My Search For A Better Alternative To Old Folks Homes In Singapore: Are Overseas Retirement Homes Better? My Mother spent over 30 years of her life staying with and caring for her own mother. When she was no longer needed, she had to move out of the house in which she had stayed for almost half her… 14 Apr 2024 by TJ 10 min read 8
Touring Corporation Walk: Cheaper $2 Million+ Landed Homes Next To A Park Connector (99-Year) A while back, a reader asked for a tour of Corporation Walk, so off to the West I went on a weekday mid-morning. Although the area is quite far West, it’s located in between Jurong Point and Jurong Gateway, so… 7 Apr 2024 by TJ 9 min read 2
We Waited 5 Years For Our BTO At Dakota Breeze: Our Review Of What It’s Like To Live There Everyone wants a BTO, but you aren’t guaranteed one due to the luck of the draw of the balloting system. Plus, there’s always the wait time of the construction as well, which was made worse by the pandemic. Mrs. Leong… 3 Dec 2022 5 min read 0
I Regret Getting A BTO: We Share 5 Uncommon Regrets Singaporeans Have To many Singaporeans, a BTO flat is the default “first home.” If there are any complaints about this most affordable form of housing, it’s usually about how difficult it is to land one (balloting takes some luck). Some buyers we… 1 Dec 2022 6 min read 0
“I Lost Over $165,000 By Selling Early” 6 Common Regrets Of Homeowners Who Sold Their Homes In 2021/22 2021/22 is widely considered a seller’s market, with property prices – across all segments – reaching an all-time high. But while we might assume all sellers made of like bandits, it’s not universally true. We spoke to some people who… 30 Nov 2022 6 min read 0
How A Singaporean Couple Saved $30,000 Per Year Living In A DIY Van In The US In a country with nearly 90 per cent home ownership, even renting is considered unusual by some Singaporeans – but what about living in a van instead? This week, we talked to a couple who live in a van in… 29 Nov 2022 6 min read 2
Touring Chwee Chian Estate: Freehold Landed Living At The Greater Southern Waterfront When news of the development of the Great Southern Waterfront was released, there was a lot of buzz about properties in the Pasir Panjang area, such as Kent Ridge Hill Residences. However, did you know that there is also a… 27 Nov 2022 11 min read 2
A $6 Million Landed Home Nightmare: Owning A Landed Home But Struggling To Make Ends Meet Homeownership is a sensitive and emotional issue for many, but the consensus is that owning a pricey landed property can only be a good thing. In one case that we’ve heard of, however, things have turned out quite the opposite…. 26 Nov 2022 5 min read 10
We Moved To A 38-Year-Old Executive Maisonette: Here’s What It’s Like To Stay In An Old EM In Jurong West When Winnie (*not her real name for privacy reasons) and her husband were looking for a home for their future family years ago, their top priority was a place with at least three bedrooms as they wanted to have kids…. 25 Nov 2022 7 min read 0
Touring Gentle Villas: District 11 Landed Living From $3 Million (Near Novena MRT) Imagine living with this cityscape just a few minutes walk from your main door! Gentle Villas is a landed enclave in District 11, built by Far East in 1995, that first came to my attention during the COVID lockdown. It’s… 20 Nov 2022 10 min read 2
Touring Paya Lebar Crescent Landed Estate: Freehold & Leasehold Homes From $2.3 Million This week, we’re doing a tour of Paya Lebar Crescent and its nearby streets. I’d actually been to the area a few years ago, when taking my Mom on a jaunt down memory lane (she lived nearby when she was… 13 Nov 2022 10 min read 0
Touring Elliot Road: A Freehold Landed Estate Very Close To Siglap MRT Station East Singapore seems to be rather popular with our readers, given the number of requests we have had for tours of the area. To date, we’ve seen Bedok Walk, Siglap, Frankel Avenue, Eastwood and Opera Estate, just to name a… 6 Nov 2022 11 min read 2
I Regret Selling My HDB To Upgrade To A Condo: 4 Homeowners Share Their Story To most Singaporeans, upgrading is seen as the “natural” thing to do if you start earning more, or your flat appreciates. We probably don’t need to go over the reasons, as there are hundreds of agents waiting to explain to… 5 Nov 2022 6 min read 8
I Regret Moving From A Condo To A HDB: 5 Elderly Homeowners Share Their Biggest Regrets As the Singapore population ages, comfortable accommodation for the elderly will be a crucial issue. To date, however, the one-size-fits-all solution we’ve applied is “let them sell their property and buy a smaller flat.” But it’s good to look deeper… 1 Nov 2022 6 min read 0
Touring Braddell Heights Estate: Freehold Landed Homes Near 2 MRT Stations Have you ever seen a property ad that is in, say Holland Village, but is marked as Lorong Chuan on PropertyGuru? Well, I’ve seen, like, hundreds of such ads and always wondered why Lorong Chuan was the default address when… 30 Oct 2022 9 min read 0
Why I Bought Jervois Mansion As My First Home: My Journey As A First Time Homebuyer In Singapore I’ve always thought buying a home was a very straightforward process. First, you determine your budget. Then, you come up with a list of ideal homes, narrow down the list through pros and cons, and then decide on which you… 28 Oct 2022 7 min read 0
“It’s Sleazy But It’s Freehold” What It’s Really Like To Live At The Infamous Orchard Towers Famed for sex and violence, Orchard Towers is one of the spiciest parts of Singapore. It’s even more surprising that it’s located in the very heart of Orchard Road; and it begs the question: would you put up with the… 27 Oct 2022 8 min read 0
Touring Kovan Landed Homes: Affordably Priced From $1.7m, Well-Connected And Bustling While I’ve toured quite a fair number of landed estates in Singapore, Kovan has eluded my radar so far. And so when a reader asked about it, it only made sense for me to put it down as my next… 23 Oct 2022 11 min read 8
I Nearly Bought A Condo With A Ceiling Leak & Depleting Sinking Fund Issue: Why MCST Problems Need To Be More Transparent Of late, we’ve had questions from a reader about the MCST system in Singapore; and about how it’s a little opaque and unfair. If you’re a foreigner or have bought property overseas, you may be struck by how little information… 17 Oct 2022 8 min read 16
Touring Westwood Park: More Affordable Landed Homes From Under $2 Million In The West Of Singapore When a reader asked for a tour of Westwood, I must confess, I sighed. (No offence to anyone living there!) After viewing several 99-year landed estates, I’d noticed that parking is usually in short supply and was dreading the endless… 16 Oct 2022 10 min read 0