'En Bloque' info please

[ozchick]

Thinking of finding an 'en bloque' apartment to move to 'short time' since I'm not sure how much longer I'll be here.

1. Does this scenario guarantee cheaper rent and how does one find info about which apartment buildings are 'en bloque'.
2. Can an 'en bloque' places lose that status in time and/or are dates given for when they will actually be demolished. How much notice does one get ?
This whole concept is new to me and I'm hoping some of you guys may be able to enlighten me. It's of some interest to us since we understand that it's hard to get 1 year leases. We're about to move out of where we are cos it's just too noisy and too far from work.
And I think the financial penalty for breaking a 2 year lease may not be worth the pain? Grateful for any advice or shared experiences of any of this.

[Wind In My Hair]

My only qualification to comment on this is the S$1million I did not make because I passed on buying an apartment 5 years ago that recently went en bloc.

First of all, darling, get the Singlish right. It's spelled EN BLOC because we're in Singapore, not Europe.

Secondly, going en bloc affects owners because of sudden and massive appreciation. Tenants and rents are not really affected, though I suppose it makes sense for the lease term to be shorter if the owner thinks he's going en bloc soon. If you want a short-term lease just look for owners offering that, en bloc or not. Or negotiate your way to a shorter lease even if the 2-year lease is the initial offer. Some owners may accept a shorter term if the rental is slightly higher or they like and trust you as tenants.

Thirdly, there is no known date or even guarantee of going en bloc until the owners start negotiating with the developers. Even then there are often delays during the whole messy legal process and the deal may never be reached. Agents will therefore only tell you that there is en bloc potential. And once it is confirmed, no owner in his right mind would sell it on the market anymore, when the developer will pay at least twice the market rate. Nor would he need short-term rental which is small change compared to what he will get very soon.

Fourthly, if you really want to move to an en bloc place, generally older developments with lower buildings sitting on biggish parcels of land where the plot ratio is very under-utilised have en bloc potential (though not in the current property market).

And that, my friend, is my free and therefore totally useless wisdom.

[banana]

cheaper rent, probably not. shorter lease, maybe. it might be chump change compared to what the owner will make from the sale but I doubt anyone would turn down a few grand just like that.

the downside is, if the deal goes through sooner than expected, you might be pressed to move again quite unexpectedly.

[ozchick]

My only qualification to comment on this is the S$1million I did not make because I passed on buying an apartment 5 years ago that recently went en bloc.

Aghh! That would be enough to make me cry ! You poor girl ! Is THAT what's wrong with you?!

Seriously though. Thanks Wimoweh ! I feel greatly enlightened (and not only for the spelling),
It's all very odd but it is at least now clearer ! The whole rental situation here is strange. Having the properties listed with multiple agents is new to me as is the idea of an agent for each party.....I'm being edumacated big time in this area !One agent even told me that the landlord might be willing to 'wait' for my availability cos the transaction in Sg can be quite an emotional thing ! Que !

[ozchick]

cheaper rent, probably not. shorter lease, maybe. it might be chump change compared to what the owner will make from the sale but I doubt anyone would turn down a few grand just like that.

the downside is, if the deal goes through sooner than expected, you might be pressed to move again quite unexpectedly.

OK B this makes sense. The shorter lease is really the thing we're after. Then today, I hear that En Bloc (note my excellent spelling please) is becoming rare now..something to do with a government decision recently? Mm... we'll see what gives.......thanks for this.

[banana]

En Bloc (note my excellent spelling please)

[cbavasi]

our first place was an en bloc property - legally they needed to tell us 3 months in advance when we had to move. our landlord told us 6 months - though the complex chatter was so noisy we would have found out anyhow. if the majority of the owners have signed but it has not yet gone through the courts we were told we would have up to 1 year. our move out date was pushed back when an owner passed away and there was some legal issue to be sorted out. we are now in another property that is being renovated next year so we'll have to move out (we'll have been in almost 2 years). on both properties we were able to save some $$ b/c of the lease terms.
i have friends who live in en bloc properties where the owners have all signed an agreement to sell at a certain price but there is no buyer so everything has stalled. really depends on the stage of the sale.

[Wind In My Hair]

Aghh! That would be enough to make me cry ! You poor girl ! Is THAT what's wrong with you?!

That, plus the Porsche I do not own, the Nobel Prize I did not win, the sweetheart I did not marry, the children I did not have, the movies I did not watch, the royalties I did not get from the books I did not write... Other than that, my life is just great!

ps: Being here is doing wonders for your spelling!

[ozchick]

That, plus the Porsche I do not own, the Nobel Prize I did not win, the sweetheart I did not marry, the children I did not have, the movies I did not watch, the royalties I did not get from the books I did not write... Other than that, my life is just great!

Now re that book you didn't write. "Sing A Song Of Singapore" or something like that (a humorous look at the expats of Singapore) is the title and you know you can do it ! Yep WIMH you could write THAT book !I'll buy the first copy ! And I'd highly recommend it !
And from my observations of your literary style it would be a real good read ! Of course I'd expect to be mentioned (on many pages) and would charge you nothing for quoting my great words of wisdom. He he.....................

[sourisso]

First of all, darling, get the Singlish right. It's spelled EN BLOC because we're in Singapore, not Europe.

En bloc is not singlish, it's french, and spelled correctly actually.

"bloque" does not mean anything. (bloqué does, it means "blocked").

all right, i su

[Wind In My Hair]

En bloc is not singlish, it's french, and spelled correctly actually.

"bloque" does not mean anything. (bloqué does, it means "blocked").

all right, i su

Oh my, so we speak perfect French in Singapore after all.

And is 'su' Singlish or French, and what does it mean?

[sourisso]

it means i shut up

[jpatokal]

So, "being en bloc'd" can actually mean three different things...

The first stage is trying to pass the en bloc resolution, where they need to get 80% of owners sign up to demolish the place. Life proceeds more or less as usual, although there have been cases where maintenance is neglected in an attempt to smoke out the tenants who don't want to sign.

The second stage is after the resolution has passed and they're trying to find a buyer who is willing to pay the price. This is the calm before the storm, but no major maintenance work will be done at this stage. Rents fall a little because landlords can't guarantee even a full year, although in practice you'd be looking at a minimum of 6-12 months from the buyer signing to demolition.

And the third stage is after the buyer has signed on the dotted line and the clock is ticking until the day the wrecking crew arrives. At this point, condos basically start falling into total disrepair: basic maintenance is neglected, tenants move out and leave crap in the hallways, the new owner starts drilling test holes and noisily building showflats... so if you're going to rent an apartment in this stage, your rent should be very cheap.

Interesting blog about en-blocing: http://enblocsingapore.blogspot.com/

FWIW, I'm currently living in a "stage 2" en-bloc apartment, but given that it's already failed to find a buyer twice and the way the market is tanking, I'm not expecting to see the wrecking balls anytime soon.

[durain]

so where did it get the name en bloc? end of the block?

why not neu bloc? end bloc? n bloc? o bloc? no bloc? bloc locks?

[jpatokal]

so where did it get the name en bloc? end of the block?

http://www.yourdictionary.com/en-bloc

en bloc (en bläk′; Fr än blō̂k′)

noun

in a mass; as a whole; all together

Etymology: Fr, lit., in a block

Obvious you can't sell and demolish half an apartment building, so the sale of units is done -- ta-dah -- en bloc.