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Finally... the holiday/retirement home is completed and delivered! Many of you have been waiting in anticipation with me on the outcome of taking delivery of my apartment in the outskirt of Xiamen, China. How did it go? Was the process smooth? Were there hiccups? Was the finishing satisfactory? Read on to find out! (All the photos you see here are physically taken by me and not copied from a website or brochure)
Pix Left: View of the apartment block from the swimming pool |
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Welcome to my holiday/retirement home in Xiamen, China
The final process went very well, thank you very much! I arrived in Xiamen on 31 June 2008, Saturday morning. As usual, I boarded the shuttle bus to the new apartment. Together with me were another 20-30 excited new owners - though most of them chose to drive - being residents of Xiamen itself. Breakfast were served to us on arrival, how thoughtful, and the entire paperwork process to establish ownership took a quick 20 minutes. In twenty minutes, I was holding the keys to my new apartment in Xiamen, China! It was now time to inspect the apartment. I was impressed that the clubhouse was recently renovated. Landscaping and greenery were very well-done throughout the entire development. Shared amenities such as tennis courts, cafe, gym, children playground, grocery store were operational. The swimming pool was also ready but not operational as it seem that the filtration system was not yet working. All in, pretty satisfactory.
View
from front porch of apartment. The exterior of the apartment block looks good. Glass lifts. Impressive lobby. And now... for the final moment of truth... unlocking the apartment. The fantastic view from the balcony remains. The apartment interior deco was as what was promised in the brochures. All the air-conditioner, fridge, oven, LCD TV and furniture were in place as promised. Except that the some renovation finishing were poor by international standards, there were paint marks and there were renovation debris still in nooks and corners. Poor finishing mar an otherwise almost flawless project. I was adamant that they changed the entire balcony wooden platform as the cutting was uneven and the base dirty and uncleaned. To my surprise, they agreed to do so. The developer was also surprised that I spent an hour or more inspecting every nook and corner. Most other owners spent a quick 10 minutes inspecting their new apartments and went away happy. Not me. I just did some renovation work in my current house and hence were able to tell what and where had gone wrong.
I spent the next two days inspecting the apartment. I stayed in Xiamen but took the shuttle every morning to inspect the improvement work. I was glad to see that most of my requests were taken care of. Some requests, such as re-running of air-conditioner pipes and change of glass panels were not accepted, and I had to live with it, this being the acceptable standard in China. All in, a satisfactory exercise. I ventured to buy a new apartment in the suburbs of Xiamen two years ago and I am glad to see it come to fruition smoothly. The entire development has taken on a life of it's own and I see yet even more villas and condominiums being built. Apparently, this project has struck a chord with many people about the need for a green and healthy lifestyle and hence, continue to enjoy healthy sales. The developer also told me that they were just granted approval to build a 5-star hotel, an indoor heated swimming pool, and a golf-course within this development. Owners and residents will also be able to enjoy these new amenities. Was this apartment worth my time, money and effort? I should certainly think so. Coming from an expensive country like Singapore, paying about US$45K for a fully furnished 81sqm apartment in a fenced and serviced community-living compound is certainly worthy. In fact, coming from a congested city, just to have the fresh air and fabulous view from the bedroom and living hall was worth the money in itself! If you are interested in this project for either holiday, leisure, investment or retirement purposes, do get in touch with me at this email: cheong_@_chinese-culture.net and I'll help as much as I can. (Drop the two _. This is to prevent spam getting through) Oh yes, just in case you thought this trip was all work and no play, check out this fabulous hotspring spa, Riyuegu Hotspring Spa, nearby that we spent a fabulous time. You can read more about it at my wife's blog. |
Why
did I buy this apartment? Singapore is an island state located in South East Asia. The pace if life here is hectic and cost of living is high. There is also no social or medical security when we retire. Hence, many of us are looking towards a slower, healthier pace of life after retirement and where cost of living is also lower so as to stretch our savings. Many have chosen to go to Australia or Thailand. Most Singaporeans are Chinese by ancestry and some of us can even trace our ancestry to Fujian, the province where Xiamen is located. If you have similar plans, or wish to live in China with English speaking Singaporeans, we welcome you to join our group! Chronology
of Events:
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