Foresta @Mount Faber: Review (Part 2)

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The other showflat in the sales gallery of Foresta is a 926sqft, 2-bedroom ground-floor unit (Type C2G).

C2G

For those who are not interested in ground floor units (read: large PES), the typical Type C2 unit is 786sqft.

The kitchen is on your left as you enter the unit. And unlike the 1-bedroom apartment, the kitchen is distinctly separated from the living/dining room. It comes equipped with similar furnishing and kitchen appliances as the 1-bedder. However, you get homogenous tiles for the kitchen floor, which we reckon is more appropriate than marble. The wife and I also like the “pull out” storage cabinet between the integrated fridge and washing machine (see photo).
Kitchen

The living/dining room is rectangular-shaped and is spacious enough for a small sofa set plus a 4-seater dining table. It comes with similar 90cm x 90cm large marble-slab floor and 4.2m high ceiling (3.2m for 2nd floor and above). 

Living

The common bathroom is almost square-shaped and of decent size. It comes with homogenous-tile walls and floors as well as “Keramag” toilet and “Grohe” bathroom fittings. The wife and I were slightly disappointed with the standing shower stall, which has a rather “plasticky” look to it.

Common Bath

The common bedroom is small – the photo we took is actually quite flattering compared to the actual size. Maybe this is the reason why there is no bay window for this project? (else the bedrooms will be even smaller!)

Common Bedroom

The master bedroom seems surprisingly smaller than the one in the 1-bedder showflat. And instead of separate “His” and “Hers” set of wardrobe, you get the standard “2-panel” wardrobe here.
Master Bedroom

The master bathroom is quite good size, with similar look and feel as the common bathroom. This is with the exception of the shower stall, which looked more appealing than the one in the common bathroom. However, those expecting a bath tub or maybe “rain shower” (as a consolation) will be disappointed.

Master Bath

Price wise, this is what you can expect to pay for a 2-bedder unit in Foresta:
• #02-28 (721sqft, inward-facing): $1,369,900 nett or $1,900psf
• #02-01 (667sqft, inward-facing): $1,267,000 nett or $1,900psf

What we like:
Foresta is about 450m away from the upcoming Telok Blangah MRT station and 980m away from Harbourfront MRT station – not exactly at your doorsteps but still within reasonable walking distances. Vivocity is also supposedly a 10-minutes walk away, which may appeal to those working in Harbourfront or thereabouts.

• The high ceiling (4.2m/3.2m), which is especially welcomed given the (small) size of the units.

• The quality of furnishing provided – we like the well-designed kitchen, the good quality marble floors and the appealing wardrobes.

• Two primary schools are within 1-km of Foresta – Radin Mas & Blangah Rise Primary.

What we dislike:
• Location – We were unimpressed with the “sights” around Foresta. The surrounding buildings looked rather dated and poorly maintained, which gives the whole area a rather “sad” look. Granted that all these may change by the time Foresta is completed in 4 years’ time, so one can always hope!
View

• We suspect the stretch of roads outside Foresta (i.e. Morse Road & Wishart Road) will be rather congested during the weekends, as you probably find cars belonging to church-goers (there are at least 4 churches along that short stretch of roads) parking on both sides of the narrow roads.

• Many marketing agents for Foresta will tell you that the project faces Keppel Club and Reflections at Keppel Bay. But in reality, there is not much in terms of view for “outward facing” units in Foresta given the height of the project (5-storey) – you either face the row of old shophouses/the flyover along Telok Blangah Road (for front-facing units) or Pender Road along the foot of Mount Faber (for back-facing units). So the “best facing” units are probably the inward (pool-facing) ones.

• Speaking of inward-facing units – the distance between Blocks 100/102 and Blocks 106/108 is a mere 15 metres. This is a tad too close for our comfort but good news for curtain/window-blind makers.

• The amount of PES/balcony space is disproportionately large compared to the overall size of the unit. Do you really need two balconies (one in the living room and one in the master bedroom) for a 700sqft, 2-bedroom unit? This is especially when you are paying full price for the balcony space!

Our Verdict: The wife and I feel that Foresta is hardly value for money by any stretch of our imaginations. The project is average at best in terms of location (at the wrong “foot” of Mount Faber), mediocre in terms of its facility offerings and not quite “high end” enough in terms of interior quality (some furnishing in the showflat we really like but not enough to pay the kind of money the developer is asking). At $1,900psf or above, one can still have quite a few options for freehold projects even at current market prices. However, given the rate at which units in Foresta have been snapped up so far, maybe the buyers knew something that we don’t…?!

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Foresta @Mount Faber: Review (Part 1)

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Project Name:   The Foresta @ Mount Faber
Tenure:   Freehold
Location:   100 – 108 Wishart Road
District:   4
Site Area:   65,480sqft
TOP (estimated):   31 June 2015
Total Units:   141
No. of Blocks/Storey:   4 Blocks of 5-Storey each
Car Park Lots:   Basement Parking 144 lots (including 3 handicap lots)
Developer:   Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd
Facing:   North-South Orientation

The wife and I went to check out Foresta @Mount Faber last week. This is the latest freehold project by Hoi Hup Realty located at the foot of Mount Faber.Foresta - location

As some of you may recall, Hoi Hup bough the site (where Pender Court is currently located) for $95 million in June 2010. The land price worked out to around $1,007psf ppr.
 Actual Site

The Foresta’s sales gallery is located off-site (since Pender Court is currently occupied) on an open ground at the end of Wishart Road. One actually will pass by the actual site (Pender Court) before arriving at the sales gallery.Sales gallery

The Foresta consists of 4 blocks, each of 5-Storey high. Preview for this project officially started last Wednesday and to date, 50% of the 141 units are already sold.

The freehold project offers a mix of 1 to 3-bedder apartment units, as well as 1+Study to 4-bedroom penthouses:

• 1 Bedroom (43 units):   431 – 506sqft
• 1+Study (11 units):   538 – 624sqft
• 2 Bedrooms (54 units):   667 – 947sqft
• 3 Bedrooms (4 units):   1076/1109/1,238sqft
• 1+Study Penthouse (11 units):   775sqft
• 2 Bedrooms Penthouse (3 units):   958sqft
• 2+Study Penthouse (4 units):   1195sqft
• 3+Utility Penthouse (10 units):   1356/1378/1453sqft
• 4 Bedrooms Penthouse (1 unit):   1755sqft

All ground-floor units come with 4.2m high ceiling, while the ceiling height of 2nd – 5th floor apartments are 3.2m.

Schm Chart

Foresta is marketed as a full-facility condominium project, MINUS the tennis court. But given the small site area, the facility offerings are rather basic for supposedly a “high-end” project.

There are only sufficient parking lots in the basement for 1 car per household, unless one wishes to be demonised for parking your second car in the 3 handicapped lots.Site Plan

There are 2 showflat types on display at the sales gallery:

• A 484sqft, 1-bedroom ground-floor unit (Type A1G)
• A 926sqft, 2-bedroom ground-floor unit (Type C2G)

For the first part of our review on Foresta, we shall concentrate on the Type A1G unit.

For those of you who are not interested in ground-floor units, you be pleased to know that the typical Type A units (i.e. 2nd – 4th floor, balcony instead of PES) is 431sqft and have the exact same interior layout as Type A1G.

A1G

As you enter the unit, the small kitchenette is immediately on your left. We called this a “kitchenette” (rather than a kitchen) because it is not really designed for “heavy” cooking – the induction hob is a dead giveaway.The wife and I were rather impressed with the quality of furnishing, which include

• Kitchen cabinets that come with “anti-slam” mechanism
• Doors of top-hung cabinets that open upwards i/o outwards
• Sauce rack provided inside the bottom cabinet
• Excellent quality solid-surfaced kitchen top

The developer is also very generous on kitchen appliances. You get “Teka” hob/hood, fridge, oven and washing machine. The integrated oven, fridge and washing machine keep the kitchenette area clutter-free and frees up much needed “manoeuvring” space.

We also love the 90cm x 90cm large marble-slab floors in the kitchen & living/dining areas.

Kitchenette

The living/dining room is TINY and has barely enough space for a two-seater dining table and a small sofa (see photo). The wife and I actually felt a little claustrophobic with just the 3 of us (i.e. ourselves and the sales agent) standing inside the living room.
  Living

The master bedroom is surprising spacious compared to the living/dining room. It comes with large timber-strip floors and very appealing set of “His” and “Hers” wardrobes. Master Bedroom

There is only one bathroom in the whole unit and this is located inside the master bedroom. The bathroom is decent-sized and comes with branded “Keramag” toilet and “Grohe” bathroom fittings. But given the size of the unit, you only get a standing shower stall (no bath tub). The wife and I were somewhat disappointed with the developer for not “marbling up” the bathroom, especially given the kind of money that one is expected to pay.
 Master Bath



Price-wise, a 431sqft, 1-bedroom unit on the 4th floor (#04-04, facing Wishart Road) will cost you $859,900 after discount. This translates to $1,995psf!.

We will continue our review on the 2-bedroom unit (Type C2) and our likes/dislikes of Foresta in our next post.

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New Project Launching: The Foresta @Mount Faber

For those who are seeking a freehold (albeit smallish) property near Mount Faber.
the-foresta-at-mount-faber

Project Name : The Foresta @ Mount Faber

Developer : Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd

Description : Proposed Condominium Housing Development Comprising 5 Storey Residential Flats (total 141 units) with an Attic, a Basement Car Park and Provision for a Swimming Pool 

Tenure : Freehold

Location : 100 – 108 Wishart Road 

District : 4

Site Area : 65,480.64 sqft

TOP (Est) : 31 June 2015 

Total Units : 141 

Car Park Lots : Basement Parking 144 lots (including 3 handicap lots)

Facing : North-South Orientation

Site Plan:
site-map

Unit Type:
• 1 Bedroom : 431sqft – 506sqft (43 units)
• 1+Study : 538sqft – 624 sqft (11 units)
• 2 Bedrooms : 667sqft – 947sqft (54 units)
• 3 Bedrooms : 1,076/1109/1,238sqft (4 units)
• 1+Study Penthouse : 775 sqft (11 units)
• 2 Bedrooms Penthouse : 958sqft (3 units)
• 2+Study Penthouse : 1,195sqft (4 units)
• 3+Utility Penthouse : 1,356/1,378/1,453sqft (10 units)
• 4 Bedrooms Penthouse : 1,755sqft (1 unit)

The wife and I understand that registration for VVIP Preview (sometime in May) has already begun. And in order to register, the following documents are COMPULSORY:
1) Particular of Purchaser form
2) Letter of Authorization
3) Photocopy of buyers’ NRIC
4) Signed cheque with payee to developer’s project account

So… we are reverting back to the good ‘o days of cheque collection. Deja vue  indeed!

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