Value-Add Playbook — "The yield is not found, it is created"

1. Private strata shop (retail/F&B strata unit)

Play	Rule	Numbers	Question
Half-shop / sub-let a portion	Landlord-consent informal sub-letting is the fast route; a FORMAL split into two saleable strata lots needs URA plan lodgment + BCA share-value re-allocation (application fee S$1,500 per application) + MCST involvement.	Smaller subdivided units fetch a HIGHER psf on sale, but only the visible/entrance-near ones let easily — buildings with heavy subdivision get "unfriendly layouts" from the exercise (industry commentary, citicommercial.com.sg).	Is this unit's frontage/entrance position strong enough that a smaller half survives, or does subdividing just create a second unit nobody wants?
Fit-out for the highest-psf trade this catchment supports	URA use-check FIRST (`01-ListingAgent/tools/use_check.py`) — never fit out ahead of a confirmed use. F&B infrastructure (gas, exhaust, grease trap) is the single highest-value fit-out on record in the fleet's own data (The Midtown).	—	What trade is this catchment's age/income profile (`catchment_profile.py`) actually short of?
Change of use to the trade the catchment lacks	URA Change-of-Use application — "assessable," never guaranteed.	`trade_prospects.py` gives real operator contacts once a trade is picked.	Does the mall-gravity position (`catchment_profile.mall_gravity`) support a destination trade, or only a convenience one?
Lease structuring	Shorter tenor + rent step-ups suits a seller optimising for a fresh income story; a longer tenor suits a buyer optimising for financing terms.	—	Is this listing priced for the tenant's flexibility or the landlord's certainty — and which does THIS buyer need?
CSFS bonus-GFA space (community/sports use)	Community/Sports Facilities Scheme (URA/PB/2026/10-DCG, effective 21 Aug 2026 – 21 Aug 2029, superseding URA/PB/2020/01-DCG): a mall/commercial development can carry bonus GFA — cap 10% of Master Plan GFA or 2,000 sqm, whichever lower — for space endorsed to a community/sports operator on a strata title or 10-year-minimum lease. As of this circular, URA no longer endorses a NEW childcare centre into CSFS space; an existing CSFS-endorsed centre continues if compliant, but expansion isn't supported. Eldercare, disability services, family services, community libraries, community clubs and (newly formalised) arts uses remain live categories.	Bonus space is capped at whichever is LOWER of the two figures — a small site's cap is the 2,000 sqm ceiling, not the 10% figure.	Is this unit's floor CSFS bonus-GFA at all — and if so, is a NEW childcare fit-out actually off the table here, or is another community/sports use the better angle?

2. HDB shophouse / coffeeshop

Play	Rule	Numbers	Question
Rent out the living quarters separately	HDB approval via GoBusiness required; S$109 (incl. GST) admin fee per application; minimum 6-month tenancy per (sub)tenant — no short-term letting; occupancy cap 6 (3-room+ living quarters) / 4 (1-2 room). (hdb.gov.sg, "Renting Out Living Quarters")	—	Is the living quarters currently vacant, owner-occupied, or already producing a second income stream?
Sub-let up to 50% of the trading area	HDB commercial-tenant rule: a tenant of HDB commercial premises may sub-let up to 50% of the trading area (or the living quarters, for residential use) — the formal "half shop."	—	What second trade would complement, not compete with, the existing tenant?
Change of trade	HDB approval required; the incoming trade's licence class matters (a Cat-1 F&B licence transfers differently from a fresh application — see the 18 Upper Boon Keng case, `01-ListingAgent` campaign history).	—	Does the licence transfer with the trade, or does the buyer start a fresh application clock?
The coffeeshop operator → stallholder model	Operator leases the WHOLE premises from HDB/owner, sub-lets individual stalls — the purest "yield is created, not found" case: the operator's margin comes from the spread between the master rent and the sum of stall rents.	Real 2025-26 figures (news-sourced, cite the outlet): a Toa Payoh coffeeshop changed hands at ~S$24,000/month master rent, with stall rents cut ~40% and refilled with the operator's own brands (community read this partly as a paid promotional piece — flag the source). Stall rents run S$6,000-S$12,000+/month in new estates (Home & Decor; community-cited range S$3k-S$12k depending on stall type and estate age). Coffeeshop ASSET sale prices run S$20-40M. Rule of thumb cited by industry sources: a 30-year-lease coffeeshop needs roughly 8-9% gross yield to be considered "healthy," against a general market average nearer 4%.	Who is actually capturing the spread here — the operator, or is there room for the buyer to run it directly?

3. Office / co-working

Play	Rule	Numbers	Question
Right-size the floor plate for the format	No regulatory cap — pure space economics (INDICATIVE, industry benchmarks, not an official rule).	Open-plan hot-desking: 50-80 sqft/desk. Mixed desks + meeting rooms: 100-120 sqft/person. A ~3,000 sqft floor with ~100 desks is the commonly cited reference point for a standalone Singapore operator. Break-even occupancy: 65-85%. Median closed-office desk price (2026): ~S$722/month (half the market prices below this). Rent typically 30-40% of revenue; margin (EBITDA) 10-20% once mature, usually 12-16 months after opening.	Does this unit's own sqft clear the ~3,000 sqft / 100-desk reference point, or is it better suited to a single serviced-office tenant instead of an operator?
Sub-let partitioned suites within the strata lot	No separate strata title needed if partitions are non-structural — check the lease/MCST by-laws for sub-letting consent.	—	Does the lease already permit sub-letting, or does this need landlord consent first?
Amalgamate adjoining units for a contiguous floor plate	Subject to both units' strata titles and, for JTC/URA industrial-flavoured stock, the same-owner rule; MCST/BCA approval needed post-purchase. Worked fleet example: BizTech Centre's four adjoining Level 5 units combine to ~4,188 sqft.	—	Is the adjoining unit under the same seller, and has adjacency actually been confirmed on the strata plan (not just presumed from sequential numbering)?
CBD Incentive Scheme 2.0 — redevelop an ageing office into mixed-use	Converts an older, predominantly-office building into residential/hotel/mixed-use. Eligibility: ≥20 years old from last TOP, predominantly office use, in Anson/Cecil Street (≥1,000–2,000 sqm depending on frontage) or Robinson Road/Shenton Way/Tanjong Pagar. Live 7 Feb 2025 – 6 Feb 2030 (Outline Applications only). No strata subdivision of the resulting commercial component (except to delineate different commercial uses).	Allowable intensification up to 25–30% above the higher of Master Plan 2019 GPR or approved GPR, depending on the use-mix chosen (residential-with-commercial highest at 30% in Anson/Cecil St). Requires Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy + Maintainability/Whole Life Carbon badges, plus an ITM implementation plan + security deposit to BCA.	Is this building ≥20 years from TOP and inside one of the three named precincts — and does the seller's price already assume this upside, or is it still unpriced?
Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) 2.0 — amalgamated redevelopment in a strategic area	For Orchard Road/CBD/Marina Centre and other strategic areas; normally needs ≥2 adjacent sites for a "transformational impact" (single-site exemptions considered case-by-case — e.g. plugging a pedestrian-network gap or opening a waterfront view corridor). Building must be ≥20 years old, predominantly commercial/mixed-use (not predominantly residential). Live 7 Feb 2025 – 6 Feb 2030.	Deviations available on GPR/GFA, land use mix, and building height — evaluated case-by-case, no fixed percentage cap published. Same enhanced Green Mark/ITM conditions as CBD Incentive 2.0.	Does this site have a plausible amalgamation partner next door, and is the seller (or a co-owner) actually willing to coordinate a joint application?
DCS/CCS bonus Utility GFA — free up floor area by joining a district cooling network	A building that decommissions its own in-building chiller plant (IBCP) to join a District Cooling System / Centralised Cooling System gets that space back as usable floor area (if the old IBCP space was GFA-exempt, bonus GFA equal to its footprint is granted over and above the Master Plan GFA instead). Only applies once an operational DCS/CCS network exists in the area and the building doesn't already have a mandatory-DCS condition from its GLS tender.	Bonus/freed GFA may attract Land Betterment Charge depending on the proposed use of the reclaimed space. Receiving buildings generally need to be ≥10 years old from TOP unless there was no DCS/CCS network operating when the building was first approved.	Is there an operational DCS/CCS network already serving this precinct, and how old is the building's own chiller plant relative to a 10-year replacement cycle?
BE Transformation GFA — bonus floor area for a high-ITM-outcome redevelopment	Up to 3% bonus GFA (private sites ≥5,000 sqm GFA; smaller sites case-by-case) for hitting Construction ITM digitisation/productivity/sustainability outcomes on a new-erection or major addition-and-alteration proposal. Expires 23 Nov 2026 for new private-site applications — a real, dated deadline, not a forecast. GLS sites launched before 31 Mar 2022 get up to 2% instead.	Cumulative bonus GFA across all schemes stays capped at 10% above Master Plan GPR; none of it carries forward as future development potential on a later redevelopment.	Is a redevelopment proposal for this site realistically submittable before 23 Nov 2026 — and if not, does the seller's asking price already discount that this specific upside is closing?

4. Industrial (B1 / B2)

Play	Rule	Numbers	Question
Add a mezzanine	Mezzanines can cover up to roughly 50% of the floor plate and, in many cases, sit outside gross plot ratio — but ANY office-type use on the mezzanine counts toward the ancillary cap below. BCA structural approval required.	—	Is the mezzanine planned as storage (doesn't eat the ancillary cap) or as office space (does)?
Fit out the ancillary office to the ceiling	The 60:40 rule: at least 60% of GFA must stay core industrial use; up to 40% may be ancillary office/admin space — office-grade fit-out and rent on that 40%.	—	How much of the current floor area is already ancillary vs core — is there headroom left under the 40% cap?
Change of use to canteen / childcare / showroom	JTC/URA Change-of-Use — assessable, never guaranteed; worked fleet example Paya Lebar 178 (URA lists childcare, an industrial canteen and general industrial as assessable at that address).	—	Is the surrounding worker/resident catchment (`catchment_profile.py`) actually large enough to support the alternative use?
Multi-tenant subdivision of a whole floor	Same 60:40 rule applies per subdivided unit, not just the whole floor — subdividing without re-checking the ratio per new unit is a common compliance miss.	—	Has each subdivided unit's own use-mix been re-checked against the 60:40 rule, or only the floor as a whole?

5. Condo / HDB residential

Play	Rule	Numbers	Question
Room-by-room letting	Occupancy cap: up to 8 unrelated persons in private homes ≥90 sqm and 4-room+ HDB flats — extended to 31 Dec 2028, then reverts to 6 (private) — HDB's own 4-room+ cap also drops to 6 for tenancies extending past that date. URA registration required for private (min 3-month lease, no owner-stay requirement); HDB approval for HDB flats.	Rooms cited at S$800-1,200/month (Tampines-area example) vs a stable but lower whole-unit rent.	Does the room-letting premium survive after turnover and extra management time are priced in, or does it just look better on the headline number?
Furnish + fit for the tenant this catchment actually has	No regulatory rule — a demand-matching play.	Use `catchment_profile.py`'s age/household mix (expat/PR family density vs single-professional density) to decide furnished-family vs furnished-single.	—
Corporate / diplomatic-clause tenancies	Standard lease-clause negotiation, not a regulatory play.	—	Does the unit's profile (size, location, building class) actually fit a corporate-tenant brief, or is this aspirational?

6. Landed

Play	Rule	Numbers	Question
Subdivide the plot	URA Development Control Handbook plot-size/width rules (screened by `10-PropertyCompsAgent/subdivision_screen.py` — Landed Housing Area zoning + cadastral lot geometry, always "indicative — subject to URA approval").	—	Does this plot actually clear the minimum width/size rule, or does the screen say it's borderline?
Rebuild / A&A to maximum GFA	Governed by the same DC Handbook envelope; construction cost estimated via `10-PropertyCompsAgent/replacement_cost.py` / `tools/build_cost.py`.	Construction rate bands (indicative, `replacement_cost.py`): conservation shophouse restoration ~S$400-1,000 psf; new-build landed ~S$300-550 psf; A&A/fit-out only ~S$150-350 psf.	Does the uplift from a rebuild clear its own construction cost within a holding period this buyer would actually accept?
Co-living conversion	Same 8-occupant cap (private homes ≥90 sqm) to 31 Dec 2028, then 6 — see § 5.	Community pushback on this exact play (r/SgHENRY, 29 Aug 2026): "ROE ~2%, might as well treasury" — a real objection to weigh, not dismiss (see `buyer-objections.md`).	Does the arithmetic still work once the 2028 cap reverts to 6, or does this play expire with the relaxation?
3-generation configuration (extra bedroom, ground-floor suite for grandparents)	No regulatory play — a demand-matching one.	`catchment_profile.py`'s `hh_3gen_share` gives the real 3-generation-household share for the planning area — worked fleet example: Simpang Bedok's seven-ensuite-bedroom layout markets directly at this.	Does the local 3-gen household share actually support this configuration, or is it a guess dressed as a feature?

General information only, not financial or legal advice, and not a forecast — figures are past-tense, sourced, and dated as shown above. Verify me: search 9693 7787 on the CEA Public Register. If an advert for this property shows a different number, it is not me. Andrea Goh · PropNex Realty Pte Ltd (Licence No. L3008022J) · CEA R000289H · 9693 7787.