Singapore Expats

Will be moving to Singapore in Jan / Feb 2007 with husband and two young children and am looking to see what kind of place we can get for 3000 SGD monthly. The kids want use of a swimming pool, husband wants use of a gym, near public transport would be good, hopefully I want to get the kids into a British school, so I'm a little confused.

Any ideas would be more than welcome.
Many thanks
Kelly.

That's a fairly big chunk of change in Singapore, and will get you into most any condo except the very newest/central ones. Swimming pool and gym are standard in most all condos, and transport is not a problem in general -- although you'll need to think about your commute(s) to figure out the best place to stay.

All depends on where you are working and how long of a commute you are comfortable with. If you don't mind 45 minutes to work on the train, you can easily find 3br at a nice place for $2500-3000. If you want to be in the central area...might be tougher.

S3000 is do-able. Depending on your personal preferences, however, prepare to give in on location, size or age of the unit, and facilities. Allot ample time to look at ("view") a number of condos in areas that you'd be interested in living in. Working with an agent will help you see a collection of different condo types. Stick to your budget at all cost as it's easy to bump it up especially after viewing the newer apartments / condos that are still springing up left and right around town.

I had a similar budget and idea before I can out here ..

I was orginally looking at Kew Green, which is nice and huge but then ended up in holland??

The problem is rent is going up all the time. If it's near to an MRT and in good condition within 20 minutes of town in a nice area and not near N block then 3k isn't alot for a decent condo. We ended up paying 3,800 for a 1300sqf 3 bed in holland which is nice in a good location but the condo is 10 years old though well looked after! The east coast in the past has been cheaper though prices are going up and you still find anything near an MRT is not that cheap. The Costa Del sol is a good option if you children are 3+yrs old it offers free buses to places and has great facilities. a friend managed to get a 3 bed place for 3,200 not that long ago. It's brand new with no issues walking distance to the beach. The negative thing is you are reliant on condo buses or private taxis/car?

Having just moved because of the 50% rent hike that my ex landlord was asking (3k->4.5k) I can certainly agree with Patricks statement. It really depends on what your basic requirements are and how much you are able to compromise. I think basic facilities like gyms. pools etc are easy - being close to MRT's, being in the expat zone of holland/orchard/bukit timah will drive the price up.

Patrick777 wrote:I had a similar budget and idea before I can out here ..

I was orginally looking at Kew Green, which is nice and huge but then ended up in holland??

The problem is rent is going up all the time. If it's near to an MRT and in good condition within 20 minutes of town in a nice area and not near N block then 3k isn't alot for a decent condo. We ended up paying 3,800 for a 1300sqf 3 bed in holland which is nice in a good location but the condo is 10 years old though well looked after! The east coast in the past has been cheaper though prices are going up and you still find anything near an MRT is not that cheap. The Costa Del sol is a good option if you children are 3+yrs old it offers free buses to places and has great facilities. a friend managed to get a 3 bed place for 3,200 not that long ago. It's brand new with no issues walking distance to the beach. The negative thing is you are reliant on condo buses or private taxis/car?

Hi. We are moving out in March (me, wife, 2 kids, dog) and Kew Green is on our shortlist, along with Fernhill cottage and D'Manor. What put you off? Anything I need to think about? I'm going to be working on Bras Basah Road and we're considering either Tanglin Trust or Chatsworth East as schools. Thanks.