Project Description
This is the story of how I helped my client Mr Sadiq and his family who was based in Europe sell their HDB flat in the eastern part of Singapore after a series of intensive staging and secure a high floor condominium unit with beautiful sea views at $20K cheaper than a lower floor unit – without having to meet the client face to face throughout most of the process.
The challenge
Mr Sadiq was staying in Europe with his family for about six years due to work. During this period, I helped to rent out and manage their HDB flat in the eastern part of Singapore.
As they had the intention to come back to Singapore after their Europe stint, the plan was to sell the HDB flat and upgrade to a condominium with preferably sea views near East Coast Park.
The HDB flat was rented out for many years hence the condition was less than ideal.
The Solution
After proposing several solutions to Mr Sadiq, he agreed that we should do an ‘intensive staging’ for his unit. Since Mr Sadiq was not in Singapore, I helped him to monitor and coordinate with the renovation contractors during the whole staging process via WhatsApp video calls.
Mr Sadiq also took my advice to refurbish the kitchen cabinet to give the kitchen a clean and fresh look. After the staging was done, I began to market extensively to my network of buyer agents and buyers and managed to get it sold at an ideal price in less than a month.
The Outcome
Mr. Sadiq and his family had some very distinct requirements for their next home purchase. They wanted an apartment with nice sea views near the park and preferably with easy access to the CBD.
The first thing that comes to their mind is the condominiums along the stretch of East Coast Parkway but they will likely need to trade off the nice sea views with the noise from the busy expressway close by. As someone who knows the surrounding area well, I helped him to find an “exclusive” alternative – a high-floor 3BR unit in the Dakota area.
- The unit is facing a big landed enclave so it is much quieter and more peaceful.
- Secure a high-floor unit at a favourable price (a lower floor unit was sold at more than $20K higher about two months later).
- It has a 180 degrees view of the river and sea.
The sea view was probably not as spectacular as the ones along the stretch of East Coast Parkway but it fits the client’s requirements for sea views and peace and quiet.
The family also loves the facilities in the project and the convenience and amenities of the neighbourhood. Mr Sadiq told me that he would never have known of this gem of a location if not for my recommendation and this makes me truly happy.
