Secured 3 Strata Office units in prime location for an overseas Chinese Investor at 20% Below Market Price

This is the story of how I managed to secure not ONE, but THREE investment properties at 20% BELOW the market price for my overseas Chinese client.

The challenge

Initially, the client was adamant on only freehold commercial properties in the prime central locations. They were not considering residential properties because of the hefty additional buyer stamp duty for foreigners.

But what the client didn’t know was that –

1. Freehold strata office units are extremely limited in supply and usually very expensive, especially in the prime central locations.
2. Such projects are usually smaller and typically lacking in the wow factor and amenities, which could be more challenging to rent out as having a professional image is important to most corporate tenants.

The Soluition

First, I sat down and explained the cons of owning a freehold strata office far outweigh the pros given their requirements and budget. Time was also very limited as they only had less than a week in Singapore.

And once they understood the situation, I began to source a better alternative for them. With my extensive network and market knowledge, I soon found two beautiful high floor office units in The Central Clarke Quay, a large integrated project with three office towers and a shopping mall set in a uniquely convenient location. The two units are in the prestigious Office 1 tower, 883 sqft each with the highly coveted unblocked views of Marina Bay Sands.

I put my soft skills and strategic negotiation tactics to good use and was able to negotiate a great price of $2,451 PSF for my client.

And this was all done in 2017. Today, the prices of the strata offices in The Central Office 1 Block have consistently transacted above $3,000 PSF!

Another office unit that I secured for the client is a 1,216 Sqft in The Central Office 2 tower – located on a very high floor with spectacular 270-degree views of the city and Singapore River. Again, I managed to successfully negotiate a great price of $2.8 million while a much lower floor unit was sold at a steep $3.5 million in less than a year after.

The Outcome

There are three main reasons why this investor buyer decided to place their trust in me in such a short period of time:

1. I was able to explain the documents in Mandarin so that they can understand better and faster;
2. I was always transparent and rational in my communications and dealings with them;
3. Because of my understanding of the market and most importantly good connections and networks, I was able to secure these highly rentable properties with very good attributes at a great purchase price for my client.

For the past few years, I have also helped to fully manage the rentals of the three office units and assisted in all their property-related matters.

Today, my client is enjoying an attractive passive rental income of above 3% gross rental yield on top of a 20% capital appreciation for ALL three strata office units.