House Search

[Gilly]

Hi,

Has anyone heard of Citystate real estate?

Are they leaders in real estate in Singapore?

I am moving to Sing in April, but will have very little time to house hunt due to my work schedule.

Therefore I have been proactive for a few weeks and have contacted a few agents which I found in Singaporeexpats. However, these guys are the only ones who respond promptly to questions.

I am popping over for a weekend in two weeks to see if I can find something that I can put a deposit on and move into on arrival in Singapore. I have requested extensive details and photos of available properties according to my criteria and will shortlist these for viewing in two weeks time. I have a feeling I'm asking a lot by Singapore standards but I really need to insist on working this way.

Am I being too ambitious? I don't know whether they will come up with enough properties to make it worth while flying over.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[durain]

i think it would be very tight, but still possible. all depends how fussy you are with your viewing. one man's house could be another man's hut!

dont forget tenancy contract could be from 1 to 2 years, so if you are rushing things, you might not end up with your perfect place. how about camping out in hotels for a week and then go viewing as much as you can?

[ksl]

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Who dares doesn't win! in this case! Joop can you keep them occupied for 3 or 4 days

[Gilly]

Thanks for your honesty Durain.

Fussy? I'd describe myself as discerning. I'm moving from Bangkok where I live in the CBD, 20 min BTS ride or 5 mins on a taxi bike from office to home. 160sm, 3B/3B, brand new, fullly furnished quality fittings, modern decor, plasmas, ceiling to floor windows, 24th floor with great view.

So, yes, concerned that I won't get anything like that on my budget. However, I have provided realistic, and I believe, achievable criteria.

I just don't want my time wasted, I cannot afford to spend weeks on end looking at this time of the year. In addition my wife is pregnant, will be 6 months when we land. So I just want a smooth as possible transition for her, hence the extra effort to pop over in two weeks time. However, we won't take anything, so if we haven't seen the right place, then we'll certainly have to hit a Serviced Apartment for however long it takes.

I want to screen the viewings to minimise the time wasted on running round the island on pointless viewings. Let's face it, as you say, what they think is nice, I may not.

I thought Singapore could work like that, everything works efficiently here, why not the housing market?

Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes. I have 4 colleagues following me over (i.e. relocating) in a few weeks, so I've made it clear that a good job done on me, will have its rewards.

I guess if the details don't start pouring in by next weekend, I'll appoint a second agency so that I can fill 3 days worth of viewings.

Has anybody else tried this tactic, and had any luck?

Cheers for now.