How do you find flatmates?

[meloncollie]

So I've been renting a one bedroom for a while now in Singapore and it's just so small! Would like to find a bigger apartment but my fiance and I can't afford one on our own... How do you guys find housemates that aren't annoying/ridiculous? Facebook groups and other websites seem to be a total bust...

[sp786]

You need to first check whether such subletting is allowed in your tenancy agreement. If yes then you can take the help of the agent who found you this unit to find a person

[meloncollie]

You need to first check whether such subletting is allowed in your tenancy agreement. If yes then you can take the help of the agent who found you this unit to find a person

Everyone's name will be on the lease. I really only want a two-bedroom, I'm alright living with a couple but that's the most I can deal with, too many bad experiences with housemates here.

My question is more about how do you go about finding decent housemates? I can't do coliving because I have pets, and it's pretty hard on Facebook too...

[smoulder]

The best solution is to just rent out the whole unit.

In my first year in Singapore, I found some company that rents out rooms and the set up kind of allows you to not have to deal with the other roommates too much. Their rooms were certainly not the best or cheapest but at least they were flexible in terms of agreement tenure and who you had to deal with as "roommates".

However, the moment my then fiance (now wife) and I decided to move in together, we did what we had to which was to rent the whole unit.

[BBCDoc]

May depend where and what are you both looking for? If you have limited budget, maybe you need to compromise on location or type of accommodation in order to afford privacy?

If you insist in staying in condos and hot areas, then you need to pay to play.

Need to really hear what your current options are to get a sense if you have reasonable expectations or not…


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[abbby]

Try the classifieds here https://classifieds.singaporeexpats.com ... hp/cat/122

I think view the room with the potential flatmate and go for a meal or coffee and chat about it. Just to try to assess their personality type. But sometimes,only living with the person only will you find their flaws..

[meloncollie]

Try the classifieds here https://classifieds.singaporeexpats.com ... hp/cat/122

I think view the room with the potential flatmate and go for a meal or coffee and chat about it. Just to try to assess their personality type. But sometimes,only living with the person only will you find their flaws..

Thank you! So I do plan on meeting the potential flatmate a few times to see if we will get along about the basic stuff (won't kick up a fuss about me having friends over for drinks on the weekend, won't steal my food and alcohol!!!), I can compromise on everything else pretty much if it means I can get a big apartment lol

Oh gosh, I hope this time it goes well with flatmates... I used to live with others when I first moved here but I really found it unbearable, people here (not just locals) tend to be so uptight or they just try to scam you and throw a tantrum when you call them out... Ridiculous behaviour honestly

[meloncollie]

May depend where and what are you both looking for? If you have limited budget, maybe you need to compromise on location or type of accommodation in order to afford privacy?

If you insist in staying in condos and hot areas, then you need to pay to play.

Need to really hear what your current options are to get a sense if you have reasonable expectations or not…


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My budget is ~2k... I am just looking for someone who has a budget of ~1k or 1.5k if they're a couple. I think that is quite reasonable to find a nice, bright, hopefully large apartment. I also prefer the east and not the city, lived in both and the east coast is the best coast haha

I mean I could continue to rent a one-bedroom, I do have the budget for it. It's just that one-bedrooms are small here and I want more space in my apartment, and I can't afford a 2-bedroom on my own lol so the one-bedroom would really be the last option. And yeah, I do need to stay in a condo, the HDBs here are too cramped up together and it's a little depressing when your view is another building... Also I need a balcony and all the HDBs with balconies are pretty much the same price as a condo with a balcony lol

[meloncollie]

The best solution is to just rent out the whole unit.

In my first year in Singapore, I found some company that rents out rooms and the set up kind of allows you to not have to deal with the other roommates too much. Their rooms were certainly not the best or cheapest but at least they were flexible in terms of agreement tenure and who you had to deal with as "roommates".

However, the moment my then fiance (now wife) and I decided to move in together, we did what we had to which was to rent the whole unit.

Yesss co-living! I don't qualify unfortunately, as I have 2 cats and they don't allow pets I do rent the whole unit now, but we can't afford to rent a two-bedroom on our own, only a one-bedroom. Our current friends can't afford the sort of rent I'm looking for - I just want a nice house with lots of natural light, an unblocked view, and some kind of open space (balcony, private roof, etc). It's totally doable, found many apartments like this within my budget (also only need a partially furnished house as I have a lot of my own furniture) but they are all 2-bedrooms!! So yeah I do need to find someone sadly :/

[abbby]

Actually with your budget you could just live alone in a studio/1 bedroom, there are some small units like 300-400+ sq ft which fits 1. And about your price range $2k. I am not sure but given the choice, it would be nicer to live alone than with someone...

[meloncollie]

Actually with your budget you could just live alone in a studio/1 bedroom, there are some small units like 300-400+ sq ft which fits 1. And about your price range $2k. I am not sure but given the choice, it would be nicer to live alone than with someone...

I do live alone (with my fiance and our 2 cats) in a one-bedroom right now... Just thought it would be nice to have a bigger apartment lol but yeah if we can't find anyone we would want to live with, we'll find another small one-bedroom I guess...

[smoulder]

No idea what the rates are like these days since I no longer rent, but I would have thought that 2k should get you a smallish apartment of your own in a condo if you search hard enough and perhaps if you are willing to compromise slightly on the location.

[smoulder]

OK now I see the issue - I just read your replies again. 2k for a 2 bedroom condo is probably a bit of a stretch. It's why you can't seem to find your own unit. I think you probably should look to compromise a little bit somewhere. Take your pick - location, size of unit, number of bedrooms or type of unit (hdb vs condo).

FWIW, I think if you look hard, you can actually find some hdbs with nice views. It's not too common of course, but they do exist. I remember seeing some higher floor units at Bedok from where you could look out at the sea towards ECP. I've passed by some in Yishun as well which actually face the country club and the Reservoir which is a pretty cool view for the price. I'm sure there must be more if you look around.

[meloncollie]

OK now I see the issue - I just read your replies again. 2k for a 2 bedroom condo is probably a bit of a stretch. It's why you can't seem to find your own unit. I think you probably should look to compromise a little bit somewhere. Take your pick - location, size of unit, number of bedrooms or type of unit (hdb vs condo).

FWIW, I think if you look hard, you can actually find some hdbs with nice views. It's not too common of course, but they do exist. I remember seeing some higher floor units at Bedok from where you could look out at the sea towards ECP. I've passed by some in Yishun as well which actually face the country club and the Reservoir which is a pretty cool view for the price. I'm sure there must be more if you look around.

Thank you! Yeah I'm fine with a HDB but I do need a balcony (we are smokers, not everyone is OK with indoor smoking so I don't want to force people to sit in that smell, and I just love being "outdoors"). From what I've seen, HDBs with balconies are the same rental price as condos hahaha

I'm honestly fine with living at Pasir Ris as I'm now a fully remote worker... I've found some amazing places that are penthouses, 2BR, private rooftop overlooking the beach + it's a short walk to the actual beach. They're all around 3K so I would need a roommate to take the other room

But yeah, if I get a HDB I can probably find a 2BR for 2k... It's mainly just the balcony issue, and I would love to have an apartment with a private rooftop again lol

Do you reckon I could find a flatmate with this website? It's my first time using it so I'm not too sure what's allowed/what isn't

[BBCDoc]

I think some condos are beginning to ban smoking on balconies.

In my condo, you may only smoke indoors, or put by the dustbins around the guard house.

Check the condo bylaws before you rent…

If you have cats, then you cannot rent an HDB, except in one area, I recall.


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