Carlzy

Oh great - Thanks Valesarl. I just noticed another thread there today in relation to estate agents so I'll browse through there also to get a good idea on good estate agents to approach.

Cheers!

Englishmum

Very central - where the convention centres and some large hotels are located, so has good MRT and bus routes adjacent......and if you enjoy Formula 1 motor racing it is a great location....

http://www.streetdirectory.com/sg/te...e/21856_1.html (you can see that Temasek Ave is parallel to the ECP - East Coast Parkway)

http://www.onemap.sg (lists all the transportation links)

I think living somewhere around the East Coast would be perfect for you, especially around the Marine Parade/Katong districts. Avoid Geylang....it is the red-light district.

http://www.singaporepropertyinc.com/...t-district-15/


http://www.yoursingapore.com/content...at-katong.html

Enjoy reading this blog:

http://www.mylifeinsin.com/2013/09/f...singapore.html

Englishmum

Hmmmm - an oxymoron methinks. They initially tend to show naive new arrivals the properties they've had on their books for ages (that no-one else wants) but where they get hassled by the landlords to do viewings. The condition of some places is quite shocking.....layers of dust, dead cockroaches etc. but the landlord won't do any painting until a new lease has been signed. I could never understand that it would be far better to clean their places up to show them in their best light.... It isn't unusual for expats to see upwards of 20-30 places before they found something they liked...

Obviously the more facilities an apartment complex (condominium/condo) has, then the more the rent will be; many have tennis/squash courts, swimming pools, club houses, barbie-pits, the larger ones even have mini-marts, a cafe etc. and of course you pay more for attractive views, or less for noisy traffic etc. Older apartments are more spacious, 'walk-ups' ie. without a lift tend to be the cheapest. (Tip: don't face a main road if you want to keep your windows open for fresh air....traffic is 24/7!)

Also check on the commission your agents would be getting and who is responsible for paying it; they usually have to split their commission with the listing agent.....I'm not sure if it has changed but I know it was the case that for rentals at the cheapest range of the market, the tenant would have to pay a proportion of the agent's fee. ('Ex-reg' who posts here and a long-term resident of Singapore will know more about this....I'm sure he will be along soon or you could send him a private message). Get everything in writing.....they may tell you one thing but you won't have a leg to stand on if they say something but haven't confirmed it in writing. You may ask the agent if the building next door is going to be demolished and they may say 'no'. You move in and 3 months later it is pulled down and then the pile driving begins. Get it in writing!

Carlzy

Okay - very good advise here and thank you for that! Will definitely have to air on the side of caution!

ex reg

Englishmum, I can't really add anything to the good info you have given as usual.

iirc when we were the tenant and renting we never paid the agent's fee.
When we were the landlord and renting out our property we always paid the agent's fee.
That's not to say that agents/landlord will not tell you something different.

If you rent an HDB property then the agent's fee is usually split 50/50

Englishmum

For professional women working in Singapore here is a networking group:

http://www.primetime.org.sg/sections...23BDC52A661805

home page: http://www.primetime.org.sg

ori0n

Hi

Welcome to Singapore in advance

In general this a a rough breakdown of the type of expenses:

Utilities (3rm private apartment) : Average - $250 - $400 (depending on how much you use the air conditioning)
Internet/CableTV: approx $100 (depending on number of channels and connection speed)
Rental: This is for you to plan
Air con maintenance: approx $50 monthly (to be done once every 3 months to ensure air conditoners are working normally)

-----
One time expenses
security deposit: worth up to 2 months of the rental (for 2 year lease)
Stamp duty: approx 9-10% of rental amount

-----
If you need any other information feel free to let me know. cheers!

bakedbean

Hi OriOn and welcome to the forum

ori0n

Thank you! Very kind of you.

Carlzy

Thanks Orion for the advise in your post above.
It's giving me a good insight into the increasingly accumulative cost of living in Singapore. Which to be honest is kind of disturbing. I'm just really surprised to hear that a percentage of the Stamp Duty has to be paid as well. Is this the norm for every rental accommodation in Singapore? Would stamp duty be paid on a yearly basis then or would that be a once off payment? I would've expected that stamp duty should be the responsibility of the landlord to pay as they are benefiting from the rental income and not the tenant?

bakedbean

I'm surprised about the stamp duty too. That's a bit mean, isn't it. Is that really the norm?

ori0n

Hi,


There are some changes to the stamp duty. After 21st Feb 2014, stamp duty will be calculated based on 0.4% of the total rental value throughout the lease term.


Example

Lease period and rent

Lease Duty

3 years at $2,500 per month


Total rent = $2,500 x 36 = $90,000

Lease duty = 0.4% x $90,000 = $360.00

More information can be found here.

http://www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page..._Stamp_Duty??_

ori0n

Actually, maybe I may have worded wrongly to give you a wrong impression.

The old calculation of example a $5000 rental will work out to about $480 or almost 10% of the monthly rental.
Apologies.

ori0n

The payment of stamp duty is a one time payment. And the responsibility of paying primarily lands on the tenants. If the tenant is found not paying this stamp duty, they may be penalised up to 4 times the amount.

ori0n

Singapore, technically is a nice place to stay. But the standard of living is quite high, given the fact that this little red dot has no natural resources.

Everything in Singapore is almost regulated which means its safe but also means there is less room for creativity in some aspect