re: the bolded.ivysmom wrote:Yes! We looked at one place that had a massive wrap around balcony but it was only 3 ft wIde so therefore unusable but it took about 400 square ft away. Our broker said a/c ledges count, the interior of a bay window and even 1/2 the thickness of an exterior wall. Crazy!! I had also failed to appreciate how many buildings have real livability issues given their proximity to construction...can't tell that from the pictures! Yes, caveat emptor.
Thank you ivysmom for spawning the thread.ivysmom wrote:
For anyone else curious, a few days before I left we got a tentative budget from a relocation company our company hired. Their budget was more generous than what we were thinking on almost every account which I find fascinating. The company hasn't approved it (funny that HR wanted my husband's feedback before the CEO), and part of me thinks that the total spend is so high that they'll say "forget it, we can run this business from the US" (as I've now learned, sending US citizens out is infinitely more expensive than employees from other countries for tax reasons...double income tax and all the allowances get taxed, so the company has to keep grossing up and grossing up..."). And all those allowances are high to begin with so the numbers get pretty absurd.
Hey it's a pleasure. We thought we had you on-board last time, so we're really counting on you this time heheivysmom wrote:JRB, thanks for that, it's helpful. It is interesting that in a weakening market LLs can either stick to their guns more or be more inclined to negotiate. It can cut both ways.
Yep, not sure on the tax position now. And haven't done a tax return in SG for years either. The SGn tax code is meant to be simple, or you could post the Q as a standalone question, I'm sure someone here has info on it that might help.ivysmom wrote:And I wonder about the tax implications of how you handle the housing allowance; I will definitely look into that if we go further down this road. On the higher end of the housing spectrum, what would be your guess of how much a, say $18K condo in 2013 is listing for now....$15K? Or I wonder if the top-tier has been especially hard hit (or conversely, if those with sweet deals have managed to hang on to them despite the general economy). And I can't figure out what FT meansHave a great day.
Btw I giggle at your tag line every time I see it. So true.
Just as a reminder, for every S$1 in higher rent that your employer pays in housing allowance or directly to the landlord, you will pay some percentage in higher tax. I'm assuming you aren't "tax equalized." "Don't go too crazy," basically. You are allowed to spend below "budget" and probably should.ivysmom wrote:It would be a healthy budget if it were anything in this ballpark, which for a family with 3 youngish kids would be nice for sure.
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