House-hunting Tuesday March 20, 2001. Child safety for the 4-year old daughter is the main concern in the assessment of housing.

2.45pm. Meet at office in Cross Street.

3pm
72 Grange Road 4+1 4700 sq. ft. $12,000. Luxurious upscale interiors with pinewood floors, home theatres, big balconies, greenery. 7-min walk to Orchard subway. Pool only. 20 units. Considered too quiet as there are not many children. Liked the spacious living, family  and dining areas and a small balcony off the living area.

3.30pm
7 Nassim 5+1 4200 sq. ft $17,000. Prestigious neighbourhood. Less than 8 units. Pool only.  Small step from the living area to the family area may cause child to trip as the stepped marbled floor area is not obvious. 

4pm
Regency Park penthouse.
6+1 6000 sq. ft $20,000. 2 levels. Meet at Blk 11. 23rd floor.
Caucasian family enclave. 4 bedrooms upstairs, 2 downstairs. Maid's room at one side. No utility area as the kitchen is extended. No space for American sized washer and dryer. A stacked up European sized dryer and washer in the kitchen. 
The management will not permit installation of persplex glass wall in balconies to prevent a child from climbing the balconies.  Many Caucasian children but concern about child safety rules out this condo for the expat.  

4.15pm
Nassim Mansions 4+1 3500 sq. ft $14,000. Beautifully renovated. Lots of greenery. Near Botanic Gardens. 7th floor. Caucasian family enclave. Penthouse of 6,000 and 7,000 sq. ft asking $20,000 rent.

4.30pm
Four Seasons Park
5+1 3821 sq. ft $20,000. Facing pool. 3-min walk to Orchard subway.
Quite satisfied with this condo as there are no balconies off the living area and this is a large Caucasian expat community with many children. Rent asked  considered not value for money but units are rented out easily.

Nassim Woods penthouse 4+1 6211 sq. ft $20,000. Available in Oct 2001. Upscale. Roof terrace with jacuzzi and BBQ. 

The Vantage 5+1 5600sq. ft $15,000.

8 maisonettes of 5000 - 5600 sq. ft.  Completed: Probably 1980. Near Orange Grove/Orchard Road area.

4 bedrooms with 2 having attached bathrooms. Bidet in master bathroom.  1 study. Big balcony. Pool and squash. No gym. 2 car per tenant.

2-min walk to Orchard subway.  Huge living and dining areas,  bedrooms and balcony.

NEW Ardmore Park apartments 4+1 2900 sq. ft renting from $10,000 (estimated). Penthouse  renting above $30,000.  

Futura penthouse with roof terrace and big pool $15,000. 6-min walk to Orchard subway.

Angullia View penthouse 7,000 sq. ft $15,000. 5-min walk to Orchard subway. Pool only.

Summary:

The top 4 penthouses favoured were:

1. Avalon penthouse 4+1 5200sq. ft. $17,000. One year old. Modern. Big terraces. The management will not put up persplex glass walls at the terraces as this will affect the image of this upscale condo.

2. Leonie Condotel penthouse. Caucasian enclave.

3. Nassim Woods penthouse.

4. Nassim Mansions penthouse of 6,000 and 7,000 sq. ft, renovated  asking $20,000.

The main problem for this father from New York is that no developer or management corporation will permit the installation of transparent persplex glass shield up the balconies to prevent four-year old from falling down the condo.  There are some window grilles in Regency Park.  Most families lock the sliding doors to the balconies as a precaution but this is not what the expatriate wants.  Apparently, a child of Eric Clappton fell off the high rise in New York which now permits persplex glass shields in terraces and balconies in the interest of child safety. A house will be more appropriate for this prospect, in view of child safety concerns.

Subdivisions (condo & house details) has some of the details of the advertised condos.    

Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 20:49:52 -0000
Sun Nov 09 10:19:00 1997 To: drsing@pacific.net.sg
Subject: Renting accommodation in Singapore!

Hi,

Is there some one there who could give me some idea of how much it costs to rent an apartment in Singapore and please indicate whether the accommodation is furnished or not.  I am currently applying for a job in Singapore (I'm from London, England) and just in case I should pass the interview I would like some idea with regards to the cost of accommodation. I look forward to your reply,

Emmanuel

REPLY:

It is presumed that the surfer wants a 2-bedroom apartment or condo. Generally, 2 categories of 2-bedroom or 1-bedroom rental apartments are available:

1. Public housing - Approved HDB (Housing Development Board) Apartments.
2. Private housing - walk-up and condos. Apartments usually have no swimming pool or condo facilities.

For a fully furnished 2-bedroom apartment, prices vary depending on location, quality of furnishing and proximity to the subway (MRT). For public housing, rentals for fully furnished range from S$1,200/month for a 2-bedroom apartment and for private housing, a walk-up apartment (1 bedroom or 2 bedroom) with no pool or facilities is asking for S$2,000/month and a similar condo will be from S$2,500/month.

Much depends on timing (whether particular Landlord is keen to rent at lower price), location and your housing agent's ability to get for you what you want. Northern Singapore has some of the cheapest rentals but you may need to travel 45 minutes to town (if your office is there).

As at March 21, 2001, suburban, new condos in Singapore rent as low as S$1,300 per month. Examples are Southaven II and Springdale and Parc Palais in Upper Bukit Timah Road. Therefore, HDB apartments rent much lower.  

Downtown upscale penthouses, new and over 4,000 sq. ft generally rent above $15,000 per month.  Examples are Avalon, Anderson Green, Nassim Woods and Four Seasons Park. $20,000 seems to be the breaking point for Caucasian expatriate housing allowance. A The Colonnade penthouse with pool is said to rent for $30,000 in 2000.

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