Singapore Expats

Hello everybody.

We just moved Singapore last week and now searching for a house.
We have a toddler which is 1 year old. Our budget for lease is about 3000-3500$ .

Since my husband working on Orchard road, 3 areas is being considered:
1,orchard, but only can rent apartment, which has no pool,no playground, even has no lift. But it is very near to the company.
2, Toa Payoh. The budget is enough for a condo with 2 rooms I think.
3, bishan, same with Toa Payoh.

I want to know which area is better for bringing our boy, and also I am looking for a kindergarten , so which one can I have more choice?

Thank you very much!

BTW, of course if you have better area for us to move in, pls tell me.

Bishan is nice. Huge park, MRT at Junction 8 and decent shopping complex there as well as the bus interchange. Puts you close to upper thompson road, Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh and serangoon. Not a bad area at all.

If your husband is working in the Orchard area, there lots more places to consider. Perhaps overstating the obvious here, but I'd get out a map which includes MRT routes and start looking.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:Bishan is nice. Huge park, MRT at Junction 8 and decent shopping complex there as well as the bus interchange. Puts you close to upper thompson road, Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh and serangoon. Not a bad area at all.

Thanks!
How about kindergartens at Bishan?

road.not.taken wrote:If your husband is working in the Orchard area, there lots more places to consider. Perhaps overstating the obvious here, but I'd get out a map which includes MRT routes and start looking.

Yes, but our budget is 3000-3500, it is limited for many area, such as Novena,Newton.

I just did a search on this website and found dozens of places in the Orchard/Newton/Novena/Bukit Timah areas. Don't forget you should be including places asking for $4K.

Detailed data. Thank you very much!

bearangela wrote:Hello everybody.

We just moved Singapore last week and now searching for a house.
We have a toddler which is 1 year old. Our budget for lease is about 3000-3500$ .

Since my husband working on Orchard road, 3 areas is being considered:
1,orchard, but only can rent apartment, which has no pool,no playground, even has no lift. But it is very near to the company.
2, Toa Payoh. The budget is enough for a condo with 2 rooms I think.
3, bishan, same with Toa Payoh.

I want to know which area is better for bringing our boy, and also I am looking for a kindergarten , so which one can I have more choice?

Thank you very much!

BTW, of course if you have better area for us to move in, pls tell me.

We faced the same househunt dilemma recently, and ended up staying away from Orchard / Newton / Novena areas primarily because there are insufficient open spaces for a young child given the budget. We're happy living in Bishan area because there's a lot of fresh air and parks here. I think 3000-3500 will get you a 1200-1500sqft unit in this area so just choose your condo depending on your priorities, i.e. new / old / high / low. My favorite grocery place is NTUC Hypermart at AMK Hub, which is just four blocks away from us.

Good luck!

here_i_am wrote:

bearangela wrote:Hello everybody.

We just moved Singapore last week and now searching for a house.
We have a toddler which is 1 year old. Our budget for lease is about 3000-3500$ .

Since my husband working on Orchard road, 3 areas is being considered:
1,orchard, but only can rent apartment, which has no pool,no playground, even has no lift. But it is very near to the company.
2, Toa Payoh. The budget is enough for a condo with 2 rooms I think.
3, bishan, same with Toa Payoh.

I want to know which area is better for bringing our boy, and also I am looking for a kindergarten , so which one can I have more choice?

Thank you very much!

BTW, of course if you have better area for us to move in, pls tell me.

We faced the same househunt dilemma recently, and ended up staying away from Orchard / Newton / Novena areas primarily because there are insufficient open spaces for a young child given the budget. We're happy living in Bishan area because there's a lot of fresh air and parks here. I think 3000-3500 will get you a 1200-1500sqft unit in this area so just choose your condo depending on your priorities, i.e. new / old / high / low. My favorite grocery place is NTUC Hypermart at AMK Hub, which is just four blocks away from us.

Good luck!

Thank you very much!

In fact, yesterday we just had view of some units around Bishan.
We take a fancy to one of them.

But when we express our satisfaction,the agt go so far as to raise up the price. It made us very uncomfortable.

Alittle disappointed with Singaporean,not only because the agt yesterday, but we meet all these days.

Don't get me started on Singaporean agents. Scary lot they are... I had to sign up for a lease within 3 months of landing here. Can't explain how much pressure that was for us, on top of my being 7-mos pregnant at that time. Anyway, suffice to say we got promised a vacant unit (it was captured black&white in what i think was an offer letter) but ended having to settle for a bunch of crappy furniture we didnt really need because the agent flat-out lied and said our landlord had already cashed out our deposit and would not have it returned. Turns out later on that our landlord also wanted to return our check but the agent was saying some other lies to the landlord to push forward the deal. I wish I had the energy and know-how then to argue and walk-away from the deal but its all water under the bridge now and lesson has been learned.

Here's my advise for you:
1. Get yourself an agent. Dont enter into any talks with the landlord's agent without your agent.
2. Be firm and persistent with your own agent. Identify your priorities and dont buckle on your top priorities.
3. Read the classifieds and use websites like streetsine, singaporeexpats, ura (rental reports), and forums very well. Dont rely on your agent to do the research for you, although by right it should be their work.
4. Know the singapore rules and regulations such as who pays for the agent and who shoulders stamp duty.
5. Have a checklist for your inspections. Other than the obvious such as paint and floors, check for important stuff like fire alarms, window latches, screen windows, and service records for stoves, etc.
6. Despite having your own agent, do some investigative research. Call the classifieds postings and check the prices. You can always give a false name. (Best not to use your own mobile for this. I used the Service Apartment's phone.)
7. Lastly, stay positive and dont give up! Remember that the market is soft and will turn softer in the coming months. Landlords and agents know this. They're praying hard that expats like you dont...[/list]

here_i_am wrote:Don't get me started on Singaporean agents. Scary lot they are... I had to sign up for a lease within 3 months of landing here. Can't explain how much pressure that was for us, on top of my being 7-mos pregnant at that time. Anyway, suffice to say we got promised a vacant unit (it was captured black&white in what i think was an offer letter) but ended having to settle for a bunch of crappy furniture we didnt really need because the agent flat-out lied and said our landlord had already cashed out our deposit and would not have it returned. Turns out later on that our landlord also wanted to return our check but the agent was saying some other lies to the landlord to push forward the deal. I wish I had the energy and know-how then to argue and walk-away from the deal but its all water under the bridge now and lesson has been learned.

Here's my advise for you:
1. Get yourself an agent. Dont enter into any talks with the landlord's agent without your agent.
2. Be firm and persistent with your own agent. Identify your priorities and dont buckle on your top priorities.
3. Read the classifieds and use websites like streetsine, singaporeexpats, ura (rental reports), and forums very well. Dont rely on your agent to do the research for you, although by right it should be their work.
4. Know the singapore rules and regulations such as who pays for the agent and who shoulders stamp duty.
5. Have a checklist for your inspections. Other than the obvious such as paint and floors, check for important stuff like fire alarms, window latches, screen windows, and service records for stoves, etc.
6. Despite having your own agent, do some investigative research. Call the classifieds postings and check the prices. You can always give a false name. (Best not to use your own mobile for this. I used the Service Apartment's phone.)
7. Lastly, stay positive and dont give up! Remember that the market is soft and will turn softer in the coming months. Landlords and agents know this. They're praying hard that expats like you dont...[/list]

Thank you very much !!
Finally,I found an agt who is more responsible than others.
And, we may locate at seasons view.I don't know how it is exactly, but it is cheaper. I hope it's a correct choice.

hi,

we just moved to season view 2 weeks ago and have a 16mth old daughter.
i'm wondering if you have moved here or not?
it would be nice to get in contact once. my email is [email protected]

cheers denis