Ravi Chandran
Knight Frank Singapore announced recently that it is offering a freehold retail podium of 8 adjoining ground floor shops in District 14 for sale via Expression of Interest (EOI).
The freehold retail podium of shops are fully tenanted and comprise a fitness centre, laundromat, dancing studio, dental and medical clinics, as well as other retail trades.
The shops are located within the retail podium of Grandview Suites, at the prime corner of Geylang Road and Lorong 22 Geylang. Completed in 2016, Grandview Suites is a 5-storey mixed development comprising 52 apartments and 8 ground floor shops. The total floor area of the 8 strata shops is 8,804 sq ft, with unit sizes ranging from 409 sq ft to 3,068 sq ft.
The share value of the freehold retail podium of shops constitutes 26.7% of the total share value of the development.
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All 8 shops are highly visible as they face the main road and are situated in good proximity to both Aljunied and Mountbatten MRT stations. The property also enjoys easy access to the Central Business District, Changi Airport and other parts of Singapore.
Geylang is an area with a rich architectural heritage and is 1 of the 5 growth areas earmarked in Singapore. The shops are within the bustling part of Geylang with high vehicular and human traffic, and is surrounded by conservation shophouses, F&B establishments and hotels.
The combined large floor area of the 8 adjoining shops will provide flexibility in space reconfiguration for the new owner, to meet their needs for owner-occupation or other retail uses.
“The recurring income, freehold tenure and exact siting of the shops in the conspicuous corner of two busy main roads are great attributes for drawing footfall and common on the checklist of prospective buyers, so a very healthy amount of interest is expected,” shares Mary Sai, Executive Director of Capital Markets for Land & Building, Collective & Strata Sales, Knight Frank Singapore.
As the shophouses are zoned for Commercial use, there will be no Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty and Seller’s Stamp Duty payable. Foreigners and companies are also eligible to purchase they properties.
The guide price for the freehold retail podium of 8 shops is S$26 million. The EOI will close on 15 June 2021, at 3pm.
Mr Paul Ho, chief officer at iCompareLoan, said: “The most attractive part of this offering is that it is a freehold podium. This is because financing institutions may quote a lower loan quantum for units running low on their lease.”
Loans
Borrowers for commercial properties are allowed to take a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of up to 80%, even with outstanding residential mortgages. The maximum loan tenor typically stands at 30 years. However, loans for commercial property tend to command a higher interest rate relative to residential property loans. Like the latter, these loans come in
- Fixed Rate Package
- Variable (Floating) Rate Package
The requirements for a commercial loan, however, are more stringent. For example, the LTV ratio is contingent on whether the property is for owner-occupation or investment, with the latter subjected to stricter criteria by some banks. The next section explains the approval conditions in greater detail.
Credit worthiness and approval for commercial loans in Singapore
For purchases made under your name only your income, outstanding debts and credit history will be assessed. The maximum LTV ratio for a commercial mortgage is set at 80%, even with existing housing mortgages. But financing institutions will take a holistic approach in deciding whether to grant you a 80% loan.
For purchases made under a private limited or LLP company, the financiers will evaluate if the company has a cash flow record over the past few years that is sufficient to fund this investment. For instance, a company earning a monthly profit of S$15,000 deposits it into the company’s account in a timely manner, the lenders can, thus, lend up to 60 to 80% (typically) of this S$15,000. In other words, you can obtain a loan up to 60 to 80% of the debt servicing ratio (DSR). This is much higher than the DSR for residential property bought by an individual.
Conversely, buying under a private limited or LLP company without adequate cash flow or profit (or if the companies are special purpose vehicles), may result in the banks requiring that the directors guarantee any loans taken by the company under their individual capacity. The directors may also need to be Permanent Residents or Singaporeans. In many cases, these directors will need to furnish documentary proof that most of their incomes are derived from that company. If they earn their income from elsewhere, some banks will not grant the loan even with them as guarantors. While others may.
From time to time, credit officers of the financiers will impose new rules and conduct additional documentation checks. Often, credit officers may ask for more supporting documents if they want to do tighter cross checks.
