Storage space in apartments / Storage costs

[Waffer Theen Meent]

Hi all!

Looks like I will soon be moving to Singapore!

I'm currently living in Switzerland and I suspect I've been spoiled a little bit since nearly all apartments here have cellars where you can store belongings.

What's the situation like in Singapore? And if this won't be the case, does anyone have any idea how much third-party storage costs, or can anyoen recommend any websites?

Thanks!
Dan

[nutnut]

I've never seen a cellar in Singapore, nor a loft, nor a lot of storage - That being said, if you do not have a live in maid then the maids room makes a good store room.

[Hannieroo]

We have a storage unit. It's 10ft by 8ft and 10ft tall for 280 a month.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Lots of "Lock & Store" types of facilities all over the island.

[katbh]

Lock and Store is expensive. The cheapest and best that I have found is Storhub. But it is twice as much as I pay in UK and AUS

Good luck

[Hannieroo]

We're at store friendly.

[the lynx]

Never used any of such facilities before but I have many friends who swear by Big Orange. Probably the most competitively priced option in Singapore. And I heard they acquired StoreHub recently so that'll double their storage facilities country-wide.

[ecureilx]

and of late, I been seeing a lot of flyers, a-la DBSS/Condo launch .. on storage, as a investment option, with ROI of about 6-8% PA .. including one huge project coming up in Jurong Central . .

I wonder when this will all come crashing .. like the Data Center craze a few years ago ..

[BedokAmerican]

I've never seen a cellar in Singapore, nor a loft, nor a lot of storage - That being said, if you do not have a live in maid then the maids room makes a good store room.

I agree. We use the "maid's quarters" for storage. But keep in mind that maid's quarters are not air-conditioned, so something that might be temperature-sensitive (such as a photo album) wouldn't keep well in such environment.

[Waffer Theen Meent]

Thanks for the info guys!

So regarding the maid's room: do most apartments come with these as well then? Is it included in the room count that you see on adverts?

[PNGMK]

Thanks for the info guys!

So regarding the maid's room: do most apartments come with these as well then? Is it included in the room count that you see on adverts?

No - you'd be wise to clarify. However a lot of newer aptarments have a 'household shelter' (a bomb shelter) which can be used as a maids room but is not included in the room count typically (or in your case used as storage). Typically 10m3 at most (2m x 3m x 1.8m).

[ecureilx]

Thanks for the info guys!

So regarding the maid's room: do most apartments come with these as well then? Is it included in the room count that you see on adverts?

No - you'd be wise to clarify. However a lot of newer aptarments have a 'household shelter' (a bomb shelter) which can be used as a maids room but is not included in the room count typically (or in your case used as storage). Typically 10m3 at most (2m x 3m x 1.8m).

The bomb shelter ? the one with virtually zero ventilation, and unless the person is ok with a portable Aircon, and the attendant noise, (the type that ducts vent out... ) it is not liveable ..

just my 2 cents ..

[sundaymorningstaple]

And because they are bombshelters, they are windowless and airless except for a small ventilation duct or two. The doors cannot be removed and are heavy blast proof doors. There is, however, power inside the shelter.

The other units you will see advertised as having a maid's room is normally either a converted utility room off the kitchen or a supersmall room/walkin closet that you have to have a bed custom made so it will fit as you cannot get a standard single bed inside as they are too long. and even if you do, you cannot get a wardrobe inside as well and still be able to walk alongside of the accessable portion of the bed. They are rarely airconditioned either. The real estate people here will tell you that the maids prefer not to have aircon. Take that with a grain of salt!

[katbh]

In advertisements the '+1' is the maids room.

So, say the ad says '3bdrm + 1' or 'Apartment 3 + 1', it is three bedroom apt with an additional room which is about the size of a bed! That is the maids room. It is usually off the kitchen. It is usual that the help gets the run of the kitchen, yard (as the small balcony is called) and the maids room. There should also be a bathroom (Usually with a small, often cold, shower and toilet).

In older houses or apartments, where the maids rooms are bigger, I have seen them used as part of the bedroom count. And to be honest, some of these rooms ARE larger than normal bedrooms in new apartments!

[sundaymorningstaple]

The old Black & Whites in Seletar Camp where I lived for 15 years had a full sized windowed bedroom behind the kitchen away from the main part of the house with an outside entrance. In ours, it actually became a workshop and was about 4m square and with a large ceiling fan. Made a nice workshop.