In my last update on my property journey, I shared my experience selling our first home – our resale HDB flat. We sold it at a huge loss and something that we do not wish happen to others. (If you are considering getting a resale HDB flat, PLEASE read my previous updates before committing to it) After the sale, we agreed that our next property will be a condo and finally decided on Treasure At Tampines (TAT). We contemplated on a few options especially if we should get a new launch or resale but in the end, new launch would be the most ideal for our situation.
So in this MELEPAK session, I will be sharing our reasons for buying our first condo – Treasure At Tampines (TAT). Hope you will enjoy it and maybe learn a thing or two. With that, let’s start MELEPAK!
Reasons for Choosing Treasure At Tampines
Everyone must have their own reasons why they choose to buy a certain property. So here is my reason as to why we decided on getting a 3 bedder at Treasure At Tampines.
1. Pretty Good Location (Arguably)
The first reason is TAT has a decent location especially if you are looking into rental income in the future. Of course, it is nothing compare to projects who are near MRT like Parc Estra or even the upcoming Pen Rose. But for its price, the location is decent – within walking distance to Simei MRT and in an established estate.
It is also near Changi General Hospital, Changi Industrial Park, Changi Airport and a couple of international schools. This means that the tenant pool will be huge for rental income in the future.
2. Tampines Roots Is Strong
When I was still schooling, there is always this East Sider vs West Sider going on about which estate is better. Well, I have to admit that the Tampines Spirit is very strong. If you ask anyone living in Tampines, they would definitely want to stay within Tampines if they decide to buy a house.
Furthermore, Tampines is an established mature estate so everything you need is there. This makes it even harder for someone to move out of Tampines. Imagine schooling in Tampines, growing up and getting your first BTO in Tampines. Then having your family there and your children’s school is there. Then after MOP and you want to upgrade to a condo, what are the chances you would prefer a condo in Tampines? High!
So the roots is very strong and deep in Tampines as compared to other estate such as Sembawang or Punggol. What this means is that there will always be demand for TAT in the future when it is time for us to sell.
3. Huge Potential Upgrader in 2023
The 3rd reason is a continuation from reason number 2. I’ve done some research and noted that in 2023 (when my 3 years is up and no more SSD), there will be more than 5000 BTO units reaching its MOP period. You can check the list of BTOs here. That is a big number and the probability of these homeowners wanting to upgrade to a condo is high.
On top of that, most of them would prefer to buy a condo that they can move in immediately instead of buying a new launch and having to find a temporary place to stay (some even have to rent a place for 3 years). That’s where TAT comes in. By 2023, TAT would have been almost to completion (Completion date moved to 2024 due to Covid19) so it would be ideal project for these upgraders to buy. Which will be good for me.
4. Family Friendly & Lots of Facilities
The fourth reason is the lots and lots of facilities to attract new young families. Having the potential buyer alone is not enough. The project needs to be enticing enough for these potential buyers. And here’s where TAT’s huge array of facilities will beat the competitors. Young families looking to upgrade from their BTO would want a place where they can enjoy all the facilities and with 13 swimming pools, they will be spoiled for choice.
Bigger Unit To Meet These Young Family’s Need
It is definitely a family friendly project. But you will need a family friendly unit to capture these potential buyers in the future. That’s why Kay and I decided to buy a 3 bedder instead of getting a smaller one. (Initially we wanted to buy a 1 bedder using only one name in case we have enough to buy a 2nd within this 3 years). A 3 bedder unit will be perfect for a young family upgrading from BTO. So hopefully, it will be easier for us to flip this unit after 3 years.
5. Affordable Pricing for Us & Future Buyer
The last reason why we choose Treasure At Tampines is the affordable pricing. As you know, we loss A LOT of money from our first Resale HDB so our funds are limited. The only reason we can afford a private property now is because I sold 1 of my niche website for a six figure sum. Even then, it is hard to recover fully and we understand that we have to take a longer route to reach our goal due to this setback.
Ok so back to the point, with our funds, we can afford to buy a 1 bedder in Parc Estra or even a 2 bedder in Parc Clementis. But with the higher price point, we are not sure how much the property can appreciate in 3 years time. But with TAT, we can easily get a good size 3 bedder. And buying the unit at a lower price also means that future price will not be out of reach for newly MOP BTO homeowners. Thus the reason for us choosing a 3 bedder TAT.
In Conclusion
So to conclude, we chose and bought TAT with the mentality of flipping it in 3 years. And with that mentality, above are 5 reasons why TAT is perfect for us. Of course, all this is just research and preparation. Ultimately, you never know what is going to happen.
Oh and for us to see the best possible returns, we are banking on TAT being fully sold out before TOP. When that happens, the resale market for TAT will increase and easier for us to flip. At this moment, TAT has sold almost 60% of its units which is a good sign considering we still have 3 years before TOP.
Ok so that’s all for our MELEPAK session today. I hope you have enjoy it and I would love to hear your opinion on this. Please feel free to comment below especially if you don’t agree with me. Thank you and take care.
