ST : Investor forfeits $10,000 fee

15 JAN 2011,
property measures

Investor forfeits $10,000 fee

PROPERTY investor Angela Hou knows what the new cooling measures have cost her - around $10,000.

That is the princely amount she walked away from yesterday after deciding to forfeit her booking fee for a condominium unit she had set her heart on. Ms Hou, 28, was about to buy two condo flats when she heard the news on Thursday night.

'On the spot, I decided to let go of the 1 per cent booking fee for one of the properties, which was about $10,000.'

'Because at least I would have lost that amount, rather than if property prices slide more than 1 per cent then I'll lose out more.'

Ms Hou, who became a property investor, and subsequently an agent after getting the real estate bug a year or so ago, said many others like her have decided to let go of their booking fees and have adopted a wait and see attitude.

'Another reason why I decided to let go was the fear that I might not be able to find a tenant to cover my mortgage,' she added. 'With fewer people selling because of the changes to seller's stamp duty, this means more buyers will be renting out, to cover cost - resulting in oversupply.'

The new measures soured Ms Hou on the property scene after what had been a couple of good years for her. She ventured into real estate and bought a studio unit in District Nine when the property market was down two years ago.

'That was the time during the Lehman Brothers debacle, and the small profit I turned from selling it gave me the confidence to continue,' she said yesterday.

It also gave her a taste of real estate and she became a property agent.

It was all going swimmingly as well thanks to the booming market, and Ms Hou snapped up several properties.

But then Thursday's housing measures landed, leaving her frustrated and out of a substantial sum.

Ms Hou said she will be more careful in future purchases because there is less room for error.

'Who knows, I might look around again in about five months or so, but I'll really have to be sure.'