Pedestrian crossing between ION Orchard, Wheelock Place to be closed

Pedestrian crossing between ION Orchard, Wheelock Place to be closed

By Lynda Hong

SINGAPORE: Shoppers along Orchard Road will find the pedestrian crossing between ION Orchard and Wheelock Place closed from Tuesday.

The crossing at Paterson Road is popular with pedestrians, but this resulted in traffic queues on Orchard Road as vehicles tried to turn right.

A member of the public said: “It is not safe for the pedestrians to cross here because sometimes they will dash across the road even though the light has already changed red.”

Another said: “For us drivers, it is difficult, because the traffic here is very heavy and (it is also) dangerous for the pedestrians.”

To ease traffic congestion, the pedestrian crossing will be closed. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said vehicles turning to and from Paterson Road and Orchard Road can also look forward to an additional turning time of at least 45 seconds.

Shoppers will have to use an underground link to cross Paterson Road. But for wheelchair users, this will be a challenge.

At ION Orchard, Singapore’s newest shopping mall, a lift will bring wheelchair users down to the mall’s basement, which is linked to Wheelock Place. But at Wheelock Place, the only way to street level is by an escalator or lift which are in the basement carpark.

Manager of the rehabilitation centre, Society for the Physically Disabled, Tay Hwee Lin, said: “I think it is not very safe. It is accessible in the sense that there is the lift for us to get out to the other levels of Wheelock Place, but there are incoming cars and beams blocking (our view in the carpark). So it can be hazardous if you are not careful.”

The LTA said an alternative route between Wheelock Place and ION Orchard is another crossing some 150 metres away.

But the ramp at that crossing is too steep for wheelchair users to wheel themselves up, and it is also a long detour for parents with strollers and small children.

From Tuesday, the pedestrian crossing between Wheelock Place and Shaw House will be the only barrier-free access at the busy Orchard-Paterson-Scotts roads junction.

Only the ION-Paterson underground link has direct lift access to the underground crossing, while the other underground passes have stairs and escalators to bring users up to street level.

So those with strollers or in wheelchairs will have to rely on the goodwill of others to make Singapore’s premier shopping belt accessible to all.

- CNA/yt

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 28 July 2009

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More professionals becoming property agents as market sentiment improves

More professionals becoming property agents as market sentiment improves

By Ng Baoying,

SINGAPORE: The buoyant property market in the past six months has attracted not just home buyers but also mid-career professionals who have made the switch to become property agents.

Industry watchers said there are about 26,000 housing agents in Singapore and this number is likely to go up to 40,000 if the positive market sentiment continues.

During the lull in 2008, there were less than 20,000 agents. Since February, property agencies are hiring as many as 300 new agents every month.

ERA Asia Pacific said it has about 45 per cent more new hires in the first half this year compared to a year ago.

PropNex is getting about 200 new agents a month on average this year compared to about 165 in the previous boom period in 2007.

One pull factor is the higher commissions from private property sales as property prices continue to climb. Last year, property agents made about S$5,000 per sale last year.

Eugene Lim, associate director, ERA Asia Pacific, said: “There is a transition period, meaning that there is a learning curve. People making career switches tend to be very focused and learn very quickly.

“Once they are on the job and if they do property sales, an average per month is currently about S$6,000 to S$7,000. For private property rental, which some new people start off with, you can get average of S$3,000 to S$4,000 for a deal.

“The slightly more experienced ones will have higher volume because they are more established in the market. It’s not uncommon to see a top producer in the company doing in the region of about S$50,000 to S$100,000 a month.”

Mohamed Ismail, CEO, PropNex Realty, said: “We had one agent who has been in the airline industry. She was a senior crew for almost 19 years with our national carrier. She felt she might be retrenched and that’s what prompted her to come in attend our courses in the month of February and March.

“She started in end-May and in the last 2.5 months, she closed transactions worth about S$87,000.

“If I look at those who are fully committed, even for newbies in the industry, earning an annual income, a conservative estimate of S$60,000 a year, is not a difficult task.

“When I break S$60,000 in 12 parts of a year, it’s S$5,000. Imagine for a month of 30 days and the agent serves one client, selling a 4-room HDB house and either downgrading or upgrading to another house will give him a decent commission of S$5,000 to S$7,000.”

Property agencies said they are also seeing more professionals with post graduate qualifications joining the industry.

Mr Lim continued: “In 2007, when the country had full employment and market was surging, we attracted people with short-term perspectives. This time, we are attracting quite a number of people who are higher qualified, making a mid-career switch. So they tend to be diploma or degree holders. Some even hold masters degrees.”

Overall property sales are on the increase. Transactions of HDB resale flats were up 50 per cent in the second quarter this year compared to the three months before it.

The number of new private homes sold in the second quarter this year was more than the total figure for 2008.

But in a boom period, agencies advise homebuyers to be cautious of rogue agents.

Mr Lim added: “In any business, there will always be rogue agents. This will tend to increase when the transaction volume increase and also when the market is going up. Yes, we do hear of such cases and in-house, we have this policing process.”

He said agents who behave badly will either be counselled or have service terminated. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 28 July 2009

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313@Somerset offers free service training to tenants

313@Somerset offers free service training to tenants

ABOUT 1,000 people, including retail staff from the shops at 313@Somerset, will become the first to receive service training at a centre set up by the mall’s landlord.

The free training will take place at the $1 million centre in the mall itself - a facility jointly funded by Australia-based landlord Lend Lease Retail and enterprise agency Spring Singapore.

The first batch of 40 trainees will begin class on Monday at the centre’s temporary home in Lend Lease Retail’s office in Faber House. The trainees are employees of the mall’s tenants, those working for the mall and a few members of the public.

More than 120 tenants have pledged to send their staff for training.

They will be taught about maintaining a professional image, business etiquette and how to interact with customers.

Lend Lease estimates the centre will save the industry $3 million per year, based on the assumption that an employer spends an average of $3,000 per employee in training costs and loss of the employee during training, excluding government subsidies.

The training centre, launched yesterday by Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean, will also offer free lessons in retail to interested parties. Registration for these courses is to be done online at www.313somerset-training.com.sg

Retail jobs are also listed there.

Ms May Sng, who heads the Orchard Road Business Association, hailed the centre as a ‘magnanimous’ gesture.

‘One of my wishes is that Orchard Road service will increase to the level of Hong Kong and Tokyo. We are far from reaching that. So to have this facility sited on Orchard Road goes beyond expectations,’ she said.

313@Somerset has filled up over 90 per cent of its space. Lend Lease’s development director Mike Kenderes is confident that all its shop spaces would be taken up by its opening date in November.

TESSA WONG

Source : Straits Times - 28 July 2009

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Couple sue over reverse mortgage

Couple sue over reverse mortgage

Damages sought from NTUC Income over alleged contract breach

By Jessica Cheam

The couple’s Jalan Lye Kwee home was valued at $2.1 million in 1997 and they were allowed to borrow up to 80 per cent of its value. But things went wrong for the couple when the home’s value virtually halved to $1.1 million after the 2003 Sars crisis.

REVERSE mortgages - launched with much fanfare over a decade ago to help retirees unlock the cash value of their homes - will, for the first time, be at the centre of an upcoming court case.

Mr Derek Chua, 72, and his wife Madam Colleen Ng, 57, have filed a suit against insurer NTUC Income after their reverse mortgage turned sour.

In the writ of summons obtained by The Straits Times, the couple claim that the reverse mortgage scheme entitled Mr Chua to live in the property until he died or sold the property.

They also claim that Income was not entitled to force them to repay the loan if the loan exceeded 80 per cent of their property’s market value.

When the reverse mortgage scheme was launched in 1997, it was seen by the Government as a way for the elderly to get some income from their homes without having to move out.

It offered an income stream for cash-poor but asset-rich retirees. They could use their homes as security for a loan that would be dispensed in monthly cash payouts.

Under the scheme, the lender would usually recover the cash it had paid out through the sale of the property after the borrowers had died. Any surplus would go to the estate.

Mr Chua and his wife signed up.

The property, which they bought in 1975, was valued at $2.1million in 1997. This allowed Income to lend them up to 80per cent of the valuation or about $1.68million.

Income also settled an outstanding overdraft of $495,000 that the couple had taken out from a bank using the house as collateral.

Income paid out $2,000 a month.

But things went wrong for the couple when property prices crashed after the Sars crisis in 2003. Their home’s valuation virtually halved to $1.1million in 2004 and they were told by Income that the loan was reaching its 80per cent limit. As a result, the couple’s monthly payouts were cut successively from $2,000 in 2004 to $300 by 2006.

In June 2006, the couple were told that their loan amount had exceeded 80per cent of their property’s market value at the time. The monthly payouts stopped the following month.

By then, the couple owed Income almost $1.05million - comprising the $495,000 to clear their overdraft, plus the monthly payouts and the compounded interest on these payouts.

It became necessary to sell the property to recover the sum.

According to the couple, Income found a buyer who paid $1.05million in November 2006, but there was still a shortfall of almost $55,000, which the couple were to pay off in monthly instalments over the next 10 years.

The couple started making these payments and kept them up until recently when they decided to take legal action.

Mr Chua, a retired flight engineer, and his wife, a housewife, who now rent an HDB flat, will be represented by Senior Counsel Michael Khoo. The appointment of a lawyer was made by the director of the Legal Aid Bureau, after the couple passed a means test.

Mr Khoo said the case was ‘the first of its kind’, and declined further comment as the suit has been filed.

In the writ, the couple are seeking damages for an alleged breach of contract to be assessed, and costs.

Both Income and OCBC Bank - the only other institution to offer reverse mortgages - stopped offering such loans last year as their take-up was not high. Income has issued 500 such loans since 1997 but only 134 remain active.

Property consultant Nicholas Mak, former head of research at Knight Frank, said it was not surprising that the scheme fizzled out as its success relied on ‘many factors, including the size of the market and its culture’.

A recent HDB initiative called the lease buyback scheme has broadly replaced the reverse mortgage, he said.

But this is available only to elderly folk who live in three-room or smaller flats. It monetises their flats to create annuities.

NTUC: We have been more than reasonable
NTUC Income said it empathises with Mr Derek Chua and Madam Colleen Ng, but believes it has acted more than reasonably to assist them.

Income’s chief financial officer Jeffrey Lee told The Straits Times that before signing the deal, the couple were ‘advised by lawyers on all the terms and conditions of the reverse mortgage’.

Under a reverse mortgage, the maximum that Income would lend to a borrower is capped at 80 per cent of the prevailing value of the property. When the ratio reaches or exceeds 80 per cent, it indicates that the maximum loan limit has been reached and steps would have to be taken to recover the loan in accordance with the terms of the reverse mortgage.

During a review in 2004, Income found the ratio of the loan to the home’s valuation had exceeded the upper limit of 80 per cent, said Mr Lee.

Income’s managers met the couple to discuss their options, which included transferring the loan to another family member and renting out rooms for income. The borrowers considered, and elected to sell their property, he added.

Income also said it did not insist that the property be sold immediately, and it gave a grace period of more than two years. It also gave the couple a 10-year loan, at their request, to repay the shortfall, starting in July 2007.

‘NTUC Income has been more than reasonable in trying to assist the borrowers throughout the years,’ it said.

JESSICA CHEAM

Under the reverse mortgage scheme, the lender would usually recover the cash it had paid out through the sale of the property after the borrowers had died. Any surplus would go to the estate.

Source : Straits Times - 28 July 2009

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Expats here live the high life: HSBC survey

Expats here live the high life: HSBC survey

By TEH SHI NING

DESPITE the high cost of living for expatriates in Singapore, and cutbacks in luxury spending due to the recession, most expats here want to stay put, an HSBC survey has found.

Mr Arcuri: Reduction in rents have increased expats’ disposable income
HSBC’s Expat Economics survey, carried out from February to April this year, polled over 3,100 expats across 50 countries on their financial situation and lifestyle.

‘Expats in Singapore live the high life,’ says the survey report, released yesterday.

More than three-quarters of the 192 expats polled here said they have more disposable income than they had back home.

Three-quarters also said they save more here than they did back home. Among various wealth accumulation tools, the three most popular were savings accounts, managed funds and shares.

Sebastian Arcuri, head of personal financial services at HSBC Singapore, said: ‘Our expat clients have told us that reductions in rent over the past nine months have increased their disposable income. However, due to the uncertain economic times, most of them are opting not to spend this increase in their income.’

Two-thirds of the expats polled here said they have cut back on spending on luxury items.

The cost of living for expatriates in Singapore remains high. Forty-four per cent of those polled here spend more on accommodation than expats in other countries, and entertainment and healthcare costs are also above the global average, the HSBC survey found.

However, 91 per cent of those polled here said they have not considered returning home amid the economic crisis - higher than the 85 per cent global average.

Of those who have considered moving home, 28 per cent cited shorter work contracts as a key factor, compared with the global average of 15 per cent.

Overall, Singapore ranked sixth worldwide on the report’s league table of quality of life, as measured by expats’ annual income, disposable income, ability to save and possession of luxury items.

Hong Kong, another popular expat location in this region, ranked fourth. The Russian Federation, Qatar and Saudi Arabia took the top three spots.

Source : Business Times - 28 July 2009

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Couple sue NTUC Income over reverse mortgage deal gone sour

Couple sue NTUC Income over reverse mortgage deal gone sour

By CHEW XIANG

(SINGAPORE) A couple are suing NTUC Income - in what is seen as a test case - over a reverse mortgage deal in which their property was sold amidst falling property prices.

Sold: The couple said a 1997 reverse mortgage valued the property at $2.1m. In 2004, they said they were told the value had fallen to $1.1m
Derek Chua, who is in his 70s and his wife Colleen Ng, who is in her late 50s, claim they lost their matrimonial home at Upper Serangoon in 2006.

NTUC Income demanded repayment of a loan procured in 1997 under a reverse mortgage, and the couple claim they had to sell their home to repay it, according to a writ of summons filed earlier this month and seen by BT.

The company’s chief financial officer Jeffrey Lee said in an emailed statement that NTUC Income had been ‘more than reasonable’ in trying to help the borrowers and that the couple had been advised on the terms of the deal.

The couple claimed that the 1997 reverse mortgage valued their house at $2.1 million, and based on a loan to valuation ratio of at most 80 per cent, they were given $495,000 cash to pay off their previous mortgage and payments of up to $2,000 a month.

In May 2004, the couple were told the value of their house had dropped to $1.1 million and they were in breach of the 80 per cent loan to valuation limit, based on the outstanding loan amount of $926,000.

According to the couple, they were told to top up $46,400 to bring the ratio down to the 80 per cent limit, and their monthly payments of $2,000 were reduced in steps to $1,500 from October that year.

A year later, in October 2005, NTUC Income said the outstanding loan, at $1.014 million, exceeded the 80 per cent limit based on the property value of $1.15 million. The couple were told they would get just $300 a month until June 2006, after which the company would ‘exercise (its) right to recall the property for auction sale’. The couple could also procure a buyer on their own or find another place to stay, according to a letter from NTUC Income, the couple said.

By then, the couple owed $1,045,802.91. On June 30, solicitors for NTUC Income sent the couple a letter demanding repayment or else face legal proceedings

The couple handed over possession of their property on Aug 31, according to their writ.

The property was later sold for just over $1 million, leaving an alleged shortfall of about $55,000, which the couple were asked to pay.

They claim that if not for NTUC Income’s letter, they would not have sold the property - which in 2008 was again sold for about $1.5 million, the writ says.

NTUC Income has yet to file its defence.

The couple have engaged senior counsel Michael Khoo through legal aid. NTUC Income is represented by Rodyk & Davidson.

Source : Business Times - 28 July 2009

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