Tuesday, June 19, 2012

"Lock one room and rent out the rest of the flat"

I have mentioned this before when I first joined real estate.
My duty is to educate my clients about the industry and this also includes the rules and regulations.

Since I closed a whole unit Sengkang rental last week, I've been receiving plenty of calls.

Which family wouldn't want a steady income of 2k to 3k a month right and enjoy the monthly cash flow?

And I must say a good half of the calls were something like these:

Callers: Hi Nura! I would like to rent out my whole unit BUT I want to lock one room can?
Nura: Why is that so ya?
Callers: Oh because I haven't satisfy the M.O.P la (Minimum Occupation Period)
Nura: Ok in that case, why don't you consider room rentals?
Callers: Must I stay with the tenants?
Nura: Yes.
Callers: Ala but I can stay with my parents you see.
Nura: Sorry Mdm So and So, as long as you did not meet the MOP, you cannot rent out your whole flat. And if you intend to rent out your rooms, you need to live in that house.


Hence, I am very sorry to turn down your requests to represent you. :(

My dearest flat owners, to be able to sublet the entire flat, you would need to satisfy the condition of a 3-year or 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) /or if you are relocating overseas etc...

Some of you also asked,"Ok Nura, give me the worst possible scenario?"

Ok here goes!

You lock your one room to pretend to HDB that you are staying there.
You move to another place to stay.
And you rent out your whole unit to a few people.
Say, they are a very noisy and rowdy bunch.
Your neighbours will be unhappy and compraiiinnnnn to HDB.
HDB come to investigate. Jeng Jeng Jeng.
That's it brudder and sister. HDB might just take away your flat. (Choyyyy!)

Last I heard, HDB has more than doubled its enforcement checks and that the increased number of whistle-blowing neighbours is making their work much easier.

There will be agents who assure you,"Ala, you can do anything actually. Just don't get caught."

My say?

It's illegal. Enough said. It's your own home and as an ethical real estate agent, it is my duty to advise you on your best course of action.

So let's discard this old trick of "Lock 1 room and rent out the rest of the flat"!

Ok if you need anymore advice, feel free to call me at 9 7248866.

1 comment:

  1. Well done Nura. Honest Agents like u are hard to come by these days. I've been with HDB for 13years, and most agents I come acrross are nasty and misleading.

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