Where We Live

I have just realised I probably now need to put a piece in about where have actually ended up living. So here it is.

Now the traumas of dealing in local real estate have settled (see previous Post) we are coming to enjoy our condominium in Hougang (pronounced hoeoo-gung), situated roughly twenty minutes by MRT form central Singapore in what is known as "the heartland" of Singapore republic.


Rio Vista is located on the banks of what Singaporeans call a river, the Serangoon, but what I would call, given the man-made nature of its banks, its width and the straightness of its flow, a canal. That issue aside it is still a 'water view' development which puts it in high demand. From our perspective it is as close to perfect as we could imagine.

We have views of and over the 'river' onto what, until recently, was 'forest' but which is now undergoing some sort of development. It has the potential to be noisy through the day with earth-moving activities taking place but this has not proved too problematic so far.

Also, off in the distance, just past the two large buildings visible in the back-ground of the image above is the Singapore Air-force Base at Paya Lebar. All good stuff with the jets doing training runs through the week. It can get a bit noisy at times but it suits me fine.

Have I mentioned the facilities? Well...........

...there is the pool(s) with the massaging water-fall.....

...and the barbeques...

... plus the pool-side cabanas...

...and a whole lot more. Suffice to say it should be difficult getting bored, unless of course you are watching cable TV, which is very easy to get bored with. But that is another story.

Finally, a bit of a montage of the internals of the condo.

I Wonder What the Food Tastes Like

Since 1961, apparently.

The Smartest Man in Singapore

Is this the smartest man in Singapore?

I will leave it up to others to decide definitively, but will share a tale that may give back-ground thus enabling a considered decision. The person's name for this exercise will be Mower-man Mike who is one of the recent arrivals to Singapore. Like a number of us, he and wife Deb have taken up residence in a condominium and is setting about tending to some of the maintenance issues the locals appear able to ignore.

First on his list was getting the hot water to work which ended up being a simple fix of turning the switch, of which there were more than one, on. This type of fix is always the easiest. Other folk have come up against the problem of disconnected services, such as gas, which have not been as simple to fix.

For example. At home, when the gas or electricity is "disconnected" all hardware tends to remain in place and it is simply an administrative task to change ownership of the account and read a meter. In Singapore when they come to 'disconnect the gas' they really disconnect the gas. As one of us found when the gas did not work and the maintenance man was called to assess the problem.

Due to an inability on the part of one party to understand Singapore-English and on the other party, Aussie-English, the only way it could be explained was to take her down to the basement to point out the missing meter and the taped-up gas pipe amongst all the other meters for each unit.

Back to Mower-man Mike (MmM). At home, Mike was used to having a dual-flush toilet. The problem in his condo was, he couldn't work out how to make the dual-flush work. There was only one button on the top of the cistern. But wait, what's this? There was a metal lever affixed to the wall beside the cistern. The lever moved back-and-forth through an arc of a few inches. It must be used to determine how much water is used in the dual-flush cistern. But at the same time it appeared not to be making any difference to the amount of water being dispensed.

A visit to the building manager's office elicits the suggestion that a plumber be called

The plumber duly arrives and, in barely understood, accented English inquires as to the problem, "Good morning sir, I am Prabhakar* and I am here to be fixing the plumbing problem." MmM takes Prabhakar to the en-suite and as best he can, given his own lack of second and third-language skills, explains the problem. There being, at this point, some confusion with the concept of 'dual-flush'.

After moving the lever about a bit and looking into the cistern Prabhakar turns to MmM and says "...OK sir, I think I am seeing your problem. I will be getting some tools and be back to fixing it up for you, right away. Is that your only problem sir?" MmM replies in the affirmative and is relieved that the issue will be resolved.

Thirty minutes later, following much hammering, drilling, grunting and sweating MmM is called back to the en-suite. With a flourish, Prabhakar points to the lever. "All fixed sir", he says

MmM takes hold of the 'lever' and attempts to move it. Nothing happens. In fact, it does not budge at all. MmM looks across at Prabhakar questioningly. Prabhakar then takes hold of a roll of toilet paper located nearby. With delicate precision he gently slides the roll down over the 'lever', thus revealing its true purpose.

A chrome-plated, wall-mounted, ergonomically designed......toilet roll holder.

Moments after Prabhakar had made his exit MmM looked out of his lounge-room window, down at the pathway below. There, laughing hysterically into his mobile phone was someone who looked remarkably like Prabhakar.

Yes, it was Prabhakar. Something had obviously amused him.

* Prabhakar - (Hindi) light-maker, revealer of truth, pointer out of the bleeding obvious.

What's to Know About Renting in Singapore

This is a bit of a long one folks, so those of you who bore easily might want to give it a miss. I am putting it in here more as a reminder for me of how things are done and as potentially a How-To for anyone arriving in Singapore in similar circumstances to us and who may stumble across this blog.

So here we go.......

Finding accommodation as a newbie in any city is always stressful. As I have stated in earlier posts, Morris Allen English had arranged for various agents to be assigned to groups of us to ease the process. BJ was the man for us.

Real estate in Singapore works a little differently to Australia. No surprise there. You, as an owner, engage the services of an agent to locate a tenant. I, as a prospective tenant can engage the services of another, different type of, agent to locate suitable accommodation. The closest I can get to a description for BJ would be that of a buyer's advocate. He does not have listings himself but searches the market to locate suitable prospects.

Heather and I, plus roughly six others, were assigned BJ who I will now describe as our advocate.

Now BJ was polite, but possessed nothing of the effusive, 'maaaate' style we Aussies are familiar with in real estate agents. In and of itself this need not be a bad thing. The trouble was, he also didn't give the appearance of trying to be overly helpful either.

Even though we had all provided details of what it was we were looking for, when it came to the crunch he initially only had two places to show us all. To be fair, trying to make a bunch of late-stage teachers in the middle of a cultural change, the like of which most have never experienced, happy was always going to be a big ask. To this issue could be added the fact that pressure was being applied because our paid-for accommodation at the hotel was for a maximum of two weeks.

Consequently, as we approached the end of week one, only those of the group who had lived in Singapore before, and were therefore experienced hands, or single and prepared to accept share lodgings with locals, were in any sort of a position to depart the hotel.

It was with all his in mind that BJ, at last, came up with a 2BR unit in a condominium named Rio Vista at Hougang which looked like it could suit any of us. Present at the viewing was the listing agent Lawrence and his off-sider, Vincent.

NOTE: The agents appear ALWAYS to have an off-sider. As a corroborating witness to deals done, possibly.

This condo was the pick of the very small bunch to date and luckily I managed to get a look at Lawrence's full name on his badge. It was a name I recognised from propertyguru.com.sg.

The only problem now being BJ was off back to Malaysia to prepare for the New Year. "Back in a week or so...." was the message we heard.

Hmmmmmm, I was wanting to see that unit again ASAP. So I contacted Lawrence T direct and arranged a second viewing.

During the viewings I had noticed some water damage in the bathroom ceiling. Pointing this out to Lawrence I was assured it would be fixed - AFTER the new tenant moved in.

Back home, when renting property, the general expectation is all will be in a good state of repair BEFORE taking up residence. Not the same expectation in Singapore, apparently.

At the second viewing I made an offer some $200 below the asking price which Lawrence said he would put to the owner, together with our request for extra furniture.

The following day Lawrence was on the phone saying the Landlord had agreed the new price but not all the furniture. This was fine by us, so now we needed to get a Letter of Intent (LOI) drafted, which required also a deposit of one months rent be included.

Letters of  Intent (LOI)

A Letter of Intent is a pre-Tenancy Agreement agreement. It states the monthly rental plus all the inclusions the prospective tenant expects and must be signed, in the first instance, by the tenant and subsequently by the owner. Once it is signed by the owner there is a valid contract which cannot easily be revoked.

Be advised. There is need to nominate a date after which the LOI becomes void. My initial thought was this date should be a good while into the future. Thirty days being my initial suggestion to BJ but he said ten days, maybe a week. We chose the shorter. This was to become significant.

We included with the LOI, a Cashiers Cheque from the bank as our deposit. For anyone renting in Singapore in the future please note the following:

1/ DO NOT GIVE THE AGENT OR YOUR ADVOCATE CASH.
2/ Use a personal cheque as a first preference.
3/ As a second preference use a Cashiers Cheque from your bank but be aware, it is as good as cash to whomsoever's name appears on the cheque and from the date appearing on the cheque.
4/ The process is for the cash/cheque to be handed to the Landlord by the agent, as a "good faith" gesture, at the point the Landlord signs the LOI.
5/ Once the Landlord has cashed the cheque, if there is a subsequent problem with either the LOI details or the actual Tenancy Agreement, and you wish to cancel the whole deal, there will be a BIG problem getting the your money back.
6/ Do not long-date the LOI. Make it only a few days hence. While the extra time may make you feel better and potentially give you time to get organised it also allows the owner and his agent to offer the place to someone else. A potential problem if you have negotiated a better price.
7/ Whatever you are told about the market don't feel pressured. There are lots out there and the turn-over is pretty constant.
8/ MAKE SURE YOU POST-DATE THE CHEQUE, PERSONAL OR CASHIER, TO THE DATE THE LOI EXPIRES. This allows you to cancel the LOI AND the cheque easily if negotiations break down.
9/ ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a receipt, which should include the NRIC/Passport No., of whomever you give the funds.

So what happened in our case?

We had negotiated a better price, signed the LOI, handed over the cashiers cheque - dated that day - to our advocate and didn't get a receipt.

Two days later I get a call from our advocate advising that the Landlord has decided to renege on the agreed price and we needed to come up with another $100 to put with the LOI.

WTF

When I ask whether we have to agree to this change and notate/initial the changes on the LOI BJ agrees but advises that if we agitate we could miss out on getting the unit. This is the point where I started to feel really uncomfortable.

Throughout this whole process we had been recommended the services of another advocate, one whom a number of other teachers in our position had ended up using to find accommodation over the past few years. Due to a "local politics" problem I am unable to name him directly so will use the nom de plume, Small Irishman of Arabia (SIoA).

I called SIoA and explained our situation. From that moment I knew I was dealing with a person who could and would do what was needed.

Within two hours he had three viewings lined up for us. Two of them, one of which we have now settled into, within the same complex we had a preference for and a third elsewhere.

From SIoA came the nine items of advice listed above. It was SIoA who gave me the words to use in what became my battle to get our initial deposit returned and the LOI cancelled.

What are the words to use when all the others do not work? When you are promised meetings to hand over cheques and/or cash which do not eventuate they are not words so much as acronyms and they are ERA and CEA.

The first is the body which oversees all dealers in real estate and, unlike the toothless, self-serving sycophant organisations in Aus, this one strikes genuine fear into the hearts of all real-estate agents and advocates. The second, the CEA, is the Singapore equivalent to Consumer Affairs. Again, this one is effective, unlike home. Any remains of your agent the ERA leaves behind after investigating complaints is finished off by the CEA, apparently.

Bearing that in mind, within two hours of sending an SMS to agent and advocate stating I was contacting both offices I was face-to-face with my original owner's agent to receive my cheque back.

Magic.

Finally, what is the significance of having a short-term LOI life?

Because I had dated ours a week ahead there was no compulsion on the agent to return the deposit until the LOI had lapsed. As explained by SIoA this keeps pressure on you, as the prospective tenant, to come back to the table and allows a malevolent agent/Landlord get further away with, or spend more of, your money thus potentially leaving you with an expensive legal battle for its return.

Here endeth the epistle.

People You See

The world is a small place it would seem and you do not have to try too hard to bump into familiar faces, especially somewhere as close to home as Singapore.

So there we were, meandering through Raffles City Mall, when Heather decides to enter one of the more up-market stores, British India, looking for bargains. I say 'bargains' because there is no point stepping into the place without wanting to spend at least $100.

Browsing our way the the back of the store we find a local-looking woman holding a very young child. When offered assistance by one of the employees she politely declines and both Heather and myself pause. There is something vaguely familiar with the voice, in that it was certainly Australian, but there was more to it.

As the woman turns toward us making a further statement to the shop-assistant, the 'Penny' drops. It was, of course, our Honourable member of Parliament and Finance Minister, Penny Wong in full family/mother(parent?)/holiday mode with recent arrival in-tow.

We beat a hasty retreat at that point, lest we make the poor Pol'y uncomfortable. The thing was, Ms Wong's  reply to the shop-assistant, who had indicated to her that the garment she was holding looked like it would suit her was, ".....oh no, I am far too conservative for that.....".

So where does that put Labor on the spectrum of politics? If the Liberals are, well, liberal and Labor is conservative, who are the left-wingers looking after the workers (bruvver)?

The First Week

The aircraft arrived on time where we were met by Renee and delivered by taxi to the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel in the centre of Singapore.

We were met at the hotel by Kerlyn, who is apparently the PA to Peter, the Head of Morris Allen English (MAE) and who, we found out later, lost her phone paying for the taxi.

Kerlyn is something of a "firecracker" whose age, given her size, could be put at anywhere between the ages of eight and thirteen but who is, in fact, around twenty-four. What she misses in height and weight is more than made up for by an ability to marshal people and organize events.

Room 1623 is our designated home for the moment and, while neat and functional, has a certain odour to the bathroom. It turns out the area may be a new "Little India" with cheap tailors underneath and shops containing all manner of sub-continent clothing, trinkets and food.

For our first meal we found the local, asian-style hawkers market around the corner from the hotel where we could get a meal, more than enough for two, for $7.00sg plus $6.50sg for a beer for me. All up, $15.00sg for a meal. At an exchange rate of $1.25sg to our dollar I will leave it up to others to do the sums but cheap is the word that springs to mind.

Day One

Breakfast was a meet and greet before setting off to the bank to gain accounts for each of us.

Now the plan was to split us up and go to three separate branches in order to speed up the process because, as we soon found out, they still have lonnnnnngggg queues at Singapore banks. Internet banking is something they appear only recently to be getting a handle on.

But.....
....the branch of DBS Bank we had chosen advised that the rules had changed regarding setting up an account and so now first, one must have a Work Permit. According to Peter this had changed at some random point between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

This was a problem because we were unable to get work permits until the next week and that, of course, had a holiday for New Year in it which would slow the bureaucracy even more than usual.
This was going to be a portent of things to come.

Luckily, one of our group had found a branch in Chinatown which would do the account openings with no problems, so it was a rush there by all of us via underground walk-way - it is nearly ALL underground in central Singapore - and MRT (train) to get to the branch, only to find we had to make booking due to our significant numbers.

Lunch at the Hong Lim food hall in Chinatown was decided upon, which proved somewhat confronting due to a number of factors. These included the heat and humidity coupled with the sheer masses of people present, then having to decide on, and communicate, what we wanted to eat.
By late afternoon the banking was eventually done and we were off......

 

Condo hunting

As part of a deal arranged by MAE, and based on information we had supplied in a form some weeks previous, we had been assigned an agent to locate us accommodation.

BJ was our designated man.

Unfortunately for us, at the point we met him, BJ didn't have much to offer. Two potential viewings, one miles from any transport and the other called Kovan Grandeur, which we couldn't view today and which didn't have any appeal anyway, were all he had. BJ however, insisted we do a drive-by and walk-around "to get an idea of the market".

It was just as well I had earlier in the day purchased my MRT travel-card as we had to make our own way back from Kovan with Nicole, Adam, Kristin and Kathy because BJ didn't want to make the trip back into town apparently.

Speaking with Adam on the return journey I ascertained that he wanted to explore the city but Nicole was keen on going straight back to the hotel with Kristin and Kathy. With me playing the devil's advocate the end result was us returning via Clarke Quay which, because of the lights, noise and people, impressed Adam immediately and Nicole eventually.

Once more dinner, which was very "spicy"(hot), was at "our" hawkers with Adam & Nicole and where we were later joined by Michael & Deb for a most enjoyable evening.

Day Two

Began with a breakfast meeting for Heather and then she was off to the Ministry of Manpower (M.O.M.)

Unfortunately, there was a problem. For some of the group, not all paperwork had been filled out and not all paperwork which had been filled out had been filled out correctly. Because of this an extra doctor's visit was required for Heather, Michael and Deb to conform with all the health requirements.

Things were going a bit "pear-shaped" and Peter, Renee & Kerlyn began looking a little stressed.

Unit hunting also continued with the less-than-impressive organisational aspect we had come to expect.

That said, we actually got to inspect Kovan Grandeur, which turned out to be TINY, and another in Rio Vista, at Hougang, which appeared perfect. Once again we had to make our own way back and so it was dinner at the hawkers market once again.

NOTE: It is often somewhat of an unfortunate truism that an item having a word in its name which attempts to bestow some degree of size or quality to the item invariable means the item does not possess the quality so describing it. In this case the only thing grandeur about the condo in Kovan was the price, the huge dog living on the tiny balcony and the gall of the person who came up with the name.

Day Three

Sunday was a quieter day with not too much happening. Visits to the main MAE centre at Kovan for the workers and mooching about for me.

Tripping out to Simei - Heather's brother Robert and wife Maria have a condo there - to do some washing was my allotted task for the day.

At night it was off to the sate (satay) capital of Singapore, Lau Pa Sat, for a magnificent meal which consisted of more than simply meat on sate sticks.

Sate master at work

The new group (at back)

 Having often caught, and thrown back, sting-rays as something no-one would eat I have now changed my mind. Done the special, Asian, way they are beautiful.

Sting-ray all gone

With a belly-full of sates and sting-ray it was time to hit the New Asia Bar on the 70th Floor of the Swissotel which has as one of its features stunning views of the Marina Bay/Boat Quay/Clarke Quay areas in particular and Singapore in general.

View over Marina Bay with the MB Sands hotel in the background

Drinks in the New Asia Bar - 71st Floor

Day Four

New Years Eve. A rather quiet day spent after the late night previous.

Given BJ's apparent lack of effort in coming up with viewings I decide to contact the Rio Vista agent directly to arrange another viewing.

 FYI: Be aware, BJ is not an Agent per se. He is an agent's agent which means we are a further away from the bargaining action than we at first believed. Never assume.

At the second viewing I notice/remember there is some water-damage needing repair and draw the agents attention to it. It seems there will be no repair until a tenant is signed up. Hmmmmm, what are those voices in my head saying?

Anyway, I make an offer $200Sg/m below the asking price (which is subsequently accepted and later rejected - see later ) and leave the agent to sort things out with the owner and BJ.

An evening Junk trip on harbour with dinner provided had been arranged for us and, just like home, the rain started around mid-day as a thunder storm before continuing as rain until our tour was almost completed. A short bus ride from the Fairmont Hotel found us at the departure wharf where Kerlyn directed us into position for a photo opportunity.

Rear: Helen, Renee, Jacqui, ??, Kathy, Marilyn, ??, Kristin Middle: Maria, Heather, Deb, Nicole, Robert. Front: Michael, James, Peter, Adam, Michael

Singapore Harbour through the rain

Whilst the food was only average, and the space we had available to us quite small, the views of the city and the laser-light show at Sentosa were quite spectacular.

Following our return to the Fairmont, some of us made the decision to walk to the durian (the performing arts centre) to await the fireworks display at midnight.

Midnight - New Years Day (note the time on the photograph)

This proved a very spectacular event with the pounding of explosions thumping into our chests.

What was also - and I struggle to find a suitable word here - confronting(?) was the humungous crowd we became part of as we attempted to leave. There are some five million people in Singapore and it felt as though all of them were with us now, wanting to go in the same direction of away. Well, not all. Some were trying to go against the tide, which managed to slow the exit even further.

I have seen images of Arabs on pilgrimage. Tens-of-thousands of people all jammed together and pushing. This night is how I imagine they would all feel.

Day Five

New Year's Day and another late start after the night before.

Lunch was had with Michael & Deb and was a riotous event with Michael recounting lines from old Warner Bros cartoons.

We return to the hotel to find Adam on the phone giving BJ a serve about his lack of service in providing them with viewings.

Straight away BJ is on the phone to me making a belated arrangement for us to see a condo. The place turns out to be huge, in a set of towers called Florida, right next door to Rio Vista.

Although not initially one of our favoured areas, we are liking the Hougang precinct as it is close to amenities and the bus Heather will need to get to/from Punggol. As a result, the choice is coming down to either Rio Vista or Florida. The owner of Florida is offering deals if we let her have access to a room infrequently. This turns out to be a way of keeping a principal-place-of-residence in Singapore and saving on tax. Those voices in the back of my head are talking and they are getting louder.

It could be perfect for Adam & Nicole, as it fits within their budget, if they take 'the deal'.

BJ then offers to take us to Simei, which ends up being via a rather circuitous route after he got lost.

Dinner was with Robert & Maria at Simei.

Day Six

First day at work for Heather in Punggol. Whilst Punggol appears to be in 'whoop-whoop', at the end of the MRT line and the furthest point on the light-rail (LRT), it has plenty of parkland greenery about and the shopping centre, which houses the MAE rooms, is very well supplied with all necessities.

I try to buy a TENS/electronic massage machine but ended up "breaking" the DBS card and spend the afternoon lying around.

Due to another 'administrative error' Heather, Michael (the other) and Deb plus myself, as a requirement for gaining a Dependent Visa, tomorrow must present ourselves at Raffles Private Hospital to undergo X-rays and HIV tests. This is despite the fact that the three workers were the only ones of the group to have the procedures performed back in Aus. It appears we were not given a particular form for the Aus. doctors to fill out and so have to go through the whole rigmarole again.

Hoped to sign Letter of Intent (LOI) for the condo with BJ tomorrow.

Day Seven

Wedding anniversary today but we forgot until later in the day.

Had to be going early to get to Raffles Hospital for the chest x-rays and medical exams.

It appears the doctor's dictum (air goes in and out, blood goes round and round, trust no bastard) applies in Singapore as well as Aus.

To the bank to arrange a deposit for the condo we look like getting at Hougang. So far this was about the only interaction with officialdom which has gone according to plan. Love the POSB. Handed the cheque to BJ and all appeared good.

Lunch was at 4th floor of Funan Centre then a sleep as Heather didn't get in until almost 11pm the night before. H then off to work and me in search of my TENS machine. Found one for about $100 and it is the BEST thing.

Dinner for me was at the Burmese hawkers over the road. I was the only Euro in the place. Followed that with a walk along the east-side of the river. Superb views of the financial district buildings then back along Boat Quay.

Highlight - being stopped by an Asian group and asked if I knew the way to Clarke Quay. After initially attempting to duck away with a "me-know-understand/want-to-buy-anything" reposte I suddenly realised I DID know how to get to Clarke Quay. So, I am a local after only 7 days.

Champagne was purchased for Heather's arrival home but we were both too tired to bother opening it. Who'd-a-thunkit (Sue)?

Maybe next year.