Abandoned house sold at auction for $2.23m

[Arcachon]

JUST SOLD: The house where the suspected skeletal remains of two elderly sisters were found, was sold for $2.23 mil ($1,297 psf) at Knight Frank's auction today.

On Feb 27, Knight Frank will be putting up for auction a terraced house at 17 Jalan Batai, just off Upper Thomson Road. The vendor is the Public Trustee’s Office (PTO), the administrator for the estates of deceased persons. The owners of the house are believed to be two elderly sisters, Pearl and Ruby Tan.
In 2015, the High Court issued an order that they be presumed dead after skeletal remains were found in the house in September that year. An unsuspecting contractor engaged by the Building and Construction Authority to clear debris from the house discovered a human skull and femur in the guest room. After the discovery, the police reportedly uncovered other skeletal remains in the same guest room, with some buried in soil. It is believed that they are the remains of one of the sisters.
Those were not the only set of skeletal remains to be found in the house. Almost a decade earlier, when National Environmental Agency (NEA) officers checked the house for mosquito breeding, they reportedly chanced upon a human skeleton lying on top of a toilet.
As the Tan sisters neither left a will nor had legal beneficiaries, the house has been in state possession since 2015, under the Intestate Succession Act. About 1½ years ago, PTO took an unprecedented step by asking interested parties to submit a claim on the sisters’ estate.
A cousin, two nephews and a niece on the paternal side had stepped forward and expressed their interest in claiming the estate but were unsuccessful. Consequently, the PTO engaged Knight Frank to list the property for auction.
PTO sales are rare, says Tricia Tan, Knight Frank deputy director of auction and sales, who is marketing the property. There was one other sale by PTO just last year: for a 398 sq ft studio apartment at The Cotz in Telok Kurau that was put up for auction in August by Knight Frank. It was sold under the hammer for $500,000 ($1,255 psf), according to a caveat lodged on Aug 29, 2017.
The guide price for the house on Jalan Batai is $1.7 million to $1.9 million. Based on the freehold site area of 1,720 sq ft, the price translates into between $988 and $1,105 psf.
While most of the neighbouring houses have been either torn down and redeveloped into 2½-storey houses or extensively renovated, the house at 17 Jalan Batai remains forlorn, having been vacant all these years.
The new owners are likely to demolish the original structure and redevelop it into a 2½-storey house, says Sharon Lee, Knight Frank head of auction. The cost of building a new house of this size is estimated to range from $800,000 to $1 million.
The most recent transaction on Jalan Batai was that of another intermediate terraced house farther down the row. It changed hands for $2.83 million ($1,565 psf) earlier this month, according to a caveat lodged with URA Realis. The seller is likely to have undertaken extensive renovation of the house, having purchased it in 2010 for $1.48 million ($817 psf).
As the houses on Jalan Batai are just off Upper Thomson Road — with Lower Peirce Reservoir Park just across the road and the Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park nearby — it is a tranquil estate surrounded by greenery, notes Lee.
“Those interested in the property offered for sale by PTO will have to bid at the auction on Feb 27,” says Lee, adding that the process is unlike how it is for other properties put up for auction. “There will be no private treaty deals conducted before or after the auction".
Most potential homebuyers are unlikely to be deterred by the property’s morbid history. “They will be tearing down the house and rebuilding it,” says Lee. “In an established landed housing area like the row of houses on Jalan Batai, it’s hard to find a house with redevelopment potential these days.”

[reporter2]

Abandoned Upper Thomson house with grim past to be put up for state auction on Feb 27

The house, which sits on 1,720 sq ft of land, has remained in a dilapidated state for more than a decade

Sat, Feb 24, 2018

Toh Yong Chuan

"The market value of land, without house, is about S$1.7million to S$1.8million for landed homes in the location." - International Property Advisor chief executive Ku Swee Yong.


HOW much will property-crazed Singaporeans pay for an abandoned house where skeletal remains were found? The answer may be revealed next week.

One of Singapore's most storied houses at Sembawang Hills Estate, where two skeletal remains were found about 10 years apart, will be put up for sale by auction by the government next Tuesday.

The Public Trustee's Office (PTO) took ownership of the house in 2015 after it remained in a dilapidated state for more than a decade. It has appointed real estate company Knight Frank to auction the house at 17 Jalan Batai next Tuesday.

The house belonged to a pair of reclusive sisters, former civil servant Pearl Tan Leen Hee, and Ruby Tan. They would have been 81 and 68, respectively, in 2006.

In 2006, National Environment Agency officers entered the house for a mosquito check after neighbours complained of mosquito breeding. The workers found a human skeleton in a toilet.

In September 2015, a contractor hired by the Building and Construction Authority entered the house to erect a temporary roof after parts of the roof collapsed.

A worker clearing rubble from a bedroom found another set of bones - a human skull and a thigh bone.

Neither set of skeletal remains could be identified as DNA could not be obtained from the bone samples.

The State Coroners in both cases ruled out foul play, but declared an open verdict on the causes of death as they could not be determined. But State Coroner Marvin Bay, who held the inquiry on the second set of remains, said in 2016 that the remains conformed more closely to Madam Ruby Tan's chronological age.

A pathologist had estimated that the second set of remains belonged to someone who died at least a few years ago and was likely to be 60 to 70 years of age.

A PTO spokesman said on Friday that it took over the house in 2015 after the High Court declared both sisters to be presumed dead.

"Pearl was the elder sister and owner of the property. Both sisters were unmarried," said the spokesman. "As Ruby was younger, she is presumed to have died after Pearl, and therefore the sale proceeds from Pearl's estate will be inherited by Ruby's estate before being accrued to the state."

The spokesman said it received some claims made by relatives but threw them out.

"The claimants were unable to show evidence that they had stayed in any contact with the sisters, nor any evidence that they provided for the sisters or taken care of the sisters before the sisters died," said the PTO, without naming the relatives.

The Straits Times visited the house this week, and found the rusted gates locked and weed growing from cracks on the wall.

The house, which sits on 1,720 sq ft of land or about the size of two four-room Housing Board flats, was missing a front door and windows.

Tricia Tan, a Knight Frank estate agent who is handling the auction, said there was some interest in bidding for the house. "The location is not bad, but some people may be pantang (Malay for superstitious)," she said, adding that whether the auction is successful depends on whether the bids exceed the reserve price set by the PTO.

The PTO declined to say what reserve price it has set, saying only: "The reserve price will be determined with reference to the valuation carried out by a qualified valuer."

International Property Advisor chief executive Ku Swee Yong said: "The market value of land, without house, is about S$1.7million to S$1.8million for landed homes in the location." He noted that media reports have said that properties with grim histories in Hong Kong were sold for about 15 per cent cheaper.

"But in Singapore, we are probably less averse to homes and locations with such history. In this particular case, there were possibly deaths in the house but it could be natural deaths rather than the more macabre reasons, such as murder or suicide which we may associate with suffering and pain," said Mr Ku.

"Just recently, Singaporeans rushed like bees to honey for high-priced build-to-order HDB flats in Bidadari, where up to about 15 years ago, was a well-known landmark, a large cemetery."

He noted that the auction will attract small developers who will tear down the old house and rebuild a new one, before selling or renting it to someone who does not mind the grim past.

One of those thinking about making a bid at the auction is Raymond Oke, a contractor in his 40s who lives next door. He rented the house next to 17 Jalan Batai about five years ago and never met the sisters.

He said it was not a big problem living next to the abandoned house, except for worries about mosquito breeding.

"Maybe after time, when a new house is built, people will forget about the history of the old house," said Mr Oke.

[bargain hunter]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...sells-for-223m

Sold in 12 minutes: House where skeletal remains were found sells for $2.23m
TUE, FEB 27, 2018 - 6:45 PM
batai.jpg
[SINGAPORE ] The Sembawang Hills Estate terrace house where two sets of skeletal remains were found has a new owner.

It was sold on Tuesday (Feb 27) for $2.23 million to a local contractor in a frenzied auction that lasted 12 minutes.

The auction held by real estate agency Knight Frank was made on behalf of the Public Trustee's Office, which comes under the Ministry of Law. The government took over the ownership of the abandoned house in 2015 after it remained in a dilapidated state for about 10 years.

The auction on Tuesday was supposed to have started at 2.30pm but it was delayed by 10 minutes because there was not enough space in the function room at Amara Hotel to accommodate all of those who turned up. The auction organiser had prepared about 70 seats, but more than 160 people turned up."What an overwhelming response," said auctioneer Sharon Lee, an estate agent from Knight Frank, just before bidding started.


Bidding for the 1,720 sqft house at Jalan Batai, off Upper Thomson Road, started at $1.7 million. It climbed within minutes, in increments of $20,000, to $2 million.

SEE ALSO: Steve Jobs' pre-Apple job application could fetch US$50,000 at auction

ADVERTISING

The house was almost sold to Mr Alvin Tan, a developer, at $2.05 million.

That was when Mr Goh Tee Kia joined the fray with a $2.1 million bid. Until then, he had sat quietly with arms crossed at the second row of the packed room.

Another developer tried to outbid Mr Goh and the price soared to $2.15 million, $2.18 million and $2.2 million in quick succession, but stopped when Mr Goh made his $2.23 million bid."Sold at $2.23 million," said auctioneer Ms Lee, drawing applause from the crowd.

Mr Tan, who stopped bidding at $2.05 million, told The Straits Times after the auction that he had set a price cap of about $2 million for his bid. "It was not meant to be (mine)," he said.

After Mr Goh won the bid, he signed and handed over a $223,000 cheque, or 10 per cent of winning price, to Knight Frank on the spot.

Records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority showed that Mr Goh owns construction company G & C General Contractors and lives in a landed house near Holland Road. The cheque that Mr Goh made was signed jointly with Mr Ken Tan, general manager of the company.

The 70-year-old told reporters after the auction that he will tear down the old house and build a new one. "I plan to rent it out first and sell it after five years," he said."The ($2.23 million) price is a good price for the vendor," Ms Sharon Lee told The Straits Times, referring to the Public Trustee's Office who had put up the house for sale by auction.

Last month, a smaller 1,501 sqft terraced house at Seraya Crescent nearby was sold for $1.828 million, or $1,218 per sqft, said Ms Lee. At $2.23 million, the Jalan Batai house was sold at a higher $1,297 per sqft.

On the price he paid, Mr Goh said he had "overpaid by about $500,000", referring to the starting bid of the house at $1.7 million.

He is expected to officially take over possession of the house in about three months.

[reporter2]

Abandoned house sold at auction for $2.23m

Feb 28, 2018

Local contractor snaps up property in Upper Thomson where skeletal remains were found

Toh Yong Chuan
Senior Correspondent


The Sembawang Hills Estate terraced house where two sets of skeletal remains were found has a new owner.

It was sold yesterday for $2.23 million to a local contractor in a frenzied auction that lasted 12 minutes.

The auction held by real estate agency Knight Frank was made on behalf of the Public Trustee's Office, which comes under the Ministry of Law. The Government took over the ownership of the abandoned house in 2015, after it had remained in a dilapidated state for about 10 years.

The house's last two known residents, Ms Pearl Tan, a retired civil servant, and her sister Ruby, were declared to be presumed dead by the High Court in 2015. Both sisters did not leave a will.

They would have been 81 and 68 respectively in 2006, when the first set of skeletal remains was found in the house by National Environment Agency officers who entered the house for a mosquito breeding inspection. The officers found a human skeleton in a toilet.

It was only around a decade later, in 2015, when a contractor hired by the Building and Construction Authority entered the house to erect a temporary roof, as part of the roof had collapsed, that a worker found another set of bones .

Neither set of remains could be identified. The state coroners in both cases ruled out foul play but could not determine the causes of death.

The Public Trustee's Office put up the house for auction last month, after it threw out claims over the house made by relatives of the two reclusive sisters.

The auction yesterday was supposed to start at 2.30pm, but it was delayed by 10 minutes because there was not enough space in the Amara Hotel function room which was prepared for 70 people instead of the 160 who turned up.

A total of 13 properties, including the Sembawang Hills house, were up for auction during the monthly event yesterday.

"What an overwhelming response," said auctioneer Sharon Lee, an estate agent from Knight Frank, just before bidding started.

Bidding for the 1,720 sq ft house in Jalan Batai, off Upper Thomson Road, started at $1.7 million. It climbed within minutes, in increments of $20,000, to $2 million.

The house was almost sold to Mr Alvin Tan, a developer, at $2.05 million. That was when Mr Goh Tee Kia joined the fray with a $2.1 million bid. Until then, he had sat quietly with arms crossed in the second row of the packed room.

Another developer tried to outbid Mr Goh and the price soared to $2.15 million, $2.18 million and $2.2 million in quick succession, until Mr Goh made his $2.23 million bid. "Sold at $2.23 million," said the auctioneer, Ms Lee, drawing applause from the crowd.

Mr Tan, who stopped bidding at $2.05 million, told The Straits Times after the auction that he had set himself a price cap of about $2 million. "It was not meant to be (mine)," he said.

After Mr Goh won the bid, he signed and handed over a $223,000 cheque, or 10 per cent of the winning bid, to Knight Frank.

Records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority showed that Mr Goh owns construction company G & C General Contractors and lives in a landed house near Holland Road.

The 70-year-old told reporters after the auction that he will tear down the old house and build a new one. "I plan to rent it out first and sell it after five years," he said.

Last month, a smaller 1,501 sq ft terraced house in nearby Seraya Crescent was sold for $1.828 million, or $1,218 per sq ft.

At $2.23 million, the Jalan Batai house was sold at a higher $1,297 per sq ft.

On the price he paid, Mr Goh said he had "overpaid by about $500,000", referring to the starting bid of the house at $1.7 million.

He is expected to officially take over possession of the house in about three months.