JayCee wrote:
Yes agreed, I have been lucky that my own place in London has only been empty for a couple of months out of 5 years and I would have reduced the price slightly to get someone in if it had gone much longer. Doesn't seem to be the same in Singapore though, they'd rather let it be empty than take a price that they deem below their valuation, cultural thing related to 'face' I think
Good for you. I tend to be very pragmatic, and for example on my own place in London when I left for SG in '08 I took a 15% haircut on the rent to get it let with a circa 3 week initial void. That was right at the Armageddon stage of the GFC though, so basically the market was quite clearly entirely f'd. Three years on I'm right back to the rent level I initially wanted and have had one change with IIRC a one week void. I consider that a result.
The way I look at it is, an
additional (to the initial 3 week actual void) say 3 month void if I stubbornly held out for the asking rent would have cost me the same as letting it go at the 'original-15%' rent for a nearly 8 year fixed rent term. But I was back at the level I originally wanted by year 3.
That's why voids kill, and although I get all the 'face' stuff, it sounds like something of an expensive ego-thing for a landlord!
Edit: To change the date I left for SG
