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House or Condo?

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the colemans
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House or Condo?

Post by the colemans » Tue, 17 Apr 2007 8:52 pm

Hi there

We are hoping to relocate to Singapore in Oct 07 with to children under 2.
Seems like the East Coast is going to represent best value for money and best lifestyle for the family...

Almost all of our research so far has been over the Web, and the pricing of Houses v condos is confusing me as the houses seem to offer much more floor space as opposed to the condos. You also seem to be able to get some pretty good deals compared to the rent on Condos.

We know that Houses will not come with the luxury of a pool, gym etc... but has anyone else out there done any thinking on this? What are the pros and cons of a house v condo? Are houses readily available? good value?

Any thoughts would be warmly welcome and very much appreciated!

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bzmum
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Post by bzmum » Tue, 01 May 2007 12:01 am

The difference between a condo and house is:

- Condo comes with facilities like : swimming pool, gym, BBQ pit, parking lot, tennis/squash court playground. (not all condos comes with Full Facilities)
- House no facilities, except parking lot.

But then again, of cos you have to pay for the facilities like 100+ to 200+ as a monthly maintenance fee. (depends)

And condo / houses, theres 99yrs , 999yrs or freehold.

People tends to like condo more than houses in singapore, as they get to use the facilities . Then again, some people rather spend that $ to buy a country club membership and stay in a landed property.

oops! 3 outta 4! bye bye.......

Sylvie
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House Vs Condo

Post by Sylvie » Tue, 12 Jun 2007 5:26 pm

Houses Vs condos

It depends on the type of lifestyle you would like.

Although houses offer more floor space as houses are built in a large area/district, where public transport is not so near or convenient.

Condo's will usually have a convenience store located within and some even provide private bus services to the nearest MRT. There is ofcourse also the perks of having the facilities.

cbavasi
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Post by cbavasi » Tue, 12 Jun 2007 8:06 pm

hi - we moved to singapore in december and decided to move into a condo/townhouse development. unfortunately it's being torn down so we'll have to move again in november and are deciding between a house and condo. we've been told that a house is better value - but after you add in all the costs (exterminator, transportation, utilities like air-con for a larger space, use of outside facilities - gym or club membership)...etc. it seems to me that a condo is better value (for us.)

also, i like the condo environment since there are always so many children out and about and it's been easy to go to the pool or the playground in the afternoon and there are lots of kids.

i'm sure you are aware that the rental market is going crazy - the rents just keep going up, up, up for teeny tiny places. but as many people point out the further you go the more you can find. for someone who is used to have a commute (in the UK or US) this really isn't a big deal.

when i first came to look i was really concerned about being near shops, schools and transportation. but as i've come to learn all that can be found all over singapore!

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k1w1
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Post by k1w1 » Wed, 13 Jun 2007 7:47 am

We have done both now. I like the house, but we do miss the condo pool. If it's your first time in the tropics, I would recommend a condo for this reason.

Amelia Camelia
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Post by Amelia Camelia » Wed, 13 Jun 2007 3:02 pm

We came from living in a house in the UK to moving into a condo in Singapore. Here are my observations. Initially I was quite keen on a house because that is what I'm used to...

- There's a much wider choice of condos
- The houses we saw were quite dated and old fashioned. Some hadn't been lived in for a while and were quite run-down. Also a lot of them were townhouses - eg 3 floors with no outside space. I found the houses to be quite expensive too - but of course, it depends on your budget.
- Quite a small point but I'm not mad about tropical wildlife! mosquitoes, lizards etc - we don't get those in the condo we're in because of the regular fogging (pesticide control)
- I feel that I and my children are really safe in a condo as they have security guards 24 hours a day although the crime rate is low here in Singapore
- Our Condo location is perfect for our school - I can walk to school with my son. Someone else mentioned location - it's definitely a consideration with two little ones - how are you going to get out and about?
- Also if you don't know anyone here in Singapore, living in a condo provides you with a community. We live in a very small condo block with no children! but that's a rarity. Most condos have a shallow childrens pool and a playground - sometimes indoors. And I imagine you'll get to meet other mummies and their little ones, and there might even be playgroups etc. If you live in a house, then you're restricted to your neighbours.
- One thing I couldn't do is live on a high floor in a condo - we're on the first floor.
- The one thing I do miss is having my own outside space - we had a big garden in the UK, but after saying that I find it a bit too hot here to sit and play outside for hours on end, so a condo suits us really well.

Hope this helps
Amelia

S&A
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Post by S&A » Wed, 13 Jun 2007 5:43 pm

Amelia Camelia

I have the same situation as yours. been used to a big house with garden. but looking at your reply it seems that i should also go in for a condo. Also where i stay is not crowed. so am used to my own space etc...

i would like to live in a smaller condo block and would also like to stay lower to the ground.

your suggestion to find one near school,seems useful as i am also having two kids.

Am planing to come to SG this month. Any suggestions where i can find the type of condo u mentioned? Budget around S$ 2000 to 2500.

Thanks for the help

Amelia Camelia
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Post by Amelia Camelia » Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:19 am

Hi,

Really I think you need to find the school first if you want to live near? then I would engage an agent and tell them you want to live within 1km of the school etc. If there's nothing suitable within your budget.. then I guess you'll have to start looking further afield and think about taking a bus/taxi or the schoolbus to school. Don't worry though, there's lots of condos and lots of variety. There are even low-rise condos with no more than 4-5 floors.

I'm possibly the worse person to ask about accommodation though! I wrote a horrible thread about rental increases - I'm finding condos very expensive in Singapore or it could be that I just have expensive taste! :P

The classifieds section on here is pretty good - it has a good search engine if you know roughly which districts you want to live in...

Take care and if you want to know more about schools - there's a parenting forum too. :)

A

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