We have been living in the same estate over the last twelve years. When we first moved in, I noticed a middle-age couple and their son staying in the opposite house. I still recalled how this latchkey kid in his primary school uniform returned home alone after school and climbed upstairs to his room. A few years later, one day I saw him coming back home in his mother’s car. … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #8: Which Nationalities Are The Best/Worst Tenants?
Which nationalities are the best or the worst tenants? Being a landlord since 2002, and through chatting with fellow owners, I have my fair share of tenant stories. Let me clarify that this is not meant to be a racist podcast that stereotypes tenants in Singapore. It is not about stereotypes. It is about believing in somebody who will pay his rent on time, keep the … [Read more...]
5 property advice in the Year of the Dog
We kick-started the new year with a Property Club Singapore education seminar titled “Reading Property Signs in the Year of the Dog”. I used the occasion to share with the audience the property strategies for homebuyers and investors in the year of the earth dog. The presentation can be summed up with five key property advice. Advice #1: It’s all but a tail-chasing … [Read more...]
Dealing with 4 types of tenants from hell
What’s the biggest headache of first time landlords? Slow economy? Soft market? Sibor rise? Bad agent? No tenant? Try again. If you had been a landlord before, you would agree with me that no tenant is still better than bad tenants. As the saying goes, being single is far better than being stuck in a bad relationship. Another tenant from hell Last month I … [Read more...]
Is No Indian No PRC rental discrimination?
Right after settling a social media boo-boo created by an Aussie employee, 99.co's CEO Darius Cheung was quick to divert the media's attention to another sensitive topic - the alleged discrimination of Singapore landlords on Indians and PRC tenants. Telling his story in a blog post, Darius shared how they had been rejected by 20 percent of the landlords just because his wife … [Read more...]