Search the Community

I am starting this thread as a complement to the main thread on property news and prices. I hope some of these tips/suggestions gained from actual dealing on the ground would be helpful to homeowners/buyers. I will start off with the below burning question that I get all the time....why some units break record prices but some could not be sold for months and months. Selling your property for top dollar Firstly, let's define what is top dollar? In my terms, top dollar would means selling above market valuation. Often, it also means breaking the record price of similar units in the same estate/condo. Over time, I observed that these price record transactions had a similar trend. To get top dollar, contrary to most beliefs, it definitely has much more science to it than art. Top dollar deals seldom come from just listing and pray; it has a method to it. Unfortunately most sellers/agents never really took the method seriously and in most cases, never get top dollar for their units. As this is a post and not a blog, I will keep it short and concise. To sell for top dollar, you need to understand the below on the psychology of a buyer when they come for viewing: 1) Buyers use very little logic when viewing, they tend to follow their emotions more 2) Emotions arise not just from what they see, but also from the other senses such as smell, feel, touch and hear 3) Sellers always make mistake by assuming that the buyer can imagine an empty house. The buyers don't and they won't 4) The key then is to be able to reach down to the sub-conscious of a buyer by invoking their positive emotions during viewing. Houses that gets top dollar often make the buyer feel 'right" and they then use their emotion to justify their logic. Failure to consider the above is the key difference between getting no offers (or market valuation at best) and one with a top dollar offer. Understanding the above,here are my 10 tips for sellers based on my experience: 1) A cluttered house kills good emotions. Always un-clutter the house before viewing. Throw away junks and keep the house tidy. The owner is selling the house and will need to move soon...use that opportunity to start clearing the house. This issue is so prevalent in many units that the seller think that the buyer will imagine an empty house. Again they won't! 2) Fix all minor defects. Again, too many sellers thinking that the house gonna be sold, what is the point of fixing it up. You don't have to renovate the house, but you should fix up all visible defects. Even a new coat of paint on any old house does miracles in getting good offers 3) Clean the kitchen top and uncluttered it. A clean good looking kitchen makes a lot of difference in getting top dollar. If there is one place that make the difference in offers, it is the kitchen. The buyer's wife/gf/mother has a lot of emotions attached to the kitchen and in most cases, they are also the CFO to the purchase. Unclutter the kitchen top and make sure the stove and built-in oven looks clean. I even had a seller once storing his microwave away just to clear up space for his very limited kitchen top space. 4) Dining table. Another culprit which is always full of everything except dining stuff. Clear it, and put an attractive piece, a vase with flowers, etc at the center. Pull the buyer eyes to the center of the dining table and let him feel that they can eat comfortably at that table. 5) A well lit, unblock, entrance door. Clear away your shoes or anything untidy at the entrance. An unblock well lit entrance creates eagerness to explore more of your house. 6) Masterbed room is important and it must look like it is ready for relaxation and sleep. I have seen many master bedrooms that has clothes hang in it, or the seller cramped a study table into the master. If you confuse the buyer over the purpose of that room, chances of getting a good offer is as good as nil. 7) Always give exclusive to your trusted agent. I seldom see record selling deals that are from open listing. Open listing agents are prone to be "tested" by the buyer agent and their motivation to close will bring you a lower price. Furthermore exclusive agents are motivated to do every viewing for you hence has minimal viewing leakage. 8) Be flexible in your ability to open doors for viewing. Great offers can come from any viewing time and if you restrict your viewing time to evening or weekends only, you are restraining your ability to get good offers, Two of my record breaking sales came from afternoon weekday viewing. Hence, never, never have viewing leakage. 9) Check if your house has certain odors especially for those with pets. The houseowner is often immune to any smell, but the buyer will sense it at a distance. And if you have pets that could walk around the house, (or make noise, for.e.g barking) , please bring them out somewhere if you have viewings. Again, please don't assume that the buyer can imagine that your pet won't be there when they make the purchase. They won't. Remember, the sense of smell and hearing invoke powerful emotions so if you want to get top dollar, make sure those senses of the buyer are not affected. 10) I leave the last point to the advertising. Good advertising attracts viewers. Unfortunately I've seen many seller/agents use mediocre handphone photos to advertise. Some photos are so bad that a young Instagram-obsessed teen would probably take better. If you already took the effort to do fix up, unclutter the house, etc, the last thing you want is to have photos that does not depict your house accurately. Wide angle photos, imo, is the minimal requirement. Videos and virtual tour are great, but only if your house is of a certain size. Buyers will sub-consciously drawn to sellers/agents who take pride in advertising their house and first impression does count in this business. Don't neglect this which I somewhat keep seeing all the time. There are many more concepts that I can keep going (the use of colours for e.g) but the above is suffice for most sellers if they want their property to fetch good offers. Infact, I seldom see all 10 points click into place, but if they do, that property should get good offers. It is very often for me to hear that some units could not be sold for months, but when another agent took over, it get sold within one month at the same asking price. I don't believe it is all luck. It has to do with the method right from advertising to preparing the house for sale. I hope the above helps in giving some ideas in getting good offers for your property at your location. Your property is one of your biggest investment so it is worth the effort in putting the right "sciences" into it and get the top dollar offers.

Auditor-General’s Report FY 2015/16: Audit observations http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/auditor-generals-report-fy-201516-audit-observations In its latest report for financial year 2015/16, the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) flagged lapses and inadequate financial controls in six ministries and six statutory boards. These ranged from investments made without proper approval and evaluation by the Ministry of Defence, to the National Arts Council paying a consultancy fee of S$0.41 million for the construction of a bin centre that cost S$0.47 million. Here’s are highlights of the AGO’s audit observations: NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL (NAC) The AGO found lapses in the NAC’s management of the Victoria Theatre and the Victoria Concert Hall redevelopment project, after carrying out test checks on six contracts with a total value of S$139.17 million. It found: The NAC paid S$0.41 million in consultancy fees for the construction of a bin centre, equivalent to 87.2 per cent of the S$0.47 million construction cost of the centre. • The AGO called the consultancy fee “exceptionally high”, and said the NAC directly engaged consultants for the additional services without first conducting a cost assessment. • Its supervising ministry, then the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), did not have a robust assessment of the consultancy fee. It benchmarked the fee against more complex projects. • The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), which now oversees the NAC after a restructuring, cited the complexity and expertise needed for the bin centre, and the effort to coordinate with multiple parties as reasons for the higher fee. The AGO noted there was no documentary evidence these reasons were considered then. • Going ahead: > The NAC said it would include relevant cost assessments when seeking approval for procurement. > The MCCY said it would adopt the norm for cost assessment of consultancy fees and provide justifications where there are good grounds for deviation. • The NAC also allowed 47 instances of alterations to the scope of works under two construction contracts to be carried out prior to approval. • The 47 variations were estimated to be valued at S$4 million, and were among 164 variations made to the contracts. The delays in obtaining approval ranged from 12 days to 3.5 years. LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (LTA) The AGO found that the LTA failed to ensure proper collection of tolls at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints. • Tolls at Woodlands and Tuas were under-collected by an estimated S$13.93 million in financial year 2014/15 — almost 22 per cent of total tolls collected that year. • AGO’s site audit showed that there was no effective system to ensure that vehicles pass immigration booth only after fees were paid • The LTA has agreed to review controls and enforcement over toll collection. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (HDB) The AGO identified lapses in HDB’s collection of parking fees at residential and industrial estates. • At five car parks at industrial estates, the AGO found 113,103 instances of vehicles not charged parking fees. An estimated S$159,000 was not collected between April 2014 and August 2015. • At 59 residential car parks, the AGO found 2,501 instances of non-payment upon exit between April and September 2015 on more than three occasions a month. • The HDB has begun a thorough analysis of reports from car park operators, and made police reports against motorists who deliberately tried to evade parking fees in industrial areas. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (Mindef) The AGO audited the Savings and Employee Retirement and Premium Fund (SAVER-Premium Fund), focusing on receipts and payments as well as investments. It found: • Mindef failed to provide for Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions on the Full Savings Vesting (FSV) Bonus, which is paid to SAVER Plan members who have completed 10 years of service. • Mindef did not provide the CPF contributions since 2007, when the FSV bonus was introduced. • Mindef had considered FSV bonus as an integral part of the SAVER Plan and as a termination benefit which would not attract CPF contributions • But AGO said the bonus is paid to officers while they employed, hence CPF contributions would need to be paid. This was affirmed in the legal advice sought by Mindef. • MINDEF said it would make the required CPF contributions by next month. For FY2014/15, the estimated CPF amount for 215 members is S$324,000. • Last January, Mindef invested S$50.26 million in a United States Real Estate Investment Trust exchange-traded fund (US REIT ETF) without proper approval and evaluation by the SAVER-Premium Fund’s Board of Trustees. The ministry only sought approval from the then Director of Defence Finance. • It also appointed an investment manager without the Board’s approval. • Evaluation of the US REIT ETF was not adequate, and complete information on the investment costs was not presented when seeking the director’s approval. • Mindef said no approval for the investment was sought from the Board because it was deemed a transitional investment consistent with the Board’s approved strategic asset alocation. This was pending the appointment of two Board-approved fund managers for investments of S$25 million each in Global REITS and US REITS. • However, the AGO noted that Board’s approval was only for the aforementioned S$25 million investments. • Mindef has since obtained covering approval from the Board for the appointment of the transitional investment manager • It will review the processes relating to seeking approval for investment MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (MFA) The AGO found irregularities in the management of subscription of telecommunication services, with overpayments totalling S$109,868 and wastage totalling S$80,744 on mobile lines that were no longer needed. • No proper verification of invoices to ensure that rates and amounts billed and paid were correct. • Out of 26 invoices, 18 had indications of overpayments. • Rates billed were different from usual rates, or there were wide fluctuations (more than 20 per cent) in rates billed between months. • No evidence officers verified service and rates billed by vendors against the contracts. • Their methods of either comparing with the rates in previous invoices or spot checking the phone plan subscription rates billed against an internal listing were not effective, said the AGO. • The MFA has since recovered the overpayments. • The MFA also subscribed to 28 mobile lines that were no longer needed. • 11 lines had not been used in more than two years, while 17 lines belonged to officers who had either left the MFA or were assigned other lines three months to three years earlier. • Measures to rectify this include: > Terminating the 28 mobile lines > Implementing processes to monitor usage and review the need for mobile lines annually, > Plans to trigger the termination or assignment of lines when officers leave the MFA The AGO also identified irregularities, overpayment, lapses and wastage at the Manpower, Law and Home Affairs ministries. The Intellectual Property Office and the Civil Service College were also called out for lapses in procurement and administration of course/trainer fees. The AGO’s report is available here: http://www.ago.gov.sg/docs/default-source/report/18599c06-73f0-4965-a32b-db9394110e4a.pdf

Amateur translation by moi 来了新加坡才知道，自杀不死是要坐牢的，(Commit suicide never die must go jail) 来了新加坡才知道，10岁以下小孩有用Iphone的，(children below 10 use iPhone) 来了新加坡才知道，70岁老婆婆工作是正常的，(Normal for 70 year old granny to work) 来了新加坡才知道，生孩子越多政府给的补贴是越多的，(The more kids you have, the more goodies govt give) 来了新加坡才知道，每一天都有跳楼的， (everyday someone commits suicide) 来了新加坡才知道，小姐是要有营业执照要缴税的，(hookers need license and must pay tax) 来了新加坡才知道，没有准证的小姐犯法，但嫖客嫖谁都是不犯法的，(Unregistered hookers are illegal but it is legal for their clients can piak whoever they want) 来了新加坡才知道，宾馆是可以只住一个小时的，(hotel guests can stay for 1 hour only) 来了新加坡才知道，变态是每天都可以见到的，(Perverse behaviou can be seen daily) 来了新加坡才知道，什么事情都是要投诉的，(Everything must lodge complaint) 来了新加坡才知道，不小心碰到女人手，她可以告你非礼的，(if you accidently touch a woman's hand, she can sue for molest) 来了新加坡才知道，中国便宜的东西这里是超级贵的 (whatever is cheap in China is super expensive here) 来了新加坡才知道，叫叔叔阿姨是没人理你的,称安哥安绨的 (People ignore you if you say "Shushu" or "Ah Yi". Must call "Uncle / Auntie" 来了新加坡才知道，4,50岁的安娣最恨中国女人的 (Aunties in their 4-50s hate ah tiong bu the most) 来了新加坡才知道，三十多度还有女人穿靴子的 (Women still wear boots despiet 30 degrees + temperature) 来了新加坡才知道，这里的人最少是知道三种语言的 (People here know minimum 3 languages) 来了新加坡才知道，但是没有一种语音是说的好的 (However, they can't pronounce any language properly) 来了新加坡才知道，一句话没办法用一种语音讲完的 (One sentence cannot be completed in a single language) 来了新加坡才知道，英语原来是可以那样说的 (English can actually be spoken like that) 来了新加坡才知道，小印度的餐馆是没有筷子和勺子的（左手抓饭，右手擦大便）Restaurants in Little India have no eating utensils - Left hand grab rice, right hand wipe punsai) Should be other way round? 来了新加坡才知道，水是要在马来西亚进口的，(Water is imported from Malaysia) 来了新加坡才知道，70多岁的老头娶个20 多岁的越南姑娘是很多的 (Many 70 year old men marry 20 year old Viet bride) 来了新加坡才知道，新加坡人都是井底之蛙，连活鸡都没有看见过的 (S'poreans are frog in wells. Never even seen a live chicken before) 来了新加坡才知道，35岁以上的老处女是到处都是的 (Old virgin women above 35 are everywhere) 来了新加坡才知道，17以下不是处女的也到处都是的 (Non virgin girls below 17 are everywhere too) 来了新加坡才知道，天天都要有在楼下烧香烧纸的 (incense and paper burning downstairs everyday) 来了新加坡才知道，家家都有神像，天天都要拜拜的 (Every house has an idol, must pray everyday) 来了新加坡才知道，家庭琐事政府要管的，盐吃多少政府规定的 (govt regulate everything under the sun, even salt consumption is regulated) 来了新加坡才知道，红包还有包4块的,拜年2个橘子回还拿回2个的 (Ang pao have $4, when visiting during CNY, give 2 orange, take back 2 orange) 来了新加坡才知道，从他们那里你是借不到钱的，他们借钱都是向银行借的 (Can't borrow any money from the locals, they borrow from the bank) 来了新加坡才知道，新加坡人没有红绿灯是不会过马路的 (Locals don't know how to cross the road without traffic lights) 来了新加坡才知道，这里基本上什么东西都是用

Noticed that nowadays, no expiry date on hotcake syrup, jam or butter. Makes me wonder whether are these products given "added" preservatives that no shelf life is need. Or a way for the Company to go green (recycle, cost management).

Hi folks, Today's Friday, just some light hearted banter. Well, I was jogging around my estate yesterday. It was a rare chance which I could get home by 0645 so I decided that keeping fit was the prerogative. As it is a off work peak hour, there were many cars coming home from work as well as walking to (potong pasir) MRT cutting thru Sennett estate (where I stay). Just wanted to share some observations: 1) Opposed to common belief, drivers of luxury/sports/performance cars are actually more polite than bread and butter cars. I had 2 occasions where a 7 series beemer and a FD2R stopped for me to jog pass before continuing to reverse into their houses. Inversely, there were too many occasions of rude drivers of Mazda 3/Sunny/Vios/Jazz/Latio/Koup... who.... a) horn at me loudly to give way even though I was jogging along the side walk b) honk impatiently when the GREEN man is on (sorry, obviously I cannot run faster than your puny engine) c) Rev their (tiny) engines while I jogged across them probably to show that they "have arrived" ~ losers (this is limited to those chingay family cars with loud bodykits and stickers) d) Talk on the phone - yes handphone driving To be fair of course, the high ratio of misbehaving bread and butter cars is due to the huge number of them on the roads compared to "better" cars. 2) Girls... especially the OLs in office shirts/jackets/ etc and Ah lian "PMEBs" - - very funny observations - When they see a sweating guy jogging pass, they will give you the looks as if you were some dirty bangala worker or hum sup trash. The look is often that of distain (as if get lost, you stinking low class idiot) or (hey, dun come near me and try molest me!!) - Female factory workers however (some are just as pretty or prettier than the OLs no joke) do not show this act of superiority... When I jog pass, they either remain status quo or they will flash a friendly smile... Education is killing off humility in our society?? 3) Dogs - they love to bark loudly when you jog pass but when you stop and stare at them, they will keep quiet and go away (reminds me of some colleagues at work...) That's all folks!! TGIF . . . cheers

i noticed some threads regarding poor service of by some car related shops were removed. just wondering why? cuz isn't forum for sharing purpose?

Some candid observations on some of the salesmen/women in the dealerships. Note: probably more representative of the individuals, not necessarily the brand... Volvo: tends to compare with Merc and BMWs, which is fine, except has the tendency to "talk down" on the other makes. Merc: pretty self assured of their products. Have not encountered them comparing to other makes, preferring to point out their car designs instead. Very patient. I test drove 4 more times, from C to E, before making up my mind. No hurrying, just waiting for me to make up my mind at my own pace. BMW: enthusiastic about product and keen to show off the Ultimate Driving Machine along Beuno Vista bends behind Science Park! Encouraged me NOT to press brakes whilst cornering to stress the cars! Jaguar: best follow up sales, even after I've reflected I've bought another make, she followed up with a very nice thank you note and hope to see us for future sales. This is excellent! Honda: our car speaks for itself, so no test drive for the Integra...OK, they're pretty nice and courteous. Nissan: Tan Chong staff tends to be pretty attentive too. Willing to go for tests. No hurrying, but can sense the rivalry between them and Toyota. Care to share your experience?