Singapore Expats

I read somewhere you can't employ a maid short-term (don't know why). We will likely want someone to help clean, cook and watch the kiddos.

Thanks.

You can get local maids for $10/hour.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:You can get local maids for $10/hour.

Thank you for the reply. We would be looking for someone for 3-6 months so we'd rather have someone on a monthly basis than hourly. Any idea if that'd be a problem? And I keep hearing maids are so common in Singapore, but aren't they usually live-in? The apartments in big condo buildings, do they include a maids room in addition to the number of bedrooms listed (or I've seen 3+1, does that mean 3 regular bedrooms + a maid's room?) So confused...

You can hire a foreign maid always release her after 3 months but that's kind of cruel considering how much in debt they go into with the agents who bring them over. They need at least 6-12 months JUST to pay the agent who brought them over. Live-in maids rooms, (usually only foreign maids live-in) can range from an actual bedroom (which is should be) to the s*it that lots of employers (and real estate agents) try to pull, but converting a "utility room" into a "maids quarters" which will not even hold a proper single bed, instead having to have a custom made bed which is much shorter and narrower. Or putting them into the "bomb" shelter (which is a windowless closet usually in the middle of the unit). Please do not think I kidding, because I'm not. A good search of this forum will show previous discussions on this.

The term 3+1 usually means 3 brm & one hall (or living room if you are from the US). Usually if there is a "maids" room it will be noted (and if noted, you can be sure it's a bomb shelter or utility room conversion).

Maybe the best way is to find a couple who are having to leave and are looking for a new employer for their maid. (Although it would be good to be honest up front regarding the duration).

My curiosity question though would be "do you currently have a maid?" If not, why would you need one now?

for your case, its better you get a part time maid. if you get one from the agent , and she have to find another employer in 3 to 6 months' time, she will be so stressed for her agent fees she has paid. it may affect her psychologically.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:You can hire a foreign maid always release her after 3 months but that's kind of cruel considering how much in debt they go into with the agents who bring them over. They need at least 6-12 months JUST to pay the agent who brought them over. Live-in maids rooms, (usually only foreign maids live-in) can range from an actual bedroom (which is should be) to the s*it that lots of employers (and real estate agents) try to pull, but converting a "utility room" into a "maids quarters" which will not even hold a proper single bed, instead having to have a custom made bed which is much shorter and narrower. Or putting them into the "bomb" shelter (which is a windowless closet usually in the middle of the unit). Please do not think I kidding, because I'm not. A good search of this forum will show previous discussions on this.

The term 3+1 usually means 3 brm & one hall (or living room if you are from the US). Usually if there is a "maids" room it will be noted (and if noted, you can be sure it's a bomb shelter or utility room conversion).

Maybe the best way is to find a couple who are having to leave and are looking for a new employer for their maid. (Although it would be good to be honest up front regarding the duration).

My curiosity question though would be "do you currently have a maid?" If not, why would you need one now?

Oh my, I can't imagine putting a human being in a utility room with a short bed, that's just awful in my book. Our nanny and (part-time) house cleaner here are treated like family -- we treat them well and they treat us well. Given that, perhaps we should look for a part-time maid

I have read that maids are almost considered a necessity when you're an expat b/c doing everything in a foreign country is so much harder (though I know things are way easier in Singapore than a place like Bangkok or Shanghai). Since I have two small children, I am worried about being so bogged down with the small stuff that we don't enjoy our time there.

I feel like we will need help with taking care of the children, cooking and some deep cleaning (I'm perfectly able to keep the house picked up but am out of the habit of toilet-cleaning, etc.). I would like someone who speaks some English -- are there folks who do a little of all those things?