zirhk3355

Hi All!! Back here in this forum after about quite a long while and happy to see it still active! Things are starting up again all over for us as we bought an unit at Lakelife. Looking for fellow Lakelifeans to fall in and start our bonding early!

Hmmz, not much response. No problem, for those who want to join us, pl come to the group at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22523244134 See you soon!

Sorry for not posting for sooooo long! Just wana update anyone here who is not looking at the FB group; we are gonna have another gathering! Now voting for dates, either 17, 18 or 19 Dec 10; Fri evening, Sat afternoon/evening, or Sun afternoon/evening. Pl put all your available timings! And lastly, how does potluck sound for everyone? We can list down the foods that we wana bring, so won't have duplicates! Present-exchange is definitely welcome, can be simple affair like $10 budget. Let's confirm the date and we can start a discussion thread for organising the gathering...! Pls PM me for details if you are keen to join... =)

Room rental don't need to have agents! Why waste the money?? For tenancy agreements, just go to google and you will find tons of samples. I have also posted a sample agreement drafted by CASE: http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=14089 Just amend the clauses to change from whole flat rent to room rent. Attached a copy of your floorplan, demarcate the room in RED, and indicate in the agreement which bedroom is it, voila, you have a room rental agreement!

Yes follow the tenant to police post to change their address. Its our screw-up system for address-changing that cause us to have no choice but do this. However if foreigners (eg work permit, employment pass, etc) then no need lah. Ah long will not loan to foreigners one...

You have the same thoughts as me; HDB claimed that they are doing this "subtenant registration" in-line with ICA's move to clamp down illegal harbouring, that you do not have to ask HDB for approval but just register only. But in the registration, they asked for all the details of your tenancy, how long, what price, etc!! What for, if its not to be submitted to IRAS to tax you?? For room rental, you can also split the rent into net rent and furniture rent using the 65%-35% rule.

Advertising for room tenants is not effective to use newspaper classified, because usually they are for whole flat rental. Tenants searching for room only will be confused. Instead these tenants are usually internet-savvy and rely on room-only web portals, such as easyroommates, roomsdb, etc. Can also put up ads near MRTs, bus stops, or workplaces/schools likely to have more foreigners, eg hospitals, one-north, NUH/NUS, NTU, MDIS, etc. Also can package your room rent with services such as utilities (capped at certain amt), internet, telephone, cable, housekeeping (employ day maid to clean for them once a week), etc. This is always more welcomed by foreigners who want one-price, fuss-free rental. For agents, I will only be willing to pay if they can increase my asking rent. Otherwise, its not worthwhile; eg if your asking rent is $800, its better to lower your rent to get direct tenant at $780 (only $480 loss over 24 mths) than to pay $800 to an agent.

I also agree no need to have rental agents. You need an agreement, go download from the web; I also posted a sample agreement on this forum. For your location, its wonderful. If I were u, I will do up as a serviced apartment. Give free utilities (cap at certain amt), free broadband, free cable tv, f/furnished + weekly housekeeping. Engage a day maid to go clean, wash/iron clothes for ur tenant. Then come wack on the price. An 2-bdrm unit at Icon can fetch $4K+, with services can fetch above $5K. If ur place is nicely-renovated, high-floor and you provide those free services I suggested, you can safely put asking price $1,000/mth for your common room, maybe can close at $950 or $900 at least! So dun spoil market hor; your location so good if rent anything below $900, other Landlord sure die...yes I am also renting out my rooms at Commonwealth... If you need any further advice can pm me...

Wahh, suddenly got life in this thread again! Maybe we should start with THUM again, every sat, 3pm onwards. Carwash should come naturally later, huh?

May I know which HDB flats are no more than 5 km circumference from Orchard Road/City Hall?? Where's the link for these two matters? How much can the 2% comm for a 3-rm flat be? Justified to sacrifice COV to save this amount?? Today's COV for such prime-prime location is easily above $30,000. So ask yourself: If you got a 3-rm flat today, d*mn prime-prime one, you want to break record and sell $500,000. So if an agent really can find a buyer to pay $500,000 for it, would you mind paying him $10,000 (2% comm)? Or would you save this $10,000 comm, go do direct seller/buyer deal and sacrifice the COV that is easily above $30,000?? Its a no brainer. Sorry to be candid, but its exactly buyers like you who need agent's help to give you a good idea what is the market and where your expectations should be.

F1 is going to be on mio???

Is this a question or a statement?? How does the agent knows that the client is going to pay him less for the service? S/He will only know when getting the commission, by which time the service is already provided and efforts all spent liao.

Something on this in ST forum today (lazy to cut and paste); all you need to do is to test call your agent. Act like a buyer's agent, ask your agent if s/he is willing to co-broke to sell your property.

Just one word: BRAVO! --------------------------- Oct 12, 2009 Agents can't wear two hats By Jessica Cheam THE Government is contemplating a move to ban property agents from representing both sellers and buyers of HDB flats -one that has cheered the public and left some agents unhappy. In a key proposal released on Monday to raise standards in the industry, the Ministry of National Development (MND) recommended that this practice is disallowed so that agents are 'not in a conflict of interest'. Currently, many disputes arise because an agent represents both buyer and seller in the same transaction. This prevalent practice in the HDB resale market often results with the sellers' agents collecting a commission from the buyer or refusing to sell to a certain buyer if there is no commission. This practice presents a clear conflict of interest - sellers naturally want the highest price for their property and buyers would want to pay the lowest, said MND in a statement. 'The same agent cannot possibly discharge his professional duties to both equally and represent both their interests fully.' MND noted that flat buyers, however, may need an agent's help in the sale's administrative work, and is proposing that the seller's agent get paid a fixed administrative fee to help buyers process the paperwork. Alternatively, buyers can engage their own agents, or handle the transactions themselves. Agency bosses on Monday admitted that this move might be unpopular with property agents as it will hit their commission cheques but agree that 'this is a move in the right direction'. ---------------------- Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access

Very confusing. So you signed comm agreement for buying? How many percent? In the end he bill you for what services, buying or selling? How many percent? As long as never sign the comm agreement, dun need to pay. Dun worry about their bills; they are just trying their luck; scare you abit see those kiasi-type maybe will go pay them. They will probably send you whatever letter of demand, say want to charge you interest, want to sue you, whatever; bottomline is, you never sign, dun need to pay. Period. But to be totally safe make sure really no black and white, not even smses that stated you are agreeable to pay. Company rule is always an excuse when the agent duno how to ask you to pay commission; eg my company say one, its the IEA guidelines, GOVERNMENT guidelines, IRAS ruling, my manager going to scold me, etc etc. Again I repeat, NO SUCH THING. Never sign agreement, dun pay! I cannot be more specific. Property agencies dun care what the agents do outside, all they care is whatever cheques the agent brings back, the agency just take their rightful percentage share. Agents dun get any basic salary, where got so many rules. Dun waste your energy go media whatever; ignore such losers and move on with your life.

Because: 1. It will sound desperate; 2. He want to filter out window-shoppers and motivated buyers. Motivated (or some even desperate) buyers, obviously, will pop the question first, so bingo!

There is a temporary showflat; its at the previous showflat for The Latitude, located at River Valley Road.

He is just waiting for the magical question from you: "Do you have any other units then?" Its very common for agents to advertise using a more popular block to sell his own; eg Blk 230 is the popular block, but the agent is trying to sell Blk 231. So instead of advertising for Blk 231 where there will be fewer callers, he will advertise for Blk 230 to get more calls and try to swing the callers to Blk 231. Another trade secret revealed...hehe... ;P

The first round is to fish for people who willing to pay the COV; if you already said you cannot afford, then why talk? Also maybe there are others who offer higher COV than you, but obviously not up to the owner's requirements yet, so if the owner is willing to lower COV, they will be first in line, so why need to contact you again? Anyway the agent is taking commission from the seller, not you. He does not need to 'sound better' when talking to you. Sorry abit harsh but this is reality in the agents' world.

No exclusivity agreement, even easier. Since you do not want to 'play hard', then why want to write in to anyone? Brace yourself and just call him up to talk to him, face-to-face, man-to-man. Ask him if he still wants your business for buying flat, if not make it clear to him that you will go find other agents already and won't pay him any comm. But more likely than not, he will say he still want your business, of course. Then in this case come up with some service standards for him; eg how many flats are there on the market now that meets your requirements, ask him to show proof that he had searched all the possible avenues like newspapers, online databases, etc. Then ask him to give you a plan on how many flats he intend to bring you over the next few weeks/months, etc. If he cannot commit to these KPIs, then you will be free to go find other agents also.

You must find the agreement where you sign off the exclusivity rights; always keep a copy of what you had signed! Go talk to the agent and negotiate to release you from the buying part, since he is also not keen to do liao. But if he wants to stay firm, then tell him you will hold back his comm for selling the flat and see who can tahan. Exclusivity is not forever; ask him if he wants to play the waiting game. You can write in to his agency to complain, create a big hooha and get the agency to agree to release you. Also remember to threaten him that you will dispute this and dispute that to cut his comm even for selling the flat. That bardy piece of exclusivity agreement with microscopic prints is always arguable anyway, ask him if he wants all the trouble, or just part happily with the comm for selling the flat, maybe next time still can use his service again. Tell him give and take la! But on your side, you also need to be steady to give him the comm once the 2nd appt is over. Hehe...once he agrees, make sure you sign black and white that you are released from your obligations.

Wait for the property bubble to burst and search hard to find a desperate flipper who is willing to sell low. Its gona be ready only in 2014! What is the hurry to lock in your money?? Put in savings accounts also got few dollars interest! ;P

There is no such liability; maybe you go US of the A then got, but not in Singapore because we have common sense here. Sorry, pun intended...

I am very curious to know which washer cannot wash long sleeve shirts?? I always put my long-sleeved shirts (office wear) in the washer, no need net, nothing happen leh...already switch two washing machines since my parents' place and now new washer at my own place...

Its happening again! Came down from lift on saturday, saw a whole batch of people and policemen, straightaway guessed what may be happening and I was right! Heard this time is a resident here...old man 60+, probably ended his life due to his sickness...sad... Anyway, on another topic, I had been saying this umpteen times but shall we revive our gatherings?? Let's not keep to once a year during CNY ok. Anyone read the news about floor parties? Thought its quite interesting...we gather, we eat and we merry, then ah-gong pay money (of cuz gotta contribute abit la, the RC/PA will subsidize some only. Singapore no free lunch, but got subsidize better nothing nothing right??). I heard from a fellow member while on course last weekend, they managed to organise such floor parties for $5/family only! Got buffet leh... *slurp* Pl shout if you are interested, I can go find out more details during next meeting...