Navigating the Struggles of Property Ownership and Rental Across Cultures

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For the past 8 years, I have been  renting in Australia while my Singapore property has been rented out. This is my personal account of the challenges faced as a distant landlord.It has been a very interesting journey, with its ups and downs. Having found UPFRNT 2 years ago, it has really made my life easier .- Emma Tan, UPFRNT client.

In Singapore, the property rental market is unique due to the high ownership of public housing flats, particularly HDB flats. Most local Singaporeans do not rent, often staying with family until they marry and purchase their own HDB flat. My journey as a landlord began when I moved to Australia and rented out my flat in Singapore, becoming a tenant overseas.

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Lack of Professional Property Management: The Crucial Missing Piece in Singapore

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I've observed that the rental market in Singapore lacks the structured approach seen in Australia with respect to property management, where two-thirds of property owners or investors enlist property managers after leasing out their units.

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In Singapore, most individual (meaning non-institutional) landlords do not employ any property management services, instead they reply on property agents or friends or family members to help monitor their properties on an ad-hoc basis.

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Property agents in Singapore are not obligated to handle property management as part of their service, many agents offer assistance as a gesture of goodwill, seeking to nurture positive client relationships for future rental renewals. While they may act as a intermediary between tenants and landlords for property issues, their priority is property sales or rental transactions, thus often maintenance requests or property management are not adequately or promptly addressed; resulting in frustrations for both tenants or landlords.

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Change of Tenants: A Concern

The absence of structured property inspections adds to the challenges. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that many rented HDB units have shared tenants, including my own. Do I have real control over new tenants? Not really. I occasionally receive new tenant details from my property agent and am asked for administrative approval online with HDB regarding my new tenants. I've often wondered if my agent conducts background checks on the new tenant's details. As a remote landlord residing overseas, I rely entirely on my property agent and have no direct insight into the state of my rental unit in Singapore.

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Monthly Rent Collection: A Continuing Challenge

Rent collection can be quite burdensome for landlords, as it requires regular monitoring of bank accounts for timely payments. I've personally experienced the frustration of occasionally missing these cheques, only to realize that tenants had fallen behind on payments. This necessitates sending reminder messages through my property agent, adding to the administrative load. I've heard similar stories from landlord friends who, due to their busy schedules, lost track of monitoring monthly rent payments. Additionally, occasional requests from tenants for extended repayment time further complicate matters.

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Eviction Notice: Dealing with Unexpected Challenges

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I received a call from an HDB inspector about my rental unit. The inspector mentioned that there were more than 10 people living in the flat. This contravenes HDB regulations regarding the maximum occupancy in an HDB rental flat. I was shocked to learn that the frequent turnover of tenants had completely altered the original profile of my main tenants.

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I was also puzzled about how there were 10 tenants in my unit when I had only approved 6 persons! As a landlord, I bear full responsibility for my rental property. Failure to adhere to legal requirements in renting out my property may result in fines from HDB and could lead to being barred from renting it out in the future. In a state of horror, I sprang into action, frantically calling my property agent for advice. Fortunately, she was extremely helpful and suggested that I evict the tenants as they had violated HDB requirements, prompting the issuance of an eviction notice. I thought my ordeal would end once they vacated the property. However, to my dismay, the tenants did leave but also abandoned their rubbish and belongings throughout my property. The experience was unsettling enough to remind me of the importance of thorough tenant screening, especially during tenant transitions. This incident could have been prevented with regular property inspections and a professional property manager in charge.

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Reflecting on the chaos left by the evicted tenants, I empathized deeply with fellow landlords who chose to sell their investment properties. A lingering thought occasionally crept into my mind: would I uncover hidden skeletons in my storeroom left by tenants, considering I haven't been back to my home for years? The truth is, being a landlord can be burdensome and overwhelming, especially when faced with lengthy and costly rental disputes or challenging tenants.

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Discovering UPFRNT was godsend

I was introduced to UPFRNT 2 years ago, and I am so glad that there is now a trusted service in Singapore that  can help me eliminate the problems I've described above.

Receiving my rents from them in advance in one lump sum really relieves me of all rent tracking duties. I no longer need to be checking my bank account monthly and alert my property agent to remind the tenants.

UPFRNT also has a property and maintenance manager who will deal with issues with my flat. For any change of tenants, they help to do some background checks on the tenants to ensure they have the necessary work permits before asking me to approve on the HDB portal.

One more aspect I appreciate about UPFRNT is the inventory warranty. I’ve upgraded my service plan to include maintenance, which means my appliances are covered in case of breakdowns—without any extra cost to me.

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