Furniture - to bring or not to bring???

emmakate · Post by **emmakate** » Thu, 19 Mar 2009 8:15 am

Hello,

We are relocating to Singapore in the next 6-8 weeks and I am wondering if we should bring our furniture with us or not? From the rental listings I have seen on the internet a lot of places seem to be furnished. If you find a furnished place that you like are they usually happy to remove the furniture because I would really rather bring our own.

I would appreciate some feedback from other people's experiences.

Thanks very much.

Emma

sierra2469alpha · Post by **sierra2469alpha** » Thu, 19 Mar 2009 8:36 am

Hi Emma - welcome!

I guess your question has many answers depending on a number of variables. I'm not sure how much it will help, but I'll explain what we did. We knew we wanted unfurnished (read partly furnished - meaning the place has fridge, washing machine, dryer, and in our case dishwasher), so we knew there was no point bringing some of those items. Again, because we wanted unfurnished, we used the move as an opporunity to upgrade a few things, and sold the rest via eBay.

I do believe that if you move into a furnished place you can arrange to have it removed, but I am not 100% certain - can someone else maybe help on this point?

If you're moving in 6-8 weeks I hope you have your removalist booked!!

Cheers, Mr. P

durain · Post by **durain** » Thu, 19 Mar 2009 8:42 am

all depends on the landlord. if the landlord hasnt got space, then probably wont take it away.

Splatted · Post by **Splatted** » Thu, 19 Mar 2009 9:47 am

Just a side note, not sure about other countries, but compared with Australia white goods are sooooooo much cheaper in Singapore. (even with the current Aussie-to-Sing exchange rate as bad as it is)

A large fridge which may set you back $1000 in Australia, may only cost $600 for similar size / model.

I guess it's up to you to weigh up whether selling your old stuff and buying new is worth it, armed with this little tid-bit of info.

sierra2469alpha · Post by **sierra2469alpha** » Thu, 19 Mar 2009 3:14 pm

Emma/Splatted - true in parts, however certain things are difficult to find. You'll be fine with whitegoods, just shop around. But if you want a decent toaster - forget it - buy a new one and bring it with you!

Mr. P

louy · Post by **louy** » Fri, 20 Mar 2009 9:07 am

Probably, 80% of the furniture you have now you do not really need.

I suggesting selling it all and take the money. Plus the money you save from shipping (if you are payin for your own shipping) then you could buy new furniture here if you need it, or keep the money if you get a fully furnished property.

emmakate · Post by **emmakate** » Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:47 am

Thanks very much for the helpful advice!

Emma

sierra2469alpha · Post by **sierra2469alpha** » Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:38 pm

louy wrote:...Plus the money you save from shipping...

Huh? Unless Emma drops from a 40ft to a 20ft, then there will be no cost difference. The haulage charge is by container size, not what's actually in the container. So if she fills a 40ft or only half fills a 40ft - same haulage charge.

HTH, Mr. P

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sun, 22 Mar 2009 5:39 pm

Yeah, but if they drop from a 40 or 20 to a couple of boxes of sea freight they would save a bundle. That's what I did. I arrived with my clothes and some odds & sods and that was it. Too easy to pick up everything you need for a song if you have half a wit about you. Most come virtually furnished and if you want to work on a shoestring you can furnish via Salvation Army up to leasing furniture from on of the companies that lease furniture here (at least one on my links page). Or pick up the necessary at the various flatpack stores in Queensway, Tampines or such.

cbavasi · Post by **cbavasi** » Sun, 22 Mar 2009 7:26 pm

I didn't realize that there are so many furnished apts here - but maybe b/c we've only looked for unfurnished. I saw a lot of places that had the odd bit here and there - and like someone else said unless the owner has somewhere else to move it you're stuck with it. Though I've been told now from friends that you can ask for a lot of things now that you wouldn't have 2 years ago. I think the biggest misconception is that "Partially Furnished" means furniture. It really means white goods.

JimH5 · Post by **JimH5** » Sat, 28 Mar 2009 3:11 pm

I agree with Chavasi. When we were looking at apartments, our agent would describe something as "furnished" if the kitchen had appliances, and the windows had drapes.

To me, "furniture" includes things like dining table & chairs, sofa, beds and the like. We only found one place that was "furnished" in our eyes.

That said, furniture is available and beautiful and seemingly affordable. You can buy stuff from exiting expats, or cheap it up at IKEA, or buy top quality stuff from Italian designers. Lots to choose from.

tulipe · Post by **tulipe** » Mon, 30 Mar 2009 9:52 am

Emma

You may also want to consider whether your furniture is suitable for Singapore. i.e. material. The size of your furniture may restricted your home search unless budget is not a concern and you can get a bigger house/ apartment to accomodate your furniture. Good luck to your home search and welcome to singapore : )

Cheers

louy · Post by **louy** » Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:23 am

tulipe wrote:Emma

You may also want to consider whether your furniture is suitable for Singapore. i.e. material. The size of your furniture may restricted your home search unless budget is not a concern and you can get a bigger house/ apartment to accomodate your furniture. Good luck to your home search and welcome to singapore : )

Cheers

I made that mistake.
My leather chair and clothing which I shipped over all started to mould here on a regular basis. I have since chucked the chair and shipped my leather jackets back home to UK.

Also I bought with me my 6ft+ free standing punch / kick bag. In my search I had to find a place big enough for it to stand and with sufficent space for me to use.

I never used it once in Singapore. The weather is too hot for some fatty like me to be doing exercise. I have since sold this kick bag

tulipe · Post by **tulipe** » Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:13 am

dont worry. you not alone making that mistake. kee

louy wrote:
tulipe wrote:Emma

You may also want to consider whether your furniture is suitable for Singapore. i.e. material. The size of your furniture may restricted your home search unless budget is not a concern and you can get a bigger house/ apartment to accomodate your furniture. Good luck to your home search and welcome to singapore : )

Cheers
I made that mistake.
My leather chair and clothing which I shipped over all started to mould here on a regular basis. I have since chucked the chair and shipped my leather jackets back home to UK.

Also I bought with me my 6ft+ free standing punch / kick bag. In my search I had to find a place big enough for it to stand and with sufficent space for me to use.

I never used it once in Singapore. The weather is too hot for some fatty like me to be doing exercise. I have since sold this kick bag

Post by **jpatokal** » Wed, 01 Apr 2009 2:58 pm

tulipe wrote:You may also want to consider whether your furniture is suitable for Singapore. i.e. material.

To be more specific, virtually all furniture from non-tropical lands is unsuitable for the tropics, and vica versa. Leather will mould, cloth will rot, iron will rust, even particleboard will sag -- I've had plastic suitcase handles, fake fur handcuffs, and this morning's discovery, aluminum foil (!), mould/rust/rot on me here. And if you pick up some beautiful Balinese furniture or what not in Singapore and try to bring it back, it will dry, crack and splinter once humidity falls below 90%.

So leave the furniture at home, and buy it in Singapore.

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Furniture - to bring or not to bring???

Furniture - to bring or not to bring???

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