Misc100

Maybe tenant got problem back in his own country. He can't possibily leave all his things behind, right?

Travel agency's sudden closure leaves customers in a lurch By Liang Kaixin, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 September 2008 2249 hrs SINGAPORE: More customers of a travel agency have come forward on Tuesday after learning that it is under investigation for cheating its customers. Ten people told Channel NewsAsia that they fear they have been cheated. Customers had turned up at Fly International Travel, located at People's Park Shopping Centre, only to find that the company had abruptly closed on Monday. Some said airline companies are not accepting their air tickets, on grounds that they are fake. Besides ticketing and visas, the agency also provides work permit application services. One customer said she had put down a S$3,000 deposit with the agency and is now worried that she would not be able to get it back. Some customers have made police reports and intend to file cases at the Small Claims Tribunal. The owner of the travel agency, who is from Shannxi, China, cannot be reached. - CNA/so http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../373355/1/.html

I simply love this forum! I come here every day ever since I found this place. There is so much to discuss and learn from others. I'm still pretty new, still dun have much time to read all the postings. Will you guys introduce your frens here too?

i wonder why nobody wan to move to sengkang...so many vacant hdb units nobody wan i think sengkang dun have cinemas, hawker centres and kopitiams and the facilities/shops not centralized...one here, one there, one dunno-where... Compass Point look very neighbourhood, not much class Rivervale Mall a few years old only look so run down... the library is so small, probably the smallest in sgp... but heard sengkang got 24-hr NTUC....that is good! Sorry if I have been very blunt...

1. Town Council 2. House/fire insurance 3. TV licence 4. SCV charges

Any idea what's the reasons behind them?

Comments?

I received lots of little hand-written leaflets saying things like "Just sold enbloc unit", "Willing to pay high COV - $50k", "looking for a unit in your block"... I supposed you guys must have received them too. Any idea whether they are real? It always puzzle me.

The population increase will be over a period of 20 years. Presently, the population is near its peak. If you go downtown, everywhere is super-crowded. The trains are super-crowded. S'pore cannot accomodate any more people at this moment. Retrenchment in manufacturing means more people will go back to their own countries as the employees in this area are mostly non-Singaporeans.

dunno why sengkang/punggol there cannot selll...still got make leftover units it seem

There are other reasons too. The population last announced was 4.7 million. LKY has already said the optimal population should be 5 to 5.5 million. And government already said manufacturing will have retrenchments soon. So the rental price should go down becos of the drop in demand. With rental price going down, more people may choose to sell their flats instead of renting it out. Moreover, many people have bought flats in the past 1 year too. So what we see here is an increase in supply of resale flats and a drop in demand for flats.

Pros: 1. It may save you 0.5 month of agent fees. 2. Your friends help to look after your place. Cons: 1. Have to do the paperwork for rental yourself. 2. You cannot charge too high; most likely, you have to charge lower than market rate to friends. 3. If things (eg washing machine) are spoilt or broken, paisey to ask them to pay for it 4. Paisey to increase rental when market rental is going up. 5. When your friends cannot pay, do you want to sue them?

I think whether construction costs go up or not, the government still make a profit from selling hdb flats; just that the profits will be lower. A friend of mine who is 30+ yrs old, his pay only $1500. His CPF ordinary account less than $20000. And there are many like him in Singapore. He want to buy a cheap 3-room flat also not easy. His parents are no longer around so he cannot get the stay-near-parents subsidy too. That's why I think if the hdb prices keep going up (which is already super-high), it goes against the government stand of an inclusive society. The government can keep increasing the supply to curb the price rise.

Hey, thanks! But they are not really linked. Just trying to understand more of the processes, and generate some discussion and opinion/knowledge sharing.

if property cost $700 000, stamp fees = 3% minus $5400 = $15600!! Wow! Can do so many things with $15600. I remember vaguely during Asian economic crisis, the developers even absorb the stamp duty. sengkang got no cinema....

This is interesting. From the same site. found this: "Must stay in the HDB after acquiring the private property." "For Flats bought from the open market without CPF Housing Grant There is no need to satisfy the required occupation period for the flat before acquiring the private property. However, the flat owners must continue to stay in the HDB flat after acquiring the private property. Exception is made for those who have obtained prior approval from HDB to sublet the flat under the Subletting of Flat policy. "

So far seem like no further news on the actual no of sales...

Does a retiree have to pay property tax (12% of property's annual value for non-owner occupied properties) and income tax for rental income?

If you have 2 properties(2 private OR 1 private+1hdb), will u sell or rent out 1 of them? a. Sell - becos of the present high prices (probably going downhill now) b. Rent - good rental income every mth

Interesting to see how many will translate to actual buys..

The ceiling for buying hdb is combined income of not more than $8000. What are the implications for raising the ceiling to $10000? Whey the government does not want to raise it?

how do you know?

474 BTO flats in Bt Panjang HOME buyers are being offered another 474 new flats to choose from, with the launch yesterday of a new Housing Board project in Bukit Panjang. And for the first time, two new rental blocks of about 300 units in total will be built nearby under the same contract as the flats being offered for sale. HDB's latest move to ramp up the building of new flats and rental homes comes after demand soared for both types of flats in the past year. The emphasis in the new project, called Senja Green, is on affordability. Two- to four-room units will be on offer for $82,000 to $270,000. The flats, under HDB's build-to-order scheme, will be built only if a certain level of demand is reached. HDB's latest development brings the number of new flats launched for sale this year to 5,000. It plans to launch 8,400 units by year end. As for rental flats, HDB said it expects to increase its current stock from 42,800 to 49,860 by 2011. The sharp hike in demand for rental flats was flagged by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his recent National Day Rally speech recently as a worrying trend. To prevent abuse of the rental scheme, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced stricter rules last Saturday (23/8), effective immediately, which will see Singaporeans in desperate need of a home given priority for rental flats. Each month, about 131 tenants give up their flats but 382 people join the queue. In June, 4,387 were on the waiting list. They wait, on average, 18 months for a one-room flat and nine months for a two-room flat. HDB said yesterday the rental flats were included in the same building contract 'for greater economies of scale, amidst rising construction costs'. The launch of Senja Green follows another HDB project in Bukit Panjang town, Segar Meadows, which was launched last November. As at 5pm yesterday, 177 applications had been lodged for the new units. Senja Green is located on Woodlands Road and is bounded by Senja Way and Senja Road. The rental blocks are separate from Senja Green but will also be built on Woodlands Road. The new flats are close to the Ten Mile Junction shopping mall?? and Senja LRT Station as well as West View Primary School and West Spring Secondary School. Residents can also look forward to the Downtown Line 2 in Bukit Panjang, which will be ready in about 2015, HDB said. The 96 two-room flats available at Senja Green will come with a floor area of 47 sq m each. They will be priced between $82,000 and $106,000. The 94 three-room flats will have a floor area of 67 sq m each and cost $138,000 to $170,000. There are also 284 four-room flats of 93 sq m in size, which will go for $211,000 to $270,000. Buyers can opt for ceramic floor tiles and internal timber doors to be installed in their flats, at an additional cost. Interested buyers can apply online at HDB's website www.hdb.gov.sg from now until Sept 8. The selection exercise will start from November. Models of the estates are on display at the HDB Hub Habitat Forum in Toa Payoh until the closing date. For enquiries, the public can e-mail hdbsales@hdb.gov.sg. http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...ory_272032.html

Choa Chu Kang vs Punggol/Sengkang - which is more ulu? No offence intended.

but if they sub sub sub, it should not be my responsibility right?