Any feedback/comments on 8 @ Mount Sophia??

[bbmania]

Hi guys,

I'm about to move to Singapore as an expat from US and have been viewing the condos for rent.

It's just me and my husband, so we're mostly looking for convenience and the vicinity to the city and shops - one of the properties I saw was 8 @ Mt Sophia, and I actually quite liked it. I like the fact that it's new, and also close to the MRT and the Orchard.

I'm sure someone must be living there from the forum, and would love to hear about your feedback. Or if you have heard anything about it, that will be great as well.

Thanks in advance.
-J.

[Guowei58]

I just moved into 8 Mount Sophia two months ago. I live in a 1 bedroom...block 10.

the positives are: good location (close to Plaza Singapura and 2 min walk from MRT, close to Orchard), good amenities. The apartment building connects to Plaza Singapura, which is great as there's a Carrefour there, and you could practically get anything there...

the negatives are: the property is not that well designed, as it's a hassle to get in - i have to go through the side gate and walk through the garage to get to my apartment. The front gate is far from everything, so you need to access the side gate, which is facing Handy Rd, and close to the MRT. Also, they crammed a lot of apartments into the small space, so it feels crowded.

There are many empty apartments in the building because it just opened in December/Jan, and the market has been slow. I would assume that the building is going to be more crowded once people move in (it's now actually pretty nice since it's quiet). I think you could probably pay $3,500 now for a 1bd if you negotiate hard as there's a lot of apartment for rent...

Overall a good choice to rent, but i would buy some place else for $1,400 PSF (might be lower now given the market).

[bbmania]

Thanks Guowei, that's good to know.

I'm looking at 2 br for rent (as I'm here on assignment, I'm not looking into buying currently) and they are asking around $6500 - $7000. I guess it's good to know that there are a lot of vacancy. I'll see if I can get fully-furnished 2-bed with that range....

Yeah, the agent showed me the place by car, so I haven't seen the walking entrance, but I can imagine.

Thanks for the info. hey, maybe once I move in, we can start 8 @ Mt Sophia forum!!

[sierra2469alpha]

8 @ Mt Sofia was on our shortlist. The thing that was against it was the potential for noise coming from the pool area, plus that you looked straight into other people's apartments (assuming you choose one in the centre of the complex). Hope this helps!

[bub]

We have friends that live there.
They were looking for a place around December, and they short listed 8@Mt. Sophia and Icon, which also went on the market around the same time, so with both buildings together there really were a lot of vacant flats.
They had their agent sit down and make phone calls to all available apartements (2 bdrm), tell them what the budget is (5000 sgd) and see what they say- since it was way below the average asking price. The next day they closed the deal in 8@ Mt. Sophia.
They love the location, but like somebody already mentioned- access could have been better from the side gates, especially for baby strollers. Also- this is getting better as the building is filling up, but there are still a lot of workers around during the way, so it's not that pleasent sitting around the pool during the week or Saturday.
Another thing to think about is the construction on Handy road, but that's how it is all around anyway.

[Guowei58]

I agreed on the lack of privacy, since there's a lot of balconies and windows all clustered together.

One suggestion is to get the owner to put some reflecting materials on the windows so that people have a hard time looking into the apartment during the daytime...you just can't help it in at night, so need to get curtains.

agreed on the rental prices too...it's going to be easy to negotiate, so you should be able to get something cheaper than $6,500 for a 2bd

[twinstar]

Hi,

I wonder if there is any particular block (Block 10, Block 10A etc.) within Mount Sophia that is nearest the MRT access path?

Also if it connects to a driveway, is the driveway open 24x7?

Thanks!