Tag Archives: General

Dream home? Dream on..

In exactly 1,008 hours, or one month and 10 days, my tenancy agreement will expire.

In view of this deadline, my husband and I recently decided that after eight years in this country, perhaps it was time for us to own a piece of Singapore.

Thus we embarked on the Great Singapore House Hunt.

First, we crunched our numbers and arrived at a budget that would not turn us into indentured servants.

Then, we jotted down all the things we were looking for in a house.

We have two pre-schoolers and a maid, so that means we will need an apartment with enough space for the kids to move about without breaking the furniture – or a limb – and for our helper to have a bit of privacy that won’t have to be in the washroom.

Location, location, location. For us, that means our home must be near work, school and play. Otherwise, the only person who will enjoy living in it will be our maid.

To help us further in our quest, we kept in mind a recent article by this newspaper’s Money Editor who wrote about tips his parents had given him for buying a house. Paramount is the $1,000 per sq ft rule – do not buy an apartment priced above this amount.

With these criteria in mind, we set out on our quest. Continue reading

Condo has share of nuisance and ugly behaviour too

You do not have to live in a Housing Board estate to have annoying neighbours. I live in a private condominium, and some of the residents drive me crazy.

Fortunately, my immediate neighbours are quiet and tidy.

However, the man who used to live above me had a habit of getting home drunk at 3am and making all sorts of noise.

When I spoke to him about it, he denied it was him and tried to blame it on the young family living two floors up. He also used to drag his furniture around the living room on a regular basis.

Some people in my condo hang their clothes and sheets over their balconies to dry, despite rules prohibiting such a practice.

The management says it frequently reminds people not to do so, but the selfish act continues.

I think the laundry makes the building look ugly, and I really don’t care to look at other people’s cheap, dingy sheets and unmentionables flapping in the wind.

It really spoils the lovely view from my 26th-storey apartment.

Also, children ride their skateboards into the glass doors and break them. This happens even though the management has posted signs and sent out fliers telling parents to control their children, and saying that skateboards, bicycles and rough games are not allowed on the walkways.

Once, an elderly woman was injured when someone threw a ball that hit her.

Despite constant reminders, these acts continue.

The pool was closed three times last year when someone defecated in it, and I once found a dirty diaper on the lawn out back by the driveway. I suspect someone tossed it out of his window. Disgusting.

The lifts usually have litter of some sort, and often smell like body odour or urine.

Dogs’ droppings litter the walkways and grass around the condo.

It wasn’t always this way. It has definitely become worse over the last couple of years.

I feel for the HDB dwellers who have to deal with similar annoyances, but at least they are not paying thousands of dollars in rent for the ‘privilege’ of living this way.

Sandra Johnson (Ms)

Source : Straits Times – 20 Sep 2009