Ravi Chandran
Freehold four-storey commercial building near Jalan Besar MRT station for sale at $23.5 million
JLL, as the exclusive marketing agent, is inviting offers through an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise for the purchase of 7 Hindoo Road, a Jalan Besar freehold commercial building. The freehold four-storey commercial building is located near Jalan Besar MRT station.
The freehold four-storey commercial building enjoys a prominent 15-metre wide frontage, occupies a land area of 3,519 sf and gross floor area (GFA) of approximately 13,970 sf. Under the 2014 Master Plan, the site is zoned for “Commercial” use. The property is currently leased to a retail shop on the ground floor and offices on the upper floors.
Each floor within the building comes with a regular, column-free layout with generous ceiling height and can be accessed by lift. Subject to approval from relevant authorities, potential uses include food & beverage (F&B), showroom, medical suites and entertainment amongst others. The incoming owner has potential naming and signage rights for the property.
Situated in-between the bustling Jalan Besar Road and Serangoon Road, the property is located within a short walk from Jalan Besar MRT Station, Farrer Park MRT Station and Little India MRT Station. With its city-fringe location, the Jalan Besar freehold commercial building is within a short 10-minutes’ drive to the Central Business District (CBD).
The freehold four-storey commercial building is also easily accessible to other parts of Singapore via Pan Island Expressway (PIE), Central Expressway (CTE) and East Coast Parkway (ECP).
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From its culturally rich past, the Jalan Besar and Serangoon area has evolved into a bustling commercial and medical hub, well-served by a myriad of trendy F&B and lifestyle offerings. The area is undergoing further rejuvenation with the development of several new developments including Arc 380, Centrium Square, Connexion and Park Hotel Farrer Park.
Mr Clemence Lee, Senior Director, JLL, says: “With prices of shophouses and boutique buildings located in the CBD reaching record levels, we’re starting to notice that some investors are beginning to divert their attention to city-fringe properties instead as prices have yet to catch-up and rental yields are comparatively higher. Coupled with the improving office market fundamentals, we believe that 7 Hindoo Road offers a compelling investment opportunity to astute investors.”
“Furthermore, with existing leases running on a month-to-month basis, the property offers investors the opportunity to value-add by either commencing refurbishment works immediately to improve the property or to change the existing tenant mix to increase rental returns. Alternatively, owner-occupiers would be able to purchase, fit-out and occupy the building straight away.” he added.
The guide price for the freehold four-storey commercial building is in the region of $23.5 million which reflects approximately $1,760 psf on the total gross floor area. It was previously put up for sale at a guide price of $25 million in February last year, without any success.
As the property sits on land zoned for commercial use, foreigners are eligible to purchase the building. There is also no Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) or Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) imposed on the purchase of the property.
The freehold four-storey commercial building is being marketed through an Expression of Interest exercise which closes on Tuesday, 20 March 2019 at 3pm.
Mr Paul Ho, Chief Mortgage Consultant at iCompareLoan, said that despite the downturn brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic downturn, Singapore is still an attractive residential market for investors.
Although the property market exuberance has been curbed to some extent with the property cooling measures introduced last year, Singapore as a property market investment destination still remains among the top – shoulder to shoulder with other cities in the world like London, New York, Shanghai and Sydney.
“We have to be mindful that there is a lot of excess capital fluidity here and at 1.9 – 2 percent, Singapore has one of the lowest interest rates for home loans in the region,” he added.
The freehold four-storey commercial building will be especially attractive to investors because of its location and its freehold status, as investment properties of such nature are scarce in that area. The fact that there is also no ABSD or SSD imposed on the purchase of the property, adds to the attractiveness of the property.
A few factors should inform your decision to buy a commercial property:
- Affordable?
Use calculators to see if the mortgage payments on the new loan is affordable given your current salary. Ccommercial property loan calculators help you know the mortgage payments from the different financial providers.
- Change in credit situation
Since the last time you took the loan, has your salary/company’s results/financial position improved or deteriorated? Have you been late in payment of debt? Did you sign on to be a guarantor or taken up more debt? Do you have a tenant? What is the remaining lease? All these factors will be considered when you apply for refinancing as your credit profile will be reassessed.
- Costs
Financing commercial property may lead to costs such as those relating to valuation, legal, etc. Look out for promotions where banks/financing companies waive charges.
- Clawback and lock-in period
Review your letter of offer and read up on the clawback and lock-in period to ensure that financing makes sense for you. If the switch is onerous and costly, it may not be worthwhile.
- Shop around
Once you have done your homework on the above, you can shop around for the financial institution that offers the loan package that suits you and look out for promotions. Make sure you view the loan package from the various financial providers, but do note that there are different rates for properties bought under personal name or company name.
- Documentation
You will likely be asked to provide the following in the application if you apply to finance commercial property. Have these ready on hand if your property is bought under a company name.
- Copy of NRIC/Passport
- Income statement and/or audited financials (corporation)
- Bank statements
- Loan account statement from existing financing company showing repayment history
- Latest CPT withdrawal statement for property to be refinanced (if there is utilization of CPF)
- Title Deed
A good Mortgage broker can assist you to refinance commercial property safely, further more, it’s free of charge as they receive a fee from the bank when a loan is completed. Think of them (mortgage brokers) as Supermarket assistants who can guide you on a number of brands of noodles. Talk to them about your taste, whether you want it a bit salty or sweeter, spicy or not, etc. They will find you the bank loan on the shelf.
