blueocean

I doubt so. The recent GLS plot near changi industrial park attracted fewer bidders than expected ... And that plot of land was on the reserve list for some time before it was triggered

Flora drive and Flora Road will be opened up over the next few years (when Gale and the other new condo plot is completed) - so you dont have to worry about the dead end. 3 bedroom with roof terrace ? I know its nice. Is the roof terrace big ? It depends on your lifestyle. Do you entertain friends often ? If you do, it will be nice to have open space. Else, it will be extra $ to pay for that floor area that is not covered. In valuation, the psf governing the roof terrace should be discounted as it is not enclosed. Double security ? A number of the newer condos have these features (BTW Oasis@Elias doesnt have the double security). In the past, they used to have a proximity key to enter the lift lobby. Now they have shifted the security feature to the lifts. Which is better for investment ? Quite a tough question to answer. It depends on your risk appetite, leverage etc. I personally prefer city centre for investment - cant go wrong there. Amongst all the places you mentioned, I would probably choose Telok Kurau as it is close to good primary schools, near park connector. If you like the East, why dont you consider Flamingo Valley for investment ? Its FH and is close to Indian International School and the centre of Siglap ... rentals will be easy there. It is one of the rare full condo projects.

Dakota Residence and the Waterbank were sold out. Dakota Residence used to sell at 9xx psf. Waterbank was selling at 1xxx psf. Drawback of Waterbank is that there is 10% less parking space because it is close to the MRT station. (good luck if you have more than one car!). I would agree that there is possibility of capital appreciation because of its proximity to MRT. Interestingly, if Estuary at Yishun was selling at 8xx psf, Waterbank is selling at 11xx psf, Flamingo Valley is selling at 1300 psf (FH), Newton area is 1500 psf, the gap between mass market condos and mid-tier condos is certainly getting closer. No wonder executive condos are coming back in vogue. Has anybody have a look at Flamingo Valley ? It looks nice and its a "proper" full facilities condo at Siglap. Telok Kurau has lots of boutique condos there by small developers who have been buying off plots of small land and redeveloping it for a nice profit. The good thing about low lying units is that you can see the city in a distance if you have a roof top terrace. The prices at Telok Kurau have certainly gone up and FEO's The Sound has certainly set a new price range (not sure if they can sell much at their current price of $1400 psf). Some of the Telok Kurau units are within 1km of Tao Nan Primary Sch. Yup. Joo Chiat's reptuation isnt too good and that's why the pricing is lower compared to Telok Kurau area. East Meadows - I didnt like the condo as it didnt have basement parking Casa Merah by NTUC Homes had a quite a number of subsales and capital appreciation following Optima's successful launch. But the units facing the MRT side will have to face all the construction ... still got 2 more plots of empty land. These condos at Tanah Merah is located in an exclusive area - no HDB flats surrounding it ... to the South is landed property ... north also landed property ... east also landed but becomes industrial after crossing the canal. Changi Business Park, Expo and the future University is nearby and with its proximity to the MRT, may have good prospects ... At the end of the day, choosing a place depends on what you want. If you look at the nice areas which attracts rents like $5.xx to $6.xx psf (Admore Park condo), its has lots of buffer space and you want a place that is near the amenties, city centre but not too near as you want your home to be away from the bustling of people etc.

In the past the traffic was worse ... there was only one lane leading in and out of industrial park .... Traffic is currently tolerable. Gale will add another 400 plus units in 2 years time. Then, the new condo plot will add in another 4 yrs time another 400 plus unit again (99 yrs leasehold). There is another 2-3 plots of land left for future development .. one is government land whilst the other is privately own. Then the flora garden will be complete.

Are you buying for investment or "own" stay ? Rental returns in Singapore is quite standard ... 3-4% on average. The more you pay for the condo unit, the higher the rental income one demands. The rental psf has been averaging $1.80 to $2.xx psf in Flora area. (compared to Marine parade area which has been averaging $3.xx). The rental rates may rise when the University is completed. Not sure how popular will the studio units be though. Residents who bought Ferraria Park at 5xx psf (for 2 or 3BR) have now seen appreciation to 30-40% (to high 7xx psf). The Gale was sold out. Prices of Gale nearing TOP will likely rise further when new condo launches there ... Flora area is a unique enclave of private condo units. It is mid-way between Tampines and Pasir Ris. The traffic isnt too bad although there is always a queue of cars at the bottlenecks (but good moving pace) at peak hours. There is a height restriction in the areas close to the airport, so all builidngs there are not very tall. The advantage of lower buildings is the reduced density of living per building. eg quicker access to lifts, less likely to bump into your other floor neighbours = more privacy etc. It also depends on what you like .. lower density living or higher density living. A lot of new condos these days, in order to maximise the small plot area, have to build vertically high up and then have fancy things like sky terraces etc. There may be a premium for condos that have more space and less density .... Good points: 5 minutes away from future design University, Changi Airport, Expo, Changi Business Park 5 minutes away from supermarket (Loyang point) Easy access to all expressways - PIE, ECP, SLE Close to IKEA, Giant at Tampines, Pasir Ris beach, Downtown East, Tampines Mall, Eastpoint Bad points: Taxi drivers will be most unhappy if they pick you up from the airport to get to flora area Not close to MRT - closest MRT would be Simei, Pasir Ris stations About 20 minutes to City Centre Recent plot of government land sold to Tripartite (same developer that developed most of the condos at Flora) was sold below expectations. Breakeven cost of builidng condo there for a 99yr LH would be 6xx psf. Likely to sell at 7xx psf. It is also close to Japanese school, and Indian Global school. New access road at the recently sold piece of land will offer new access to flora area (to be completed in 2012). Also another new access road opposite Gale will open up when Gale is completed. Anyway, most people buy condos in certain areas because of some emotional attachment to that area (family, relatives, lived there before etc) ... so it is not always a purely investment decision. So most agents like to distribute flyers to surrounding areas of the new condo ...

thanks ! that's a useful bit of info to know

Yup. My renovation has been completed a few months back ... These "ID"s at the expo are general contractors anyway. Looking back, i wondered whether i should have just engaged individual sub-contractors myself for ceiling works, painting, carpenter etc cos it is very hard to find a good general contractor who will supervise the project properly. In the end, still got to supervise yourself - right down to where they put the nails. My concealed water pipe was punctured by the carpenter. Affinity ? My wife liked this particular ID that we chosen but turned out to be a nightware. 3D drawings were not to scale (i think they are "recycled" 3D drawings). I had to do up my own 3D perspectives eventually. Commencement of renovation was delayed. Completion of renovation was delayed. Painting was bad. Ceiling works were done wrongly. Flooring was scratched. They only saving grace was that the carpentry work was OK. Thankfully, i didnt have to do any wet works ....

Thanks for sharing ! I have been to the Expo and explored the various "ID"s in the past and it is so **** tiring repeating the same thing over and over again. Each company has various sales and design co-ordinators but the problem is that you can only speak to one of them at each time. So if you happen to get a newbie or rogue design co-ordinators, i wonder whether can change the "person" ?

Most of your questions can be answered by URA. 1. Construction cost varies with materials, architect chosen. It is usually in the range of $300 psf upwards for construction cost excluding fees etc. There is also a risk of construction delay, problems with construction and obtaining TOP. So, you need to be prepared to have time to deal with various things that crops up ... 2. 67 years of lease left ? Hmm ... Not many years left. It will be harder to re-sell the place as time goes on. Also, you may not be granted an extension of the lease. 3. Converting it to semi-detached ? What's the purpose ? Rental ? Capital appreciation (will be limited by your remaining lease though) ? What's the location of your property ?

When i did my false ceiling, i asked them to install a conduit with a pull through wire so that they can pull the fibre-optic cable to the termination point. That was what Opennet recommended. You probably need to get some ceiling works guy to come and cut access panels to lay the conduit before plastering/repainting it back again ... The fibre-optic cable can be quite fragile if not protected within a conduit or plastic trunking ...

Hmm ... now i know why the hole they were drilling to mount some accessory on my kitchen wall wasnt very neat ... had to put potty for one of them as the hole was too big. can those special drill bits be bought from the hardware store ?

It is probably useful for the "wiki" or "FAQ" to be on renotalk as it is a well established forum. Starting a new blog somewhere else, most people will not know which website to go ....

Hi ossify, how does the tile drill bit work ? it minimises cracking of the tile ?

If file with CASE, the hope is that the association will act on the group's behalf. In the majority of the cases of above $10k, have to see a lawyer and file with the magistrates' court. Then got to balance out the legal fees/time and whether there is any possibility of enforcing the court order. If company or person is bankrupt then will usually end up at the end of the queue amongst all the creditors.

That's a good one - " have to pay as long as house is better than the majority of the ppl in singapore" ...hahahaah

I forgot to add the 4th "C" to that "Cost" besides Capacity, Capability, Credibility.

Jealous neighbors ?

Yeah. The more i read about all this stories, the more i become more thankful or grateful that my renovation went OK although it was not free from defects and heartache. It is a strange feeling to feel "thankful" or even "grateful" . It is like thinking - "it could have been worse". Or another example would be if i bought a car and although there are many dents on the exterior, i should be thankful that the car was delivered and the engine can start and the roof doesnt leak ?

Hmm .. Philips steamer for $100 ? Are you talking about those food steamer ? I bought one about 2 years ago out of curiosity but havent used it regularly. I rather just steam the stuff in the wok ... the traditional way. I have a broiler and that is the most frequently used appliance - i can use it to cook fish fingers, chicken .. almost anything. Did you get the soundbar ? The blu-ray soundbar looks good. It looks like there is move towards blu-ray and DVDs will become the standard VCD we have now. The shops now have more shelves stocking up on blu-rays ....

Yup ! I never lights could cost so much till i had my own place Have you thought of your lighting plan for your place already and the location of all the power points ?

That sounds like a good idea ! Thanks!

Oh dear ... How are they going to rectify those things ? I remember one contractor was telling me last time that my item was slanted because the wall/ceiling was slanted - although i knew that wasnt the case!

Computer software has made 3D drawings much easier - can do multiple perspectives also But renovation works still require people to do Can't computerise that yet !

MCST or your neighbors will eventually find out ...

Those problems are not surprising ... I was also around when the plumber came down to install the accessories for us. He came with an assistant. I think he took him 2-3 hours to complete the tasks for us. The main person will drill whilst the assistant will just screw and assemble the accessories. Fortunately, i was around as he wanted to drill into the hidden electrical conduit. Minor issues also.