SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

Are property agents obliged to reveal the history of the flat to potential buyers?

Three women died in a bloody rampage - their blood splattered and bodies strewn in a five-room flat in Yishun.

Question: Would you buy this flat if it were for sale?

The women, all Chinese nationals, were stabbed to death. Another was found dead at the foot of the block.

The scene was grisly, the crime the talk of the town and the subject of a court case.

Chances are, few would knowingly take over the flat if it were on the market.

But what if you did not know? Would ignorance be bliss? Or would you rather know?

Tragedies such as the Yishun murders raise the poser: Are property agents obliged to reveal the history of the flat to potential buyers?

One house-hunter bought a Geylang HDB flat with a particularly gruesome past - blissfully ignorant of its history.

It was where Chinese national Liu Hong Mei, 22, was chopped into seven parts. The parts were then dumped in the Kallang and Singapore rivers in 2005.

The murderer, former factory supervisor Leong Siew Chor, was hanged for his crime last November.

The new owner of the four-room flat, who didn’t want to be named, only found out about the flat’s history from this reporter.

When The New Paper visited the flat last month, the owner was not at home.

Her sister-in-law, Ms Vidya Vedam, 28, who had moved in with the family about three months ago, was shocked to learn that she’s been living in a flat that was the scene of a murder.

Said Ms Vedam: ‘What? A murder was committed here? When did it happen? What happened? This is the first time I am hearing this.’

The owner had bought the flat for about $330,000 earlier this year. That was about the market rate for such a flat.

After regaining her composure, Ms Vedam thought about how she has often felt uneasy about being in that flat.

‘I have not seen anything, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ve sensed some presence before.

‘I do prayers and all that. So I’m not scared,’ she added after a pause.

The flat was brightly-lit and sparsely furnished.

There was a picture of Indian spiritual leader Sai Baba on one of the tables.

The owner said she met the flat’s then owner, a woman, at the HDB office where they did the paperwork.

The owner said: ‘When I first viewed the place, I didn’t meet her (past owner). The flat was empty.

‘And the owner claimed through the housing agent that she wasn’t willing to sell the place, and wanted more cash for it. I paid the market price for this place.

‘I am happy living here and I don’t want to know about the past.’

She said her agent didn’t tell her about the flat’s history.

Are agents duty-bound to tell buyers about a property’s history in such cases?

HSR Property Group’s executive director Mr Eric Cheng, who trains over 8,500 agents, maintained that it is the fiduciary duty of the agent to tell the buyer about the history of the property, even if it has a sordid past. He said: ‘If the agent knows about the property’s history, it is his responsibility to tell the buyer. I always advise my agents to tell. It doesn’t bode well for the agent both professionally and ethically to hide the secret.

‘Anyway, how long can the secret hold? The neighbours will talk about it soon enough.’

He recalled selling a three-room flat in which a family had committed suicide three years ago.

It took him about four months to sell it, longer than the average two months-plus it takes to make a sale.

Said Mr Cheng: ‘I received five to six offers for the place but all of them rejected it after I told them about its history. Some even got quite upset and even asked why I didn’t tell them earlier.

‘I usually tell the prospective buyers when we visit the unit because there may be other factors that may be favourable to the place aside from the history.’

He finally sold the unit for $175,000 to a single Christian man who didn’t mind its history.

He said he didn’t receive any commission from this sale for pro bono reasons.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail, however, said agents are not obliged to reveal the history of the property. But if the buyer specifically asks the question, the agents have to tell if they know about it.

He said: ‘The buyer can take this agent to task if the agent lies. The seller’s agent usually won’t volunteer this information because you’re representing the seller so how will you be able to sell the place?

‘The agent isn’t looking after his (the seller’s) interest and it isn’t the requirement of the agent.

‘But buyers can ask the agents to ask if any mishaps have happened in the property. Buyers should also do their own checks.’

Talk to neighbours

How can buyers check? Ask the agent about the flat’s history, talk to neighbours or do online searches about the place.

Mr Cheng advised: ‘When you walk into the unit, check out for the tell-tale signs. Has the property been empty for years? Is there any furniture inside? Why is there a fresh coat of paint?

‘If you have any doubts, don’t be afraid to ask your agent questions. After all, you’re going to live there for at least five years.’

For bargain hunters, prices of properties with notorious history are usually cheaper than those in the same area.

Said Mr Cheng: ‘There will be some impact on the value because only a small group of buyers who are open-minded will buy these properties. And these buyers will also take this chance to depress the price.’

Given time, however, the stigma attached to such properties will dissipate.

For the new owner, putting the property back into the market in the future doesn’t necessarily mean a hit on his selling price.

Mr Cheng explained: ‘People have short memories. They may forget about the incident, especially after so many years.’

HOMES HAUNTED BY HIDEOUS HISTORIES

FOUND DEAD ON BED
WHERE: Blk 110, Rivervale Walk

PAST: The decomposed body of Malaysian Angel Tan, 28, was found lying face up on her bed in a room in March this year.

She had rented the room from an elderly Singaporean couple who own this five-room flat. The owners of the flat had discovered the body.

The case has been classified as unnatural death, and the police are looking for the woman’s boyfriend to assist in investigations, since neighbours had seen her entering or leaving the flat with a well-dressed young man.

PRESENT: The landlord and his wife, said to be in their 60s, had lived in the flat for about nine years.

The couple have not been seen around the place soon after the shocking find, said neighbours, according to a Straits Times report in April. But when The New Paper visited the flat last week, the landlord was inside watching TV.

When approached, the owner waved this reporter away and said ‘Don’t disturb’ repeatedly in Hokkien.

STIGMA FROM STABBING
WHERE: Blk 94, Henderson Road

PAST: Chinese national Guo Hui Long, 28, was stabbed repeatedly in this rented flat earlier this month. Police have charged Luo Faming, 35, with the murder. Luo allegedly set fire to his workplace and attacked his female supervisor as well.

PRESENT: The four-room flat has been left empty since the murder. It is owned by a resident who lives next door. The owner’s daughter, who declined to be named, said they haven’t decided whether to rent it out, or live in it.

The family bought the unit for over $300,000 about two years ago and have been renting it out until the murder. She said: ‘We may move in but we’re still apprehensive (because of the murder). Anyone would be. The place has been left empty since the murder and the police investigations.’

She said that there may be a stigma attached to the place because of the murder. It would be difficult to hide the fact from potential tenants, she said. ‘Everyone here knows about the murder, It’s such a big case. It won’t be so easy to rent out.’

ABANDONED FOR EIGHT YEARS
WHERE: Semi-detached house at Waringin Walk, off New Upper Changi Road

PAST: Polytechnic student Pamela Yiau, 19, died of Ecstasy poisoning in this house in February 2000.

She was drinking alcohol with her friend, Mr Daryl Tan, then 23, at his Waringin Walk home when she told him she felt like throwing up. She was foaming at the mouth and gasping. An ambulance was called, but it was too late. After nearly a year of investigations, police couldn’t conclude whether foul play was involved but a post-mortem found she died of Ecstasy poisoning.

PRESENT: This house was in a decrepit state when The New Paper visited last Friday, suggesting that the house has not been occupied for a long time.

One neighbour, who only wanted to be known as Mr Teo, said the family moved out after the death and returned to the house to only retrieve their mail or sweep the front porch. He said: ‘I’m not sure why they left in such a hurry. Maybe they’re ‘pantang’ (superstitious in Malay).’

Source : New Paper - 30 Sept 2008

Historically, the US dollar has seen rebounds in the wake of a crisis. So the greenback is not expected to soften despite the lack of approval for a US$700 billion rescue package on Capitol Hill.

With the lack of viable alternative currencies, experts said the US dollar will remain supported despite short-term reactions in the market.

Thio Chin Loo, senior FX and IR strategist, Asia, BNP Paribas, said: “The US dollar has not rallied across the board. What we saw in the previous rounds of crises was the dollar making some ground particularly against the European currencies, against high yielding currencies, against emerging market currencies, including Asian currencies.

“This is because there’s been a repatriation of flows back into the US, and there’s been a flight to quality in buying US treasuries.”

Looking ahead, the greenback is expected to remain well supported. One reason for this is that Asian currencies have lost some of their lustre as the region begins to feel the effects of a global economic slowdown.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars are not quite the stalwarts they used to be.

Vishnu Varathan, regional economist, Forecast Singapore, said: “We will see some residual strength in the Aussie (dollar) due to the flight of funds to safe haven bets, gold being one of them. There has been some correlation between gold and the Aussie.

“The Kiwi was recently supported by an upside surprise in their GDP numbers, but overall story for the Kiwi and the Aussie have not changed, and we do expect that they will give up their gains against the dollar over a period of time.”

Observers also believe that should a rescue package eventually emerge, there is little chance of the inflow of funds creating an inflation risk. The slow pace of money movement caused by the credit crunch should keep a lid on any oversupply of the US dollar that may emerge. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 Sept 2008

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has closed the public tender for an industrial site at Ubi Avenue 4.

The URA had received a successful application for the site to be put up for sale in August and it was launched for public tender on Sept 3.

It has a site area of 11,491.5 square metres and a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 2.5.

The site was offered for sale on a 60-year lease and received two bids.

Sim Lian Land submitted the highest bid of S$26.3 million or S$85 per square foot per plot ratio, while Orion-Four Development submitted a bid of S$23.1 million or S$75 psf per plot ratio.

In April, Sim Lian-linked 3 Link Development paid S$89 psf per plot ratio for a similar site located nearby at Ubi Road 2, where a seven- or eight-storey flatted factory will be built.

CB Richard Ellis’ research executive director, Li Hiaw Ho, said it is likely Sim Lian will develop a similar project if it is awarded the latest site.

He noted that industrial land prices in Ubi have remained stable despite the recent economic turmoil. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 Sept 2008

DEMAND for Singapore offices is likely to fall to recession-level lows next year and in 2010, resulting in the biggest excess supply of office space in 20 years, said Credit Suisse yesterday.

It expects office vacancy rates to hit a high of 16.5 per cent in 2010 - up from an islandwide vacancy of about 2 per cent currently - as firms’ expansion plans are hit by the global financial turbulence.

Office rentals are also predicted to peak earlier than expected this year, and fall 50 per cent by 2011, said research analyst Shirley Wong, who has downgraded the Singapore office trusts sector to underweight.

After her report was released, office trusts CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT) and Suntec Reit saw large drops in their unit prices that put them among the worst-performing property stocks yesterday. Property counters fell across the board as the wider stock market faltered.

CCT fell 17 cents to its lowest level in almost four years, while Wing Tai and Keppel Land each dropped more than 6 per cent to three-year lows.

‘Focus of the office sector has always been on supply, but actual demand is hurting, and repercussions from the US economic shocks could strain it further,’ Ms Wong said in the report. Tenants are resisting rent rises, while capital values have been flat for three quarters and vacancies have risen for two quarters.

But not all analysts are as bearish.

The supply of offices in the pipeline could be affected by construction delays, while property market sentiment and prices may start picking up at the end of next year when the integrated resorts take shape, said Kim Eng analyst Wilson Liew.

‘I do not foresee drastic cuts in the headcounts of financial institutions in the Asia-Pacific and, in fact, the private banking sector may provide some support.’

But Mr Liew conceded that the looming imbalance caused by more supply and less demand will ultimately lead to lower office rentals. He expects a moderate decline in rents of 10 to 15 per cent between now and the end of next year.

More broadly, property developers may soon be forced to write down their assets as real estate prices fall around the world, said another Credit Suisse research analyst in a separate report.

Developers were holding out for a recovery in sentiment, but ‘a confidence crisis from the recent near-collapse of global financial markets could hasten and steepen price falls’, said Ms Tricia Song.

Catalysts include the large upcoming supply of homes, a slower expatriate influx, potential job losses, and delays to the completion of the integrated resorts.

Ms Song noted that major write-downs in previous property downturns triggered developers’ stocks to plunge as much as 79 per cent in 1998 and up to 50 per cent in 2001.

‘CapitaLand and Keppel Land wrote down the most and could do so again due to aggressive acquisitions and revaluation gains in recent years,’ she added.

The only major property counters spared yesterday’s carnage were GuocoLand, up one cent at $1.85; CapitaMall Trust, up six cents at $2.31; and Bukit Sembawang, up 10 cents at $6.30.

Source : Straits Times - 30 Sept 2008

The collective sale of five small estates in Thomson Road is back on track after getting stalled two months ago.

An appeal by buyers Mergui Development has been granted by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), to reduce the price of a 1,000 sq m section of a road needed for redeveloping the project.

Developer KSH Holdings, the parent company of a firm in the Mergui Development consortium, told the Singapore Exchange yesterday that the SLA had cut the land premium payable from $16.74 million to $8.37 million.

KSH project manager Richard Tham said the SLA’s revised offer was more in line with the price ‘initially expected’. The buyers were caught off guard by the initial $16.74 million land premium, which is believed to have delayed the completion of the $120 million sale.

Owners at the five estates - Norfolk Court, Mergui Lodge, Northern Mansion, Mergui Court and The Mergui - were said to be considering walking away with the 10 per cent deposit of $12 million because buyers had failed to complete the sale, despite a two-month deadline extension.

Both sides have since agreed on a deadline extension until November, but this involved paying a further $3 million deposit to the 88 sellers.

The SLA said it had originally priced the land ’similar to that offered by the developer to the existing land owners along Mergui Road’. However, on review, it noted the land had some development constraints and considered the revised price ‘in order to facilitate the development proposal’.

Mergui Development is a joint venture between Bursa-listed IOI Properties unit Multi Wealth Singapore, a local private firm LBH, and KSH unit Kim Seng Heng Realty, which holds 35 per cent.

The strip of land is needed so the five estates near Rangoon and Moulmein roads can be combined and developed into one project. This will give a land area of 74,355 sq ft and a gross floor area of 208,196 sq ft. It will allow a high-rise block with about 140 luxury flats each measuring 1,250 sq ft on average.

JESSICA CHEAM

Source : Straits Times - 30 Sept 2008