When buying a home, location is key. While easy access to town is essential for many, you can’t fault some homeowners for picking a place with spectacular views over convenience instead.
Celebrity couple Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen took the view of the sea into consideration when buying their new condo in Changi.
Actor-turned-artist Edmund, 61, told Shin Min Daily News in an interview: “Although Changi may be far from the city, it’s very close to the airport. The location reminds me of my time serving in the army too.
“It’s better to have breakfast by the sea, to look at the sea and hope for creative inspiration.”
To that end, their son Chen Xi gifted them a long elm table and “placed it on the balcony, where the family can eat, drink and chat.”
Xiang Yun at the elm table.
PHOTO: Lianhe Zaobao
The couple invested over $1 million into their new flat during the pandemic, when housing prices were low. The move was also motivated by problems they faced in their old apartment in Marine Parade.
Actress Xiang Yun, also 61, said: “It's been 17 to 18 years [in the old flat]. The sink is corroding and the air conditioning pipes are also leaking. It looks like the old home needs to be renovated.”
Renovations in their new Changi home were only recently completed, with Chen Xi giving his parents a challenge to keep decorating costs below $10,000.
Though they received the keys a month ago, Edmund has been living in the flat for a week as the “pest control ambassador”, he revealed in the interview.
“The apartment is very new, and when it was still a construction site, there were inevitably mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and mice so I'm in charge of exterminating,” he said.
It appears to be renovation season for many celebrities.
Actor Chew Chor Meng recently installed a lift and ramps in his house to prepare for future mobility problems he may experience. Unlike Xiang Yun and Edmund, he revealed that he “couldn’t bear to move as we've lived here since 2006”.
Actress-influencer Khaw Xin Lin recently spent $100,000 renovating her Punggol flat to the style of a “modern Scandinavian farmhouse”, while actor Jaspers Lai included smart home technology in his new flat programmed to nag at him and sound like his mum.
Some are looking across the Causeway for property as well.
Actor Yao Wenlong recently purchased a two-storey landed property in Johor Bahru, while actor-getai performer Marcus Chin made plans for his future buying a modest 700 square feet apartment in a retirement village in Johor as well.
However, the 69-year-old added as a caveat that he was not ready to retire yet.
He said: “I'm not rich, how can I retire? Unless I'm dying, I'll keep working.”
This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.
