Housing Bust Goes Boom!

Housing Bust!

It started with our first trip out to visit Townerville [see Week 1 entry]. We now call this place Downerville. Anyway, we had the next Saturday afternoon lined up with a reputable realtor - reputable in that her agency is recommended by Accenture Singapore for executive placement. Furthermore, she was from Iowa so she understood our situation, could give us some relevant tips, and there would be no language barrier. Unfortunately, Holly must not have read my answers to her questionnaire because although I specifically said "no apartments," the only properties we saw were, you guessed it, apartments. She was concerned that we wouldn't like a place more than 5 years old. Have you seen our places! The Arlington apartment was built in the 1930's, the OC beach house was built in the 1940's, we clearly don't mind age. It wasn't a total disaster in that we got to drive around to several different areas. We were able to rule out places where we wouldn't live, but at the end of the day, we had no prospects.

We tentatively made plans to go out the following week but for various reasons that never happened. That ends our time with Holly. Melissa and I did our own snooping and found some places that met our requirements and our price range. Unfortunately, those two don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. Our requirement, simply put, was for a landed property. Landed property in Singapore is extremely rare to come by and it comes at a premium. The worse the shape of the property - age, upkeep, location, etc - the more affordable the price. I visited three properties Friday afternoon all at an affordable price, and I wasn't keen to visit any a second time. Still no prospects.

So with two major outings and no prospects, I hit the pavement. There were neighborhoods/areas that I knew we'd like to live. Close to Orchard Rd and the city, but not stuck in a vanilla, all inclusive high-rise. Following my last viewing, I was in one such neighborhood so I just walked around. Following my little stroll, I had 4 legit leads and a full weekend ahead.

Down to the Final Two

I started Saturday morning with a flurry of calls to realtors setting up viewings for the day. [Another interesting thing about Singapore is that very few people use voicemail on their mobile phones. At first, I thought this was rather strange. You could never leave a message for anyone. But then I remembered that all call plans have at least 500 texts pm included. So what do people do... text! Trying to coordinate with so many realtors in a short period of time, I was getting multiple texts at a time. Its like I'm a Gen-Yer.] A couple of the leads from Friday fell through, i.e. really out of our price range. The ones that did not, they were legitimate prospects. The way the day lined up, each visit was going to be better than the previous.

The final two we visited ended up being the two we'd decide between. One was a two-story apartment with a huge open 2-story patio that could not be surpassed. It was like a little play yard 7 stories up. It was great; it even included a pond with fountain. Totally Asian style. The apartment also had 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and was in need of some serious maintenance - more space than we needed [or could ever use] and it wasn't going to be ready in time for our move-in. The apartment was not marketed, and admittedly, the realtor had been sitting on it for months because the owner wasn't interested in fixing it up without an interested tenant. Very different approach when dealing with a couple of American landlords. We found this place through friends who live in the same building. We saw their place and immediately loved it. We based every other place we saw on, 'did it match their apartment?' It made sense for their family consisting of 2 kids and a nanny. For us, we weren't completely sure.

The second place was Melissa's exact wish before moving to Singapore - a traditional colonial black and white in the 'heart of it all'. I found a older two-story terrace house among a series of row houses that had all been modernized. Sound familiar 870 3rd street! The apartment maintains the old world charm with the detailed designer tile flooring downstairs, dark hardwood floors upstairs, white plaster walls, exposed teak dark-wood floor joists and staircase, and an overall grand room feel with 14' ceilings. On the surface, this one felt like it could be our place. To top it off, it's a nearly identical floor plan to our house in Melbourne. A couple of drawbacks: a kitchen that is always 'outside' and the noise from a major construction site just across the street.

What started off as a housing bust has turned into a housing options boom. This all happened on Saturday. By Tuesday, we had worked both realtors to the same price point - the apartment with some concessions but nothing too dramatic on our end. We couldn't decide. We'd discuss one, feel like that was the choice, then reconsider. Each morning I woke up with a different preference. This was becoming an emotional choice for us. The answer: a third and impartial vote. It just so happened that Leela was in-town for work so we brought her along to see both the apartment and the terrace house. Her reaction was dramatic after seeing each property, but to her the choice was clear. As we walked Leela back to her hotel, we put it to a vote. Majority wins. In the event of a tie, Leela would be the tie breaker. Were we crazy to give her such a power, or were we confident in her ability to make a good choice for us? In the end, it didn't matter, it was a landslide, unanimous, almost no contest. The winner: the terrace house. See slideshow on the left.

1st Triathlon in Singapore

A solid 4-weeks of training and never a cold day... seems like paradise right? When never-a-cold-day means everyday is 80F+ and 98% humidity [at 5:30AM], the training plan needs to be adjusted. It has been challenging acclimatizing to the heat and humidity as it relates to my training pace. So far, it looks like I'm a good 10-15 secs slower per km on the run than when I was in Melbourne. Of course, Melbs couldn't be anymore different than Singapore. People would complain when the relative humidity cracked 55%. "Oh no, we're becoming just like Sydney!" people would say.

The Tribob Singapore Triathlon is the only sprint distance race on the island consisting of a 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run. This first race will give me an indicator of how my training is going and what to expect during a race in these conditions. The goal is to have a new PR for the Bali race in June. The race was a good one to break off the rust. I have not raced since Noosa in early November. With the move in March, I really stopped training all together and didn't start up again until April.

You'll notice from the pictures that something else is new. I'm now donning a black race suit. Since my traditional [smurf] blue suit is still on a cargo ship somewhere on the ocean, I needed to improvise. I suggested and Melissa vetoed my Nike shorts and Noosa Tri singlet. A shame and a good thing all the same time. So I picked up something new that would be a good long-term addition to the collection. But going from blue to black, I dunno, I feel like it's my alter-ego version - like in Spiderman.

Overall, my performance was pretty good. My time of 1:13:34 was good enough for 15th out of 262 competitors in my age group and 59th out of 647 male competitors overall. Not my fastest time, but now I know what I really need to focus on - other than ultra light-weight, portable air conditioning.

Next up is the Bintan Triathlon [Olympic distance] and the Adidas Sundown 1/2 Marathon.

Singapore Week 2 - Employment Pass

So there are three types of people in Singapore:

1. Singaporeans

2. Expats with an Employment Pass

3. Expats with a Dependent Pass

Nothing against the local Singaporeans - they are so friendly, warm, and helpful - they just aren't the focus of this entry. Through these first-hand experiences, you will understand the difference between a dependent pass holder and employment pass holder.

Week 2 was all about establishing our life in Singapore. Interesting thing, all that really entails is a mobile phone and a bank account [and somewhere to live too - see subsequent posting]. Once those two services are locked down, you can pretty much do anything. The challenge was how to determine which service provider to use and how to get the best deal.

I started with the mobile phone. A new acquaintance in the Accenture Singapore office [also a fellow UMD grad - go Terps!] turned me onto the Accenture corporate discount provided by Starhub. Good deals on minutes, texts, data and even some well-priced devices. I was set. All I had to do was repel the instinct to get the iPhone. With Melissa in my ear about my current Palm Treo and the fact the plan was only a fraction cheaper than the plans in the US, it wasn't that hard. I easily picked out plans for Melissa and me and headed to the closest Starhub retailer to sign up.

"Proof of address," the sales clerk asked.

"What is that?" I replied.

"To prove you have a real address here in Singapore."

Well, I only have a couple of documents at my disposal at this point. One is the lease for our serviced apartment but that has the name of a 3rd party realty company Melissa's company used for the lease. Not the best option. [not to mention I don't have it on me] The other is my temporary pass signed and approved by the Singaporean government. Sounds good, except the address on there is another 3rd party service provider CEB used to handle our passes.

I lay the temporary pass down and say, "here you go."

The clerk replies, "great, is this [address] where you want to have your bills sent?"

I thought for a minute and wrestled with the options here: a) I say 'yes' and my billing address becomes this non-sensical business/agency that will likely toss the first bill and any subsequent mail to me or b) say 'no' and run the risk of trying to provide another form of 'proof of address' that I clearly will not have. So I answered in really the only way I could. "Yes, please." I had hoped to pick up Melissa's phone/plan as well, but unfortunately, the phone was out of stock. I would return.

I returned another day to finish Melissa's transaction and after a painful Q&A, document producing, and slightly stressful explanation process, I was stopped just short of the finish with this statement, "You are only on a Dependent Pass."

The statement was true and I couldn't really see a reason why I should think of an alternate answer, so I confirmed, "yes."

Lesson #1: Dependent Pass holders may only sign up for one mobile phone line.

This is something I wish I had been told from the outset. I was trying to do Melissa a favor by getting her phone situated but being the 2nd class citizen that I am, no dice. Melissa, you're on your own.

Next up was the bank. We were both somewhat ambivalent about which bank to go with, but secretly we both had our preferred option and for very different and not-so rational reasons. Melissa liked UOB because she works in the UOB Plaza and a major branch with several ATMs is in her lobby. I like OCBC for the color scheme, font, and overall marketing image. [I should mention that we both agreed on Citibank from the outset, but once we learned that an account in Singapore could not be linked to an account in the US, there was no reason to pursue.] Since we both live by online banking, I pledged to Melissa to take the online tour of all the major banks to see if there was a differentiator. Following that exercise, UOB was the clear winner.

Next day, I headed into the city with Melissa to get the bank account application started. I signed up for a savings account. I also tried to sign up for a checking account when the bank rep uses a somewhat familiar line, "You are only on a Dependent Pass."

Lesson #2: Dependent Pass holders may only sign up for a savings account, unless the account is to be co-owned. Thankfully Kevin, our bank rep, was very nice and super-helpful. He allowed me to set up the accounts and Melissa just had to swoop in, show here Employment Pass and sign a couple of documents. As an addendum to this lesson [2.a], only EP holders are able to sign up for credit cards as well.

It's a tough life for a Dependent Pass holder. So far, I've not seen special seats reserved for 'Employment Pass holders only' on buses or trains. It's a good thing I'm not prevented from taking a taxi. Melissa has all the freedom and I'm beginning to question if I should even leave the apartment anymore. All will be right in the world soon, once Accenture Singapore figures out what to with me.

Singapore Week 1 - Its a Small World

The first couple of days were well and truly all about 'getting settled'. The jet lag must have been substantial as we were in bed early and waking up early for several days - and I mean early. Let's lay down for a nap at 5PM and whoa, wait-a-minute, what-the, its 6:30AM?!! We both managed to book in some transition time with our jobs - OK, mine is a bit longer than Melissa's - so we didn't have to race to our respective offices on Wednesday morning.

On Friday, we took advantage of the free shuttle to the city provided by our hotel/serviced apartment. Its really a nice service since we're a good 10-15 min walk from the closest MRT (metro/tube/train) station, and although it doesn't seem like that long of a walk, you melt in the heat and humidity. The shuttle departs every 30mins and stops at both of our offices - how perfect?! As we board the 7:30AM shuttle - the first one available - I hear but a familiar voice call out, "hey Sean!" I looked up to find Pei Sia, who I worked with previously at Australia Post in Melbourne. What a small world. Apparently our hotel - Fraser Suites - is a popular spot for Accenture people working overseas in Singapore. She went on to drop several other names of Accenture-Melbourne peeps who are not only working in Singapore but staying at Fraser Suites. What a small world! What are the chances I'd run into someone I know let alone on the morning shuttle!

On the weekend we got out of the apartment to explore a bit. I joined a group ride with the boys from SwissValley Cycles on Saturday. Really nice group and couldn't ask for a better meet-up spot - the shop is directly across the street from the hotel. They took me out to Changi Village via the East Coast Park and Changi Coast Rd. Flat, straight and well paved - can't ask for much better ;-). The one drawback is that on Saturdays, they stop and have breakfast breakfast in the village. A fine tradition and a very common way for the group to stay social. I'm not a fan of mid-ride meals. But the guys were super-nice and it was great to have an escort while checking out this great ride. I have a feeling I'll be doing this circuit weekly from here on out.

The hotel is right on the Singapore River and along side there is a nice walk that links several parks, cafes, and shopping areas. On Sunday, we ducked into a cute little breakfast place and took a seat overlooking the walk and river. The hostess asked if a seat 'without a fan' was OK. Seemed fine at the time. Never again! Surprisingly, a ceiling or wall mounted fan makes all the difference. [Think Clam Bar in July] As I wiped the sweat away before it dropped onto my breakfast burrito, I learned that you always request a table 'with a fan'.

Our Fraser Suites set-up is only temporary. We have 4 weeks there and then we're on the street! Well, it's not that emphatic, but at that point, it becomes our expense and let's just say Fraser Suites isn't the cheapest option in town ;-) Knowing we need to find a place fast, we need to generate some leads... fast. Several people had suggested we check out Townerville. The neighborhood is a cluster of colonial-style conservation houses each with 3 bedrooms, dark hardwood floors throughout, a maid's room, and a large terrace. [Note, at this stage of our search, the only characteristic/amenity we can agree on is 'it must have a large terrace/patio'.] There are several houses in the neighborhood available immediately and its a 5 min walk to the local MRT station. Sounds like a dream, right?! Well, kinda. The immediate neighborhood and the houses are beautiful. They come as advertised. The surrounding neighborhood - eek. Although its close to the MRT, the area is not so pedestrian friendly. We walked a couple of blocks in each direction and could not find a grocery store/shopping center - that's pretty uncommon. The neighborhood is also surrounded by several high-rise block housing which doesn't exactly give me the warm-and-fuzzies if you know what I mean. And you know the 3 most important aspects of real estate - location, location, location. It was a no-go. And the process begins...

Check out the short video below to take a tour of our corporate apartment at Fraser Suites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7WYy4ZWBc

Singapore, here we come!

The blog is back! I know many of you were unsatisfied with our blog upkeep over the last year. The blog was great for sharing all of our NEW experiences - the first time we went to the Australian Open, the first trip to Queensland, SE Asia, New Zealand, etc. As we became immersed in the Melbourne lifestyle, nothing really seemed that new anymore. And who wants to read a blog about going to work, running errands, and the typical weekend outings. We were in a rut! Then came the end of the year. Knowing we were set to leave Melbourne in April - following our last 'summer down under' - we realized there were so many new experiences that we needed to cram in before we left. Check back periodically as we retro-actively update the blog with our trips to Ayers Rock/Uluru over Christmas, sailing the Whitsundays aboard our own yacht, exploring the south island of New Zealand, and some other odds and ends.

Now, back to the present. We arrived in Singapore this morning and were met with warm Singaporean hospitality. A driver was sent from our serviced apartment to greet us outside of customs and take us to our new, temporary home. We were also met with heat and humidity - a common theme I think ;-) The flight was a bit harder than usual. Some say that it's much harder to travel east and based on this experience, I'd have to agree. The good news - we were upgraded to business class for the London to Singapore leg which made all the difference!

It was a sad last couple of weeks saying good-bye to friends, work colleagues, and the wonderful city of Melbourne. I had several 'last drinks' with friends and made sure I did one last 'Tan run and Beach Rd ride. We take with us so many great memories and one day, we will return. Thank you Melbourne!