furnished or not furnished...

[sascha]

Hi All,

I will move to singapore in October and am currently trying to figure out, whether I should bring along my furniture or leave everything behind. My company would organize the transport for me.

What would you recommend? I heard that most of the condos are already furnished, so all I would need to bring along would be the electronic stuff like TV, DVD player, etc. Would you agree? My budged would be between 2000 and 3000 SGD.

Thanks for your help!

Cheers,
Sascha

[hillview2006]

Since your company is paying for your transport, why not bring along your furniture. Not all the condo comes with nice/new set of furniture!

[skye]

Serviced apartments are fully furnished down to the crockery and bedlinen. Most condos are not. They are usually "part-furnished" which normally means washing machine, dryer, air cons, curtains, fridge-freezer and maybe dishwasher, oven and microwave. You can negotiate furniture with your landlord to be included in your rental but it may not be your taste at all. If you don't want to ship your own stuff best to ask the landlord to let you choose the furnishings within a set budget then you won't get any nasty surprises. It's also possible to lease furniture but that's not a cheap option.

[vk6862]

Hi,
first rule: if you look for condo, use agent. below 2500 SGD rent/month you pay agent commision, above landlord pays.
2nd rule: What does your contract say? Does your company take care or do you have to take care for the appartment?
3rd rule: Currently the prices go up and Diplomatic clause usually is 12 month + 2. Means u can only terminate the rent after 12 months plus 2 month notice.
4th rule: Check your contract if the company pays you a compensation to buy new stuff if you don´t send your goods to Singapore.
Newer condos usually come with build in wardrobes and kitchen.
TV (20" flat) and home entertainment (CD/DVD etc) you could get from me cheap as I leave SIN soon. Just bought in March 06 with full warranty and invoice.
Furnishing depends on your landlord. I was lucky as I got no shit but good things, like leather sofa, leather guest sofa etc.
Depending on your needs and workplace we possibly can talk..
All together: If possible just take your personal things and come here. Ikea is in SIN too and they deliver and build up for pretty cheap.

[skye]

just to clarity, the so called diplomatic clause has to be written into your rental contract to be effective and normally only comes into force if you are leaving Singapore and your EP is cancelled, otherwise you are normally locked in for 2 years.

[hillview2006]

3rd rule: Currently the prices go up and Diplomatic clause usually is 12 month + 2. Means u can only terminate the rent after 12 months plus 2 month notice.


very useful info indeed!
Really ? Diplomatic Clause only effective after 12 month lease?? NOT 6 month? our contract said 6 month though!