TERRENE @BUKIT TIMAH (Review - continue)

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We pick up where we left off yesterday.

The second floor of the sales gallery features what the upper level of a 4-Bedroom Penthouse will look like. 


The master bedroom is located on the upper level. This comes across as much smaller than the one we saw in the 3-bedroom unit. This is probably because of the huge roof terrace area that took up quite alot of space on this level.



The master bathroom is definitely more spacious than the one in the 3-bedder. However, the furnishing is similarly unimpressive.


There is no bathtub in the master bath even for the penthouses. The other thing that we find quite strange is the two wall-mounted showers in the standing shower stalls. The wife and I have seen our fair share of "His" and "Hers" bathroom sinks and even wardrobes, but this is the first time we have come across a "His" and "Hers" shower!


There is one other bedroom on this level but this felt more like a study given its small size. There is also a common bathroom outside the "study".

The roof terrace area is huge, so much so that it can accomodate a big jacuzzi (which comes standard with the 4 and 5-bedroom penthouses) and still have enough space to hold a small party for 6 - 8 people.


What we like:
• Location - The wife and I are not exactly big fans of the Jalan Jurong Kechil/Toh Tuck Road area, but it is a relatively straight road from TERRENE to PIE/Dunearn Road/AYE (via Clementi Road), all of which are just minutes’ drive away. However, we understand that the morning traffic along this stretch of road can be quite daunting.

• The upcoming Beauty World MRT Station is supposedly less than 500m from TERRENE. It is also fairly close to eateries and amenities along Bukit Timah Road.

• For those with kids entering primary school come 2015, there is a choice of Bukit Timah or Pei Hua Primary that are within 1-km of TERRENE.

• The Canadian International School (Elementary) and German European School are also within a kilometre from TERRENE, which may mean rental demands from expatriates with children attending these schools.

What we dislike:
• This is the third project by UOL (i.e. after Waterbank @Dakota and Meadows @Pierce) that the wife and I have seen since we began writing our blog. And we are disappointed a third time with the quality of furnishing at TERRENE.

• The common rooms in the showflats are too small for our comfort and please do not even get us started on the tiny utility aka maid’s room in the 3-bedder unit.

• Given the low-rise status (i.e. 5-storey) of this project, the external view of all outward facing units at TERRENE are likely to be blocked. And if you look at the facility offerings and their layouts, there is nothing much to look into even for the inward facing units.

Despite our grievances about TERRENE, there seems to be quite a lot of people that disagree with our take on the project. This is reflected by the extremely strong take-up rate – we were told that developers have sold more than 10 units over last Friday and Saturday alone, so it is not far-fetched to assume that TERRENE will be completely sold out within the next 1 - 2 months.

Price wise, we understand that this ranges from slightly below $1000psf for the penthouses to over $1250psf for the smaller units. So one can buy a 2000+sqft, 999-years tenure, 2-level penthouse in district 21 for about $2 million dollars. Granted that TERRENE is not exactly located at the most fancied part of district 21, but it is still a relatively good deal if you consider the current property market situation.

However, TERRENE is not a project that the wife and I will consider buying into, for obvious enough reasons.
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