zirhk3355

Hi guys Just to let you all know we had just disabled ben_ma for his unsolicited advertising of an interior showroom for rent at TradeHub21. Coincidentially, this ben_ma person is highly recommending Le Sense (as below), and coincidentially Le Sense is also located at TradeHub21. So...hmmz...erm...?? I am just listings the facts for you all to see, but decisions are still made by your hands and wallets. Caveat emptor...

That's a problem your deliveryman got to sort out, not you. Best thing is to let them know you are staying in HDB and they should come down and take a look first...

Whether got guideline or no guideline, you MUST always tell the agent what is the 'price point' that you will sell the house. Also, what I meant by fixed-sum commission is that the comm remains the same no matter what price it was being sold, thus the agent would most probably close at very low price (low price of cuz easy to close mah). $3000 for $300K = 1%, $8000 for $400K = 2%. This is not fixed-sum commission leh, the comm you pay varies with the selling price, so its a percentage also, isn't it? So isn't it the same as the guideline??

TPY stays in Blk 79?? How did you know??

Hehe, thanks Dracula...came at right time when I was feeling abit lonely and skeptical of my own beliefs being different from so many people. Those 'undesirable' careers you mentioned, it seems to be an 'Uniquely Singapore' phenomeon. I remembered my first trip to Australia, I was so amazed to see well-endowed 'white people' doing jobs like bus drivers, cleaners, construction workers, etc. They also do not seem lowly educated at all; a chat with some of them will reveal that they are as well-informed and intelligent as other citizens of Oz. So why are they doing such jobs?? Later then I realised its Singaporeans that are the odd one out; we shunned such jobs and felt that it got no prospects, so much so that the job became very undesirable, spinning off to lousy social acceptance and in the end, lowly-paid.

Yeah I understand what you meant and how you felt. Perhaps if our govt had taken the effort to 'import' the players earlier (like Li JW), instead of blatantly proclaiming someone as a citizen and send her off to the Olympics within months, there won't be so much dissent. However I was just puzzled and amused as to how dare we even proclaim someone to be 'more Singaporean' and 'less Singaporean', when we ourselves are not even hanging up the national flag for NDP. Thus if we want to get complicated, its really endless. There are just so much involved, and without knowing exactly what is the mindset of the trio, we cannot discuss further than our personal assumptions. Also if you are going into 'value-for-money' issues like what do we get monetarily from investing so much to bring in foreign sportspeople, then its really hitting rock bottom. Given our money-minded govt, I am quite confident that they won't do anything that is of no value. A win in the Olympics really goes a long way, be it won by so-called 'Singaporeans' or 'Singapore citizens'. This event is yet another bid to put our little island on the world map again, letting others take notice of us, which is definitely beneficial in the long-run. Remember we have no natural resources, only human capital, which we must consistently increase. Like food, I always told my wife, if you cannot cook, then go buy outside food lor. Of course homecooked food is better, but if really cannot cook then how, don't eat meh? Also if you think 'buying' sportspeople is so easy, I would like to refer you to think about the soccer 'industry'. How many players that were bought over, end up underperforming and cause the club to lose money? There is no guarantee to a winning player. So even if we are guilty of using money to 'buy' the Olympics medal, we still deserved to be praised for making the right choice and having the right judgement/foresight, isn't it?

I really do not have conflicting feelings for this, simply because I believe it takes alot to give up one's citizenship just to get a break in our ambition. Li JW and her gang cannot say, oh we achieve my objective liao, we want to give up Singapore's citizenship and go back to China. China is not going to take them back just like that! This is citizenship we are talking about, not bank savings accounts that you can open/close at your whim and fancy. Thus by virtue of that, the trio had given tremendous commitment towards our island, and we should cut them some slack, although whether they are 'Singaporean' enough or not remains debatable. And if we are going into the issue of 'how Singaporean are you', we are spiraling into an endless black hole, debating on people from those who left Singapore at a tender age with parents but still keep the passport, to those who had to go overseas to take care of relatives, to people who are still here but hate the country, or even those who know next to nothing about Singapore because they are mentally-impaired, etc. Are we going to have a citizenship test for everyone to determine how 'Singaporean' we are, and thus defining if we deserve to compete for the country? And what will the test be, how much do you know about the history, what colours do you wear, where are our tourist spots, etc? In short, let's not make things too complicated. Singapore citizenship = Singaporeans. Just like you and me.

What usually happens is when a flat is put up for sale, an application will be submitted to HDB to ask for valuation. HDB will then assign a private valuer to do the job, whom will in turn write a valuation report under their own company's name. Hence the confusion when people tell you that you must use 'HDB valuer' but the report come out does not have HDB logo but some private firm's logo. The valuation fees are fixed by HDB, and usually there are little room to bend with the assigned valuer. But in some occasions where the assigned valuer is known to the owner/agent, a few tricks still can be pulled off. What tricks?? Dun ask me lah...

I was looking for such display case too when I wanted to display some FS stuff. Really hard to find, otherwise is very obiang type. End up ask my contractor to do for me, using the same laminate as the rest of the house. Damage is about $400-600, forgot exact price... Try asking your contractor/carpenter to do it...

Sorry for not typing correctly; you are right, I meant to say all valuations are to go thru HDB, who will appoint the valuers for you. You cannot go to the private valuers directly yourself, if I am not wrong...

Another analogy here, Which would you respect more? 1. A new manager/director headhunted into your company because s/he was well-known for being an excellent leader in your field, or 2. A fellow employee who worked 20 years in the same company and promoted up to be the manager/director? My answer to that is I would respect both of them equally. The next question is, if the 'headhunted' manager/director led the company towards more profits and bonuses, would you say you are not happy/proud because s/he is not a 'true blue' employee of your company?

No, its the other way around... Yes and precisely!! And BTW $275K is the compensation, which include the valuation + estimated expenses (under SERS, govt do compensate abit for your reno also). The valuation itself is a few thousands lesser, maybe $270K only.

Li JW had said so herself; if she stayed in China, she might not even qualify for the Olympics team. But yesterday, she had taken the World No.1 player to the pingpong table. How did she do that?? Simply because she chose to come Singapore and become our citizen. She might have made use of us to achieve her goals, but who's complaining? We didn't lose anything, in fact we gained our 2nd medal after 48 yrs because of her! Its a win-win situation and everyone's happy.

Wahh, thanks for highlighting this, otherwise most people will just gong-gong go and pay, because usually haulage payable to town council...

Simple answer: How would you feel if the descendants of Sang Nila Utama proclaimed that you are not a true Singaporean because you are the descendant of a immigrant from China? My dad was borned in China but he was brought here immediately after birth. He does not even have any inkling of his 'hometown' in China (he doesn't even know how to get there!) but he can walk up and down Tg Pagar with his eyes closed. Does his origin of birth makes him any lesser Singaporean? And I am sure your parents/grandparents/great-grandparents are the same as well. How does one define a 'true blue' citizen? To me, simply a pink ID. Period. For someone who can give up the passport of his country of birth and take on another ID of an foreign country is no mean feat; let's respect that. After all, you are here today because someone in your family did just that, isn't it?

I think ALL bridal studios provide what you require, just a matter of price and whether they are willing to tailor their packages to your requirements. Since your time is so short, best to engage one who can provide everything and no need to headache. Walk down Tg Pagar road and pop into a few studios that are pleasant to your eyes and ask lor... Good luck and congrats!!

Yeah, he is really just trying his luck. Putting things in perspective, $488K - $275K (compensation amt) - $30K (discount for replacement flat) = $183K. Now the reason why someone would buy a SERS flat is because of the intangible benefits that will be inherited, which include guarantee of getting the replacement flat? In other words, you pay $183K to guarantee yourself an unit, compared to others who will take a chance at the public ballot 4 years later. Would you do that? The answer will determine if this seller asking price of $488K can come true...

There is, I checked and found an owner trying to sell a 3-rm flat at $488K, with a compensation of $275K max (not confirmed). The greed of human...hehe... You can find more by searching in yahoo/google, just type "Singapore property" or whatever. Or just look at the classifieds. Quite a few agents are starting to advertise liao...

Yes for now, no after the stupid IEA guideline is scrapped in Sept'08. Definitely a no. But of course, the agent will threaten that if you do not pay, he will not bring the buyer to you. So its up to you to handle the agent and how to get the buyer while paying lesser or no comm at all.

Eh?? That doesn't sound right...shouldn't it be "give them an inch and they take a yard..."??

You said you understand there ARE other customers who would pull a fast one after they damaged the goods themselves, but you expect the salesman to believe you are not one of them? Unless he knows you personally, I would say that he is correct to comment that he is giving you the benefit of doubt, ie believing that you are not pulling a fast one. But your reaction to his 'benefit of doubt' is uncalled for; since he already said he believed you, why go challenge him further?? Although crude, he is not wrong to say that you are just another customer to him, but that did not came until you pissed him off too by saying he's not sincere. Well alot of things take both hands to clap; when someone scratches your back, fine if you do not want to scratch him back, but pls don't turn around and slap him.

Ya you are supposed to upload the pic to a free webserver like imageshack, then post the URL. Renotalk does not have enough space for members to upload pictures, unfortunately...

Great examples! Sometimes, it really take us, as consumers, to put in efforts to wack all those 'devil' agents. Agents are definitely essential, not just in property but alot of other industries too, and they provided alot of added values. But we must work together to cast out those who just want to earn a quick buck and run.

I was there at abt 5pm saw no one. Sorry was busy selling tickets for the block party. Anyone wanna support my party or not?? First time organise leh...30 Aug'08 4:30pm...hehe... BTW EPL is shown on which channel ah?

From 4:30pm to 6:30pm. Got food/drinks, games' prizes and lucky draws, worth it one. $3 is just to make sure people who get the tickets to come; most of the costs are foot by the RC... Sh*t, will I get moderated for advertising...haha!