If you can’t pay your S & C C, the penalty is as high as 2% per month (like credit card interest, which is even hgher than the pawn shops or licensed moneylenders )

If you can’t even pay for your arrears, how can you afford to pay the fine in court?

So, you may end up in jail!

Cheers

Leong Sze Hian

People are willing to pay more for service and conservancy? Nobody like to pay more money for anything, even the rich. In some instances, the government like to pay less for things. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan believed in dishing out no more than $290. They like to pay the least possible for water from our neighbouring country. Buy cheaper sand. Take your land and pay you prevailing rates based some previous years and not current rates.

But then, they are willing to pay more for overseas investments. In the end, it is the population that is paying for the dismay results of those investments now.

While looking through Creative Technology’s latest Annual Report, I was surprised to see “Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council” listed as one of the majority shareholders with 530,000 shares currently valued at about S$3,000,000.

While I understand that town councils would want to invest their funds to get some capital gains on their surpluses, I wonder if there are any policies to guide their investments. Should town councils be allowed to invest their funds in high-risk equities? Who approves the investments? And, why would the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council invest in Creative Technology, a company that has been losing value on the stock market for years? If the town council had already owned the shares since long ago, they should have sold their holdings to prevent further losses. If they had just bought in not long ago, the question would be about how wise the decision to buy was, or whose idea/advice was it for the town council to throw their money into this counter.

I would think town councils should put their money in lower risk investments such as fixed deposits or funds with track records of stable performance… at the end of the day, town councils should not see investments as a primary source of income – after all, the funds come from taxpayers and should rightfully be used for improvements to facilities rather than as capital for investments.

Who bears the brunt of these bad decisions in which poor planning led to these unsold flats? Buyers like me who collected my keys more than eight years ago when demand was so high I had to queue. I paid $387,000 for my HDB executive flat.

When I wrote previously to ST Forum about high prices, I was told they were subsidised and based on real cost of construction and so on. Well, guess what. Over the past 12 months, the HDB has sold the same types of flats including some in the same block as mine at about $260,000. Has their value dropped so drastically in eight years? Or does the costing now get some subsidy from elsewhere to allow the flats to be sold so cheaply?

Now, original buyers are unable to sell their second- hand flats, because the HDB is selling ‘new’ ones in the same block at more than $100,000 less than what we paid. The HDB has effectively taken the bottom off the resale market for new home owners who qualify to buy directly from it, leaving a much smaller group of resale buyers who do not meet the guidelines for direct HDB purchase. These buyers are willing to pay a little more but are unwilling to pay a decent price since the HDB set the ‘new’ sale benchmark.

Lawrence Ng Wai Chun

I bought (although technically I leased) an executive apartment in Sengkang in January.

At the time of booking, the unit one floor below mine was going for $298,000. After six months, the same unit was going for $322,000.

Absolutely nothing was done to the unit to justify an 8 per cent increase in selling price, considering there was no change in facilities or ‘improved design features’.

Another issue I would like to raise is the so-called subsidy new flat buyers like me are supposed to enjoy.

At the point of signing the lease agreement, my flat was priced at a mere $10,000 less than resale flats with similar qualities, that is, same cluster and same flat size. What is more, resale flats came renovated.

May I ask, where is the subsidy? It is unfair that I have to pay a levy of $50,000 for a price difference of only $10,000.

Liew Yi Xui (Ms)

You are right, over here at Yishun, it’s also getting dirtier by the day and I am wondering if I should stop paying S&C until TC get their act together.
They also have Banglas working at a cheap rate that my calculation shows there is excess profit, so no need to raise charges.
I think we should collectively voice our concerns and challenge that we take over the maintenance with the same charges and yet do a better job.

2. Today, just an observation or insight from Hongkong. In Hongkong, there are many, many, what I call “no-frills condos”. These no-frills condos are simply high-rise blocks, several in 1 development, with modest car lots and just a little condo public space. No huge swimming pools, tennis courts, billiard room, karaoke rooms, barbecue pits, squash courts and exercise gym like my Guilin View condo. BUT THEY ARE AFFORDABLE AND VERY POPULAR, WHICH MEANS PROFITABLE FOR THE DEVELOPER, AND MEET THE HOUSING NEEDS OF HONGKONGERS.

3. In Singapore, because the PAP wants to rape all the citzens’ CPF accounts, an unlimited source of free or cheap funds with which they can play Warren Buffet or George Soros, as well as gain an immense clout and “weight” [as recently admitted by a PAP Minister] in international affairs, the PAP is determined to keep 85% of the people in HDB flats, simply by making it too expensive for them to buy private condos and landed property, through a variety of land development charges, high price land sales, and other taxes.

4. However, this may now be time to copy the Hongkong idea. Firstly, HDB prices have gotten so ridiculous [75% pa increase over 4 months being normal -- and unknown if not for genius Mr LEONG Sze Hian], see :

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/09/26/why-does-hdb-need-to-increase-prices-of-flats-so-rapidly/#more-503

RH: … that there is now opened a niche market for private condo developers to develop Hongkong style no-frills condos THAT CAN COMPETE DIRECTLY WITH THE HDB, DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR, SQ METRE BY SQ METRE.

5. Simply by not having huge swimming pools, tennis and squash courts, karaoke rooms, billiard room, barbecue pits, gym, etc, or having just small and cheap things like the gym, etc, condo developers can reduce the price of each flat dramatically, thus gaining a new market from those currently only able to buy say, 4 and 5 room HDB flats. I have lived here 7 years and have hardly used the swimming pools and never the billiard, tennis, squash, karaoke, function, rooms, etc, and I don’t miss anything. So, many frills are actually little used by the vast majority.

6. No frills will also lower maintenance fees dramatically. Currently, the 5 blocks in my condo require over 30 security guards for 24/7 patrols and duties, plus many cleaners and gardeners to keep the estate neat and landscaped. Plus a condo manager and a few staff in a small office. Most of these can be done away with. Probably, all you need in a no-frills condo are half a dozen security guards and a few cleaners. And maybe just 1 condo manager/staff to keep an eye on things. Volunteers from the residents can also help manage the condo in a residents committee. Thus, it can be very affordable.

7. I believe that there is now a market for these no-frills condos. Go to Hongkong and see how they do it. Hongkong developers with the experience can also look at Singapore to see if they can do it here. The PAP will fight back with more dirty tactics and tricks as usual. But despite these, I think there is a huge untapped market. MAY I ALSO ADD THAT THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HONGKONG AND SINGAPORE IS THAT “HONGKONG SOLVES ITS PROBLEMS WHILE SINGAPORE HIDES ITS”. There, my good deed for the day.

*To Robert: Please remove your NRIC number from your post in future. Else, we will not allow you to post anymore. We’ve told you this before. Please understand that personal particulars are not allowed to be posted here, unless under very special circumstances which will be determined by us. Thanks.