asoon88

A dog's bark can be a nuisance especially if all neighbours around the your area do not keep dogs as pets. I know how it feels to be barked by dogs. My neighbour never picks up the dog's poo. Therefore, for peace and neighbourliness sake, maybe, it is time to let the dog go. Otherwise, you will become the household that your neighbours love to hate....another Everitt drama to unfold.

I recognise these two nos. Both are agents. One from DWG, the other Propnex. If you want peace and quiet. Go for 862. If you want majestic view, go for 910. However, you will not enjoy silence at all because it is next to the highway. Noise 365 days, 24 x 7 guaranteed !

Note that HDB statistics are not reflecting today's actual transactions. The statistics reflect valuations done earlier this year. Even then, many transactions had a mid-to-high COV already built-in because Valuations were lower than now.

I will give you actual encounters and let the forumers draw their conclusions :- i) BLK 547 JW St 42, 5A Masionette - Value $325K+ $30K COV Offered COV $10K - rejected. Agent sms me two days later and say last offer was $22K. I said, "sell to that person then" ! Several days later, sms me again to say owner willing to let go at $25K COV. I said no thank you. ii) Blk 556 JW ST 42, EM - Value $360K + $30K COV Offered COV $10K - rejected. Agent sms me again to say seller willing to let go at $15K COV, I accepted. About to meet for OTP that day, agent sms to say seller now wants $25K. I said go "FO". iii) Blk 558 JW St 42, EM - Value $372K + $10K COV Matched COV $10K - No immediate acceptance. Agent sms me to say offer rejected and are asking for $30K. I said go to **** with that unit because the whole house was crumbling with spalling concrete. iv) Blk 828 JW St 81 - EA - Value $388K + $10K COV Did not offer anything because divorce case and sold by two agents. Luckily never offer anything because police came to break-up the commotion when buyers came to view !! v) Blk 829 JW St 81 - EA - Value $385K + $30K COV Offered $405K with re-valuation. Agent rejected offer immediately. Not satisfied, I contacted owner and found out that he wasn't a keen seller. Just testing the market and would only sell if someone offered him $450K ! I sms agent to tell him that I will only offer at VALUATION. vi) Blk 828 JW St 81 - EA - Value $395K + $60K COV No need to offer. Family also testing market. Willing to sell if someone offers at least $50K COV. vii) Blk 761 JW St 74 - EA - Value $395 + $15K COV Offered $5K. Agent rejected offer. Two days later, offered to up it to $10K. Agent say seller considering. Later found out that multiple agents trying to sell this unit and getting mixed signals. Next day, found out that owner sold it for $11K COV. One week later, found the unit being listed again. Last transaction cancelled and owner now asking $30K COV ! viii) Blk714 JW St 71 - EM - Value $400K + $40K COV Offered $10K. Several families were there for viewing. Rejected immediately. Agent says one family offered $35K. I said," sell to her then ". Two days later, agent sms me asking whether can give $30K COV. I said, " Didn't you sell to the one who offer $35K?". Honest agents aplenty it seems ! There are many, many more stories but it is about the same outcome. Agents are giving sellers' wrong expectations and buyers' agents are doing lousy homework before bringing buyers to view flats. Wasting everyone's time.

BTW, you sound like an agent ! Try negotiating down to $5~10K and you will get an automatic and immediate response " OFFER REJECTED". HDB doesn't compile agents' commissions in the statistics. They do so for selling prices of flats. However, they are also smart not to reveal the COV for each flat . They do a quarterly averaging so that the overall COV looks low because some flats sell below valuation....especially for repo or divorce cases.

When I make any offer, I make sure the owner is around. I want to see their body language. Many agents don't like me talking to the owners and interject whenever possible, however, I usually brush them aside. Talking to the owners allow me to size up whether they are genuine sellers or just trying their luck to fetch a high price for their unit. Some of sellers are in financial difficulty ....but this is not revealed by the agents. I know after talking to the family. Many areas in Singapore should not command any COV premium. That is why in my earlier thread, I asked buyers to confront the sellers and their agents to JUSTIFY COV. Many cannot and will not. They will just say " COV is the norm for that block".

The cleaners are just doing their job !! Try a targetted approach instead. Assuming you are interested in a 6th level unit at St 93 of a particular block. Insert flyers directly under the doors of the units. Some of the owners may call you to scold you but at least you are getting a response. That's what I did last time. The owner called me at 2.30am and told me that he was not selling. I said "OK. Thanks for calling". Some will respond more positively.

Let me just share with everyone what I did recently to avoid paying COV. Many agents will tell you that 'it is impossible' to buy flats without COV. The reason is simple : The sellers usually use this money to cover the 2% commission to pay the agents. Any remaining money is just nice to pay the commission of 1% to the agent finding another flat for them. I bought an EA flat recently. The owner's agent was asking Valuation + $15K cash. The flat was less than 12 yrs old, marble flooring, built-in wardrobes, fitted kitchen,etc,etc.....all were still in pretty good condition. I rejected their offer when first approached. After spending days checking out the surroundings, feng-shui and everything that I think will affect me, I decided to approach the sellers' agent again because the unit was ideal for me. I offered to pay him a 1.5% commission and asked him to claim the remaining 0.5% from the owner in return for NO COV. IT WORKED ! I bought the flat at valuation. Eventhough I paid the seller's agent commission using profits from my previously sold flat, I think it is money well spent because:- i) I did not drive up the resale flat price which will be reflected in HDB's statistics ii) Paying the agent 1.5% was much lower than forking out $15K COV iii) The seller's agent was on my side the moment I offered to pay his commission. The resale process was seamless. Therefore, what agents want are their commissions. Yes, a higher selling price with COV will increase their commissions. However, making a quick sell and collecting the commissions is the name of their game .

Oh ! Looks like you have to stay in this flat till you finish paying off your mortgage loan ! With 67 years lease remaining, it is unlikely anybody will buy this flat unless govt change the rules with regards to loans on property with 60 years or less lease remaining. It's like musical chairs and you are the last person sitting on this one.

I have seen enough new and resale flats to conclude that this market is driven by greedy sellers and desperate buyers...not willing sellers & buyers as the market wants to justify. The whole problem is further exacerbated by timing. Greedy Sellers upon finding a Desperate Buyer, sells his flat. He in turn starts looking for a 'cheap' flat but when none are found, he becomes a Desparate Buyer himself and bumps into more Greedy Sellers. That's why Mah Bow Tan says that the market is 'stable'. You reap what you sow ! The beneficiaries of this process are HDB, Agents and Sellers. I am not advocating that people with genuine housing needs don't buy a flat. I am asking Buyers to be prudent and not drive up prices by sticking to what they can truly afford.

Reply : i) Understandable....Govt purposely want the resale market to remain super-active so that unemployed Singaporeans/PR become housing agents ! ii) Many living in these areas want to sell their flats but there are no buyers, don't buy if above value v) Yes, not all families can squeeze together ! I see that you will be moving to a 3 rm flat in AMK. It must be pricy for a close-to 25-year-old property. I suggest that you stay for 5 years, sell at a small profit and move to a cheaper location into a 4 or 5 rm flat then. Singapore is so small, even the remote-tess area will become accessible. Therefore, don't bogged yourself down paying close to $300K for a 3-rm flat !

I am very disturbed that the Singapore Institute of Surveyors & Valuers have chosen to raise valuations of HDB flats simply based on a flat's location and proximity to amenities. Many 3, 4 & 5 rm flats are over-valued. This finding has been reiterated many times in many forums. However, buyers seem to be oblivious to the bait and buy based on HDB's generous HLE loan ceiling. Many take up repayment periods of 25, 30....even 35 years for their mortgage loans ! My advice to newly wed couples who are desperate to buy a flat :- i) Buy a new HDB flat from HDB, if available. ii) If not, buy a resale flat that is selling below valuation, eg. Punggol, Sengkang, etc. iii) DO NOT Buy mature flats in excess of $400K regardless of their size. You are being a pawn in the scheme of things by the HDB, Sellers & their Agents. iv) DO NOT Pay COV for any HDB property. If you want to pay, ask the Seller or Agent to justify. Many cannot and will not be able to justify ! At the end of the day, you will be the ones suffering because your CPF will have ZERO funds when you reach 55 years old, your bank a/c will have little funds left because you need to top-up cash for your monthly mortgage loan repayments. The current property euphoria is a false sense of better things to come. When the buying stops, the price rise will too. In the meantime, stay with your parents / parents-in-law and build up your nest egg.

By the way, if anyone is interested to buy an EA flat in Jurong West St 81, I have the following leads available :- i) Blk 831 EA, Mid-Flr. Valuation done. Owner requesting $10K COV. I have seen the unit and would have bought it if valuation was made known earlier. ii) Blk 862 EA, Mid-Flr.Valuation-in-progress. Not viewed. iii) Blk 910 EA, High-Flr. Valuation-in-progress. Viewed the unit too. If you are a property agent, please do not not email me. Willing to pass info to genuine HOME BUYERS ONLY. I do not make anything myself because I have seen how some home buyers get 'conned' into paying high COV and commissions for lousy work done by agents. Email me : asoon88@singnet.com.sg

Are you keen to look for an EA at St 81 ? I got lobang. Drop me an email to : asoon88@singnet.com.sg so that I can furnish you more details.

If you are serious about doing your own direct transactions with a potential seller, my advice is that you put a flyer at the lift landing of your preferred block announcing your intentions clearly. This is to prevent people from treating you like a first-time agent ! Being a first-timer, how familiar are you with HDB's regulations ? Please note that many potential flat sellers are sotong. And even if they agree to sell to you, you may run into problems later with them with ownership verifications, appt schedules, moving out, etc,etc. Things are not so simple as just saving commissions on agents. You may even lose your OTP money !! Unless you and the potential seller are very, very familiar with all regulations, I would discourage you from DIY. If you are looking for flats at the Jurong West Stadium area, you should seriously consider the St 91,92 & 93 areas instead. As a first timer, besides getting all the grants that you qualify, you will be buying a less expensive resale flat. 600 & 700 series prices have all risen. Not a wise choice to burden yourself with huge HDB mortage loan. I am not an agent but I know the regulations better than my agent who helped sell my flat. I can see the hiccups even when all parties have the best of intentions.

Hi, Jurong East properties tend to command a higher premium than Jurong West. Personally, I don't know why but the valuation guys probably measured it being closer to the CBD !! My mother-in-law stays along Jurong East Ave 1 in a 5-rm flat and had to patch up two spots in her kitchen due to spalling concrete 2 months ago. It costs her close to $500. Since the EMs were also built around the same time as her flat back in the early 80s, I leave you to conclude whether my warning in my earlier thread holds water. My advice is : If you are going to spend $450K ~ $500K on a HDB property. Go for one without spalling concrete stories....Jurong West St 71 ~ 93 flats are better built if you are still looking for an EM within the Jurong area.

No, those are the good quality ones. They were built semi-prefab unlike those in St 41,42......

I believe that before you bought your unit, you would have inspected it like all would-be buyers do. If the unit had a false ceiling and you assumed the original HDB ceiling is good, then it is a case of ' time will tell'. If the unit came without false ceiling and there were no patches of ceiling touch-ups when you bought the unit, chances are, you have found a good conditioned EM. No worries...just maintain it by painting the ceiling of the toilets, kitchen and balcony twice a year. Your in-laws staying in JW will see signs of spalling concrete, if not now, will soon see it in a few years time. It all depends on whether the problem is arrested early. If they did not notice anything amiss, then it is best to advise them to maintain the wet area ceilings, eg. bathrooms. Please note that the problems could be originating from the neighbour's unit above due to the waterproofing membrane deterioration or from your own in-law's unit affecting their neighbour below !

Most HDB units built in the early 80's during Teh Cheang Wan's time have this problem before he committed suicide. Areas in the west include Clementi, Bukit Batok, Jurong East and Jurong West. Jurong West Extension area is exempted because that's when pre-fab technology was used and that's why even though St 91...properties are over 20 years old, the concrete still looks and feels good. Spalling concrete is a 'natural' process caused by the oxidation of metal within a concrete structure. This can happen if air pockets containing moisture is trapped during the construction phase. The moisture and air will cause the metal to rust. When metal rust (oxidation), it expands. Concrete with air pockets will start to crumble as if an internal volcano is about to erupt. If fact, it is some sort of mini-explosion within the concrete. Over time, patches will start falling off ceilings exacerbated by poor maintenance (not painting regularly). A good example are flats with toilet metal frames. Have you noticed that the bottom edges would have rust off exposing the hollow concrete and possibly breaking a few wall tiles due to the expansion of metal during oxidation ? Once you find a flat with spalling concrete problems, especially in the toilets, balconies and kitchens, no amount of repair by a HDB contractor will solve the problem. What they do is just localised arresting of the problem by preventing the rust from spreading with chemicals and then patching it up with cement. Over time another area will have the same problem because once spalling concrete starts, it will spread internally like a virus. Many homes in the JW and JE areas look nice because of the false ceiling and paint job. The owners know the problem and are eager to sell their flats. HDB is clever to pass the buck to the owners to maintain. However, most surveyors don't even bother to highlight these major defects in their reports. A green-horn flat buyer will buy, renovate but discover to their horror in 5 years or earlier that they are occupying a unit that is worse than having termite infestation.

I pity you and your mother. Kim Keat area is no longer an affordable area to buy flats. In fact, Central Singapore has become an exclusive zone for people who earn more than $10K a month to be able to afford the mortgages. If you have a salary of $8K, you will repaying the loan thru' your nose. DO NOT make an offer for any flat unless you see the valuation report. Many agents are colluding with the sellers to force potential buyers into a situation whereby they put in a price which there is no ceiling ! I must admit that the SISV are themselves very guilty of artificially inflating valuations all over Singapore simply based on location. Many of the flats in the Kim Keat areas are in a state of disrepair. Do you want to pay $400K for a high-rise slum ?

There aren't many EMs for sale in the JW area at this juncture. The ones available are at St 42 or 41. However, let me warn you that the spalling concrete problems are real and sometimes hidden by all the nice decor in the sellers' house. Your nightmare begins if you intend to buy one. For Blk 714, the sellers are asking for the roof ! Almost all are asking $40K and above COV. I know because I've been there to view the units. Therefore, don't get sucked in by the sales talk of the agents. Buy within your means. Since you are staying in a 4rm flat, you should simply upgrade to a 5I or 5A within your St 91,92,93 area. The prices are more palatable and the floor area is big. Value for money as compared to the 5rms in St 61~65.