May 20, 2013

What to Remember When Looking for Apartment for Rent in Singapore

Looking for an apartment for rent in Singapore is a smart decision, one that you have made at the right time. One thing that you should know is that Singapore is a great country to live in and although the first priority is to provide ample housing for the citizens of this island nation, but the legal system of Singapore is very clear about property ownership by foreigners and residents. Due to the availability of a number of options in the market, you have to know what you are looking for so that you can narrow your search. For example, HDB may not offer you what you need and therefore the way to go is the condominium way.

To get the best from the market, enlist the help of a real estate agent, one who is well reputed and who knows their way around Singapore and Housing Rental in Singapore. Usually, they are cheap and any way, you will find their service very valuable. To make sure that you get a good agent, just get referrals or recommendations from friends or from any one in Singapore. Everyone has a home that they go back to in the evening and therefore they must know a good real estate agent. The normal fee that most agents get is about 50% of the first deposit. However, this may depend on several factors and therefore you should find out how much you should pay and do not pay a coin more.

 Check out the apartment for rent in Singapore

Once you think you have found the right apartment for rent in Singapore, go ahead and check out all the furniture, the fridges and the stuff that you find there. It is very important that you ensure that everything is in pristine condition. If you are smart, you can take a few photos and keep them handy. Usually, you will be required to pay a security deposit, which is refunded by the property owner at the expiry of the lease. This is to ensure that if you cause any damage to the property. He can deduct expenses to cover repairs from the security deposit.

Make sure that everything is done in writing and that the agreement is stamped. For all money you pay towards the rent or the one-month advance deposit for the apartment for rent in Singapore, make sure that you get the receipt for the same. Never agree to pay more than one month’s advance deposit, for a year’s lease, even if the property owner promises to lower the monthly rent for you. If you can avoid it, do not pay the owner or the agent in cash because that may be hard to prove later. On the contrary, use a check or another payment method that

 Research thoroughly on the apartment for rent in Singapore

Research is always the key. Find out as much information as you can about condominiums in Singapore. These are high-rise buildings that are now characteristic of every city. Since rental apartments are not as expensive as landed property, that is where most people Looking for  an apartment for rent in Singapore has never been easier because now, many realtors have taken their business on the internet. Start by looking online where you can also see images of the apartments that may be available for rent. However, this is not enough. You need to go and see the apartment in person before you pay any money.

When looking for rental property, trust your gut feeling. Ok, so this is a bit out of order but if in any way you feel that the deal is not good enough, don’t pay anything. Just back off and go look for another HDB flat. Do not buy your way into any house rental deal Singapore blindly. On the contrary, consider what you really want. Is there a school, supermarket, hospital, motorway or children’s playground nearby? Luckily, such facilities are provided for in any condominium environment in Singapore.

Sometimes, the real estate market will favor the renters and sometimes it will favor the landlords. This is respectively called renters’ or landlords’ market. If you can only study the trends, you just might know the right time to go hunting for an apartment for rent in Singapore. Go along with the law. It says that if you are renting an apartment for six months, you pay six months’ rent in advance. One month’s advance rent for one-year lease and 2 months’ advance rent for two year lease. The law is an ass, but here, play by the law.

 

Apartments for rent in Singapore- Many apartments are readily available

If you are looking for apartments for rent in Singapore then you are in for bad and good news. The good news is that there are many apartments available; the bad news is that property prices for rental in Singapore are quite high so you will need to be prepared to pay a bit more than what you would pay in another country. Many people forget that there are other costs involved in renting a property, such as for those seeking singapore studio apartments for rent. These are only one-off costs; however, you will need to have the money available to pay the various fees upfront.

There are generally two types of apartments for rent in Singapore; private and HDB provided. With an advertisement for a private rental, chances are, it will be advertised through an Real estate agent. This generally means that it is a legitimate rental that is being advertised. If you are looking at an advertisement for a private rental that is being put forward by an individual, for example, via online notice boards, you will need to verify that the person who posted the advertisement is authorized to rent the property. There have been cases where fraudsters have advertised to rent properties that they did not own, or have advertised properties that did not exist. Doing a bit of research will immediately reveal whether or not the advertisement is legitimate.

Once you have established that the property exists, and that it has been advertised by the owner you can proceed with viewings and making an offer (if you like what you see). If the owner accepts your offer then it’s up to you to push the paperwork through to make sure that you do not lose out on your home. Cases have been known where owners accept an offer from one potential tenant and continue booking viewings with other people in the hope of getting higher offers. If they have not signed a letter of intent with the person who made the first offer then they are well within their rights to accept another offer. If the letter of intent is signed by the owner then that is a legal ‘promise’ stating that you will rent the apartment from the owner and that the owner will rent the apartment to you.

Once the letter of intent has been signed by yourself and the owner you can move on to drawing up the tenancy agreement. You will need to make sure that the tenancy agreement has details of any requests that you make before you sign it. Similar to the letter of intent, both you and the owner will need to sign the tenancy agreement. After this point, all you will need to do is settle the various fees, and then you are free to move in.

If you were looking for apartments for rent in Singapore that are provided by the HDB the process for renting the property is generally the same. In order to rent an HDB flat, or a room in an HDB flat you need to make sure that you satisfy one of three criteria. You need to either be a Singapore citizen, a Singapore permanent resident or a non-citizen who is legally residing in Singapore. With HDB housing, you can rent a room in a flat, or you rent the entire flat.

If you are planning to rent a room in an HDB flat no approval is needed from the HDB. However, the owner must continue to reside in flat with you. If you are renting the entire flat you must make sure that it is approved by the HDB. Once these checks have been done, you can proceed with the rental process in the same way as a private property.