Passe is the new Posse

The steamboat is a traditional old fashioned 'must have' for every Chinese New Year reunion dinner. Piping hot broth cooked to perfection with pork bones (and MSG if you are having it outside). You then dump raw veges and yam in it while cooking your own servings of meat, fish, quail eggs or whatever you fancy in a netted ladle dipping it in to the bubbling soup.

That was the classic way, and rarely eaten outside of reunion gatherings. There then was a period in time when fish head steamboat became popular. This was where fish head and sliced fish formed the main dish to be cooked in the steamboat. Recent years have seen a resurgence of the steamboat. I am not sure if our candid and friendly migrant workers from China had anything to do with it - since they were the main patrons of steamboat eateries sprouting up along Geylang and Chinatown - but the young and happening don't call today's versions 'steamboat'anymore. They go by import sounding names like Shabu Shabu and Korean hotpot. Many even offer a choice of soup in 'yuan yang' (yin yang?) settings, where a pot is split into halves, each having different broths. So now those allergic to seafood or intolerant of spicy tom yam (like me) can enjoy the meal with other so called more normal friends.

Balestier has always been known as a diverse and culturally rich, yet poorer cousin of Novena. Light shops, seedy budget hotels and good food abound, with a splattering of beautiful conservation shophouses and terraces here and there. With the new Zhong Shan Park and branded business class hotels under construction, interest has been returning to this vicinity the past year. Both pure residential and mixed commercial projects proved to be hot cakes. One Dusun was sold out in a mere 2 days (http://sg-realestate-sg.blogspot.sg/2012/08/another-successful-launch-one-dusun.html). And shoeboxes have even been pushing 2000psf lately. We are going to see a gradual rejuvenation of the entire stretch with new projects topping out along nicely. Finally, the old dame has awoken with a whole new dress, and we might not even be seeing her full potential just yet.

Donuts and Doormats

I remember fondly years back, how my bff would tell me exciting stories about how he finally managed to get his hands on those donuts at the shop in the basement of his office building in town. He would snap photos of the multi colored rings and share on his fb page for all to see.

Although never quite the donut fan, I marvelled how some can queue for hours just for...well, donuts.

Perhaps they injected some addictive compound into their goods? :-)

These could cost as much as ten bucks for half a dozen. The good old ordinary donuts sold in bakeries were probably less than half the price.

Fast forward to today.

Pavillon Square, a 'brand new' retail concept gracing Geylang, just sold out on a Saturday. All 90+ units of mostly MM sized shops. Now there was even mention of one sold at a staggering $10xxx psf. Almost the price level of high traffic Orchard Rd shops!

I think the next CM (on commercial units) is not far... but URA has already released guidelines to prevent a repeat showing, so perhaps not. Let us all focus on the upcoming BTO for singles in July for the time being, shall we...

So if the donuts craze was a fad, it sure lasted a while.

How long do you think this shoebox shop fever will last?

Relativity and Bubble Tea

Long long time ago, but not nearly as far back when mata wore shorts, we were happy drinking our ice lemon tea and kopi c. Whether in the school canteen or kopitiam, they were always home brewed and prepared, served by moody uncles or pissed looking aunties fighting pms. No preservatives.

Fast forward to today, in a modern aircon stall in a busy shopping mall, served by giggly youths, we have the same thing - fruit flavored or coffee and milk cold drinks, except at 3x the price and nicely packaged in air tight spill proof high tech packaging. Add to that a dose of 'bubbles', essentially gelatinous balls, for a nice chew, which gives a nice 10% add on to the already wonderful profit. A nice large diameter thick straw completes the offering. Hey, you even get to pick your color!

So the smart kopitiam uncle and auntie buys the bubble tea cup sealing equipment and supplies, sets up a corner at their drinks stall, and sells their own brand of bubble tea at 30% off the shopping mall brands. They even concocted chinchow and bandung bubbles. I probably have never seen them smiling from cheek to cheek endless with the throngs of school kids lining up for their fix.

Now apply that formula to property projects. Have you ever wondered how some new projects can actually help pull up the price of older ones in the vicinity?

Take for example, the Echelon launched in Dec 2012, saw impressive takeup in a matter of days. Packaged with the latest bells and whistles in luxury fittings and facilities, the average psf hit was as high as 1700psf. 

Contrast that to Ascentia Sky, launched few years back at 1200psf. It has since completed building and how much do you think the owners are now asking for?

That's the power of relativity and vicinity. So as you make your next killing, be sure to do your research on your target projects' vicinity. If there are announced government plans for plots of land sales, whether reserved or confirmed, you can be quite sure you have one leg in the bank vault already.

Meanwhile, I will head for my kopitiam bubble tea with attap chee pearls...

Food Courts and Agents (Property, and then some)

A friend from Germany recently visited me and asked me how he could try all sorts of local delights in one sitting. Cheap (for obvious reasons, considering the financial turmoil of the EU). Instantly, I thought of food courts. We have Kopitiam, Food Republic, Food Junction... the list goes on.

Food courts are usually operated by a third party who brings together various local stallholders creating a mish-mash menu of local food variety on a single platform. Many even have their own cash card and reward points system. They are like an agent, or middleman, so to speak. Just imagine if you had to try all the char kuay teow, rojak, yong tau foo, chai tow kueh, satay, bee hoon goreng, roti prata, tau suan in one sitting. It would have probably taken you one whole day across the island.

Actually, mankind survived eons ago without such agents or "in-betweeners".

Today, we rely on agents all the time.

Buy/sell houses - property agents
Send letter - postal agent
Daily newspaper - news agent
Get milk - milkman
Send money - money transfer agent
Get insured - insurance agent
Get a (new) job - recruitment agent!

... and then some.

Question then: Why do we pay extra for all these?

Imagine a world without agents. On a typical day, this happens.

07:30-08:00 - Wake up, walk over to the convenience store to get milk.

08:00-08:30 - Wash up and breakfast.

08:30-09:00 - Prepare letter and get dressed for work.

09:00-10:00 - Commute to office from Bedok to Jurong and drop by IRAS to hand deliver (remember, no postal agent) letter. And oh boy, I'm already late for work!

11:00 - In a meeting but not paying attention. I need to plan for the next days' schedule - obviously - as I do everything MYSELF! (Oh man, I just asked the boss to repeat his question TWICE!)

13:00-14:30 - Sneak out during lunch to handle house viewing myself. Because my house is in Bedok and office in Jurong, the to and fro commute and viewing already ate into my work time!

15:00 - Get big scolding by boss for coming in late and having super long lunch. :(

16:00-16:45 - Sneak out during tea break to attend interview for new job. Realised only after that it was a waste of time as the job description had little detail and they did not mention they really wanted a MBA holder!

16:50 - Called into boss office again and given warning letter. "Come in late, super long lunch, can still go for long tea break!?" :( :(

17:00 - Feeling sorry and miserable. 8~(

18:00 - Knock off time, and I need to visit Western Union to send money to my retired parents in Australia. Really tired and zero energy. Maybe another day. They are sure to call me and scream.

18:30 - Just realised I have not visited the insurer to discuss my medical coverage extension... :( :( :(

19:00 - Sitting at home completely dazed. Hungry but no mood to make dinner. Knocked out on the sofa from sheer exhaustion.

Now I know why we need agents.

For the uninitiated, it's because as typical Singaporeans, we like to pack as much as we can into a single day. Hey, we even use 'agents' (foreign domestic help) to take care of our children! What else can't we accomplish?

Groceries Management Part II

If you are one of the fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on the market cycle) few to own a couple of properties, you would have had first hand experience at managing and letting them. After a while, especially if you hold a day job, it can get rather nerve wrecking. I'm talking about needy tenants and those who are not used to taking care of stuff with their own hands.

"Oh, the bulb just blew, and I'm scared of heights. So can you please make a trip and help me replace it?"

"There was a power trip! What should I do! HELLLLLLLLLLLLLPP!!!!!!!!"

"Secondhand smoke from the neighbour kept drifting into my bedroom, can you come down and speak to them a bit?"

Sometimes, making the trip and spending the money on cabs (if you are lucky to get one quickly) for groceries shopping can make one feel weary and drained. Thank goodness for the internet - major grocers have an online presence so much so you can easily find most if not all of the goods for your shopping pleasure. All you need is a few clicks and your credit card and what you need will appear at your doorstep soon enough. Just pay for the nominal delivery fee.

Likewise, if you do not want any of the hassle dealing directly with needy tenants, you can spend some on commissions and engage a real estate agent to handle the whole process from soliciting, viewing, closing and all the follow up after moving in. You will still get your rental income right on time and you never even have to meet your tenant ever, if you prefer!

Of Being A Landlord and Groceries Management

There are indeed similarities between managing your investment properties and groceries.

If you know that you're gonna use the same brand or kinds of flour, oil, seasoning and spices to prepare your meals every other day or so, it makes sense to buy in bulk a month's supply at one go. Many grocers have bulk discounts or special 'day of week' promotions. Once you have enjoyed the economy of scale of bulk purchase, obviously as foods are eventually perishable and have expiry dates, you will need to use them up within that certain time period. Otherwise stuff goes to waste. In the example above, if you're say sick of bread, the ingredients may be used to dish up something quite different, for example, pies or even cakes. Just so they don't go to waste.

In the same vein, once your investment property is ready to let, every day it is empty is money down the drain, especially if it's mortgaged. It's money out and nothing in. So instead of insisting on getting a tenant that is willing to pay the rent you expect, why not consider dropping it by say 10% - who knows, you may seal a deal right away. Dollars and cents become much more sensitive issues to the average tenant in tough times like now. The month or months of vacancy would be more than made up for with the mere 10% drop in income, more so if the signed lease is for more than year.

Location, Location, Lor Mai Khai

Lor Mai Khai is usually seen as a quick snack when you are in a rush and have no time for a sit down proper meal. It costs probably only half to one third of a normal meal but supplies the needed calories and carbs (and fats). Made of glutinous rice, you will likely find that it can help you last another 3-4 hours before the next feeding.

Yet to some, Lor Mai Khai can be a guilty indulgence or even regular tea break staple. I know that for a fact as I have a colleague back in the army like that, and a few 'guilty as charged' ex colleagues too. So you see, a seemingly common thing as Lor Mai Khai can mean very different things to different people.

One often wonders about the true relevance of Location when it comes to deciding on a home purchase. Is it important that it must be in the prime district? A quiet residential enclave? Somewhere you cannot see public housing in view? Must it be near the family? Near the in laws? To good schools? Walking distance to public transport and mrt stations? The fitness center? Your regular soccer buddies pitch? Pubs and clubs where you hang out? Convenient stores and supermarket? Eateries? Posh restaurants to entertain visitors? Clinic and hospitals? The vet or pet supplies store? The list goes on...

Depending on your priorities, you will find Location could mean very different things to different people, just like Lor Mai Khai. Good luck in your search for that ultimate house or snack that fulfils most of your (if not all of your) desires.