That morning, my dad had something on. I think he had some church stuff to attend to, or was it his appointment at the hospital? I can't remember exactly, but after making a few calls to arrange for viewings in the morning, he handed over the Bingo Book to me. I was tasked to view the houses he had shortlisted with my mother.
With the luck of a a cursed bounty hunter, I set out with weary feet. Armed with a Pasir Ris map, the Bingo Book of bounty, my dads trusty old phone and last but not least, my trusty red pen (for awarding marks to my viewings!) I took it more as a walking exercise with my mum, taking the time to discuss our financial situation as well.
The first flat I saw had a balcony. Now, that is going to be the only positive aspect of my viewing. The homeowner was apparently unaware of the condition of his glorious abode and the work necessary to transform it into a worthy love nest of a newly wed young couple. Another astute observation by my mother - a single pillow and bolster on the bed of the master bedroom. Hmm... perhaps that explains the state of the unit I was viewing. 520K would mean 170K COV! Next!
The next viewing was similarly priced, at a premium of 480K, but this house is different. Beyond the inconspicous HDB door frame lay the most posh and tastefully decorated apartment I have ever set sight on with my own two eyes. The walkway into the flat was lined with black shiny pebbles gleaming like stars out of the pitch black night. Pieces of artwork surrounding the small cozy dining area raised on a wooden platform. The walls were not painted but decorated using wallpaper and floor tiles! Completing the living room was a equally luxurious sofa set and wall mounted TV. The kitchen look almost brand new, it was built more for entertaining than for cooking! I've saved the best for the last - the master bedroom. They had major reconstruction done on the master bedroom and the adjacent bedroom. The result was a masterpiece:
(stay tuned for ASCII artwork)
You have seaview from the elevated bed platform. Seaview from the study area. Seaview from the toilet if you so choose to brush your teeth with the blinds raised! Oh, I had forgotten to mention, the whole house uses roman blinds! Truly an eye opener. If not for my conscious efforts to keep my mouth closed, I would have appeared as a slack-jaw imbecile!
Okay! Enough of my blabbering, got to end this now. Once I start, I can't stop! Perhaps my childhood aspiration to write is resurfacing!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Resignation...
If you are thinking that I'm considering resigning from my job, your guess is way off. I guess this is a long overdue update on my flat hunt.
With the assistance of a shrewd ex-property agent, my dad, I went house shopping in Pasir Ris. In our initial foray into the 4-room property market, we were sorely disappointed. Property owners were seriously unrealistic, another main gripe was that majority of 4 room flats are corridor units. There are quite a number of "door to door" units, but the design of the 'balcony' induces one to infer that the HDB designers were high on cough syrup at the drawing board.
We had to take our plans back to the operations room and pore over the extensive newspaper cuttings and research. My trusty dad had been doing additional groundwork behind my back while I was out in work intimidating minors with my booming voice and small slitty eyes (like an evil sidekick of some badass mobster).
His jump in to the 5 room property market revealed that although valuation prices are higher, the COV demanded by owners are of a lesser percentage as compared to the 4 room flat sellers. My conclusion: Seller of bigger houses are more sane. We even went to consider executive apartments which I had earlier ruled out. I was of the opinion that a young couple didn't really need much space.
With that, we started our new incursion into the fracas - the resale market of Pasir Ris. A location less favoured by many due to the sheer number of MRT stops you have to endure if you are going anywhere in Singapore. Yet it is a quiet little town that has it's rustic charms. Other than Marine Parade, it is the rare few housing estates that you can jog from your home to the beach! Eat that you Bishan lovers! AMK snobs! Toa payoh tao kias! You can have the city, I choose the beach!
With the assistance of a shrewd ex-property agent, my dad, I went house shopping in Pasir Ris. In our initial foray into the 4-room property market, we were sorely disappointed. Property owners were seriously unrealistic, another main gripe was that majority of 4 room flats are corridor units. There are quite a number of "door to door" units, but the design of the 'balcony' induces one to infer that the HDB designers were high on cough syrup at the drawing board.
We had to take our plans back to the operations room and pore over the extensive newspaper cuttings and research. My trusty dad had been doing additional groundwork behind my back while I was out in work intimidating minors with my booming voice and small slitty eyes (like an evil sidekick of some badass mobster).
His jump in to the 5 room property market revealed that although valuation prices are higher, the COV demanded by owners are of a lesser percentage as compared to the 4 room flat sellers. My conclusion: Seller of bigger houses are more sane. We even went to consider executive apartments which I had earlier ruled out. I was of the opinion that a young couple didn't really need much space.
With that, we started our new incursion into the fracas - the resale market of Pasir Ris. A location less favoured by many due to the sheer number of MRT stops you have to endure if you are going anywhere in Singapore. Yet it is a quiet little town that has it's rustic charms. Other than Marine Parade, it is the rare few housing estates that you can jog from your home to the beach! Eat that you Bishan lovers! AMK snobs! Toa payoh tao kias! You can have the city, I choose the beach!
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