Is $4600 enough? Help/advices on locations !

[future_in_singapore]

Hey there,
My company wanted me to come to Sgpore for a 2yrs mission or so. They offered me a SGD $3100 pm + $1500 of housing allowance pm.

As it was already more than what I was making, I thought it was a good deal. I would have to work at Raffles place MRT and I'm starting to stress out about how and where to find a place to live :s

1 - Do you think my total salary, $4600 pm is enough for the single yng man that I am, who's looking for a nice condo, not that big - as i was (and still currrently 'til my arrival in September) living in a 40 sqm studio ?

2 - I'm looking for a condo with one living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and 1 bedroom / or 2 if affordable for family visiting. What should be my budget allocated to the condo rent out of my $4600 ?

3 - There are HUNDREDS of real state agents !! Which one and how should I choose him / her ? Should I contact different ones at the same time ?

4 - I would like to be at max. 30 min away from Raffles MRT, without having to switch from a MRT line to another: I will then be looking for condos near to Red / Green lines MRT stations. How far should I be looking to?


Thanks in advance for your help and consideration.

Future

[joop]

Hey there,
My company wanted me to come to Sgpore for a 2yrs mission or so. They offered me a SGD $3100 pm + $1500 of housing allowance pm.

As it was already more than what I was making, I thought it was a good deal. I would have to work at Raffles place MRT and I'm starting to stress out about how and where to find a place to live :s

1 - Do you think my total salary, $4600 pm is enough for the single yng man that I am, who's looking for a nice condo, not that big - as i was (and still currrently 'til my arrival in September) living in a 40 sqm studio ?

2 - I'm looking for a condo with one living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and 1 bedroom / or 2 if affordable for family visiting. What should be my budget allocated to the condo rent out of my $4600 ?

3 - There are HUNDREDS of real state agents !! Which one and how should I choose him / her ? Should I contact different ones at the same time ?

4 - I would like to be at max. 30 min away from Raffles MRT, without having to switch from a MRT line to another: I will then be looking for condos near to Red / Green lines MRT stations. How far should I be looking to?


Thanks in advance for your help and consideration.

Future

1. Let's exclude the $1500 which goes into housing, $3,100 will probably go into some of your household expenditure, F&B, transportation, shopping, utilities, I do not foresee much left though, perhaps a savings of $1,000-$1,500. We don't know your lifestyle so can't really tell you whether it's enough.

2. Definitely not a condo in the Raffles Place area, you'll need about $2,500 for a nice condo near the area, you may consider the River Valley area like The Mirage studio units, or somewhere off the central-central..Tiong Bahru, River Valley, Alexandra. etc. May have something for you for $1,500.

3. Of course when you're here, you'll be recommended our Leasing Department email: [email protected] or call (65) 61000300. But I don't foresee you can get much with that budget, so stick to one agent to will understand your needs and concerns.

4. Both the red and the green lines will probably have what you need, like I mentioned earlier off the central-central locations like Tiong Bahru, Dover maybe even Eastern areas like Kembangan and Tanah Merah will match your budget.

Good luck.

[future_in_singapore]

thanks!

I appreciate your help.

Any additional advices? how much is the cost of life - water, electricity bill, cable, internet, mobile, transport mrt, food...?

Thanks!

[ringo100]

I would ask your company to pay you the 1500 and then rent a room in a shared condo. You will get a better location, better facilities and it will only cost about 700-900 including all bills. This will give you more spending money and some ready made friends.

If you get a master bedroom you will have your own bathroom so there is no problem.

My monthly expenditure per month is as follows:

MRT - 80 - Aljunied MRT working at Raffles
Food - 800 - eat two meals a day in cafe/food court + restaurant at weekends.
Rent - 900 - Master bedroom + internet + cable+ utilities
Phone - 120
Drink/party - 2000 - 10 nights out about 200 per night.

Total - 4,900

I am single male; obviously the drink/party part can vary a lot.

[future_in_singapore]

Thanks for all your help!

1 - Can you tell me what is a 1room condo? Is it a kitchen+living room+bathroom+toilet+one bedroom?

2 - Could you give me more daily life expenses details? Like how you live with what kind of budget?

3 - I should be arriving in September - and I got 1-2 weeks of hotel booked by the cie. When should I start contacting real state agent like singaporeexpat here, or others? Should I just wait for being there and start the first day ?

Thanks!
Future

[riversandlakes]

Heya, welcome! I'm [email protected], sharing for FREE what I know hehe. I'm one-year-old here come August 2006

Shared condo most probably means you rent a room. The whole unit is shared with someone else. condos are darn expensive at Changi area - probably much more at Raffles Place ;-O - coming up to $550-600 equipped with air-conditioner.
HDB flatmate me (hehe) lives for $280 at Yishun or $350 (with air-conditioner) at Simei.

I've done this calculation many times over - these are my total expenses of S$1000+ =
emergency savings,
transport (to gym, library and occasionally elsewhere, for I walk to work woohoo hehe),
food,
rent,
tax,
CPF,
dragonboating fee,
mobile phone and broadband bills.

That's a life without parties - not my lifestyle...

So, assuming they give you the S$1,500 lumpsum every month, you can live well and save with S$4,600. Good luck!

[riversandlakes]

Advertise for free at www.adpost.com/sg and google for the online ads served out by local newspapers. You might be able to secure a room even before coming here - though I guess a 2-week free hotel stay is a good luxury or warm-up hehe

[Pal]

Find a room here:

http://classifieds.singaporeexpats.com/ ... hp/cat/120

[future_in_singapore]

Thanks riversandlakes ! You gave me hope cos so far, I thought that I wouldn't make it with my budget :-/

2 things I have to underline:
1 - I'm not a party man ! Drinking and dancing ain't my stuff

2 - I am definitely looking for a condo and will not want to share a room. I'm already living with Myself, and I must confess that he's really a pain in my ***

So tell me, what about the diff between a studio and a 1bedroom condo?

Thanks!
Future

[ringo100]

In a studio you living room is also the bedroom.

In a one bedroom apartment you have one bedroom.

I share a flat but have my own attached bathroom. I see my flatmates about 3 hours a month. It is really no problem and will save you about 500 - 1000 per month.

[riversandlakes]

Neither can I stand sharing a room. Even a social being needs a certain amount of private space...

Thanks riversandlakes ! You gave me hope cos so far, I thought that I wouldn't make it with my budget :-/

2 things I have to underline:
1 - I'm not a party man ! Drinking and dancing ain't my stuff

2 - I am definitely looking for a condo and will not want to share a room. I'm already living with Myself, and I must confess that he's really a pain in my ***

So tell me, what about the diff between a studio and a 1bedroom condo?

Thanks!
Future

[future_in_singapore]

My dear riversandlakes, I see that we share same perspective on how important our private space is !

Tell me, as you seem to be quite an expert, where should I be looking for a condo with a 1-2 bedrooms, as I'm still a li'l bit chilly about taking a HDB :-/

Maybe could we pm for recommendations ?

thanks!

[riversandlakes]

Chilly? Why? HDB flats are as safe as condos. Imho, in SG it's more luxury than security that people look for condos, quite different from in KL where security is a consideration too.

[riversandlakes]

This was what I did in finding a room, both before and after I got here...

#1 adpost.com/sg post your ad then scour .
#2 online ads by local newspapers
#3 contact all possible agents in the newspaper via SMS

[Zuex]

Chilly? Why? HDB flats are as safe as condos. Imho, in SG it's more luxury than security that people look for condos, quite different from in KL where security is a consideration too.

I face a simillar situation with the future. Moving in to Singapore next month and have a lower budget. I share the chillynezz of HDB Apmnts too. There seems to be some darks sidez to it.
No offence intended. E.g unapproved lots, bad company, etc
Correct me if i'm mislead/ Thankz