Singapore Expats

Hi everyone. I was hoping you could give me some advice. I just moved here and has got an agent to find me apartments. My budget is max $3000 for a part furnished 2 bed as i have furnishing being shipped here and will buy locally too. however he is saying $3000 is too low and needs to increase. I can't help not think he is trying to cheat me as there is a recession here and everyone tells me the rents here are lowering.

i had enquired on either the central area or east coast. i was hoping with a $3000 (which is already way too expensive for me) can be negotiated with the landlord but it seems i wont even find a place.

Is this right? i feel so disheartened.

you can engage other agent to look for you. also do a good search on the internet for a rough guide to the rental prices for a particular location.

its a tricky thing - this recession theory.

We are now searching for 3 weeks with a 50% higher budget than you and whatever our agent shows up is a) either still out of our budget despite agent's promises that the owner will come down (which he doesn't later) or b) is gone by the time we make our minds up.

Its getting alarming really....so my advice to you - once you see something you like, just jump in. Don't think for days about it ....

We're just about to move into our new place and although the rent was less than it was 2 years ago - it's still high and it's not the tenants market that everyone thinks it is. It's much more so than the frenzy in '08 but still crazy compared to a lot of the world. I've followed a couple of apartments from 2006 and here's what I found (these were listed prices):

Apt A:
Price in Jul 2006: 7,800
Price in Dec 2007: 14,000
Price in Jun 2009: 11,500

Apt B:
Price in Jul 2006: 5,000
Price in Dec 2007: 9,000
Price in Jun 2009: 7,500

We were still able to negotiate 15% off of the listed price of our new apt and in Dec 2007 we actually had to pay more than the listed price so that is a bonus.

hg wrote:...and whatever our agent shows up is a) either still out of our budget despite agent's promises that the owner will come down (which he doesn't later) or b) is gone by the time we make our minds up.

This is why you don't tell your agent your actual budget, but $500-1000 less.

Yeah, but somebody might overhear them and then word would get around that they got a bad deal and they would lose face on the cocktail circuit. Can't have that can we! Also, they couldn't get on the board here and show all that they are on an "Expat" package if they did it that way!

sundaymorningstaple wrote:Yeah, but somebody might overhear them and then word would get around that they got a bad deal and they would lose face on the cocktail circuit. Can't have that can we! Also, they couldn't get on the board here and show all that they are on an "Expat" package if they did it that way!

On a forum that has "singaporeexpats" in its title, does one need to "show" that they are here on expat package? What kind of a friggin joke is that !!! I am sorry but this forum is becoming more acerbic by the day....

hg,

Probably less than 40% of the expats on this forum are "Expats" in the sense of having full "Expat" packages. Most are expats because they are working here and I daresay, with the exception of a few, the majority have small or no allowances at all.

Here, this is for you, who seems to not be able to see the forest for the trees.

My insight into the housing thing was to show that in 2006 the rents were still high - but nothing like 2008 and now coming down but still high - I think it would be similar no matter what your housing budget was.

(I had to edit this b/c I didn't read the responses correctly... tired!)

Tammy138 wrote:Hi everyone. I was hoping you could give me some advice. I just moved here and has got an agent to find me apartments. My budget is max $3000 for a part furnished 2 bed as i have furnishing being shipped here and will buy locally too. however he is saying $3000 is too low and needs to increase. I can't help not think he is trying to cheat me as there is a recession here and everyone tells me the rents here are lowering.

i had enquired on either the central area or east coast. i was hoping with a $3000 (which is already way too expensive for me) can be negotiated with the landlord but it seems i wont even find a place.

Is this right? i feel so disheartened.

yes he is trying to cheat you. there are cheaper places available, look at the adds on this site there are a lot on upper east coast for 2 - 2.5k

sundaymorningstaple wrote:hg,

Probably less than 40% of the expats on this forum are "Expats" in the sense of having full "Expat" packages. Most are expats because they are working here and I daresay, with the exception of a few, the majority have small or no allowances at all.

..

Point taken....you are a MOD here and so must be right (I am a MOD too in another unrelated forum and say so by personal experience)

Anyway, in my case the agent is company's and so there no way of telling her 500$ off our budget...wish people know all the facts before jumping in with pre-conceived notions. Getting a house right now at the top of my mind and talks of any social superiority just annoy the hell out of me

hg wrote:Anyway, in my case the agent is company's and so there no way of telling her 500$ off our budget...

Are you the original poster? They were asking about changing their agent, hence my advice to quote a lower budget than you're actually willing to pay.

wish people know all the facts before jumping in with pre-conceived notions. Getting a house right now at the top of my mind and talks of any social superiority just annoy the hell out of me

Relak lah! Don't take everything people write here so seriously, it's not like the people who write it do

I think there are good and bad property agents everywhere. I was looking for a place a couple of months ago. I finally had my eyes on an unit near my office. After asking around, I found out that there are 3 units within the same development that have been vacant for 3-5 months. The moment I expressed interest in 1 of the units, my agent came back and said there is another offer and I need to place a deposit immediately. Seriously... 3 vacant units and suddenly, there is a demand for the same unit I am interested in?

The price agreed also seems to keep changing, with additional fees, charges, gst, etc. I got so peeved with all the BS, I told my agent off and that I will find another "less popular" place. In the end, I actually managed to find a place that is 20% cheaper in rent, and almost twice the size! Sometimes, you need a little patience when doing flat-hunting.

Most agents dealing with the company tend to be fairly decent because its recurring business for them (i.e. when there are new expats, they get business & referrals). If you really feel that the agent is bringing you on a wild goose chase, by showing you all the expensive properties and saying your budget is unrealistic, let your company know, so that they will cease engaging that agent. Its for your own good and your future colleague's good as well.

Good luck in your flat hunting!