Relocation to Singapore

[tommy4]

Hi all,
I am an UK expat relocating to Singapore, on a local contract, initally for a year. Hoping to start my job, which will be near the Outram Park MRT area, in 1st week of Dec 2011. My wife and two kids(aged 2 and 5) will join me after 5 months for the remainder of the year.
I would be very grateful for clarifications on:
- What is the shortest rental lease possible. Would it be possible for me rent out a single room for initial 5 months or so, and then take a 7 months contract for a condominium (when my family arrives) for the remainder of the year. Or would I have to rent a condo for the whole year?
- Ideas on which areas to look for condos? My budget is around approx 4000 S$. I was looking for condos near an MRT, commuting time of 20-30 mins, near International School.
Thanks very much for any help/suggestions.

[nakatago]

* some rooms you can rent for 6 months. highly dependent on owner
* condos/flats/HDBs, minimum 1 year; most owners would prefer you take a 2 year lease. 6 months, very rare. in between those, even rarer
* look at ads, then look them up in gothere.sg or google maps for commuting directions. you can sort by distance, time, number of transfers, etc. keep in mind, this is a small island. this has been asked AND answered so many times already

[tommy4]

Thanks for that