Rent options with SGD10k/mnth salary?

[mayBz]

I am 31 and got an offer of SGD10k/month to Singapore and plan to move with my wife. My office is near Marina Bay. I am looking for areas that I can rent. I am currently staying in India. Any suggestions please, thanks!

Priorities:
- your budget – Up to $2800/month
- your workplace: 1 Raffles Quay Singapore – prefer 20 minute commute time
- the size and/or type of property that you are seeking: 2 bedroom
- will you have a car here? No car
- proximity to transport required: Close to MRT. 5 minute walk
- will you have any accompanying children needing to attend school? No
- will your employer being funding any fees; or will you, 'out of pocket'? Out of pocket

Nice to have:
- will you need to be able to say walk to the local shops, a library, your doctor, a market, and so on?
Yes, preferably close to a supermarket.
- access to any specific sport, social, and recreation facilities? Not really.
- are you considering bringing any pets. If so what kind, and will they require outdoor access and/or exercise? No pets
- are you considering bringing any parents/in-laws etc? Do they have specific needs (for example difficulty climbing stairs?) No


Your current home and commute:
- are you already a city dweller? i.e. Are you used to city-centre hustle and bustle, or would you hope for a bit more peace and quiet? I am a city dweller, so no issues. Prefer a place closer to MRT.
- what is the size and type (apartment, house+garden etc) of your current home? 2 bedroom 800 sq feet. No garden
- what are any current commute times like? 20 minutes

[mayBz]

Just to clarify, i am looking for a furnished place. preferably a condo

[charlietaylor]

Based on your budget, you've got pretty healthy 2 bedroom options in the east area. You can consider units near Kembangan-Paya Lebar MRT, which will take you about 20mins tops to reach Raffles Place. Or you can choose to go further south and live along the east coast (marine parade road...Tanjong Rhu), which have direct buses to Shenton Way. It's a much faster commute to work IMO.

Or if you like the hustle of the city, and since it's only the 2 of you, you can probably get a 1bdr (500+sqft) unit in the heart of the city (river valley-orchard area), with direct buses to Shenton.

[JR8]

Can you post links (from the above agents listings in the title-bar), that are representative of what you suggest can be found? And not the inevitable detritus that only just scrapes through the search parameters - some good appealing examples.

I ask as I'm doubtful what you suggest is available exists. But if you were an agent, just say, you will of course know better.

[JR8]

@ OP, 2.8k/10k, 28%, might be light. Have you googled on the % of income people typically aim and budget to spend on rent?

[mayBz]

@ OP, 2.8k/10k, 28%, might be light. Have you googled on the % of income people typically aim and budget to spend on rent?

I thought one could get condos for 2800. What is the % rental expenditure like in SIngapore by the way?

[charlietaylor]

inevitable detritus

]

Thanks for the welcome. I used to stay in RV and the last i checked, 1 bedrooms are ~2.8k.

Is giving general suggestions not allowed in this forum?

*edit just did a quick search on propguru but apparently you can't link externally here

[zzm9980]

Can you post links (from the above agents listings in the title-bar), that are representative of what you suggest can be found? And not the inevitable detritus that only just scrapes through the search parameters - some good appealing examples.

I ask as I'm doubtful what you suggest is available exists. But if you were an agent, just say, you will of course know better.

I don't come with links, but I think this poster is being realistic. There are units in my building from 2500-3000, and I'm in a nicer part of Katong just a bit south of Paya Lebar. A better area than the Kallang/Paya Lebar corridor (which is generally called "Geylang" )

[JR8]

@ OP, 2.8k/10k, 28%, might be light. Have you googled on the % of income people typically aim and budget to spend on rent?

I thought one could get condos for 2800. What is the % rental expenditure like in SIngapore by the way?

Last time I looked, it was hard to find any 2-bed condo anywhere on the island under $3k. When you look at what is available below $3k it was what I referred to 'detritus'. That meant that within the criteria given, including that you're coming from an 800ft place, want to be close to the MRT, and have a short commute downtown, that put together (and just IMHO) that is going to leave you with 'detritus'. That might be property in the bottom 10-20% percentile rent-wise for those within for criteria.
When I have seen such, they are cheaper usually due to:
- Being a very old block
- and/or being rather a dilapidated unit
- bed#2 being (in fact) a box room, or baby room
- Being a long way from public transport.
I have lived in such places, but am not sure the scrimping on costs is worth it. If you're going to be working all hours, I'd suggest (IMHO) that you will feel like to want to come home to somewhere you're totally comfortable with, and preferably delighted.

So as a starting point, I thought it made sense to confirm such criteria can be met at that budget. Hence:
- Asking for examples from the host realtors website
and, just so you also considering it now
- Asking you whether the % of your gross for rent was realistic. I.e. just something to consider, no point putting a lot of work into finding a place that = 28% of your gross, if such a place doesn't exist to match your criteria. For some reason the figure of 40% came to mind, and is still there now. I cannot recall at all what the source of it is, as it is likely from long ago. That is not specific to SG, but the x%age relates to budgeting to rent anywhere. I would have thought that googling on household budget, rent, percent, total income, and etc, should bring something up...

Sometimes i think it's easier and simpler to work the max you are willing to budget for rent. Then list what criteria you are seeking (well, pretty much as you have!). Then hopefully you'll be left with
- 'You can get pretty much what you want at that budget, arounf x, y, z areas
- 'For that area (fits criteria) you are probably looking at not $2.8k, but x.x
- 'But if you compromise a bit on (example: commute times) you should be able to find what you're after in district Y, albeit with an additional 10mins on your commute.

The East Coast is not an area I know very well, as you can perhaps tell. Apologies if you felt I torpedoed your OP, that certainly wasn't my intention. I was just doubtful (rightly or wrongly) your stated requirements could be met, and thought a reality check might be a useful starting point.

[JR8]

I used to stay in RV and the last i checked, 1 bedrooms are ~2.8k.
Is giving general suggestions not allowed in this forum?
*edit just did a quick search on propguru but apparently you can't link externally here

1-bed condo, also within the other criteria, River Valley, around 2.8k? But he wants 2 beds, so for me the suggestion doesn't get out of the starting blocks.

General suggestions are great, but it would be helpful if they answer the OPs question.
This website is hosted c/o an estate agent, at their expense. That's why it is rather expected (and certainly courteous) to at least quote examples from their listings (above). Doesn't mean the OP has to in any way listen to any replies, or follow any examples given via the host, at the least it should give them some comfort that what they're seeking exists. Leading a questioner directly off to another (rival) agents website will likely raise eyebrows. I hope that makes sense.

So is the 'Geylang' area of the East coast a target zone? I can see the proximity/etc could be good. That's if the OP knows which streets to avoid... well, if the seedier streets/grid are any concern I suppose. Maybe they're not... [I used to live off Prinsep St/d9, long ago now. I was stunned and amused to get an insiders view of some of the seedier joints just 100-200m from my home. By that point I had already lived there several months and was pretty much oblivious to any of that. And so, it was of nil concern to me at all. whereas if i were with family+children it would have been another matter I expect].

[the lynx]

Actually with the rental market getting hit, it is POSSIBLE to get $2.8k for simple 2-bedder condos in most places further away from the city. $3.6k and above are for nicer condos in nicer locations (think Harbourfront, Buona Vista, Siglap, Katong, Novena).

[JustSee]

Hey OP,

I moved to a new place in June and done some research back then, I am pretty sure some of the condos and or places have similar postings.

This might be more towards the 30min commute, but I had the same requirements as you do, 5 min away from MRT and about 10 minutes away from grocery stores, as well as close to a bus station, all that at $2800 and below, BUT unfurnished.

East side, Telok Kurau and Paya Lebar are the ones you probably should look for, there are LOTS of places around, most of them were about $2700-2800, Geylang apartments are overpriced and extremely small or very old! I saw one with an old construction of a furnace to cook in the kitchen.
Serangoon area there are a few new condominiums that were around $2800.

Central - Harborfront (I think the condominium name was HarborView apartments), that one was $2800.

West side: Queenstown, 1 bedder in a new building, $2800 but was negotiable.

Myself, I settled at the end for McPherson, there were units going from $2650 partially furnished.

If you have any questions, you're more than welcome to write here or PM me.

edit: do note that you can order an entire bedroom set quite cheaply! For about S$300, not including the mattress, though quality is exactly what you imagine... Though I still use mine after 2.5 years

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rarkins]

If you take a look at URA historical data, there definitely are quite a few condos renting for $2800/month for 2 bedrooms, even when you look in the 700+ sqft range. *But* you can't tell from that data what % would actually be furnished. I think JR8's advice is spot on - you'll only be finding apartments that are abnormally low and there's usually a reason for that. $3300/month (for example) would open up a whole new lot of possibilities (and recommendations from here too).

[imroot]

OP may want to consider Serangoon or Kovan. Given he is currently in India (Indian I assume), the proximity to Little India may be an advantage (visit to Mustafa, other Indian stores in Little India etc.).
My friend was recently looking for furnished condos in Serangoon and found some in the 2.8 - 3k range.
Since OP's workplace is ORQ, he can take the NEL to Chinatown and change to Downtown line and get off at Downtown station (just behind ORQ). 10 MRT stops, a bit of walking, I guess should take about 30 odd mins if he is ok to stretch his commute time a little bit.

[altego76]

Agreed with imroot. Farrer park MRT is near little india and has a few good condominium too. You may search on . for the rental there. But for a budget of $2800 for 2 bedroom and 20 minutes to reach town, i still reckon Geylang is the place to be. To avoid the sleezy area, you may search from Lorong 30 onwars towards Payar Lebar MRT, or near to Dakota MRT. These area is pretty 'Clean'. Rental these days is pretty competitive and Geylang has quite a number of new condominium. Mindful newer condomium is smaller in size. It may be worthwhile to look at those older but larger development. They offer well-maintained property and more spacious room size for the same amount of rental. Plus point is it is only 20mins to get to town, bus or train.