Your Ultimate Guide to Renting a Home in Singapore

All | Real Estate | Singapore

If you are new to Singapore, renting a home may be intimidating at the beginning. Everyone agrees how exhausting house-hunting can be, as it requires you to do a ton of research. There are so many questions in your head. How do you know where to rent a place? Which locality would be best for you? How do you spot red flags? How do you know if you are being ripped off? And then there are other questions too.

 To help you find a home in Singapore, here’s an all you need-to-know guide.

Read on to find a home no matter what your budget is. 

What you need to know?

It is very important that you do the necessary homework. Know where to rent, what the rental property is worth if it’s a furnished/unfurnished house, etc. Prepare a chart of short-listed properties. Once you have your wish list ready, pay a visit to the properties you want and ask the landlord/agent all relevant questions. You will need to use your negotiation skills to secure the best deal. Additionally, you may also choose to pay a second visit to the property once you have finalized a home. This will ensure you double-checking things and nothing goes a miss!

Factors such as rental cost, commute to the workplace, schools nearby, etc. will influence your decision. However, you are required to evaluate your decision basis many other important aspects as well.

All about Localities 

There are some estates popular with expats and renters. The rental markets in Singapore largely service the expats, and areas like Orchard, River Valley, Tanglin & Grange Road, the CBD zone, etc. are popular with the affluent expats. The younger expat crowd can often be found renting in relatively affordable areas like Tiong Bahru, Holland, Farrer Park / Little India, and others. These areas are contemporary, with cafes and bars, and have hipsterish energy.

Know what makes a place more expensive 

Rental costs will fluctuate wildly from mainland cities to the outskirts. For obvious reasons, areas within & around the core of the city will have higher prices than locations that are tucked away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Proximity to MRT stations, entertainment, and business hubs will also impact the rental prices. Mature or non-mature estates also impact the rent as mature estates are mostly those areas with HDB properties and non-mature localities are those far-flung from the city with newer constructions.  

How to know you are not getting ripped off?

Spend considerable amount of time on online property platforms to gather initial information. Good research will come to your rescue. In Singapore, you can use your bargaining skills to strike a good deal, as the prices you find online are inflated. Agents/landlords too are open to negotiations. Do a recce online and then talk to brokers/ agents to get a real understanding of what the costs could be. 

Hire a Housing Agent? 

You can choose to hire a housing agent if you are short on time and need a house ASAP. It will save you the rigorous effort and time. The Housing Agent will source for places and take you along for a recce. So, you don’t have to worry about commuting from one property to another and you will be able to visit multiple locations. However, the cost of hiring a housing agent could be equivalent to one month’s rent or half a month’s rent at the minimum. If you are willing to pay that extra amount looking for a house you may opt for an agent.

The cash you need to get started?

When looking for a place to rent, you should have a decent budget. One that allows you to have some extra cash apart from your first month’s rent. You will need to make a down-payment typically which is one month’s rent for a 12-month lease and two month’s rent for a 24-month lease. Other than this, if you hire an agent you will be required to pay a commission there. Once these primary expenses are taken care of, you should have enough to pay for utilities like internet/cable subscription, etc. among others.  

 If you are in the process of house hunting, you can also get in touch with us to avail our services. 

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