Moving to Singapore -Some questions reg Condo Search(2500S$)

[elpatre]

Hello and welcome to my first post

In March'07 i will move from Germany to Singapore for the first time and therefore would like to ask you some questions regarding finding a nice condo, hoping you'll have some good advices for me.

I am in the early twenties, single, no children and do not need more then 800-900 sqft to live in. The MTR station nearest to my office will be Raffles Place and i am willing to drive as long as up to 20-25 Minutes max. My budgets' limit is 2500S$/month for the condo, not including additional expanses. I would very much prefer to rent a partly furnished condo at some nice modern spot (including the white stuff) and looking out for furniture afterwards by myself.
Now what I've heard so far is that the eastern part of Singapore would be the most suitable place for me to live at. Since its close to the sea, you have a wide range of sport/entertainment possibilities and its relatively close to the city.

- Does anybody has some recommendations/made good experiences regarding nice projects/areas that would fit my needs and do you think i will find something for the mentioned price?
- Furthermore i heard rumours that its hard to find a nice flat without an agent, can someone confirm that.
- Are there good spots for getting nice furniture and again, any recommendations?

I thank you very very much in advance for your help!!
Cheers
Florian

[David91]

Hi

Welcome to Singapore. There is a good market for flats/apartments here and your budget will give you a good range of choice. But I strongly advise you to wait until you get here before committing yourself to a lease. Some agents are good at guessing what a European might like, but nothing can substitute for your personal likes and dislikes. You should either camp out with a colleague or live in a hotel until you can scout around to find something you actually like. I live in the east and prefer the more mature areas to the modernised/upgraded areas. The MRT will get you to Raffles in under 30 minutes from any point along the line so you have a lot of blocks to choose from. And, as a final thought, the market in HDB accommodation has weakened over the last few years and you will pick up significant floor area and/or a high floor for serious savings over the condo market. Modern condos can be small and unattractive places to live.

David

[elpatre]

OK, thank you very much for your post. Since i will get paid an appartment for 2 month i think there should be plenty of time finding the right thing to live in. My idea was to collect as much knowledge as possible before moving, so i dont get overwhelmed with problems/information once i am in Singapore.
I also was concidering the option of renting a HDB, but since i really much would prefer to have facilities like gym and swimming pool i assume my only option is to rent a condo.
Now for those of you who have gone through all this already, how did you start? Looking up offers on the web and the newspapers, and afterwards going to a agent with precise details? And what is important to look at when choosing an agent?

Cheers
Florian

[David91]

Hi

The two month period should let you get a feel for the island. Even in the newer condo complexes, the sports facilities are not particularly impressive. Yes, it is convenient to have something on-site, but swimming pools are often postage stamps and gym equipment provision poor. I live within walking distance of a major public sporting facility with swimming pools, large gym, big hall for badminton, table tennis, etc. standard 400 m track, etc. And then there are all the smaller public venues provided by local town councils.

It is equally important to think about local facilities for eating out and shopping. condos can be slightly out of town centres and less convenient. I will leave it to others to add their views but you might find a good balance of life around Marine Parade.

Best of luck in your search

David

[elpatre]

Hey,

thanks very much so far, its good to get some local impressions from people who have already settled down. My impressions (of course only from pictures) so far were, that the facilities at least from the newer condos were quite good, so i thought, there would be no need for extra memberships in gyms etc. Now you build a picture that those facilities are in a pretty poor condition, is that a general thing, or are there also condos where you can enjoy a swim in the pool and training in the gym?
And besides the distance to local shops etc, what else are the important things to pay attention to when choosing a condo?

@Flo: Würde Dir gerne ne private Message schicken, aber ich habe anscheinend noch nicht genug posts gemacht um das zu dürfen

Cheers Everybody

[David91]

Hi

It is not fair of me to generalise about condos. Some do have good facilities. Others are less impressive. Advertisers always take the most flattering pictures and write enticing copy. There is no substitute for personal inspection.

The cost of membership in public sports facilities is a token amount. One of my reasons for suggesting Marine Parade was the beach area which makes it a pleasant place for exercise.

But this is all a little academic until you actually arrive.

David

[lost_canuck]

best advice I can give you, come over and have a look, if you have time take it and see as many condos as you want until you find the one you can live in. We live in a 3 bed condo with a great pool, the gym facilities are okay, not grandiose, but clean and transport links are good for town and work. not so hot for the beach but singapore is not huge and cabs are cheap.

But we chose it because it is very light and the ktichen is not dark and dismal. I found many of the condos dark and dismal, especially the kitchens, size doesn't matter, we looked at 16 before we found one we liked, know someone who found it in one. I do recommend using an agent, check out the costs tho, we were lucky as my partner's company paid for ours.

We saw a really nice one at 900sqft, it went fast tho, and some really awful one at 1500 sqft, and lots of okay and icky ones too. Take the time decide on the area you want to live, ask lots of questions and you can ask for things to be added or removed from the flat and you can offer less than the asking price. And check out the facilities, it can only be called a condo if it has it all, tennis courts, gym and pool.

Best of luck

[leo_dus]

Hi Florian,

i would like to change some information with you.
I got am offer from my company to move to Singapore and i am looking
for more detailed information regarding job contract under local law,
health insurance, what is in case of unemployment etc.

thanks

jens

[elpatre]

Alright, one question that just came to my mind.
When i rent a condo (partly furnished) am i allowed to rearange the furnitures, and how about repainting the walls, setting up new stuff in the flat etc. In Germany its quite usual that you do all this stuff as long as you do not complettely rebuild your flat I am just thinking about this, in case the flat would be nice, but terrible interior decoration etc...

@lost_canuck, sounds pretty nice what you are writing about your condo, would you be so nice to tell me where it is? Just to get an idea...

[lost_canuck]

just ask the landlord, as I said in another post, as long as you leave it in the same condition you got it at the beginning, I don't see why they would have a problem. and I pm'd you some details

[Christiane_Rico]

We will also be moving from Germany to Singapre pretty soon (2 weeks) and will be staying in a serviced appartment for the first couple of weeks.

As my hubby will be working in CBD near Raffles Place MRT and me somewhere on MacPherson Road we are looking at condos near East Coast or district 12. Our favourites up to now are Malvern Springs, The Trumps, 11 Amber Road or De Royale. Anybody staying there or any other recommendations? Pics always look nice . . .

[lost_canuck]

they show you pics of the penthouse suite, all apartments are not created equal, we saw condos in the smae building as the lovely pictures, but they were very dark due to the way they faced and the layouts, don't be fooled by internet pics, nothing beats seeing the condo. For instance, we face north but out back kitchen area is facing south so we get afternoon sun in there, but the apartment next doors back area is enclosed in the building so they get no light whatsoever.

Also to give you an idea, we went and saw a flat at maplewoods, http://www.singaporeexpats.com/singapor ... ewoods.htm , and where the pictures look fab and the buildings and grounds are lovely, the flat we saw was at the back of the property in the darkest corner, overlooking a neighboring building and the layout was pretty much just a big hallway leading to bedrooms. No that is not to say they are all like that, but you must go see them before you choose.

[Florian]

Ey die Schweine haben ja meine Eintraege geloescht.Sobald Du private Msgs schicken kannst,hau eine rueber.Vergiss all den Stress,ich kann Dir helfen.Fuer ein paar Bierchen...

Hau rein
Flo