URA review policy on EC

[Ringo33]

Not sure if this review will also affect condo.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...246450/1/.html

[gfoo]

it will.

what will this ruling mean to existing penthouses with roof terraces?

[minority]

Well actually the cry wolf on the Citylife EC is people never see the 1600qf roof top space.

basically the developer cannot build a unit with that space. minus that the pent house is around 2400sqf which is inline with most penthouse sizes.

frankly the 1600sqf roof top space are useless. restricting it the developer also cannot build a covered unit out of it.

People are all caught up with the sensationalism of the news.

[repanse71]

it will.

what will this ruling mean to existing penthouses with roof terraces?

Nothing direct I think.
I believe a better and subtle rule to require development to have a minimum amount of communal area.
This should exclude car park :-p

Regards

[repanse71]

Well actually the cry wolf on the Citylife EC is people never see the 1600qf roof top space.

basically the developer cannot build a unit with that space. minus that the pent house is around 2400sqf which is inline with most penthouse sizes.

frankly the 1600sqf roof top space are useless. restricting it the developer also cannot build a covered unit out of it.

People are all caught up with the sensationalism of the news.

It is not useless space. I have seen many many innovative ways of making the space very usable and comfortable.

If I qualify, I would like to buy at that price too and would do it without my daddy's help.

Regards

[august]

Well actually the cry wolf on the Citylife EC is people never see the 1600qf roof top space.

basically the developer cannot build a unit with that space. minus that the pent house is around 2400sqf which is inline with most penthouse sizes.

frankly the 1600sqf roof top space are useless. restricting it the developer also cannot build a covered unit out of it.

People are all caught up with the sensationalism of the news.

ura not happy developer is selling 'free' space that ura does not charge to developer.

[Leeds]

There are serious implications with the loophole. What is the legal strata area for such units. The strata area determines the share values and hence the maintenance fee. When come to en bloc sale, the strata area will also determines the share of the proceed . Buyer of such unit must know exactly if the strata area includes the free space. Base on URA's explanation, the free space should not be included in the computation of strata area for such units

[kane]

Can they also review the air con ledge to stop developers from selling more than enough air con ledge space.

[kane]

In the case of the city life ph. Hopefully the guidelines will get developers to create 2x 1400sqft of built in rather than a 2800sqft of built in for future cases. Wonder whether this will have an impact on Haoyuan's EC to be launched.

[minority]

ura not happy developer is selling 'free' space that ura does not charge to developer.

Its a given space. Under the GFA a % is given to developer to include into the living space. this is to forster out door living. thus u hav all the balcony etc. Developers been having this "free" space model n charging for it for ages.

The unhappiness is becoz its a EC and its a penthouse with a perceived 4000sqf. many people never know or care there was 1600sqf is roof space that cannot be covered. all caught up in this emotion thing. wah 2M wah so big wah so good deal cannot buy etc.

they all forgot or refuse to see that 1600sqf is plain roof.

[minority]

In the case of the city life ph. Hopefully the guidelines will get developers to create 2x 1400sqft of built in rather than a 2800sqft of built in.

1400sqf is not much of a pent house.. u must factor in the height limit maybe u cant build the extra 1400sqf unit. coz hight limit dont permit at most this 1400sqf get distributed to the rest of the unit lor meer 10sqf or 50sqf each? developer still earn.

estate no pent house lor.. all the penthouse wanna be middle class have to pay more in PC.

[kane]

Roof terrace only affects 1 unit. I think they should seriously look at the air con ledge issue which affects every unit.

[bsslang]

Can they also review the air con ledge to stop developers from selling more than enough air con ledge space.

I second that.

[ysyap]

Can they also review the air con ledge to stop developers from selling more than enough air con ledge space.

Not just a/c ledge but RC ledge and super huge balconies (some units have 2 or 3???). Ridiculous... (PES and roof terraces.... )

[ysyap]

First its DBSS, then its ECs. All this while PCs also got lots of problems. Can't govt see that developers are the biggest cause of these problems??? or they bo bian so tackle problems from buyer's point of view?

[focus]

First its DBSS, then its ECs. All this while PCs also got lots of problems. Can't govt see that developers are the biggest cause of these problems??? or they bo bian so tackle problems from buyer's point of view?

Developers are not the biggest problem lah.
Which businessman wouldn't take advantage of any loophole given to them?
They are supposed to maximise shareholder value, not do charity work. For that, it is under Corporate Social Responsibility. That one can use profit earned to donate to old folks home .. etc etc.

The blame should solely rest on the inadequate response mechanism in the govt. bodies. If you need to take 2-3 years to realise developers are selling "bonus" area to the consumer, something is wrong. You are involved heavily involved in the Real estate business and your staff never visit showroom one ah or don't know what is happening?

There is no perfect policy. Loopholes will be discovered and exploited. What you need is the response mechanism.

[newbie11]

his response was to investigate and "realize" they are profitting from free space at expense of URA pocket and communal spaces. However when did roof top communal space became a common fixture? He didn't talk about affordability of 1.6m loan on a 12k couple.

got to think deeper on rationale of his approach.

[sh]

But it's a free market. If there are people fighting for buy useless roof top space, so be it... Better let the roof top space be sold, than leave it to the mc to maintain.

[dare2]

Its a given space. Under the GFA a % is given to developer to include into the living space. this is to forster out door living. thus u hav all the balcony etc. Developers been having this "free" space model n charging for it for ages.

The unhappiness is becoz its a EC and its a penthouse with a perceived 4000sqf. many people never know or care there was 1600sqf is roof space that cannot be covered. all caught up in this emotion thing. wah 2M wah so big wah so good deal cannot buy etc.

they all forgot or refuse to see that 1600sqf is plain roof.

.....you are a very good stand-up comic, better than the Mount Sinai one......people do not KPKB about the 4000 square feet......its the quantum....over $2M .....why should tax-payer subsidize someone who can afford $2M dollar condo?

[sh]

.....you are a very good stand-up comic, better than the Mount Sinai one......people do not KPKB about the 4000 square feet......its the quantum....over $2M .....why should tax-payer subsidize someone who can afford $2M dollar condo?

Is the person buying the ph subsidied more than the non-ph buyers?

What about those guys with rich parents who buy first hand hdb, who buy private after the min period, while keeping their HDBs for rental? Do we go after them as well?

Do we test parents wealth before qualifying to buy HDBs?

[bakasa2002]

Not just a/c ledge but RC ledge and super huge balconies (some units have 2 or 3???). Ridiculous... (PES and roof terraces.... )

I knew ab the a/c ledge but balcony are foc to developers too?

[kane]

my understanding of the balcony rule is developer for every sqft of balcony space, 50% comes from their GFA limit, the other 50% is "given" to them. probably to encourage outdoor living etc. correct me if I am wrong.

[sh]

my understanding of the balcony rule is developer for every sqft of balcony space, 50% comes from their GFA limit, the other 50% is "given" to them. probably to encourage outdoor living etc. correct me if I am wrong.

10% Balcony area is allowed above the allowable GFA for the entire development. Intent was to encourage outdoor sky-rise living.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/circulars/text/dc07-01.htm

[gfoo]

this new measure simply means that pc & ec developers from now on cannot launch penthouses with roof terraces. No more 'discounted' penthouses - they will sell fully priced enclosed areas. at most max out bca's 5m rule and sell sell airspace as part of gfa.

[kane]

10% Balcony area is allowed above the allowable GFA for the entire development. Intent was to encourage outdoor sky-rise living.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/circulars/text/dc07-01.htm

love this forum, always learn lots and plenty of gurus in our midst.

speaking of airspace, those double volume ceiling, is the airspace above part of GFA?

[gfoo]

love this forum, always learn lots and plenty of gurus in our midst.

speaking of airspace, those double volume ceiling, is the airspace above part of GFA?

if you enclose it with a permanent structure ie concrete, yes - ura will charge developer will charge buyer. if removable furniture platform, legally no. but then feo gets away charging more leh

[kane]

if you enclose it with a permanent structure ie concrete, yes - ura will charge developer will charge buyer. if removable furniture platform, legally no. but then feo gets away charging more leh

visited their watertown showroom long time ago, those steps leading up to the loft bed, are those considered removable funiture platform? the platform feels hollow but sturdy enough to take a human weight...

[sh]

love this forum, always learn lots and plenty of gurus in our midst.

speaking of airspace, those double volume ceiling, is the airspace above part of GFA?

It's not GFA, but the void space counts towards your strata area... (ie, if the void is over your living, your living area is counted twice). Hence the popularity of 'lofts' amongst developers.

[kane]

It's not GFA, but the void space counts towards your strata area... (ie, if the void is over your living, your living area is counted twice). Hence the popularity of 'lofts' amongst developers.

so the developers charge you double the living area and only use 1x the GFA limit? meaning that extra loft space is free for them but you pay for it?

[sh]

so the developers charge you double the living area and only use 1x the GFA limit? meaning that extra loft space is free for them but you pay for it?

Yes, you pay for air...