The Decision

A quick update tonight to let those watching the Bach Family's version of House Hunters International that we have made a decision. Our first choice is the place I forgot to take pictures of on the first day. Ted went back there with us this morning and afterward we talked about it, went back and forth, and decided that we would like to make an offer on that one. I took some pictures today but I have to say what we like about this place isn't captured on "film." It's a perfectly wonderful place but what you can't see in the pictures is its location (primo!) and the homey feel we get being there. It feels like Somerville but in Singapore if that makes any sense.

There were actually two units available in this small complex and we prefer the one on the top floor because it is breezier and this view from the balcony is impressive. We can imagine ourselves sitting out there after the kids are in bed sipping some wine and, well, probably both of us typing away separately on different laptops. Ah, so romantic.

This place would be close to perfect if not for the bathrooms. They are perfectly fine bathrooms, too but after the museum-quality examples of modernity we have seen these past few days, they somehow disappoint. No jacuzzi, no marble, no glass bowl or glass much of anything really. But it does look easy to clean.

In this apartment, the tenants were moving out so there were boxes everywhere. I have rarely seen a maze like this. We tried to capture what we could. One feature that's really cool is the wrap-around corner windows, a nice touch.

The pool is a nice feature here too. It's hard to believe that if we were rating all the pools we have seen this gorgeous one would not make the top 5. Unbelievable! But I will be very happy swimming here every day because it is amazing. There is even a walkway (the main walkway into the building) that crosses over the middle.

One end of the pool has a koi pond beyond it.

Here is the koi pond and bridge over it. On past this, there is a decent sized yard.

One of the barbecue areas

The fishies

The children's wading side. Pretty big!

 

The playground is smaller but the kids loved it here today. There are also a few playgrounds outside of the complex within walking distance. 

 The second unit was already vacant but it was on a lower floor and the balcony view was less impressive.

Visitor parking lot view. And a piece of the playground. But not as pretty as the other one.

The owner had just renovated the kitchen so everything was brand new, including an oven! But the counters were so extremely low I think they were Ella-sized.

While most of this place lacks the oomph, the wow factor of some of the beautiful places we've seen, it is pretty great and I keep thinking about how we will spend our days if we end up living here. We could wake up on the weekdays and walk the kids to their schools, then I could walk around the Village, take care of any shopping, sit outside in the shade at a coffee shop reading a book, head back to our building and maybe go for a swim by myself, and then get the kids from school. We can hang out on playgrounds until it's time for everyone to be out of school, then maybe the kids will want to swim before dinner. When Ted gets home, we can meet him in the center (a block away) and have some nice hawker stand food. Maybe we'll grab some ice cream for the short walk home. Then, we'll put the kids to bed (and there will be no fighting or whining) and a sitter will be there so Ted and I can go out for a drink or two because it would only be a block away--we practically have to go out. Ahhhh, bliss. 

And if this one does not work out, we can always go with our second choice.

Apartment Hunt Day 2

Today we had more apartment hunting to do. Tuesday night our realtor emailed us a spreadsheet of our schedule and Ted and I started some background research. This morning we woke up ready to go. The kids, not as much, but they trooped on through. And we all survived. We were scheduled to view 9 places again today but ended up only seeing 7 because 2 just didn't work out. Here we go with more real estate porn!

1 and 2 Fifth Avenue Condo 1600 sq ft, pool, gym, function room, small playground with yard
This one is a bit out of the way, but it's in its own little square type area with tons of little shops and restaurants. There is a small shopping center (mall) right across the street but it has good stuff (a supermarket and a Coffee Bean, etc.) and it's not massive. Great bus access. Cute smaller complex. Low rise.

The first unit we saw was on the fourth (top) floor and we favored it to the second floor place we saw, which was also quite nice. It's not super new and modern, but it's very nice. I really wanted to hate everything today so we could just make an offer on one of our favorites from yesterday, but we really liked this one a lot. So our list is growing.

The living and dining area with balcony.

The view down to the pool from the balcony. We imagined yelling "Hey kids, time for dinner!"

The other view from the balcony. It's a small play area, but well used!

The balcony. I wanted some perspective so we could remember how big the balcony was. We are calling this table and chairs sized.

Standard kitchen, oven included.

This unit is unfurnished but it's priced where we could afford to furnish it. A bonus? This dining set stays!

Kids' room and view

Another kid-sized room

Nice to have a bath tub. Pretty good bathroom, I think. Here are some pool and children's pool pictures:

The other apartment was very similar but on the second floor and in the front of the complex. The views were not of the pool area.

A nice solid start. We're keeping this one on our short list even though it's not too flashy. A solid B+.

3. Holland Hill Park Condo, 2013 sq ft, ground floor with patio, partially furnished

This one is in a good location, close to the Viz complex we liked so well yesterday and near Holland Village.

The kids started playing on small playground because we got there early. We learned that the pool is under renovation now and won't be finished until September. Then, they will start renovating the playground. That is supposed to be done by Christmas. That's great that the facilities will be new but a few months out of a 12-month lease is quite a chunk.

It's very large and the back wall is all glass looking onto a patio that is also generous in size. 

The dining area and big window

Here is the patio. There is a door just to the left of this picture that has a walkway leading to the pool. When it's done, we could just walk about 50 steps and jump on in!

 Then, we found out the unit wouldn't be available until October. Ugh. We really like the apartment and would have picked it. Ted and I kept looking at each nodding our heads. But we can't wait that long. A for the unit, F for timing.

We were running ahead of schedule somehow so we stopped to get a coffee at the Coffee Bean. The kids really enjoyed their vanilla frappacinos that the realtor bought for them.

4. Duchess Crest Condos, 1367 sq ft, pool, playground, tennis, BBQs and so on

To be honest, I don't remember much about this place. They are starting to run together. I would have paid more attention but noticed on the way there that this place is far away from any public transportation and/or stores and restaurants. It's more like a gated community in the suburbs. I don't want to drive if I don't have to so I wasn't excited about this one after finding that out. 

It's a shame because look how pretty and bright it is.

Pretty good kitchen too. Notice the oven.

Gorgeous pools

Ella wanted to move in because she likes this desk. Poor kid. I really need to get her a desk.

Looks like a nice place. Too bad it's not conveniently located. C.

5. The Metropolitan take 2. Ted didn't see this place yesterday and I really liked it a lot. We went back. He also liked it and now it's on our short list. I'll post these pictures we took today because they really are much better.

Remember this one? See how much brighter it looks with this camera? I love this place. No bathtub or oven though.

Another desk for Ella to love

Every window has these big ledges in front of it. They would make such perfect spots to read. 

This is the balcony here. I love this space. Each of the front bedrooms has a small balcony too. I can't figure out if I would use a balcony or if I just like the idea of using a balcony. Any advice?

These are the pool shots Ted took. I think they are much better than the ones I took yesterday with my phone.

Still an A. On our list.

We went for lunch at IKEA! Yummy meatballs! The plan was to go out to a nice restaurant near the next viewing, but somehow we fell behind schedule and had to hurry. Now we know where the Ikea is when we have to do our shopping for whatever place we choose.

6 and 7. Caribbean at Keppel Bay, 1230 and then 1270 sq ft, furnished, high floors on the harbourfront

This place has the most amazing amenities. There is literally a map of the complex with descriptions of where everything is because there are so many things. It's a big complex with something like 900 units. Crazy. Here are the maps:

Now, the cool thing here is that the elevator opens up right inside your unit. Soooooooo cool. The door opens and there you are in the living room!

This is the view from the first unit. It overlooks a canal. This unit was very sunny, which also means warm so it's a toss-up. The current occupant kept most of the curtains closed to block out the heat I suppose, but then you also lose the views!

The kitchen

and bedrooms.

Nice bathrooms with glass sinks and one bathroom with tub.

Here are the wow pictures. The outside is like a resort with multiple pools and a waterslide and playgrounds all over. Crazy!

This is the view from the second unit. We liked it better because the bedrooms face the harbour and you can see the big cruise ships coming in, which is kind of fun to watch. We could also watch the big gondolas that travel from a big hill in the park nearby across the water and out to Sentosa Island, where a bunch of entertainment parks and activities are. We could even see the very top of a roller coaster in the distance.

Honestly, it's hard to grade this place. The amenities get an A for sure, the best. The apartment was kind of bland except for the views in the second place. But there was an issue with the realtor showing the place and the property owner's realtor, technical stuff that could complicate any offers and so on. If this place was centrally located, it would win hands-down I guess, but then it would lose the appeal of the harbour views, right? There are some bike paths along here that connect to parks and stuff, but other than that, there are no small shops and restaurants to visit. The only place to walk to is the Vivocity mall on the next block. It's kind of isolated here. Still, I give it an A- and keep it on my shortlist.

There was also another place I really like yesterday, The Merasaga. It's the one I forgot to take pictures of. We have an appointment tomorrow morning to see two units there. It has an amazing location, the one right in Holland Village. Right now, we have narrowed it down to the Caribbean, Fifth Avenue, the Merasaga, the Metropolis, and Viz.

We made a spreadsheet, we ranked everything, we mapped them, did calculations and even talked to each other about our feelings (ha!). We came up with one overlooked aspect to our decision-making: what will it be like to enter/leave the building every day on foot? This is a  very important factor to consider because we can't avoid that, we'll be doing it every day. We're going to figure that out and compare it to the two units at Merasaga tomorrow.

By lunch time tomorrow, we'll have a better idea. Better than the 5 we have already narrowed it to. Hopefully we'll have it down to 2 or 3 by lunch time. Then, tomorrow night after the kids go to sleep we can each open up a beer and have a long talk. I want to decide by the weekend. I have no patience.

Do you think we've narrowed it down well? Are we overlooking any factors? What place looks best to you? Are you as tired of apartment pictures as I am?