But back then, I just walked straight up to the office, picked a semi-auspicious number and signed some legal papers to buy the house. Easy-peasy.
This time however, I've been to half a dozen barely furnished warzones, walked through a couple of beautifully appointed condos - and even trekked quarter of a mile through a swampy construction site to a concrete shell with bits of torn scaffolding. Deciding on the choice of houses gets a bit complicated since I have to choose between renting and buying as well.
Wonder if I could get a houseboy who looks like that!
Though the complicated land tenure system here has me leaning towards renting. Yes, I do think about land titles and such these days!
Agent : Buy this house then.
Paul : Is it freehold then?
Agent : No leh. It's on leasehold. Sixty years.
Paul : Sixty years?
Agent : Ya! Very good leh. Most of the houses are built on land under lease.
Paul : Not if I were to live till a hundred! Imagine if they built a six-lane highway right across my house!
Agent : You really funny guy!
Seriously. Imagine being a crotchety ninety hobbling on a cane and you have stern government officers at the door forcing you to vacate as the lease is up. There goes your lovely bungalow as they plant a nondescript strip mall right on top.
Wonder if he'd find it funny then!
Perhaps back during the glorious colonial reign of Brooke & Co, it was fine to grant such a short lease to the budding real estate magnates. With tropical diseases, vicious headhunters and man-eating crocodiles around, it wasn't likely that many would live past the ripe age of sixty! Brooke obviously didn't intend to have wealthy landowners gainsaying his authoritarian rule.
So what excuse does the government have on keeping such a peculiar land tenure system? I know a freehold land title doesn't exactly guarantee anything - for a minimal fee the government can still bulldoze over that pretty cottage of yours - but hey it's marginally better than a sixty year lease.
6 comments:
It's the same for buying land?
wow didn't know that, you sparked my interest in studying property.
60 years lease do sounds too little. Look for at least 99 years lor. Im guessing we wont be so long lived, or not keen to be :D
had u studied the diff between owning a landed property vs strata property? also r u buying for own stay or for investment? most landed in urban areas r lease esp those nearer to city. if u choose strata, make sure the developer is trustworthy.
study the plan layout esp where is the water pipes are laid n what is the distance the ac and compressor. many developers dont allow both to be nearby n its costly to lay pipes across long distance. not to mention if it leaks over time. u had to plaster ceiling it as it wud be ugly having the pipes visible. another big cost. ask if both can be placed nearby and if diamond drilling is allowed for this to be done. diamond drill is expensive but it prevents structural damage.
check is renovations can be done on weekends. most dont allow. allow is mon to fri, 9-6.
if u buy strata for investment, the developer part comes in. trustworthy. if all tenants paid mthly on time n the dev pays on time mthly to the land office, u wont have prb transfering title quickly. else, it takes mths n yrs when it goes to high court. some dev never pays the amt to land office n some paid half yrly. eg if when its time to transfer title say on feb, u had to wait till after jun for the transfer to be done.
again on dev, maintenance wise, if u chose to stay for another 20 yrs, how well kept isit gonabe. if the materials are low quality, then ur in for a headache.
if u chose high occupancy strata, also headache. many r bad paymaster n when dev cant afford maintenance, all things breaks down.
if u stay on very high flrs, wireless broadbands will not able to reach. u had to use land lines but quality degrades due to longer cables. IT terms call it latency.
do not rush into buying property. many ppl buy n regret later. its not easy. u must go study n u must know wat u want. with knowledge, u can protect ur investment.
oh 1 more thing, ask what type of land was used before it was built. a lake or river is a no.
dont choose a balcony or master bedroom facing east/west where the sun rises/sets. else ur 1 hp ac in room will be useless even with tainted glass. ud come home into an oven. higher bills too.
some dev dont allow grills for main entrance door from outside contractors. they want std across. they provide their own. no choice. same for ac. doors too.
there's a lot more to say n its getting long. hehe... all the best to u paul. :P
Same over here, legolas.
I think koala has written a thesis down below, D :)
Just surprised it's so short. But it's really common here so no one's complaining, blue.
Thanks, koala! Did all that actually - that's why I decided to rent over here. Already have a house back in the Peninsula.
P
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