If You Have 1.6m To Spend, To Choose Condo Or Landed?

[wind30 2]

my two cents.

I shifted from condo to landed in the past year.

My previous condo is right beside the MRT but since I drive it doesn't really matter. For me I thought it was a no brainer to get landed considering the high prices of condo now.

For the 5 years I stayed in the condo I only used the facilities ONCE.

I am not sure why people say landed is noisier. To me my old condo is MUCH noisier due to the upstairs neighbour. My new place is dead quiet. Maybe because my side neighbours are very quieit?

The main pros for me about landed is

1) MUCH bigger space. Now I have space for guest room, HT room, big dining room, TV room, etc

2) more convenient if you drive. and park right outsite the house, no need to carry things up the lift, etc.

3) No upstairs neightbour. This is very impt to me as I had a very noisy upstairs neighbour in my previous condo.

The main con

1) the stairs are very tiring.

2) less accesible but stil within walking distance of the MRT (~1km distance)

[blueocean 0]

Actually, unless you get a landed housing that doesn't have any neighbours, it will always be a risk ...

Neighbors may shift out or if the unit is rented ... always have to cross fingers and hope the neighbor is considerate

The main pros for me about landed is

1) MUCH bigger space. Now I have space for guest room, HT room, big dining room, TV room, etc

2) more convenient if you drive. and park right outsite the house, no need to carry things up the lift, etc.

3) No upstairs neightbour. This is very impt to me as I had a very noisy upstairs neighbour in my previous condo.

The main con

1) the stairs are very tiring.

2) less accesible but stil within walking distance of the MRT (~1km distance)

[Livinstyle 0]

Try to minimise the risk by choosing a development that has more owner occupiers. I noticed that the newer or more uniformed developments are usually occupied by owners themselves.

Those that are tenated out tend to be old, lots of rebuilding etc in the neighbourhood. Even saw a old terrace house that was stacked to the brim with assortment of 'collectibles'. The front door cannot even be seen from the gate.

Actually, unless you get a landed housing that doesn't have any neighbours, it will always be a risk ...

Neighbors may shift out or if the unit is rented ... always have to cross fingers and hope the neighbor is considerate

[wind30 2]

Actually, unless you get a landed housing that doesn't have any neighbours, it will always be a risk ...

Neighbors may shift out or if the unit is rented ... always have to cross fingers and hope the neighbor is considerate

ya but for me, the killer is upstairs neighbours.... In my old condo, you cannot block up the noise from upstairs of kids running, dragging stuff along the floors. side neighbours are less noisy as kids don't bang themsleves against the side walls, etc.

my current unit, the left unit is empty for like 3 years and the owners usually only come back in weekends or lunar new year... The right unit is a old couple with one grown up daughter

My condo is right beside the road so the road noise is terrible even though I am at 9 storey. The terrace house has zero road noise as not beside main road. It all depends on the unit. If your unit is beside a main road, no matter how high you are, it is still going to be noisy.

To me it was a no brainer. I sold my 99 year EC 1389sqft for around 900k and bought a Freehold inter terrace 1800sqft (land) 2500sqft (built up) for 1.4mil at around the same time. both within 10 minutes walk of each other so location is not that big a factor.

[wind30 2]

Try to minimise the risk by choosing a development that has more owner occupiers. I noticed that the newer or more uniformed developments are usually occupied by owners themselves.

Those that are tenated out tend to be old, lots of rebuilding etc in the neighbourhood. Even saw a old terrace house that was stacked to the brim with assortment of 'collectibles'. The front door cannot even be seen from the gate.

yup. My new place is relatively new, around 13 years old. Not a single unit in the development has been rebuilt, partly because the land area is small to begin with, and the orginal layout is pretty good.

Any my development was launched in 1997 at a HIGHER price than my purchase price. So people here are usually quite house proud as they spend a lot of money on their houses.... If your estate is very old, you may have some houses in very bad states.....

[pantieileen 2]

Deleted my post which was initially a corner terrace in D15 near to laksa place, not that old, not that new but quite ok price as very very reasonable still neg (the budget of the original starter of this thread)...wonder if the owner lost money in stocks...still got koi pond and well maintain garden, granite flooring..

Was thinking last night if the market has soften then read papers that yes it has..so yes definitely no brainer to buy landed at this point

[Livinstyle 0]

What is the land size? Single or double storey?

Deleted my post which was initially a corner terrace in D15 near to laksa place, not that old, not that new but quite ok price as very very reasonable still neg (the budget of the original starter of this thread)...wonder if the owner lost money in stocks...still got koi pond and well maintain garden, granite flooring..

Was thinking last night if the market has soften then read papers that yes it has..so yes definitely no brainer to buy landed at this point

[lee_sg_123 0]

What is the land size? Single or double storey?

Looking at the above comments, it seems getting a Penthouse unit in a no-facilities (except carpark & lifts) condo would be a good compromise.

[bepgof 20]

Looking at the above comments, it seems getting a Penthouse unit in a no-facilities (except carpark & lifts) condo would be a good compromise.

Great men think alike,haha. Maintaining a pool with $5 daily, no joke, not to mention other "on-going" fees, insurance, tax , util bills, license, instalments........Wow so many "holes" on body, where got so much blood to bleed?

Edited June 17, 2010 by bepgof

[dreamhouse 0]

here is my simplistic view of a condo's life cycle

stage 1) brand new from developer

developers with big marketing budget and holding power, will do a good job to convince you that it is worth it to pay a high price for their project ==> so you typically pay a high price for it

stage 2) resale from open market

you may pay more or you may pay less than stage 1, depending on market conditions at that time

stage 3a) old condo got en-bloc

if this happens, you get a windfall (very good scenario, but rather low chance, almost like striking lottery)

from developer's point of view, it will become stage 1 all over again

stage 3b) old condo with no potential to en-bloc

very likely the fate for most cases - value will likely to stagnant or drop as time passes

========================================

for freehold landed property, you are paying for the land - if you look long term (20 years) you should get a pretty steady increase in value on average

but most important is that for the time that you stay in the house (could be for the rest of your life), you must have your own reasons to enjoy it, be it the facilities for the case of condo, or little piece of land for the case of landed, or proximity to your workplace, school, etc

[wj888 0]

Yup..

I would choose a landed anytime.

Unfortunately, my parents are more keen to having a unit with a view instead of facing the neighbours.

This cannot be found in most landed in singapore.

[bepgof 20]

-Anyone knows how en-blo work for private residential 99-leased?

Say, land title already in forced for 20 years, remaining 79 yr, now developer buys over, can "renew" the title to 99 year via SLA?

-Likewise for 999-lease?

Edited June 17, 2010 by bepgof

[yoongf 11]

-Anyone knows how en-blo work for private residential 99-leased?

Say, land title already in forced for 20 years, remaining 79 yr, now developer buys over, can "renew" the title to 99 year via SLA?

-Likewise for 999-lease?

When developer buy will put in clause that says sale subject to SLA agree to renew lease to 99 yr.

However, not all 99 yr lease are govt lease. There are many 99 lease property but the freehold title owner is private entity. Unlikely this type of owner will agree to renew with new buyer.

[bepgof 20]

When developer buy will put in clause that says sale subject to SLA agree to renew lease to 99 yr.

However, not all 99 yr lease are govt lease. There are many 99 lease property but the freehold title owner is private entity. Unlikely this type of owner will agree to renew with new buyer.

Yoongf, thanks. Another question: Any web sites or means to check if a present residential site belongs to certain privite entities and they leased out 99 years to developers?

Edited June 18, 2010 by bepgof

[blueocean 0]

There are some plots of land that are actually freehold but are sold "leasehold". A good example is "The Shore" at Marine Parade. Essentially, the owner sells the land with reversionary interest. When the lease expires, the estate returns back to the owner. The reason for doing this is when the developers think that the land is going to be worth much more 99 years later and they can then re-develop it again for bigger profits.

If the land is on a government land lease, it may not necessary be "topped" up ....

You have to make use of SLA website and purchase the property title information ....

There are many factors to consider when thinking about whether a condo will "en-bloc". The most important factor is how "homogenous" the units are. These days, when the units types are so different (studio etc), getting the residents to agree on something may not be easy ...

Yoongf, thanks. Another question: Any web sites or means to check if a present residential site belongs to certain privite entities and they leased out 99 years to developers?