Duchess Residence (D10, UOL, 999y)

(since I couldn't find a thread on this, I'm starting one).

It should be TOP'ed soon.

some interesting things abt this project:
1) 120 units of 5 storey+attic on 150k sqft land, 1.4 plot ratio. --> to discuss for fun whether this type is "congested" ? :)
2) it was launched in the middle of 2007 with much fanfare. And with almost immediate press announcement that Wee and Co. bought 8 units, 3 of which were at a mere "2% discount". ;) It was subsequently sold out within days.
3) fast forward to today. very few sub sales so far. and the price is not moving.

What will be a fair price for this project now ?

my favorite condo topic.

(1) Went to the show flat
(2) told was sold out except for the maisonettes
(3) quoted prices around $2200psf
(4) told to pay slightly higher prices to buy one from a speculator
(5) glad that the speculator is sitting on a huge loss

too bad my wife and I did not carry a camera with us. you should see the showflat, chuck full of people. did not get an agent to notice us for half an hour. finally met an agent who showed little interest in us. too busy taking care of the high rollers, who turned out to be huge losers.'

many units for sale at around $1,700psf.

ok, i will contribute the old data i have from 2007 too :) :

2%? more like 20% discount. 3 bedroom unit sizes: 1464 (4th floor), 1485 (3rd floor) and 1604 (2nd floor) sq ft. Ie smallest units in entire project is 1464 sq ft. Quantum how to stomach if psf is high?

the power 8's kelong prices:

WCY #03-23 1554psf (lowest new sale psf)
James Koh #03-08 1591psf
Julie #03-19 1657psf
WWL #02-18 1602psf
CTT/LSY #02-09 1614psf
WBT #03-15 1745psf
Rowee Low #01-07 1546psf
WEC #01-11 1556psf

highest psf #03-01 2200psf for one of the rare 2314sq ft 4 bedder.

highest psf for 2nd floor #02-03 2150psf vs WCY's 1554psf....that's 2% discount? hahaha

highest psf for 3rd floor #03-12 2199psf vs James' 1591psf

highest psf for 4th floor #04-06 2200psf vs wah no insider bot #04.

highest psf for Garden Mansionette #01-03 2050psf vs Rowee Low's 1546psf

highest psf for Penthouse #05-20 1951psf (penthouse less valuable than garden mansionette?!?!?!) vs no penthouses sold to insiders. another penthouse, #05-11, was given up and resold at 2025psf in oct 07 vs jun/jul launch.

mind u, these transactions took place within days of each other (except #05-11). not months.

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Originally Posted by amk

(since I couldn't find a thread on this, I'm starting one).

It should be TOP'ed soon.

some interesting things abt this project:
1) 120 units of 5 storey+attic on 150k sqft land, 1.4 plot ratio. --> to discuss for fun whether this type is "congested" ? :)
2) it was launched in the middle of 2007 with much fanfare. And with almost immediate press announcement that Wee and Co. bought 8 units, 3 of which were at a mere "2% discount". ;) It was subsequently sold out within days.
3) fast forward to today. very few sub sales so far. and the price is not moving.

What will be a fair price for this project now ?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by stalingrad

my favorite condo topic.

(1) Went to the show flat
(2) told was sold out except for the maisonettes
(3) quoted prices around $2200psf
(4) told to pay slightly higher prices to buy one from a speculator
(5) glad that the speculator is sitting on a huge loss

too bad my wife and I did not carry a camera with us. you should see the showflat, chuck full of people. did not get an agent to notice us for half an hour. finally met an agent who showed little interest in us. too busy taking care of the high rollers, who turned out to be huge losers.'

many units for sale at around $1,700psf.

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tat time i tink i was busy buying mass market condos:D :D :D

See below thread under General Condominium Property News & Discussion:-

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Originally Posted by ahlahdin

July 6, 2007

Duchess residences: Wee Cho Yaw and family bought six units

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Originally Posted by ahlahdin

UNITED Overseas Land (UOL) chairman Wee Cho Yaw and his family have picked up six units in UOL's latest project, Duchess Residences in Bukit Timah.

Mr Wee bought a third-floor, 1,485 sq ft apartment for $2.31 million, UOL said in a statement yesterday.

This works out to about $1,555 per sq ft (psf).

UOL said earlier this week that prices for the development went up to $2,100 psf.

Two of Mr Wee's children also bagged units.

Daughter Wei Ling paid $2.57 million for a 1,604 sq ft unit, while son Ee Cheong bought a 3,035 sq ft unit for $4.72 million.

The in-laws of another son, Ee Chao, picked up a fourth unit of 1,604 sq ft for $2.59 million.

The other two units were taken by Mr Wee Cho Yaw's nephew, Mr Wee Boo Tee, and his sister-in-law, Madam Cheng Soh Chin.

Each bought a 1,485 sq ft unit.

Mr Wee Boo Tee forked out $2.59 million for his, while Madam Cheng paid $2.46 million for hers.

Read the full report in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.

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Originally Posted by devilplate

tat time i tink i was busy buying mass market condos:D :D :D

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wanted to buy thinking that my kid could go to NYPS. I then realized by buying in OCR rather than DR, we could save enough money to send my kids to international schools for 50 years.

did not know that west coast would take off while bukit timah area would stagnate or even drop afterward. our gain is just gravy.

but will buy a unit if prices drop to my range.

but unless the buyers are over extended, there shouldn't be too many sellers below the 1800psf+ median which was achieved then and the VVIP was 1800 to 2000+psf on average lor. while the VVVVVIP ie WCY and his kelong friends was 15xx to 17xxpsf lor. overnight prices jump 20%. he damn smart, wily old fox.

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Originally Posted by bargain hunter

but unless the buyers are over extended, there shouldn't be too many sellers below the 1800psf+ median which was achieved then and the VVIP was 1800 to 2000+psf on average lor. while the VVVVVIP ie WCY and his kelong friends was 15xx to 17xxpsf lor. overnight prices jump 20%. he damn smart, wily old fox.

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is he smart. or is the game rigged?

the most disgusting thing i feel is that he got the cheek to declare it as a 2% discount. sure, a few of his friends outside of these 8 ppe buy at the 15xx to 16xxpsf so that he can declare it as 2% discount to their prices, but as u said, its rigged. i really do feel sorry for the VVIPs who bot at above 1800psf without knowing what went on the day before that. at least if no one bot below 1700 at launch and VVIP at 1800 i feel its still a fair game.

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Originally Posted by stalingrad

is he smart. or is the game rigged?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by bargain hunter

the most disgusting thing i feel is that he got the cheek to declare it as a 2% discount. sure, a few of his friends outside of these 8 ppe buy at the 15xx to 16xxpsf so that he can declare it as 2% discount to their prices, but as u said, its rigged. i really do feel sorry for the VVIPs who bot at above 1800psf without knowing what went on the day before that. at least if no one bot below 1700 at launch and VVIP at 1800 i feel its still a fair game.

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Properties are a dirty game, very dirty indeed. quoting preferential prices to your friends and associates to solidity relationships is just part and parcel of the game. but they shouldn't have the temerity of pretending it is not rigged, like declaring a mere 2% discount.

the parc condo is another example. there was no public launch, with every unit sold to friends and associates in VVVVVIP, VVVIP, VVIP and VIP. but when the media visited, the developer claimed that most units are sold to "singaporeans with young children." so glad now these buyers are now burning in hell, just like the buyers of DR.

at least for the parc, most can get out at at least breakeven if not at some profit. DR most cannot breakeven AND units will be hard to move with this kind of quantum.

24 penthouses from 4.xm, 24 garden mansionettes from 4.xm. 3 bedrooms from 2.5m...ie cheapest unit is from 2.5m...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stalingrad

Properties are a dirty game, very dirty indeed. quoting preferential prices to your friends and associates to solidity relationships is just part and parcel of the game. but they shouldn't have the temerity of pretending it is not rigged, like declaring a mere 2% discount.

the parc condo is another example. there was no public launch, with every unit sold to friends and associates in VVVVVIP, VVVIP, VVIP and VIP. but when the media visited, the developer claimed that most units are sold to "singaporeans with young children." so glad now these buyers are now burning in hell, just like the buyers of DR.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by bargain hunter

at least for the parc, most can get out at at least breakeven if not at some profit. DR most cannot breakeven AND units will be hard to move with this kind of quantum.

24 penthouses from 4.xm, 24 garden mansionettes from 4.xm. 3 bedrooms from 2.5m...ie cheapest unit is from 2.5m...

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but you must not forget that buyers of DR are part of the rich and powerful. losing 1 million or two is peanuts for them.

the buyers of the parc are average joes. they cannot shoulder big losses. I also disagree with you on how well they will fare at the end. most owners of the parc will suffer losses, albeit small ones.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stalingrad

Properties are a dirty game, very dirty indeed. quoting preferential prices to your friends and associates to solidity relationships is just part and parcel of the game. but they shouldn't have the temerity of pretending it is not rigged, like declaring a mere 2% discount.

the parc condo is another example. there was no public launch, with every unit sold to friends and associates in VVVVVIP, VVVIP, VVIP and VIP. but when the media visited, the developer claimed that most units are sold to "singaporeans with young children." so glad now these buyers are now burning in hell, just like the buyers of DR.

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Hey Commie, I didnt know that `Hell' has arrived at Reflections @ Keppel Bay :spliff2: Reason being just last night, I was invited to a cocktail party at Reflection's showflat with 2 of my associates who between them, has bought around 30 units of The Parc. They have since sold close to half of their holdings and made decent profits considering their time of entry.

Therefore I can safely attest that quite a few buyers of The Parc are familiar faces in the singapore's sme business circles. Furthermore, the attractiveness of the condo is such that there is no shortage of tenants looking to rent The Parc, so much so that my associates actually can screen and reject `undesirable' tenants.

Sometimes when I read how you praise your crappybelle to the hilt and at the same time bash all the rest of the D5 condos from Clementi Woods to The Parc, makes me wonder if you are trying to move out of the crappy quality, misfit colored and yard-so-close that you can kiss your neighbour's maid and buy a much better located apt :D

And dun say I own a place at The Parc, coz I have zelich interests in D5. In fact I'm staying pretty close to DR and am also looking for a unit at DR. Please do yourself some favour, do not insult the buyers of DR as I have met some of them and the agents marketing their units, trust me, you are not even fit to open the door for their agents. So don't come around here boasting and pretend that you can afford to buy DR.....seriously, if I knew you really can buy a unit at DR, I will definitely be disgusted to have a neighbour like you. Sorry, if you purport to be who you are, ie a FW (foreign worker from Canada), I will strongly highlight to MoM to tighten further the immigration criteria so that trash like you do not enter Singapore. FTs, yea, I welcome, but FW like you, I say kick the ass out, haha.

haha, I can only say that most singaporeans I have met here are nice, decent and sincere chaps. but every now and then, a jerk will come out of the woodwork and ruin everything for every body by lying, slandering and insulting people. this kind of people only their mothers will like. but in this case, I am not so sure that her mother will even do that.

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Originally Posted by stalingrad

haha, I can only say that most singaporeans I have met here are nice, decent and sincere chaps. but every now and then, a jerk will come out of the woodwork and ruin everything for every body by lying, slandering and insulting people. this kind of people only their mothers will like. but in this case, I am not so sure that her mother will even do that.

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Oh, it's common among residents of Singapore actually. Coz I remember a few months back you were in fact going around slandering and insulting other people's condos, save for your crappybelle. And you even went to the extent of boasting you will initiate legal suits against other forumers. So what's the outcome now, commie? Have you raised the cash to pay for the law suits you boastfully announced in this forum that you want to initiate?

Come to think of it, you seem to have tone down a lot lately, has admin warned you not to thread the thin line? But by claiming that owners of The Parc and DR `are burning in hell', can you please show some proof? I'll make it simple for you by defining `burning in hell' = bankrupt, how about that, commie? :spliff2:

Now, if you are not sure who are the real buyers of The Parc, pls do not make a complete fool of yourself by pretending to know something when in fact you have no idea at all.

Hey guys let's relax ok .. :)

I'm actually quite curious if all the wee's are really going to stay there ;)

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Originally Posted by HP65

Oh, it's common among residents of Singapore actually. Coz I remember a few months back you were in fact going around slandering and insulting other people's condos, save for your crappybelle. And you even went to the extent of boasting you will initiate legal suits against other forumers. So what's the outcome now, commie? Have you raised the cash to pay for the law suits you boastfully announced in this forum that you want to initiate?

Come to think of it, you seem to have tone down a lot lately, has admin warned you not to thread the thin line? But by claiming that owners of The Parc and DR `are burning in hell', can you please show some proof? I'll make it simple for you by defining `burning in hell' = bankrupt, how about that, commie? :spliff2:

Now, if you are not sure who are the real buyers of The Parc, pls do not make a complete fool of yourself by pretending to know something when in fact you have no idea at all.

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hi, jerk. we come to here compare notes, to tell what we like and what we don't like. as long as we are just expressing opinions, what business is your whether we make a comment on a condo or not. if you look at all my comments, I gave very specific comments on why certain condos are good, why others are good.

take the parc condo,for example, I said it was the ugliest condo in singapore. it is an opinion. and my opinion is supported by everyone in the parc condo thread. even gfoo said it was a very ugly condo, he using the term white HDB to describe it. he even pang sai in the parc condo.

if you disagree with me, feel free to offer counter points. no need to engage in personalities, such as insulting me, slandering me, etc., just because you disagree with me. that makes you the smallest person in the world.

btw, everyone agrees that the parc condo is the ugliest condo, but why do you single me out for such vicious attack. is it because you are biased against foreigners? we came to this country to contribute to the economy. it is people like you that will drive us away.

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Originally Posted by amk

Hey guys let's relax ok .. :)

I'm actually quite curious if all the wee's are really going to stay there ;)

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do think so lah ....



the Lee family also bought Scott 28 many years back ... claiming he has old folks at home and need a place with lift landing mah ... remember ?


in the end which iof the 2 Lees who bought stayed there ?


NONE

and the old folks that he refered to at that time continued to stay in their old Oxley area ...

so much for lift landing

dont take it wrong that i dislike them ..

just like WeeCY got 2 pct discount (only) ..
Lee claimed he DIDNT EVEN KNOW he was given discount (!!!)

for a man who is world renowned .. and respected ..he didnt know the market psf ???

so

NO they wont stay their ..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stalingrad

hi, jerk. we come to here compare notes, to tell what we like and what we don't like. as long as we are just expressing opinions, what business is your whether we make a comment on a condo or not. if you look at all my comments, I gave very specific comments on why certain condos are good, why others are good.

take the parc condo,for example, I said it was the ugliest condo in singapore. it is an opinion. and my opinion is supported by everyone in the parc condo thread. even gfoo said it was a very ugly condo, he using the term white HDB to describe it. he even pang sai in the parc condo.

if you disagree with me, feel free to offer counter points. no need to engage in personalities, such as insulting me, slandering me, etc., just because you disagree with me. that makes you the smallest person in the world.

btw, everyone agrees that the parc condo is the ugliest condo, but why do you single me out for such vicious attack. is it because you are biased against foreigners? we came to this country to contribute to the economy. it is people like you that will drive us away.

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ahahahah yes he went their to pang sai ...


relax guys ...

i also think its quite unlikely.

there are some ridiculous asking rents on ppty guru already. i wonder how easy it is to rent out even if there are lower asking rentals.

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Originally Posted by proud owner

do think so lah ....



the Lee family also bought Scott 28 many years back ... claiming he has old folks at home and need a place with lift landing mah ... remember ?


in the end which iof the 2 Lees who bought stayed there ?


NONE

and the old folks that he refered to at that time continued to stay in their old Oxley area ...

so much for lift landing

dont take it wrong that i dislike them ..

just like WeeCY got 2 pct discount (only) ..
Lee claimed he DIDNT EVEN KNOW he was given discount (!!!)

for a man who is world renowned .. and respected ..he didnt know the market psf ???

so

NO they wont stay their ..

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by stalingrad

hi, jerk. we come to here compare notes, to tell what we like and what we don't like. as long as we are just expressing opinions, what business is your whether we make a comment on a condo or not. if you look at all my comments, I gave very specific comments on why certain condos are good, why others are good.

take the parc condo,for example, I said it was the ugliest condo in singapore. it is an opinion. and my opinion is supported by everyone in the parc condo thread. even gfoo said it was a very ugly condo, he using the term white HDB to describe it. he even pang sai in the parc condo.

if you disagree with me, feel free to offer counter points. no need to engage in personalities, such as insulting me, slandering me, etc., just because you disagree with me. that makes you the smallest person in the world.

btw, everyone agrees that the parc condo is the ugliest condo, but why do you single me out for such vicious attack. is it because you are biased against foreigners? we came to this country to contribute to the economy. it is people like you that will drive us away.

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Do you think we singaporeans are 3 year old children? Give me a break, compare notes? Hahaha. Compare until you can boast that you will initiate law suits against fellow forumers but in the end they were just empty threats? Now, I'm sure Singapore doesn't need talk big liar foreign workers like you, haha. The colloquial expression is `dua kang'.

Now before you try to change the topic and discuss about The Parc in DR thread, tell us, what happen to your law suits? have you carried out any of your boastful claims? Many fellow forumers here I'm sure remember how comical your posts were and also your history. So, if you were then posting rubbish, likewise, I see you posting rubbish (even if they were personal opinions, be it specific or non-specific) again in DR thread coz non of the buyers of The Parc or DR that I know of are `burning in hell'.

In fact, as you can read in the Reflection's thread. We were invited to the cocktail party to showcase the collaboration between Keppel and Saporiti Italia :spliff2:

OT: I single you out because even in an online forum, you stand out like a sore thumb. And you also make yourself an easy target because while you like to criticize other condos, you were unable to offer counter points or conveniently ignore criticisms of crappybelle :D Typical slimy commie who has avoided answering my questions or other forumers comments of crappybelle :D. While we recognise contributions from foreign workers, we still cane or hang them if they commit capital crimes. So yes, for liars like you, we pay you when you contribute, that is your fair reward, but we will not hesitate to kick your arse when we find you are undesirable :p

1 last time, what happened to your threats of initiating litigation process against some forumers? It is my business because in an online forum, we are often judged on our history of posts, and from history, you have posted crap mis-information that you would like others to think as facts.

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Originally Posted by HP65

Do you think we singaporeans are 3 year old children? Give me a break, compare notes? Hahaha. Compare until you can boast that you will initiate law suits against fellow forumers but in the end they were just empty threats? Now, I'm sure Singapore doesn't need talk big liar foreign workers like you, haha. The colloquial expression is `dua kang'.

Now before you try to change the topic and discuss about The Parc in DR thread, tell us, what happen to your law suits? have you carried out any of your boastful claims? Many fellow forumers here I'm sure remember how comical your posts were and also your history. So, if you were then posting rubbish, likewise, I see you posting rubbish (even if they were personal opinions, be it specific or non-specific) again in DR thread coz non of the buyers of The Parc or DR that I know of are `burning in hell'.

In fact, as you can read in the Reflection's thread. We were invited to the cocktail party to showcase the collaboration between Keppel and Saporiti Italia :spliff2:

OT: I single you out because even in an online forum, you stand out like a sore thumb. And you also make yourself an easy target because while you like to criticize other condos, you were unable to offer counter points or conveniently ignore criticisms of crappybelle :D Typical slimy commie who has avoided answering my questions or other forumers comments of crappybelle :D. While we recognise contributions from foreign workers, we still cane or hang them if they commit capital crimes. So yes, for liars like you, we pay you when you contribute, that is your fair reward, but we will not hesitate to kick your arse when we find you are undesirable :p

1 last time, what happened to your threats of initiating litigation process against some forumers? It is my business because in an online forum, we are often judged on our history of posts, and from history, you have posted crap mis-information that you would like others to think as facts.

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Hey, liar, when did I say I was going to initiate a lawsuit? If you are illiterate and can't read english, please go back to your hawker center and continue selling your chicken rice. And don't come here trying to violate my right of free speech. Even if you try, we will continue saying what we want, and ignore your vicious attacks as barks of a crazy canine.

btw, please don't pretend you are a high net worth investor living among the rich and famous. by your diction and grammar, you are probably uneducated menial worker with net worth equal to what I spent to buy a toilet bowl for my dog.

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Originally Posted by proud owner

ahahahah yes he went their to pang sai ...


relax guys ...

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the parc condo even looks like someone pang saiing. the body on the right. the stretched out legs on the left. really uncanny resemblance.

http://www.listings.sg/realty/images...41_theparc.jpg

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Originally Posted by bargain hunter

there are some ridiculous asking rents on ppty guru already. i wonder how easy it is to rent out even if there are lower asking rentals.

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the asking rent is totally out of the range. I dun even think any of them actually has a unit. they are just fishing for potential tenants with a 10k budget.

I wonder what the rental eventually will be for DR. It's at the end of the road. Right before it Duchess Crest is doing abt 5k-6k plus for 3bd, 6k-7k plus for 4bd. With this rent DR cannot even do 3% gross.

but it could also be the case that since some of their purchase prices are so high, it is not even worth it for them to rent out at say below 7k for 3 bedrooms.

preferably, the project was more meant for owner occupiers than for rental (can't even walk to duchess mrt) but that was the peak at 2007 so there would probably be a mix of specuvestors and serious owner occupiers.

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Originally Posted by amk

the asking rent is totally out of the range. I dun even think any of them actually has a unit. they are just fishing for potential tenants with a 10k budget.

I wonder what the rental eventually will be for DR. It's at the end of the road. Right before it Duchess Crest is doing abt 5k-6k plus for 3bd, 6k-7k plus for 4bd. With this rent DR cannot even do 3% gross.

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i realised that those who comment have hidden agenda...ok with the place but waiting for the price to drop. why spend time looking if not interested at all. experienced that when viewing properties with other potential buyers

like dat everybody better dun make any post...:scared-1:

will be named as AGENTS/LOSERS/Hidden Agenda etc etc

aiyah, pple not so free like us mah, can chit chat about any project, interested or not interested, who cares? :) oops, i think i was the one who told dmonddd that everyone posts with an agenda 1 1/2 years ago if i did not remember wrongly. :ashamed1: but what i meant was, "people posting here may have agenda, so please take everything with a pinch of salt".

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Originally Posted by devilplate

like dat everybody better dun make any post...:scared-1:

will be named as AGENTS/LOSERS/Hidden Agenda etc etc

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I believe people will process the information first before applying them unless they are merely follower. Thanks to people in this forum to enable me to find a gem at a great price.

yes, that's right. everyone should process the info. :) but i believe there may be pple who may not post much here but may fall under the "merely follower" category.

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Originally Posted by DC33_2008

I believe people will process the information first before applying them unless they are merely follower. Thanks to people in this forum to enable me to find a gem at a great price.

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