blog comes in - to explain why real estate agents in Singapore evoke those images. And believe me, the impressions are justified...
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