Category Archives: General

Thinking outside the shoebox

Posted on 9 Jun 2012 | Comments Off on Thinking outside the shoebox

Is Singapore going towards the Hong Kong way of living?

I am at the point in my life where I am trying to think outside the shoebox. Yes, I am at the crossroads deciding between buying a resale public flat or a shoebox apartment. The former enables me to qualify for government grants and a bigger living space while the latter will require me to cough up more cash upfront for a brand new swanky apartment but with limited maneuvering space.

I was in Hong Kong last week and witnessed for myself how Hong Kongers live in extremely tight living spaces. A typical apartment size in Hong Kong is less than 500 sq ft. A queen sized bed can hardly fit into a bedroom. You can forget about wardrobes as they comprise mainly of loose hangers on raffia strings just above the bed. There is hardly any space in the living and dining room as they are cramped together. The living space essentially becomes a place where you rest, wake up, go to work and repeat the same routine. Clearly, a creative interior designer needs to be hired.

The median price of a resale three-room public flat in Singapore right now is around S$350, 000 (US$272, 447) not including the cash-over-valuation which averages around S$25, 000 (US$19, 460). On top of that there are housing grants of S$15, 000 (US$11, 676) that can be used for the down payment. The cash upfront required will be the $5, 000 (US$3, 892) deposit, $25, 000 (US$19, 460) for the COV and say, S$20, 000 (US$15, 569) for a modest renovation. I am also eligible for a government mortgage loan at around 2.6 per cent interest rate. The apartment size is larger at around 700 sq ft – enough room to do some entertainment. However, I am slapped with a 5-year minimum occupation period (MOP) and being a public housing, there is a limit on capital appreciation. I can then rent out the flat and buy a private apartment. Sounds reasonable.

Meanwhile, a studio private apartment is around S$600, 000 (US$467, 089). The deposit I would need is the initial down payment of 5 per cent ($30, 000) in cash and the remaining 15 per cent ($90, 000) in cash and/or CPF. However, I can only take a bank loan with an attractive interest rate of around 1.2 per cent. The apartment size will be a problem but the trade-off is a private apartment with security and good potential for capital appreciation (depending on location).

I don’t think I am the only one facing such tough decisions. However, it is clear high property prices have resulted in private developers in Singapore finding novel solutions for those wanting to buy their first property by offering shoebox apartments. So is it really inhumane to live in such small boxes, as what CapitaLand’s CEO Liew Mun Leong suggests? Or are developers like Oxley Holdings Chief Ching Chiat Kwong really altruistic when he said such apartments provide “a nice affordable pad” until we can upgrade to a bigger property? Such is the dilemma I face in trying to think outside the shoebox.

Source: PropertyReport – 2012 Jun 7

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Posted in General, Government, HDB, Property Market / Real Estate

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Green backpackers hostel provides eco-friendly accommodation for tourists

Posted on 6 Jun 2012 | Comments Off on Green backpackers hostel provides eco-friendly accommodation for tourists

Travelling and going green are not usually associated with one other.

But Singapore’s first and only green backpackers’ hostel is giving travellers an option to go green, without sacrificing the creature comforts.

Located at Tan Quee Lan Street in Bugis, Tree In Lodge is Singapore’s first environmentally-friendly hostel.

It has received more than 2,500 guests since it opened more than a year ago in April 2011.

At first glance, Tree in Lodge seems to be an ordinary backpackers’ hostel but a closer look shows it’s a hostel with a green mission.

Tree In Lodge’s co-onwer Tan Swee Kian, said: “Rather than building a new building out of featuring a lot of green features, we use an old building, fit it in with some facilities for going green and build in practices to make it a habit. I think it’s more important because this goes back to the basics.”

An avid traveller himself, Mr Tan said he drew inspiration from cities in Europe, Japan and Taiwan that are known for their green lifestyles.

Providing filtered water for guests to fill up their own bottles as an alternative to buying bottled water and setting up stations for guests to give away or exchange unwanted items are among the many green practices they embraced in the hostel.

To reduce its carbon footprint, the hostel’s interior decoration is kept to a minimum.

Mr Tan said: “What you see around the hostel is more of green practices, and to share among our guests that it’s not difficult to go green or to have a green environment. It’s only whether you’re willing to change for that.”

Mr Tan said partitions in the hostel were built with eco-friendly materials.

But the owners are not limiting their green message to within their hostel.

They also recommend activities for tourists to get in touch with nature in Singapore.

This includes trips to areas such as MacRitchie Reservoir, Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve and the Botanic Gardens.

It costs S$28 to spend a night at the hostel but foreign cyclists stopping by Singapore get a 50 per cent discount for their eco-friendly mode of transport.

Travellers said the hostel is a breath of fresh air.

Mr Tan said the hostel even attracts several “hardcore environmentalists” among its guests.

Canadian travel writer Ian Ord said: “It’s really nice to find hostels that take on such a green initiative. I’ve been backpacking for quite a long time and there are not many places that try to educate their guests like this place does. To find people that are this passionate is really rewarding to the guests as well.”

Marco Eder, who comes from Germany, said: “When I checked in for starters, they gave me a quick rundown on bottled water, and preserving energy and water. There are a lot of signs and exhibits on what you can do to save energy and water, and what you can recycle. Just by walking around the hostel and seeing those little things raises your awareness.”

But the hostel’s owners said being eco-friendly is not without its challenges, with cost a major consideration.

“People will always think, ‘Oh, if you do less of this and less of that, it’ll probably cost you less money’. But it actually costs more because we have to use a lot of green feature items,” said Mr Tan.

However, the owners said there are no plans to give up any time soon and they are planning to introduce more eco-friendly features in the hostel, to drive home the green message.

Source : CNA – 2012 Jun 6

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Posted in General, Service Apartments

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