Confused Re: Relocating to Singapore - some general qns!

[mikehayes]

Hi all,

My wife and I have several questions about Singapore (arriving in July from Sydney).

- To go furnished or unfurnished (we are leaning towards furnished as we will be only there 12 months). Other reasons are that we dont want to ship alot over as company only giving me 7.5m3 for shipping.

- Furnished: does this mean everything? Beds, sofas, desks, dining table, appliances, TV etc? Are the furnishings modern and newish? Are the landlords flexible in replacing furniture if we dont like it? (New mattress etc)

- People on these forums recommend Holland Village, Novena, Orchard or Newton - we love living near cafes, restaurants, bars etc - somewhere lively. Does this description fit these suburbs? If not any other suggestions (I will be working near Somerset MRT)

- Company proving relocation agent (Crown Relocations) anyone had experience with them? Should I take over the negotiations with the landlord as we have been told that often agents do not seek the best deal for the expat?

- What is the best / common ways to quickly build friends? Any particular clubs we should join?

- Gyms - what is the approximate cost of joining / attending gym each month? Fitness First for example?

Many thanks

[course_placement_svcs]

Hi,

You may consider to get a furnished apaprtment.
Furnished means most of the furnishings will be there such as sofa, dining table, TV, appliances etc but the owner may exclude beds due to personal hygiene. Most of the funishings are modern, not all are newish depending on the duration they had the furnishings. Not all landlords are flexible in replacing furniture as they have to pay more, unless there are defaults.

Yes, usually Holland Village and son on fit where you want to be, near cafes etc. If not, you may consider Dhoby Ghaut/Bugis area?

If you take negotiations with the owner, I am not sure how it can be done as you still require an agent to do the proper paper work etc as I believe you do not want to rent at your risk. Usually, you can look around first nd when you found a place suitable, then you can request the owner on certain items that you require. It really depends whether they are agreeable or not.

The best / common ways to quickly build friends - maybe through this forum?

- Gyms - Not too sure on that but certain apartments have that facility thus you may not need to spend.

Hope the above information helps you.

[mrsmonkie]

Hi Mike,

You read my mind..... I couldn't have written the post better myself!!

We are also in the same boat as you in regards to moving from Sydney to Singapore in July and the Fully Furnished/part furnished thing has us confused as well

I looked around on this site and noticed that Fully Furnished means it includes white goods and electrics etc...but as for bedding, cutlery even salt and pepper shakers I’m not sure....I’m still confused! I sent them an email and someone is getting back to me shortly, perhaps that’s the way to go for you guys??

We have been told by a few friends to look in districts 10, 09 and 11, which might help you out when looking on this site for properties.

Good Luck with your move!!

[jacebreen]

An agent once emplained the difference to me (not sure if it's correct). For partially furnished, it means that fridge, bed/s, dining table & chairs and a couch are provided. For fully furnished, you can negotiate for the TV, microwave oven, washing machine, dryer, study table etc. Serviced Apartments will provide the additional items like cutlery, pots & pans and bedding etc.

Holland Village and Bt Timah - Public transport is inconvenient. There's no MRT trains servicing that area. The buses are often quite full and taxis in the morning are hard to get. It's about 15-20 mins to take a cab into the city. But depending on the condo, you may get condo-engaged shuttle bus to MRT or even into Orchard Rd. Holland Village is good for its proximity to bars and restaurants. They are all within walking distance to one another. There are good bars and restaurants in Bt Timah and Newton area, however, they are generally not within walking distance from each other. Novena is rather good as there will be a gym opening up soon, 2 reasonable shopping centres, MRT station and 5 mins into the city.

Gyms are about $90-$120 per month. There's fitness first (Paragon) and California FItness (Orchard/Novena Sq).

Generally, negotiate about $200-$400 less than asking price. Ask for mattress to be changed, aircons to be serviced by landlord, fully furnished etc. Agents will always be working for themselves. If they see that you are firm in your offer, they will soon realise that it's easier to rent it to you. Accepting your offer = no more wasting time with other 'potential' tenants and they'll still earn the 1/2 - 1 month commission. The industry standard is that the tenants will only pay agent's fee if the rental is less than $2500. Max 1/2 month. It's better to go through the agent as they will prepare the lease document, get it endorsed (stamp duty) and everything is above board.

Hope that helps

[Mirandouli]

have you thought about Serviced Apartments? saves on live-in maids - if you don't have children this can be an advantage. Serviced Apartments also have good quality gyms, and leisure facilites pools etc. Maybe worth looking into. We stayed at Orchard Suites (not bad- bit old), then Great world City - (Great) - taxis easy, shuttle buses, food downstairs in food court, cinemas, full shopping centre attached (but separate) - no need to worry about getting out in unforseen thurnderstorms. Couldn't fault them really. And if we were only staying a year. I would have been quite happy to live there.