Review on 38 Jervois Condo [fire sale 🔥🔥🔥 limited time only]

38 Jervois Road, Singapore 249078

Tel: 9797 7047 / 9232 9737 / 8366 4069

Email: ellouisa.swift@gmail.com 

38 Jervois is a boutique development of freehold condo units, nestled in Good Class Bungalow (GCB) enclave and embassies' estate, in prestigious District 10.

That's along the embassies and Bishopgate Road, where tranquility, safety and lush greenery are abundance. When I walked around the neighborhood, I was wowed by the sprawling length of the long gates and fences of the massive landed homes here. That was when I knew I was on a land of prestige, promise, and probably very important people.

By foot, it took me between 8 to 12 minutes to reach here from Redhill MRT (depending on my footwear of the day), so yeah, no cars, is fine. Meaning to say that all age groups can also stay here, regardless of whether you don't have permission to drive yet, or are a foreigner who has no desire to buy that overpriced car in Singapore.

The condo development has already obtained TOP, meaning "temporary occupation permit" since 2019, so I was able to view actual units. Which is GREAT, because I don't have to imagine how the layout is like, which apartment faces where, or how beautiful / ugly it may be.

I understand that by now,  there are only 16 precious units left here.

At the ground floor, the turqoise pool looks inviting, and one could use the gym equipment right next to it. Totally perfect for nature lovers who hate exercising indoors and are unable to feel that they have "sweated it out", or the energy of great outdoors. If I stayed here, I might ask to put a yoga mat so I can do outdoors yoga here too.

Up the apartments we go.

I enter, feeling the cool marbled floors, and stamp my feet to test its solidness. The nice squarish layout of the living area and bedrooms would make decorating the place an easy affair.

I stand at the kitchen admiring the De Dietrich appliances, tempted to test it out, but then I am drawn to the unblocked views of the balcony that faces me, where breezes kiss and greet me.

There are 3 unit types here for sale currently:

• 2 + 1 type at 818 sqft 
• 3 bedroom at 915 sqft
• 3 bedroom penthouse at 1098 sqft

Okay, I can imagine owners or tenants being thrilled to move into here - immediately, because the house feels so inviting.

Nearby would be Great World City, Valley Point, Tiong Bahru Plaza, Tiong Bahru Market, Redhill MRT, Redhill food centres, and my favorite shopping belt, Orchard Road! That's all super convenient, and don't forget to add atas international schools into the list.

Low density, noiseless neighbours, low quantum pricing for this area and quality. Best of all, there's a fire 🔥🔥🔥 sale going on in June 2020 that cuts off $400,000 (no, I didn't get my zeroes wrong!) from the listed price. What a bargain!

If you are looking for own stay, the above merits would make this almost a dream home. If you are looking for investment, tenability and rental yield here are great, too.

38 Jervois is developed by Prominent Land, an experienced developer of beautiful landed homes. Because this is their first foray into condominium development, they have put in a lot to ensure quality, beauty and comfort in this project.

How should you proceed?

Contact developer's sales team at 9797 7047 / 9232 9737 / 8366 4069 now.

You may also get ready a cheque for 5% option fee, an In-Principle Approval (IPA) done if you are taking a mortgage loan.

All the best for your home hunt here!

The House-Hunting Series [iv] - New Home Sweet Home & House-Warming

Having walked you through the buying of home, selling of existing home, and setting up of home processes,  we have reached the exciting moment - The Big Move.

1. THE BIG MOVE
   With all our cartons ready at the HDB Flat, we awaited the guys from Prestige Movers (link here) to come. We have used them before, and liked their efficient service as well as reasonable rates, therefore it was a no-brainer that we engaged their services again. They would expertly wrap up delicate items such as large paintings, TV sets, and seal cabinets etc before loading them. They also provided cardboard boxes and Scotch tape for our packing needs before the moving day.
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
2. SCATTERING OF RICE, BEAN, SALT AND TEA LEAVES
   To backtrack a little, this was not mentioned prior to our renovations. The moment we got the keys and opened up the door, this vital ritual was performed. We mixed some rice grains, sea salt, green beans and tea leaves together, and scattered them at all corners of the vacant home, while chanting briefly something like "be gone, ye spirits, for I am the rightful owner here."
   
   
   We also left Chinese fortune cake ("fa fao") and fruits at the stove - this is supposed to signify fortune and prosperity. Then in the middle of the entire house, we left 5 types of seeded fruits. The latter is supposed to bring about fertility and growth.
   
   
   We left these items in the house for 3 days before removing them.
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
3. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
   We opened up the door and rolled the Pineapple in. The common saying is, where the pineapple stops, it is the "fortune spot".  A colleague of mine rolled 8 oranges instead of pineapple because she claims pineapples has sharp edges -  therefore I suppose you can use oranges as alternatives too.
   
   
   There's also a sequence of who gets to enter the home first. If there are elderly, they should enter first, followed by the man of the house and then the woman of the house.
   
   
   Then we turned on the taps to let the water run for a short while. And turned on the stove to boil some water and some rice.  I cannot remember what these acts symbolise, but practicality prompted me to test the functionality of my gas stove and taps.
   
   
   Finally, enjoying a simple meal in the premises of the new home with family. My Mom and the Mother-in-law had followed us over to our new abode to witness the moving, so 4 of us enjoyed a simple lunch here.
   
   
   The rest of the day was spent waiting for furniture delivery, as well as delivery of our TV and Washer-Dryer, unpacking stuff, arranging and re-arranging stuff. This busy routine went on for days, a super tiring affair.
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
4. SETTLING IN
   Among the hectic-ness, we had to adjust to a fair bit of stuff in the new place as well. Such as the shift from the West to the East, familiarising ourselves with good places to buy dinner, where to get our groceries from, who our neighbours are, as well as sleeping and waking up in a new environment. New places and new furniture also come with their own smells, which we tried to get used to, as well.
   
   Without bamboo sticks to hang out our clothes to dry, we now had to make do with the washer's drying function very frequently. Also, the kitchen is a lot smaller, and it's an open concept linked to the living room, so we eliminated frying anything at all (pending our air-fryer to come in).
   
   The good thing is that I cultivated a routine where I would swim or visit the gym at least 3 times a week - something I never found time nor motivation to do in the past.
   
   
   
   

   

   
   
   
5. HOUSE-WARMING
   Finally, time for friends to visit our new home! We set the house-warming on a Sunday, a week after we moved in. I believe the house-warming is a very important event as you invite people to "warm" up the home, with their energies and well wishes. It is believed to ward off all negative energies, and to "brighten" the home, something like that.
   
   Planning the house-warming meant booking of the function room, and sending of invites to our friends and colleagues. Then monitoring the RSVPs to see how many persons were actually turning up.  We were quite fortunate that most of the guests could make it, despite the fact that it was 2 weeks away from Chinese New Year.
   
   As for caterers, we had a few in mind (Stamford, Four Seasons, and Kitchen Language) - we settled on Stamford Catering (website here), selecting their Healthy Menu comprising sushi rolls, fried brown rice, fish, prawns, vegetables, etc, etc - a total of 11 courses including drinks and desserts.  The food and service were good - and I liked the CNY decor setup. We had about 55 guests and we catered for 45 pax but apparently there were way too much leftovers (think 6-7 boxes of food).
   
   The function room was a few blocks away from our block, so the Hubby and I took turns to bring different groups of friends up to visit our home. Thankfully our family members were around to help entertain the guests who arrived while we were upstairs conducting house tours.
   
   As for blessings - we were thankful to our friends and colleagues who showered us with gifts of wine, red packets, gift vouchers, etc. The market rate for Housewarming these days average at SGD$50.00, but of course there were those who gave more, and those who gave less. Like weddings, there is no fixed rules, and it all boils down to "from the heart"-  thankful for all of them taking the time to come by and share this joyous moment with us.
   

That pretty much sums up the House-Hunting series; we hope you find the tips useful.  I also wish to highlight that although I made recommendations to certain service providers in this series of blog posts, none of them were sponsored - all of them are honest reviews rendered for paid services by me and my Hubby. For more information, do feel free to drop me an email at cloverwish.leaf@gmail.com.

If you are looking to purchase your matrimonial home now, I wish you a fruitful and joyous hunt! For complimentary advice and consultation, you can also contact my trusted agent here at simonleow.swift@gmail.com. All the best! 👄

BACKTRACKS:

(i) The House-Hunting Series [i] - Seeking The Dream Home

(ii) The House-Hunting Series [ii] - Selling Off The Existing Property
(iii) The House-Hunting Series [iii] - Doing Up The New Home

[Media Invite] Singapore International Jewelry Exhibition 2018 @ MBS

1 Bayfront Avenue, Level 1, Halls A and B, Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, Singapore 018971

Tel: 6278 8666

Website: https://www.sije.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SIJE.Page

Dates: 26th July - 29th July 2018 (Thursday to Sunday)

Time: 11.30am - 9.30pm except for Sunday 11.30am - 8.30pm

Admission Fees: Free of charge

Image Source: provided by The Rain Maker

Having been dazzled by fine jewelry creations last year (review here), I was delighted to be back for this year's Singapore International Jewelry Festival ("SIJE"), where jewellers from all over the globe come to showcase their stunning collection of gemstones, diamonds, and other designer pieces. To be precise, there will be more than 223 exhibitors hailing from 26 countries!

SIJE is also Singapore's largest consumer jewelry show, as well as the region's most sustainable show. This year, some of the highlights comprise it's teaming up with HotLotz Auction House to offer longevity to jewelry and gemstones, remarkable showcase from exotic continents of Africa and Latin America, as well as an exceptional pigeon blood oval ruby set into a necklace.

The event commenced with an opening speech by Mr. Edward Liu, Group Managing Director of Conferences & Exhibitions Management Services (CEMS). This was followed by Guest-of-Honor Dr. Lily Neo' s speech and ribbon cutting ceremony, and introduction of the women leaders who are also SIJE's community partners.

A  bridal fashion show by Ann Teoh Couture ensued next, with models in beautiful gowns showcasing gorgeous pieces of jewelry from different jewelry houses.

Let's have a look at the setup this year. Yes, there are indeed jewellers from all over the world - Singapore, Japan, Burma, India, Europe, USA, Latin America, Africa, etc. The fine display of jewelry was both dazzling and enriching, as we made the rounds to interview various jewelry houses and their designers to find out what inspires them.

Finally, Goody-bag and media kits for us.

Thank you Nalini, Yu Fan and Dean from The Rain Makers for the invite once again!

Remember to head down to Marina Bay Sands this weekend to check out this dazzling international jewelry exhibition and choose something of your heart's desire.

Shop online with ASOS discount codes and cashback with ShopBack

Payday has just arrived and I browse online stores excitedly, wondering what to shop for, more clothes probably. Online shopping is not only flexible, but also more affordable and convenient (plus I can buy anything 24/7 without having to wait for the stores' opening hours) - and my items are delivered to my doorsteps.

Recently, I heard of  ShopBack, which is a fabulous site offering cashback rewards on my online purchases. Yes, you heard it right - cash back on my shopping - meaning, savings on top of savings!! Curious to know how it works, I did a little research, and was glad to discover that Asos is under their merchants too. So now I could buy lots of dresses and still receive cash back for them!

So, recently, I was invited to try ShopBack out for myself, and I logged onto their website to register for an account.  It was a fuss-free process where I could sign up with my email or Facebook account. Within minutes, I was in.

Once I signed up, I clicked on Asos'  box to be directed to their website. Remember that you must be re-directed to the merchant's website from ShopBack, in order to enjoy the cash back benefits. See, before I shopped, I was already informed that I would be enjoying 3.5% cashback from Asos - how exciting is that!

I landed at Asos' original website, and selected the products I was interested to buy, and keyed in the discount code. Upon successful payment of my purchases, my cashback earnings would be reflected on the panel, redeemable anytime to be credited back to my bank account. Imagine that, earning cash returns for shopping - every girl's dream come true. Head over to Shopback now and buy clothes with Asos discount codes.

Besides Asos, I also took the liberty of checking out Zalora's stuff from Shopback website. I have reason to buy more clothes now that there's also Zalora promo codes together with cashback, relentlessly tempting me to make full use of these attractive savings for my shopping pleasure.

There's something for my hubby on the site as well - as I search for hotel deals on Booking.com for our upcoming Bangkok and Vancouver trips together. Imagine earning up to 6% cashback for travelling - now we could afford to spend more on flights and good food.

Wait, did I say food? My rumbling stomach reminds me that I need to eat in between shopping online for clothes and hotels, and that I need to shop for food now. Let's see... there's even savings on food deals on ShopBack's site, wow. All right, I am going to pen off now to hunt for good food deals for dinner tonight, so that we could recharge before another online shopping bout afterwards!

Thank you ShopBack for the total savings earned today for my shopping, travelling and dining needs; I will definitely be using you more often, and sharing you with my friends and family!

[Media Invite] Singapore International Jewelry Expo 2017 @ Marina Bay Sands

Singapore International Jewelry Expo is back in town - the region's largest consumer jewelry show with more than 200 exhibitors from 25 countries showcasing over USD$150 million dollars' worth of international jewelry, gems and luxury timepieces.  SIJE 2017 celebrates the love of jewelry with stunning gemstones that make a statement. Several "gifts from the heart" celebrations by the offsprings of well-known jewelers will make their debut at the show, presenting their own creations for a new generation of jewelry enthusiasts.

"Whimsical" - from The Magical Land Collection by Caratell

What: Singapore International Jewelry Expo 2017 (SIJE 2017)
When: 6th July to 9th July 2017

Where: Marina Bay Sands Convention Halls A and B

Time: 11.30am to 8.30pm (6-8 Jul) / 11.30am to 7.30pm (9 Jul)

Website: http://www.sije.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SIJE.Page

"Tree of Dreams" Pendant / Brooch

One Thousand and One Tales Ring by Simone Jewels

This spectacular event will be sectionized to exhibit jewelry designed by the next generation of jewelers as well as rare finds, ultimate collection and more than 500 pieces of specially-commissioned limited edition jewelry. For the jewelry investors, there will also be experts at the event to advise you on investing in rare gemstones worldwide.

I was honoured to be invited for the Opening Ceremony on 6th July at 3.00pm, opened by MP Dr. Lily Neo, followed by a Jewelry Fashion Show. If you have missed this, you can also enjoy the Qipao Fashion Show on 8th July at 3.00pm. I was bedazzled after eye-feasting on all these sparkly pieces of art known as jewelry.

Wait no further - head over to the SIJE 2017 this weekend to visit this glittery gargantuan spectacle, be dazzled, learn about exquisite jewelry pieces and simply admire the beauty of it all.

Thank you The Rain Maker team for the invite.

Fairy Tale theme by DeGems

2-Sided Earrings by Simone Jewelry

A Ring for 2 fingers by Simon Jewelry

Beautiful pendant that opens up to a locket - Simone Jewelry