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Housing affordability on 180k?

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steffi
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Housing affordability on 180k?

Post by steffi » Fri, 28 Dec 2007 8:35 am

So, in general what typically is affordable for a couple on a 180k SNG?

What is the typical housing budget for people with salaries in this range?

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ukdesigner
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Post by ukdesigner » Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:19 pm

To be honest it depends what you want. Some people might get an HDB and save money, whilst some might blow 10k and upwards a month!

The things you need to factor in are:
1. location of work
2. how long are you prepared to travel to work
3. do you want a place to keep up with jones's
4. Do you want to be close to the city, do you want to mix in with expats mainly or get yourself into the local community

Some people say a 1/3rd of your salary some people spend more and some less. I would suggest looking at your locations of work and then work backwards. So many factors and to be honest this one question pops up about 2 to 3 times a week, every week. May I suggest you do a search on this forum and see what other people have suggested. I think you'll find buckets on this subject.

Also check out the classifieds and the property section on this site. It will give you an indication of the types of properties available here.

You didn't mention children so I'm guessing you don't have any, in which case you have more to spend as schooling (I believe) is quite expensive here.

Good reading! :D
Don't p*ss me off! I am running out of places to hide the bodies.

hedgehunter
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Post by hedgehunter » Fri, 28 Dec 2007 2:34 pm

1/3 of 180k after taking the tax off is about $4.5k per month on rent.

I would definitely advise sticking to 1/3 of your salary if you want to have some cash for fun and travel. I know friends who commited to >50% of their salary and they are a bit restricted at times.

Anyway, 4.5k would get you a decent 2 bed apartment on a nice condo. But it all depends which area - districts 9,10,11 will be more and are genrally where you will find most expats. Like the post before mine, you'll probably want to work out how far/near you want to be from work and whether you want to be surrounded by expats or not.

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Post by steffi » Sat, 29 Dec 2007 7:38 am

Well where do folks working in the Harbor Front area choose to live then? What condo complexes are considered convinient to that location?
hedgehunter wrote:1/3 of 180k after taking the tax off is about $4.5k per month on rent.

I would definitely advise sticking to 1/3 of your salary if you want to have some cash for fun and travel. I know friends who commited to >50% of their salary and they are a bit restricted at times.

Anyway, 4.5k would get you a decent 2 bed apartment on a nice condo. But it all depends which area - districts 9,10,11 will be more and are genrally where you will find most expats. Like the post before mine, you'll probably want to work out how far/near you want to be from work and whether you want to be surrounded by expats or not.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 29 Dec 2007 9:29 am

steffi wrote:Well where do folks working in the Harbor Front area choose to live then? What condo complexes are considered convinient to that location?
Go here, click on dropdown for MRT stations & select Harbourfront MRT then move map in larger and larger concentric circles looking for the condo Names (In green type). There won't be buildings shown like the HDB units and public buildings are, but you can then go to someplace like ERA, Knight Frank, or any number of realtor's sites and/or see my links to other online map providers that will show much more relevant information that the official government one does (last one listed is the best for this purpose). Additionally, you can click on the "Maps" Tab at the top of this page and go to "Condominiums" and click the name of the Complex and a small map will be shown. At the bottom of the page will be a dropdown list of nearby amenities as well.

Hope this helps.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

steffi
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Post by steffi » Sun, 30 Dec 2007 3:41 am

Presumably the ICON complex is suited for this location.

Is ICON priced similarly to other complexes or is there a premium paid for this particular complex.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 30 Dec 2007 3:41 pm

The ICON is located beside International Plaza with is beside the Tanjong Pagar MRT station. As such it is directly in the middle of the business district and will definitely be a high-end unit as it is in the CBD. This is not what you might call close to the Harbourfront area.

Maybe you don't have the name of the working area correct. The Harbourfront area is at the site of the cable car and entrance to Sentosa. Are you meaning the area downtown that faces the harbour?

If that's the case then looks up something like The Esplanade or The Fullerton on the map and do your search from there. Anything down near that area will cost you an arm & a leg.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

rchdk
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Post by rchdk » Wed, 02 Jan 2008 1:57 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote: Maybe you don't have the name of the working area correct. The Harbourfront area is at the site of the cable car and entrance to Sentosa. Are you meaning the area downtown that faces the harbour?
There are actually 3 office towers at the "Harbourfront area" namely Harbourfront tower 1 + 2 and Keppel Bay Tower (the old World Trade buildings). In addition there is currently one more office building under construction. As to condos nearby then Caribbean, The Pearl and Mount Faber Lodge should be the most obvious ones if you wanna stay within walking distance.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Wed, 02 Jan 2008 2:26 pm

rchdk,

while you quoted my post, it is apparent that you did not read the posts. The poster was saying she was told that the ICON was suitable close to the Harbourfront area. It is not unless she means the area near the harbour even though it is not known as such. Also, I believe two of the three you have mentioned haven't been completed as of yet have they?
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by rchdk » Wed, 02 Jan 2008 9:37 pm

Good evening,

Sorry I misunderstood your post, will try and read more carefully in the future :)

You are right, Icon is as such not located "close" to the Harbourfront area but bus/mrt connections are quite good hence would opine that Icon could be a suitable location if you are willing to travel about 15-20min each way.

Anyways all three condos I mentioned are indeed finished, last one was The Pearl which was completed around February 2006 as far as I remember. Based on own experiences walking to Harbourfront from Mount Faber Lodge and The Pearl would take about 15 min and from Caribbean about 5 min of course depending on how fast you walk :)

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Post by Asian_Geekette » Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:57 pm

steffi wrote:Presumably the ICON complex is suited for this location.

Is ICON priced similarly to other complexes or is there a premium paid for this particular complex.
From Icon, you can walk over to the bus stop near Amara Hotel and take either bus service # 80 or 145 to get to Harbourfront. Time to get to the bus stop varies on your pace (could be 5 minutes or 10 minutes if you walk slowly). :lol: It would just be 10 minutes or 15 minutes (max) of travel time in the bus. I work and stay around this area hence I can give these time approximations. :) But I may have to move out soon... :roll:

My manager's manager has a unit in Icon. She says the rental for a 1 bedroom flat is around 4K SGD (this was last October 2007).

Good luck with your search!
My business is not to remake myself, but make the absolute best out of what God made. -Robert Browning

melvin teo
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Post by melvin teo » Sat, 03 May 2008 1:07 am

hihi, icon will be slightly more expensive as it is still a very new and nice estate, to lower your costs, maybe you will like to look at HDBs or older condos around the area... :)

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