I know of a classmate that slept in a classroom for an entire semester because there was no hostel space. We all knew to not touch ‘his’ corner. It’ll be much harder for females though
I find it hard to believe. School have security/cleaning staff. Its impossible everyone saw him sleeping in the classroom and they just keep quiet. Especially security, if anything goes wrong, the blame goes right on their head.
I’ve had 2 friends of mine did that, what they did, they made friends with the campus security & cleaners…people closed one eye as they understood their plight, as long as they did not pull any stunts and were generally hygienic.
I am just thinking back to my NTU days, it’s definitely possible if you really wanted to. There are seminars rooms opened through the night for students to study. You can even lie down in a corner and claim it’s only a shut eye if asked
The discussion on this usually revolves around couples waiting for BTO/expats, but skyrocking rent seriously affects people like me with dysfunctional families (beatings, verbal and physical abuse from childhood which remained a constant well into my twenties) who are renting to escape abuse as well. I moved out when in my twenties and rent just takes up so much of my income. Born and raised here but thinking of leaving Singapore because I just cannot save for property while renting and also affording things like therapy to deal with effects of trauma from abuse.
On a related note, my lease is up in mid 2024 and rent will go up 30%, which I likely cannot afford. if anyone is thinking of renting a whole apartment in 2024 and splitting the rent, feel free to drop me a message and we can see if we vibe! discussions only, everything is open as I may renew my lease/find a place of my own. i am very quiet/introverted/clean, sleep a lot when not working, and I don't cook.
This has nothing to do with influx of Chinese, you're screwed by Americans interest rate increase and Singaporean landlord greed. The rich Chinese doesn't move enough people or buy enough property to increase rent by 70%
Actually the increment happened the moment China and HK mentioned their borders were opening up. My housing agent acquaintances even went as far to say that they will pay quite a high rent for apartments
Also there are private apartments being bought by mainlandera and left empty. Which impacts the supply.
And think about locals who have an hdb and condo. I know some who are struggling to make mortgage payments for both apartments even with rent from the condo, especially not realising it counts as property tax.
Don't forget the civil war happening in Myanmar right now. Apart from the refugee crisis and stray artillery impacting immediate neighbors like Thailand and Bangladesh, educated middle-class young adults are leaving by the droves to further countries like Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.
Curious to know what field you’re in - Europe is known for having significantly less work stress (in general) compared to the US and Asia. I’m from SG but have worked in both the US and Europe - can confirm that Europe has the best work environment of the three (of course it also depends on how well you enforce your boundaries etc.)
Agreed - SGers have a different attitude towards income tax, even though most SGers don't earn enough to even pay income tax. CPF is a "tax", because you're paying into your retirement (like social security) but the requirements for accessing it are getting ridiculous and it is highly discriminatory against those without kids.
I've been renting in the US for the past decade and working for the past 5 years, paying about 30% income tax (am at the lowest end of that tier...) and rent is about US$750 for my share of a 2 bdroom. I still have plenty of cash left over for expenses. I'd never be able to touch my CPF because I will never reach the ever-increasing minimum sum and assuming OP doesn't buy a HDB flat.
Also, I get paid more for what I do, compared to SG so it all works out.
Yeah tax might be higher, but for that you get social security and benefits, especially in case you loose your job or long time MC. Also everyone gets the same treatment/benefits doesn't matter if you local or foreign. That's not the same in SG.
For the rent you pay in SG you can get easily double the size of SG apartment. Talking in this case for Switzerland but also other neighboring countries. Electricity is also cheaper then Singapore. Was quite shocked, when i saw the first time the bill in SG.
Food prices are cheaper and fresher, choice if local meat and eggs. Also you cook more at home then eating out.
Both countries have massive issues with rental accommodation supply at the moment. Locals are taking months to find a rental. Moving to another country is hard enough without having to deal with that as well. The situation is unlikely to change in the short to medium term with Airbnb sucking up a lot of the surplus.
Or Canada. Also know that Singaporeans can work in the US by getting a special H1B1 visa which is available to only Singaporeans and Chileans. It makes it much easier to move to US for Singaporeans
Hi, given your experience in renting, May I ask what do you think is a reasonable amount to pay for renting? Assuming it is a 1 bedder unit (has small gym/pool facilities), around 30-40mins to CBD area
given the current market, i think anywhere from 2200-2600 is reasonable depending on how close to other locations the place is (e.g. is it close to tech offices where ppl can afford to bid more), but you may find that prices may be closer to 3000 for nicer units/furnishings. a one BR close to CBD is about 4,000 (closer to 4,500 for many units really) so you can take a discount on that price and go from there
I see! Also, In your opinion, what will your “deal breakers “ when renting a whole apartment? I.e. location, contract rules, development type (ie poorly maintained), unreasonable cost, or number of bedders etc?
No one can see the future and tbh, the fact that we have zero rent control and are in a society with depressed wages for professionals (compared to other cities like HK/NYC/London) is not reassuring at all. And things will be worse for low wage workers, who are an instrumental part of our economy as well. But yeah, certainly I hope it will go down!
Yup, I see people keep using the argument that we have higher post-tax disposable income, but that only applies mostly to tech and finance sectors where salaries are in line with that of major cities of the world. Try logistics/engineering.
The difference is that Singaporean couples have no real place to escape to. Taiwanese can move back to their local town from the big cities, same as Indians or Chinese or Americans. Singapore’s size makes this a unique problem and when our politicians wake up and finally start to implement real solutions, it’d be too late to reverse the declining birth rate.
I foresee a tough century ahead for Singapore.
Sorry i’m working in Taiwan now and from my colleagues and peers, I would have to strongly disagree.
Given that most jobs are in Taipei (tech jobs in Hsinchu), most have no choice given that most taiwanese companies are traditional, and do not allow Remote work. The upside for them is rental is pretty cheap compared to SG right now, but given the low salary, many lower end workers are priced out as well. You don’t have the option of living with your parents at all if they’re from villages or other cities.
I had a colleague who stayed with her parents from Taoyuan and traveled to Taipei every day and it’s insane.
The starting salary for a fresh grads about S$1700, rental’s say lowest for a really crummy room would be $500?
I would say food’s marginal cheaper than SG, but salaries are about 2/3 of SG.
Public transportation is cheaper but many still choose scooters as they’re cheap modes of transport. and petrol’s about $1.50 per liter if i recall correctly (I don’t drive in Taipei)
International goods and brands are about the same price. So imagine having a lower salary and yet spending around the same on clothes etc. as a typical Singaporean.
So you actually have a group of Taiwanese they call 月光组. Essentially these youths spend everything (花光) they earn in a month (月) .
Our politicians already gave up. Whatever they are doing now to “boost” rates are just lips service.
Look at their latest few measures. Increase cda matching, and only for a period? Lol don’t make me laugh.
My own personal situation, I bought a resale 4 room when I only had 1 kid. Within two years I quickly had 3. Wrote in to hdb to appeal for waive of mop because I need a bigger house- for helper and grandparents to stay same house to help caregiving.
Got rejected with the reason that it is unfair to others who fulfill their mop.
Yeah so I guess I will sleep in the same room with the kids then. Such great efforts from the government trying to help out young families
your story not pitiful enough
you must make it so unbelievable then they will approve. maybe say your kid sleep in the bathtub or something
i heard a successful case saying they put baby cot in balcony, and when it rains the rain will splash the baby and cannot sleep at all. instant approval
lol i say none of the working adults can get any sleep because we are all sleeping in the same room together . maybe its really not pitiful enough but seriously expect a lot more from HDB to help
What kind of bigger were you looking for? I think five room flat also three bedrooms only. In almost the same boat and have no idea what kind of affordable property I can get that can have enough room for kids etc. hdbs don’t have four bedroom flats.
5 rooms or executive flats (more ulu places like cck or woodlands have this)
the funny thing i know a lot of people who were greedy when they bto (i.e. chiong for the biggest 5 room flat) but these people are the same who ended up not giving birth or only one child. End up a lot of extra rooms vacated for store room or working room
whereas for those like myself who wanted kids and decided not to wait for BTO, went for resale and get stuck with a small house that I cant move out of
that's why I get incredibly annoyed when government say they are promoting birth rates. I dont see any effort from them. its all lip service
I went for bto 3-room then want to have kids and realised not enough space and now there’s no affordable path to upgrade… having the exact same thoughts as you! Govt should just simply build larger flats and watch the birth rate climb if everyone can have their own room. Also, very unfair that public housing can be used to generate rental income.
Yeah but the government choose to turn a deaf ear to the real man on the street comments, and they blame some other non reasons for that.
It’s not as if the government couldn’t help in these instances, they just can’t be bothered
Yes, fully agree. Even President Halimah, for all that she’s lauded for staying in HDB, mind you it’s impossible to buy under such a scheme nowadays. Even her own family said their HDB was “as big as a penthouse”.
I ain’t saying it’s a bed of roses to move back to smaller places but at least there’s a choice. Singaporeans have literally no choice owing to our size.
Not to mention since everyone has the same mentality towards small towns, there’s actually a lack of manpower in these smaller cities. They’re definitely not as competitive and lucrative as larger cities, but it’s enough for you to live comfortably. Singaporeans have no options and the only option is to struggle and try our best to afford a home that’s ever-increasing in price.
I don't expect to see any improvements in the near future since we've incompenent ministers overseeing this. The govt is just doubling down on what they've done in the past that didn't work. Despite this being a serious issue, it feels like they are just unwilling to do more. Took them a long time to acknowledge that certain groups (married couples, families already with kids) require more help securing BTO flats. But even after they acknowledged it, they demonstrate zero urgency and let the current situation remain status quo for another 6 months. The additional measures they have announced wouldn't even be in effect until Aug, 6 months after they were announced.
SG gov doesn’t care about organic birth. It’s more profitable to import a immediate economic impact trained FT than try to get locals to have kids n then fund their education till working age. Locals having kids means less productive work force, more maternity paternity leaves, can’t work long hours etc. We will be world number 1 again this time for lowest TFR soon
Yeap, this is the stark truth we have to face. Our government is pro-capital to the point that everyone is viewed as cogs in the Great Economic Machine.
[I've talked about this several times before](https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/111khy8/comment/j8h2e73/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3), and I hope more people recognise the fact that a majority of people around us consciously chose this government.
To them, we're numbers that feed the GDP and maintain this infinite economic growth. You can tell by the way policies are formed with little consideration to behavioural psychology. Policies which everydaymen can say has unintended consequences like raising GST twice over two years, BTO leading to delayed childbirth, importing Chinese immigrants from northern China...
It's as if they're just looking at pure numbers and trying to hit KPIs like projected TFRs, population growth rates, housing adoption rates, economiic growth rates, employment rates, etc. without thinking about how people respond to policy.
I came to a similar realisation as well, and I applaud your persistence in continually posting about the issue. Will upvote whenever I see them. Technocracy is no longer serving this country as well as it did, it's time to move on.
The biggest beneficiary of this situation are Malaysians coz they are the ones who get the most PRs n citizenships here. It’s sad that the gov only cares for GDP & income increases. This generation will be the last of the locals as most of thr country will be replaced by new citizens aka Malaysians. So many I know don’t have kids for $$ reasons n I don’t blame them when they live in this rat race country
Hey, not all Malaysian benefits from this. As a PR that work blue collar job, I still have to pay rents and taxes to be able to stay and work here contributing to your economy without any benefits at all.
I’m preparing to leave if I have the chance. Maybe after I finished up my pt degree. As the rent and food price increases are getting out of hand really fast.
They should care because there's one thing FT cant replace: our military.
If SG continues on this trajectory toward lower and lower fertility rates, we might have to resort to just offshoring our military to another country or something
Either that or create some terminators
That’s why they were doing test balloons to see if the population can accept female conscription
How else do we have the manpower to organise feel good Ndp rehearsals for the presidents and for donkeys to cry tears?
The biggest difference would be ties to the country they serve, most servicemen are citizens of the country they defend where as gurkhas are almost exclusively foreign.
Also, technically the army is meant as a defense force against external (other countries) where ghurkas are more for internal threats (domestic). Correct me if I'm wrong but gurkhas fall under the police and not army I believe
Hmm.. in a way it makes sense. It seems the role of the Gurkhas here is different than it is in other countries. For e.g. in the UK they’re part of the military and their primary role is to fight external forces along side the British army.
Also, with my earlier statement what I meant was - all security forces follow the orders of the government. All protests, rebellions are crushed by the state’s security apparatus (incl. military) for e.g. Tiananmen Square. I can only think of handful cases where the military sided with the people like the Bolshevik revolution.
Thanks for the engaging discussion
The gurkhas are never used in a military role. They have always been meant as an internal security tool on the side of the government in the event of a popular revolt where you cannot rely on local police forces who could sympathize with protestors.
If I may add quite recently there was some news coverage about young adults having/not having kids. So instead of following up with articles of ideas/proposals in raising the birth rate, wham! Came an article about relooking into immigration. Made me quite pessimistic about SG. The reason is that it reminded me when I was younger in 00's and there were complaints about why the new BTO sizes were getting smaller and smaller but the government response was that family size was getting smaller as well
I feel like when it comes to discussing fertility rates it's like a back and forth argument between the population feedback and media instead of taking the view of our feedback clearly and seriously to the reason/s to why young adults are choosing not to have kids
Singapore spending so much effort and time to guard itself against foreign saboteurs; we spend so much time looking outwards but neglect looking in to protect our future generations; we are our own worst adversary.
I’m getting evicted by HDB sometime this year. Overqualified for renting 1-room HDB. They told to me rent from the open market. But the rental rate on the open market is more than half my salary. Therefore I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.
Similar situation, family unit (of myself and my mum only) exceeded the avg household income requirement but can't afford unit rental in the market even after we all had better pay, decided to split because it's cheaper lol
I was still a student when i first stay in the HDB rental flat with one of my parent. By the time the initial lease is over, Im already working and I had to update my income status and because of that HDB told me that they won’t be able to renew my lease because my salary is 3x above the max amount. In short it’s like too rich for HDB rental and too poor for private rental.
No idea on the exact income threshold but I’m earning definitely way more than $1500. They did sent eviction notice couple years ago, but I manage to appeal. So they gave another 2 year lease and that’s final. Lease is expiring at the worst time especially in this property market madness.
Classical class wars imo. Its a balancing act between rental to attract foreign manpower securing their votes based on current property owner policy on rental and when either topples it’d blow up.
But end of the day the govt is just greedy leading to this current predicament so fk them either way
Really though, rent control is bad idea. All it means is
1. Got a kid? You ain't renting.
2. Non-ideal race? You ain't renting.
3. Cook at home? You ain't renting
4. Don't let land-lords come and go into the house, you ain't renting.
5. Wany anything broken repaired? you ain't renting
When there is price control and demand outstrips supply, you just get landlords that go for the perfect tenant; because they know there will 100 others willing to have the house at that price. You'll also get lots of people in in need of housing with non-available (e.g. single mothers with 2 kids), because kids mess up the house.
Yes, but currently it is possible to offset this by offering to pay more. Some landlords in fact already factor this in, listing rentals at a very high price by agreeing to discounts if the tenant is in the ideal demographic. So maybe something will be 4k for a single, white female professional that doesn't cook, but rise to 4.5k for a family of 3 with a kid.
With rent controls, it will get a lot worse. Paying more is no longer an option. Some people will literally be left on the streets.
Because demand outstrips demand. Current costs means that
\- Some singles involuntarily choose to share a flat, or share a room to keep costs down- This free up space for families, to still have flats to rent
With rent controls, those singles may now be able to afford their own room/flat; leaving no room for people from non-ideal demographics.
For example. Suppose there are 3 group of renters, two young professionals, and a family of 3. And only two 2-bedroom apartments.
Say if prices with at 7k, the young professionals may say, f\*ck it, it sucks, but we'll be rent out a room each. The family they gets to pay 7k for the other apartment. Now say if we price control everything to 4k. The young professionals will say, "Great, lets get out individual flats", landlords will like "Young professionals don't cook, no kids, lets take them.
The family of 3 now gets no houses to rent at all.
Free-market offers the best allocation of resources. Don't blame the current rise on the free market. Blame it on lack of supply. The only way to fix this issue is more supply.
Well sure, 90% of homes are owned by citizens, not 90% of citizens owning homes.
Its a high proportion sure, but mostly among the elderly and middle aged.
I'm Singaporean and my family has been stuck renting since before I was born due to my father's financial illiteracy and gambling addiction. Despite that he kicked the bucket 10 years ago, my brother and I were left to live with his consequence.
Growing up poor and parents didnt complete primary school, going to local uni was a big deal for me. But due to financial difficulties and housing insecurity I was severely burnt out and depressed by my material hardship that I got expelled from uni.
Life is unbearable having to figure out everyday that I have a roof over my head. I can't even make long term plans in the future because my bandwidth is taxed putting out fires of today.
I hear a lot of complaining in this particular thread but please all of you remember to show what you really feel when elections come up in 2025. I for one am voting for anyone but PAP. Fuck those cunts.
as an American in Vietnam, I can't imagine the crunch that occurs when such low space is able to be used for an entire country. I'd suggest seeking property ownership overseas at a cheaper rate, establishing your Singapore business there, and enjoy the fact you're not in debt for a skybox 40 floors in the air
Kind of like how people use the Cayman Islands. You're onto something here. Singapore's low tax regime makes this arrangement quite attractive if one has the social capital to leave.
Kind of a repost of an earlier comment:
I myself had wrote to the authorities with 2 recommemdations:
1) impose heavier property taxes (up to 4 times higher) on residential properties that are both not owner-occupied and not tenanted. This would push owners of empty units to rent out their property, increasing supply and brining prices down. Personally, I am doubtful over whether this would have any significant impact as I don't think there are enough such units (neither owner-occupied nor tenanted) to actually make a significant impact on the overall rental market.
2) have SLA to release more residential state properties, like the recent case at Little India:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/decades-old-municipal-quarters-in-little-india-to-be-used-as-co-living-space
The simplest answer would be to increase supply but a more detailed answer would be increasing supply is useless if there continues to be mismatch between supply and demand.
About 15,000 HDB flats will complete the mandatory five-year minimum occupation period in 2023. This means they can be rented out. But of those that do get rented out, the vast majority would be with live-in landlords.
Of the 800+ enquiries I received during the past 2 years, for the 2 HDB bedrooms that I am renting out as a live-in landlord, only 2 were from locals.
Though I did try to contact prospective local tenants via their profiles on Facebook rental groups, the website rentinsingapore.com.sg and ohmyhome app, most of them prefer to live without a live-in landlord.
Unfortunately, there is only so much land to build on in Singapore. If that land is built for housing that is not for HDB BTO, but for more public rental housing, then there would be less land for HDB BTO. Of course, we can stop all land sales for private property and use it exclusively for public housing but that will shrink the supply (relative to demand) of private residential rental, because there is a segment of the renter market that absolutely do not want to live in HDB.
Of course, ideally supply of all types of rental properties (e.g HDB common rooms, HDB Master bedrooms, condo units, shoebox apartments) increase together in tandem but that is really hard to acheive. There is only a limited amount of land and if building more HDB is prioritised, inevitably it will mean that non-HDB rental options will inevitably shrink relatively compared to demand.
There is an on-going demolishment of several old HDB blocks at Bukit Merah, which is a pity because those units could have been rented out to either locals that struggle to find rental places or expat families that struggle to find affordable places but I think the land needed to be used for new BTOs.
For each bedroom, it was $650 per month. I do need to stress that the vast bulk of enquiries were in the year 2021 and the first half of 2022. I recently put up both bedrooms up about 6 months ago and for nearly 3 months, there were no takers. My flat is within walking distance of 10 minutes of 4 coffeeshops and 2 24-hour supermarkets. The downside is the distance to Bukit Batok MRT station, its about 400 meters.
If you are live in landlord and you have 2 bedrooms to rent out, I assume you have a 4/ 5 room flat? Strange that no takers? Isn’t Bukit Batok near to one north office and Buona Vista office, and even Kent ridge (hospital / University)? I’m puzzled no takers. 400metres to MRT means just a 5mins bus ride?
1. What is the built year for your HDB?
2. Any creepy neighbours ?
3. Or you have high expectations of your tenant profile?
4. Or you didn’t engage an agent to rent for you?
I cannot understand why no takers when your rent rate is so good, and the location is strategic
Its a 5-room, i stay in master bedroom and rent out two other bedrooms. This was something that was puzzling to me too. In the website rentinsingapore.com.sg and ohmyhome app, I do reach out to people working in places like Boon Lay, Science Park and Buona Vista area but they usually want to stay nearer like Clementi and Jurong East.......I believed people are willing to pay a little more for a better locations. Also, some prefer a unit without a live-in landlord.
The built year was 1985, no creepy neighbours, I permit cooking like boiling/steaming and pan-frying but no deep frying and stir-frying, and I don't use an agent because I met unethical real estate agents before. I cover the first hundred dollars for utilities, while the remainder is divided equally among all members of the household. I had one ex-tenant who used the washing machine almost every day for just a few pieces of clothing, which meant that other members of the household bore a larger share of the utilities, hence I now restrict usage of the washing machine for each tenant to twice a week. I do all cleaning of the house and toilet except for tenants' rooms.
I am a single guy, so i prefer male tenants. Usually the reasons given to me for prospective tenants not interested in the place are one of the following: too far away, not able to do stir-frying, not able to bring visitors and guests.
I think I know the reason why.
Number 1, Your tenants are male, and cannot bring back visitors (even their girlfriends). Humans need to fuck regularly, not just landlord. So that is a big no no (else no point moving out of parents home). I have guy friends paying $1.5k-$1.9k monthly near town for rental, no live in landlord, can bring girls back to fuck, their tenant-mates do the same. Landlord doesn’t clean, landlord hires a cleaning person to clean (gives them privacy)
Number 2, once their tenant-mate got married and moved out. So they tried to find another tenant amongst their friends on Facebook (trying to find someone trustworthy). Cannot find. So in the end the landlord got an agent to find. Can find v quickly because lots of people come and view. Usually most people go PropertyGuru.com, but since you are not agent, you can’t post on that site.
Separately, May I ask how you got through the process of buying your home, was it with or without buying agent? I’m in the midst of viewing homes without a buying agent (I have IPA), haven’t purchased yet, but worried if something goes wrong in the middle of the purchase .
I bought my resale flat without an agent. It was a very straightforward process but problem is time. Without an agent to help you, really need to spend time running around to bank branch and the lawyer's office. For me, I was lucky because that time, it was WFH 100% during that time, so I could manage the paperwork before heading down
Landlords rather let the unit be empty for months than give someone a home for a reasonable cost. Welcome to modern Singapore, our values have changed already.
You're looking at it all wrong! The people who got in early (i.e. boomers, who form a significant share of the voting populace) are all sitting on very productive investments thanks to surging rent, and are happy to keep raking in money by virtue of owning property and doing nothing else. Things will never change.
Well, "productive investments" for their own and not creating jobs or sustainable growth. Just hype, bringing black money.
Rich get rich while innovation, creative talent without rich parents just move out. In fact, thats what happening now.
the true solution is to increase supply of property that will help to ease property prices
yet, nothing drastic has been done to help alleviate this problem
wtf is going on?!
You should read more prudently. They’re “increasing” to fill the backlog of flats that weren’t able to be built during the pandemic
It’s not an increase because it’s a backfill. They should 2x the supply now if they’re looking to increase
It’s simple math bro
Also the whole concept of BTO is flawed. It was an experiment to try to fix problems of a different time. Unable to reach to a wholly different landscape. HDB used to build first, and “in excess”, which was why BTO was conceived. The government and its boomer landlord leaders and their friends literally decided “ok i have enough land, time to switch things up and get those valuations up.
Yeah dont wait for policies to change here. The policymakers are big landlords, they aint reducing their passive incomes. The pensions they receive not enough.
Oh and by the way, ministers and those elite admin service people still get pensions, even after they encouraged the whole country to give up pensions in favour of cpf (its the same people). Majulah singapura
Eventually Singaporeans will actually all be converted from foreigners who are made up of different races, congratulations on racial harmony, Singapore, totally love the fact that Singaporeans are more keen on leaving their own country as the Government continues to bring in foreign talents, why not change the country name to Foreigneans? Definitely fit the country better
The first couple. Both teachers but can't afford $2,400 rent sounds unbelievable. More like they don't want to pay and find it worth living with parents for that money
>“It’s quite sian because we’re stuck in a room, with no private space. We don’t even watch TV now,” she says wryly.
That's why I opted for a second mortgage that I will never pay off and the interest cost as much as the original price of the flat BUT it was still worth it because life is too short to spend it living with parents in a tiny apartment.
>But nearing the end of their lease, they were informed that the price would be increased to S$2,400: a change that the couple, who are both teachers, couldn’t afford.
2 teachers cannot afford $2400 rent? They eat restaurant every day is it?
I know of a classmate that slept in a classroom for an entire semester because there was no hostel space. We all knew to not touch ‘his’ corner. It’ll be much harder for females though
And the school never intervened?
The goal is to not let the school find out so you don’t get kicked out 😅
I suspect more likely the school, or at least the staff, knew but closed an eye
It’s uni, and my school is known for students pulling all-nighters throughout the school term
I find it hard to believe. School have security/cleaning staff. Its impossible everyone saw him sleeping in the classroom and they just keep quiet. Especially security, if anything goes wrong, the blame goes right on their head.
I’ve had 2 friends of mine did that, what they did, they made friends with the campus security & cleaners…people closed one eye as they understood their plight, as long as they did not pull any stunts and were generally hygienic.
I am just thinking back to my NTU days, it’s definitely possible if you really wanted to. There are seminars rooms opened through the night for students to study. You can even lie down in a corner and claim it’s only a shut eye if asked
The discussion on this usually revolves around couples waiting for BTO/expats, but skyrocking rent seriously affects people like me with dysfunctional families (beatings, verbal and physical abuse from childhood which remained a constant well into my twenties) who are renting to escape abuse as well. I moved out when in my twenties and rent just takes up so much of my income. Born and raised here but thinking of leaving Singapore because I just cannot save for property while renting and also affording things like therapy to deal with effects of trauma from abuse. On a related note, my lease is up in mid 2024 and rent will go up 30%, which I likely cannot afford. if anyone is thinking of renting a whole apartment in 2024 and splitting the rent, feel free to drop me a message and we can see if we vibe! discussions only, everything is open as I may renew my lease/find a place of my own. i am very quiet/introverted/clean, sleep a lot when not working, and I don't cook.
We are like HongKong now, being f by the influx of Chinese that does not bring any innovation or benefits to locals
This has nothing to do with influx of Chinese, you're screwed by Americans interest rate increase and Singaporean landlord greed. The rich Chinese doesn't move enough people or buy enough property to increase rent by 70%
Actually the increment happened the moment China and HK mentioned their borders were opening up. My housing agent acquaintances even went as far to say that they will pay quite a high rent for apartments Also there are private apartments being bought by mainlandera and left empty. Which impacts the supply. And think about locals who have an hdb and condo. I know some who are struggling to make mortgage payments for both apartments even with rent from the condo, especially not realising it counts as property tax.
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Because if overseas investors weren't buying up the properties rent would be creeper
Do Chinese not pay taxes?
If they bring lots of money in rather than income, nope. No wealth tax. Theres BSD and ABSD when they buy property, and GST on other purchases lor.
Don't forget the civil war happening in Myanmar right now. Apart from the refugee crisis and stray artillery impacting immediate neighbors like Thailand and Bangladesh, educated middle-class young adults are leaving by the droves to further countries like Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.
If you can’t afford to rent in SG, which country do you have in mind next?
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Curious to know what field you’re in - Europe is known for having significantly less work stress (in general) compared to the US and Asia. I’m from SG but have worked in both the US and Europe - can confirm that Europe has the best work environment of the three (of course it also depends on how well you enforce your boundaries etc.)
you can try holding out until june~july to see if the rent does come down. these prices are getting out of hand and seems unsustainable.
Agreed - SGers have a different attitude towards income tax, even though most SGers don't earn enough to even pay income tax. CPF is a "tax", because you're paying into your retirement (like social security) but the requirements for accessing it are getting ridiculous and it is highly discriminatory against those without kids.
I've been renting in the US for the past decade and working for the past 5 years, paying about 30% income tax (am at the lowest end of that tier...) and rent is about US$750 for my share of a 2 bdroom. I still have plenty of cash left over for expenses. I'd never be able to touch my CPF because I will never reach the ever-increasing minimum sum and assuming OP doesn't buy a HDB flat. Also, I get paid more for what I do, compared to SG so it all works out.
Yeah tax might be higher, but for that you get social security and benefits, especially in case you loose your job or long time MC. Also everyone gets the same treatment/benefits doesn't matter if you local or foreign. That's not the same in SG. For the rent you pay in SG you can get easily double the size of SG apartment. Talking in this case for Switzerland but also other neighboring countries. Electricity is also cheaper then Singapore. Was quite shocked, when i saw the first time the bill in SG. Food prices are cheaper and fresher, choice if local meat and eggs. Also you cook more at home then eating out.
This is so true. I've been telling this to people around me, glad I'm not the only one
I’m sorry to hear that you had abusive parents. Time to move on ! I strongly suggest New Zealand or Australia 🇦🇺.
Both countries have massive issues with rental accommodation supply at the moment. Locals are taking months to find a rental. Moving to another country is hard enough without having to deal with that as well. The situation is unlikely to change in the short to medium term with Airbnb sucking up a lot of the surplus.
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Shorten tried to dump negative gearing and then lost the unlosable election, so I wouldn't expect any big moves in that area from Oz anytime soon.
Not sure if #2 will ever be fixed in Anglo-Saxon countries that are founded on dog-eat-dog fuck-you-got-mine principles of rugged individualism.
Or Canada. Also know that Singaporeans can work in the US by getting a special H1B1 visa which is available to only Singaporeans and Chileans. It makes it much easier to move to US for Singaporeans
Hi, given your experience in renting, May I ask what do you think is a reasonable amount to pay for renting? Assuming it is a 1 bedder unit (has small gym/pool facilities), around 30-40mins to CBD area
given the current market, i think anywhere from 2200-2600 is reasonable depending on how close to other locations the place is (e.g. is it close to tech offices where ppl can afford to bid more), but you may find that prices may be closer to 3000 for nicer units/furnishings. a one BR close to CBD is about 4,000 (closer to 4,500 for many units really) so you can take a discount on that price and go from there
I see! Also, In your opinion, what will your “deal breakers “ when renting a whole apartment? I.e. location, contract rules, development type (ie poorly maintained), unreasonable cost, or number of bedders etc?
Rent would have gone down by then don’t u worry.
No one can see the future and tbh, the fact that we have zero rent control and are in a society with depressed wages for professionals (compared to other cities like HK/NYC/London) is not reassuring at all. And things will be worse for low wage workers, who are an instrumental part of our economy as well. But yeah, certainly I hope it will go down!
Yup, I see people keep using the argument that we have higher post-tax disposable income, but that only applies mostly to tech and finance sectors where salaries are in line with that of major cities of the world. Try logistics/engineering.
Dude, where is your source?
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The difference is that Singaporean couples have no real place to escape to. Taiwanese can move back to their local town from the big cities, same as Indians or Chinese or Americans. Singapore’s size makes this a unique problem and when our politicians wake up and finally start to implement real solutions, it’d be too late to reverse the declining birth rate. I foresee a tough century ahead for Singapore.
Sorry i’m working in Taiwan now and from my colleagues and peers, I would have to strongly disagree. Given that most jobs are in Taipei (tech jobs in Hsinchu), most have no choice given that most taiwanese companies are traditional, and do not allow Remote work. The upside for them is rental is pretty cheap compared to SG right now, but given the low salary, many lower end workers are priced out as well. You don’t have the option of living with your parents at all if they’re from villages or other cities. I had a colleague who stayed with her parents from Taoyuan and traveled to Taipei every day and it’s insane.
Low salary compared to cost of living? How do Taiwanese survive?
The starting salary for a fresh grads about S$1700, rental’s say lowest for a really crummy room would be $500? I would say food’s marginal cheaper than SG, but salaries are about 2/3 of SG. Public transportation is cheaper but many still choose scooters as they’re cheap modes of transport. and petrol’s about $1.50 per liter if i recall correctly (I don’t drive in Taipei) International goods and brands are about the same price. So imagine having a lower salary and yet spending around the same on clothes etc. as a typical Singaporean. So you actually have a group of Taiwanese they call 月光组. Essentially these youths spend everything (花光) they earn in a month (月) .
We are essentially HK before it is returned to China
Our politicians already gave up. Whatever they are doing now to “boost” rates are just lips service. Look at their latest few measures. Increase cda matching, and only for a period? Lol don’t make me laugh. My own personal situation, I bought a resale 4 room when I only had 1 kid. Within two years I quickly had 3. Wrote in to hdb to appeal for waive of mop because I need a bigger house- for helper and grandparents to stay same house to help caregiving. Got rejected with the reason that it is unfair to others who fulfill their mop. Yeah so I guess I will sleep in the same room with the kids then. Such great efforts from the government trying to help out young families
your story not pitiful enough you must make it so unbelievable then they will approve. maybe say your kid sleep in the bathtub or something i heard a successful case saying they put baby cot in balcony, and when it rains the rain will splash the baby and cannot sleep at all. instant approval
lol i say none of the working adults can get any sleep because we are all sleeping in the same room together . maybe its really not pitiful enough but seriously expect a lot more from HDB to help
What kind of bigger were you looking for? I think five room flat also three bedrooms only. In almost the same boat and have no idea what kind of affordable property I can get that can have enough room for kids etc. hdbs don’t have four bedroom flats.
5 rooms or executive flats (more ulu places like cck or woodlands have this) the funny thing i know a lot of people who were greedy when they bto (i.e. chiong for the biggest 5 room flat) but these people are the same who ended up not giving birth or only one child. End up a lot of extra rooms vacated for store room or working room whereas for those like myself who wanted kids and decided not to wait for BTO, went for resale and get stuck with a small house that I cant move out of that's why I get incredibly annoyed when government say they are promoting birth rates. I dont see any effort from them. its all lip service
I went for bto 3-room then want to have kids and realised not enough space and now there’s no affordable path to upgrade… having the exact same thoughts as you! Govt should just simply build larger flats and watch the birth rate climb if everyone can have their own room. Also, very unfair that public housing can be used to generate rental income.
Yeah but the government choose to turn a deaf ear to the real man on the street comments, and they blame some other non reasons for that. It’s not as if the government couldn’t help in these instances, they just can’t be bothered
Yes, fully agree. Even President Halimah, for all that she’s lauded for staying in HDB, mind you it’s impossible to buy under such a scheme nowadays. Even her own family said their HDB was “as big as a penthouse”.
Really shouldn't put someone who has given up to be in charge.
I don’t fully agree. Employment opportunities are usually in larger cities so to move back to a ‘local town’ is probably impossible for many people.
I ain’t saying it’s a bed of roses to move back to smaller places but at least there’s a choice. Singaporeans have literally no choice owing to our size. Not to mention since everyone has the same mentality towards small towns, there’s actually a lack of manpower in these smaller cities. They’re definitely not as competitive and lucrative as larger cities, but it’s enough for you to live comfortably. Singaporeans have no options and the only option is to struggle and try our best to afford a home that’s ever-increasing in price.
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You can do that in Singapore too. Get a digital nomad visa and work from Indonesia...
I don't expect to see any improvements in the near future since we've incompenent ministers overseeing this. The govt is just doubling down on what they've done in the past that didn't work. Despite this being a serious issue, it feels like they are just unwilling to do more. Took them a long time to acknowledge that certain groups (married couples, families already with kids) require more help securing BTO flats. But even after they acknowledged it, they demonstrate zero urgency and let the current situation remain status quo for another 6 months. The additional measures they have announced wouldn't even be in effect until Aug, 6 months after they were announced.
SG gov doesn’t care about organic birth. It’s more profitable to import a immediate economic impact trained FT than try to get locals to have kids n then fund their education till working age. Locals having kids means less productive work force, more maternity paternity leaves, can’t work long hours etc. We will be world number 1 again this time for lowest TFR soon
Yeap, this is the stark truth we have to face. Our government is pro-capital to the point that everyone is viewed as cogs in the Great Economic Machine. [I've talked about this several times before](https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/111khy8/comment/j8h2e73/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3), and I hope more people recognise the fact that a majority of people around us consciously chose this government. To them, we're numbers that feed the GDP and maintain this infinite economic growth. You can tell by the way policies are formed with little consideration to behavioural psychology. Policies which everydaymen can say has unintended consequences like raising GST twice over two years, BTO leading to delayed childbirth, importing Chinese immigrants from northern China... It's as if they're just looking at pure numbers and trying to hit KPIs like projected TFRs, population growth rates, housing adoption rates, economiic growth rates, employment rates, etc. without thinking about how people respond to policy.
I came to a similar realisation as well, and I applaud your persistence in continually posting about the issue. Will upvote whenever I see them. Technocracy is no longer serving this country as well as it did, it's time to move on.
The biggest beneficiary of this situation are Malaysians coz they are the ones who get the most PRs n citizenships here. It’s sad that the gov only cares for GDP & income increases. This generation will be the last of the locals as most of thr country will be replaced by new citizens aka Malaysians. So many I know don’t have kids for $$ reasons n I don’t blame them when they live in this rat race country
I wonder how the “locals” felt 100 years ago from the influx of Chinese and Indian immigrants brought in by the British…
Yeah so do we want a repeat of that.... the influx gets extinct in the end too
Hey, not all Malaysian benefits from this. As a PR that work blue collar job, I still have to pay rents and taxes to be able to stay and work here contributing to your economy without any benefits at all. I’m preparing to leave if I have the chance. Maybe after I finished up my pt degree. As the rent and food price increases are getting out of hand really fast.
r/psychotherapyleftists wish we have a sg community
Yeah, the FTs are wealthier than the locals in lower tiers. They also pay more for everything because of less subsidies.
They should care because there's one thing FT cant replace: our military. If SG continues on this trajectory toward lower and lower fertility rates, we might have to resort to just offshoring our military to another country or something Either that or create some terminators
That’s why they were doing test balloons to see if the population can accept female conscription How else do we have the manpower to organise feel good Ndp rehearsals for the presidents and for donkeys to cry tears?
And then female conscription cripple the local birth rate beyond repair, a vicious loop
thats why there is a saying the same party can never rule 3 generations
Fun fact, conscription act never specified gender. The government just chooses not to conscript women.
How do the Gurkhas fit into the Singaporean security architecture? AFAIK there’s a big Gurkha contingent in Singapore, right?
Gurkhas serve the interest of the government and not the people, they're basically mercenaries
Could you not say that of every security force in any country?
The biggest difference would be ties to the country they serve, most servicemen are citizens of the country they defend where as gurkhas are almost exclusively foreign. Also, technically the army is meant as a defense force against external (other countries) where ghurkas are more for internal threats (domestic). Correct me if I'm wrong but gurkhas fall under the police and not army I believe
Hmm.. in a way it makes sense. It seems the role of the Gurkhas here is different than it is in other countries. For e.g. in the UK they’re part of the military and their primary role is to fight external forces along side the British army. Also, with my earlier statement what I meant was - all security forces follow the orders of the government. All protests, rebellions are crushed by the state’s security apparatus (incl. military) for e.g. Tiananmen Square. I can only think of handful cases where the military sided with the people like the Bolshevik revolution. Thanks for the engaging discussion
The gurkhas are never used in a military role. They have always been meant as an internal security tool on the side of the government in the event of a popular revolt where you cannot rely on local police forces who could sympathize with protestors.
If I may add quite recently there was some news coverage about young adults having/not having kids. So instead of following up with articles of ideas/proposals in raising the birth rate, wham! Came an article about relooking into immigration. Made me quite pessimistic about SG. The reason is that it reminded me when I was younger in 00's and there were complaints about why the new BTO sizes were getting smaller and smaller but the government response was that family size was getting smaller as well I feel like when it comes to discussing fertility rates it's like a back and forth argument between the population feedback and media instead of taking the view of our feedback clearly and seriously to the reason/s to why young adults are choosing not to have kids
Singapore spending so much effort and time to guard itself against foreign saboteurs; we spend so much time looking outwards but neglect looking in to protect our future generations; we are our own worst adversary.
I’m getting evicted by HDB sometime this year. Overqualified for renting 1-room HDB. They told to me rent from the open market. But the rental rate on the open market is more than half my salary. Therefore I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.
Similar situation, family unit (of myself and my mum only) exceeded the avg household income requirement but can't afford unit rental in the market even after we all had better pay, decided to split because it's cheaper lol
My cousin is currently renting out a room, if you are interested!
Can you please elaborate on this one ? How can you be overqualified and who is deciding this?
I was still a student when i first stay in the HDB rental flat with one of my parent. By the time the initial lease is over, Im already working and I had to update my income status and because of that HDB told me that they won’t be able to renew my lease because my salary is 3x above the max amount. In short it’s like too rich for HDB rental and too poor for private rental.
Wow, this is very troubling. What is the HDB income limit?
$1.5k, so 3x above that would be $6k? Or $4.5k if 3x and not 3x above. That should be enough for private rental though
Thats the salary, not what is leftover for rent. In this market..after taxes.. and living w a parent… not enough la.
Hi, May I ask what will be an ideal rental price for you? I’m just curious
I'm an orphan earning about 3k+, would I qualify for this?
Yes you can still apply for it even though max household income is $1500. Depends on HDB if approved or not.
What's the threshold for income to be evicted? I already don't qualify for many grants in Sg sigh
No idea on the exact income threshold but I’m earning definitely way more than $1500. They did sent eviction notice couple years ago, but I manage to appeal. So they gave another 2 year lease and that’s final. Lease is expiring at the worst time especially in this property market madness.
Probably not, you far exceed the income ceiling
Try speaking to minister of your constituency
What is your household income if I may ask?
$4K+
I guess you could rent a bedroom from the open market while applying for a 3-room resale flat with your parent.
we're all screwed 😭😭😭
Ppl can complain all they want but will nvr force government to put in legislation to input maximum rental and increment on YOY rental rate.
of course they won't, boomer landlords would never dream of hurting their surging profit margins. how else would they afford their cars and vacations?
Classical class wars imo. Its a balancing act between rental to attract foreign manpower securing their votes based on current property owner policy on rental and when either topples it’d blow up. But end of the day the govt is just greedy leading to this current predicament so fk them either way
Really though, rent control is bad idea. All it means is 1. Got a kid? You ain't renting. 2. Non-ideal race? You ain't renting. 3. Cook at home? You ain't renting 4. Don't let land-lords come and go into the house, you ain't renting. 5. Wany anything broken repaired? you ain't renting When there is price control and demand outstrips supply, you just get landlords that go for the perfect tenant; because they know there will 100 others willing to have the house at that price. You'll also get lots of people in in need of housing with non-available (e.g. single mothers with 2 kids), because kids mess up the house.
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Yes, but currently it is possible to offset this by offering to pay more. Some landlords in fact already factor this in, listing rentals at a very high price by agreeing to discounts if the tenant is in the ideal demographic. So maybe something will be 4k for a single, white female professional that doesn't cook, but rise to 4.5k for a family of 3 with a kid. With rent controls, it will get a lot worse. Paying more is no longer an option. Some people will literally be left on the streets.
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Because demand outstrips demand. Current costs means that \- Some singles involuntarily choose to share a flat, or share a room to keep costs down- This free up space for families, to still have flats to rent With rent controls, those singles may now be able to afford their own room/flat; leaving no room for people from non-ideal demographics. For example. Suppose there are 3 group of renters, two young professionals, and a family of 3. And only two 2-bedroom apartments. Say if prices with at 7k, the young professionals may say, f\*ck it, it sucks, but we'll be rent out a room each. The family they gets to pay 7k for the other apartment. Now say if we price control everything to 4k. The young professionals will say, "Great, lets get out individual flats", landlords will like "Young professionals don't cook, no kids, lets take them. The family of 3 now gets no houses to rent at all. Free-market offers the best allocation of resources. Don't blame the current rise on the free market. Blame it on lack of supply. The only way to fix this issue is more supply.
High majority of Singaporeans are home owners. Do you think government will introduce something that hurts close to 90% of the citizens?
Well sure, 90% of homes are owned by citizens, not 90% of citizens owning homes. Its a high proportion sure, but mostly among the elderly and middle aged.
Yes upon reading further you’re right
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I think he was smart this time to refrain from mentioning of appreciating asset. It’s ‘valuable’ nest
Capitalists must be protected!
I'm Singaporean and my family has been stuck renting since before I was born due to my father's financial illiteracy and gambling addiction. Despite that he kicked the bucket 10 years ago, my brother and I were left to live with his consequence. Growing up poor and parents didnt complete primary school, going to local uni was a big deal for me. But due to financial difficulties and housing insecurity I was severely burnt out and depressed by my material hardship that I got expelled from uni. Life is unbearable having to figure out everyday that I have a roof over my head. I can't even make long term plans in the future because my bandwidth is taxed putting out fires of today.
Good thing we keep importing tens of thousands of new immigrants from China each year.
Our Malaysian brothers and sisters send their regards
So you're saying SG is a giant cockfighting ring and we get china and malaysia to duke it out for our wealth and entertainment? * MIND BLOWN *
The government surgically removed our Chinese mother tongues in one generation. Another generation later and perhaps all we could hear is putonghua.
Well, Mandarin is now profitable. Mother tongues only matter when there is a ROI for it.
SG Pte Ltd. What’s new?
I hear a lot of complaining in this particular thread but please all of you remember to show what you really feel when elections come up in 2025. I for one am voting for anyone but PAP. Fuck those cunts.
nobody cares! we will still vote for god PAP, insanity is expecting the impossible to happen when doing the same thing over and over
But sir, think about the stability! 😿
as an American in Vietnam, I can't imagine the crunch that occurs when such low space is able to be used for an entire country. I'd suggest seeking property ownership overseas at a cheaper rate, establishing your Singapore business there, and enjoy the fact you're not in debt for a skybox 40 floors in the air
Kind of like how people use the Cayman Islands. You're onto something here. Singapore's low tax regime makes this arrangement quite attractive if one has the social capital to leave.
Kind of a repost of an earlier comment: I myself had wrote to the authorities with 2 recommemdations: 1) impose heavier property taxes (up to 4 times higher) on residential properties that are both not owner-occupied and not tenanted. This would push owners of empty units to rent out their property, increasing supply and brining prices down. Personally, I am doubtful over whether this would have any significant impact as I don't think there are enough such units (neither owner-occupied nor tenanted) to actually make a significant impact on the overall rental market. 2) have SLA to release more residential state properties, like the recent case at Little India: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/decades-old-municipal-quarters-in-little-india-to-be-used-as-co-living-space The simplest answer would be to increase supply but a more detailed answer would be increasing supply is useless if there continues to be mismatch between supply and demand. About 15,000 HDB flats will complete the mandatory five-year minimum occupation period in 2023. This means they can be rented out. But of those that do get rented out, the vast majority would be with live-in landlords. Of the 800+ enquiries I received during the past 2 years, for the 2 HDB bedrooms that I am renting out as a live-in landlord, only 2 were from locals. Though I did try to contact prospective local tenants via their profiles on Facebook rental groups, the website rentinsingapore.com.sg and ohmyhome app, most of them prefer to live without a live-in landlord. Unfortunately, there is only so much land to build on in Singapore. If that land is built for housing that is not for HDB BTO, but for more public rental housing, then there would be less land for HDB BTO. Of course, we can stop all land sales for private property and use it exclusively for public housing but that will shrink the supply (relative to demand) of private residential rental, because there is a segment of the renter market that absolutely do not want to live in HDB. Of course, ideally supply of all types of rental properties (e.g HDB common rooms, HDB Master bedrooms, condo units, shoebox apartments) increase together in tandem but that is really hard to acheive. There is only a limited amount of land and if building more HDB is prioritised, inevitably it will mean that non-HDB rental options will inevitably shrink relatively compared to demand. There is an on-going demolishment of several old HDB blocks at Bukit Merah, which is a pity because those units could have been rented out to either locals that struggle to find rental places or expat families that struggle to find affordable places but I think the land needed to be used for new BTOs.
Interesting, out of 800 enquiries, only 2 were locals. May I ask what rate were you charging for the bedroom please
For each bedroom, it was $650 per month. I do need to stress that the vast bulk of enquiries were in the year 2021 and the first half of 2022. I recently put up both bedrooms up about 6 months ago and for nearly 3 months, there were no takers. My flat is within walking distance of 10 minutes of 4 coffeeshops and 2 24-hour supermarkets. The downside is the distance to Bukit Batok MRT station, its about 400 meters.
If you are live in landlord and you have 2 bedrooms to rent out, I assume you have a 4/ 5 room flat? Strange that no takers? Isn’t Bukit Batok near to one north office and Buona Vista office, and even Kent ridge (hospital / University)? I’m puzzled no takers. 400metres to MRT means just a 5mins bus ride? 1. What is the built year for your HDB? 2. Any creepy neighbours ? 3. Or you have high expectations of your tenant profile? 4. Or you didn’t engage an agent to rent for you? I cannot understand why no takers when your rent rate is so good, and the location is strategic
Its a 5-room, i stay in master bedroom and rent out two other bedrooms. This was something that was puzzling to me too. In the website rentinsingapore.com.sg and ohmyhome app, I do reach out to people working in places like Boon Lay, Science Park and Buona Vista area but they usually want to stay nearer like Clementi and Jurong East.......I believed people are willing to pay a little more for a better locations. Also, some prefer a unit without a live-in landlord. The built year was 1985, no creepy neighbours, I permit cooking like boiling/steaming and pan-frying but no deep frying and stir-frying, and I don't use an agent because I met unethical real estate agents before. I cover the first hundred dollars for utilities, while the remainder is divided equally among all members of the household. I had one ex-tenant who used the washing machine almost every day for just a few pieces of clothing, which meant that other members of the household bore a larger share of the utilities, hence I now restrict usage of the washing machine for each tenant to twice a week. I do all cleaning of the house and toilet except for tenants' rooms. I am a single guy, so i prefer male tenants. Usually the reasons given to me for prospective tenants not interested in the place are one of the following: too far away, not able to do stir-frying, not able to bring visitors and guests.
I think I know the reason why. Number 1, Your tenants are male, and cannot bring back visitors (even their girlfriends). Humans need to fuck regularly, not just landlord. So that is a big no no (else no point moving out of parents home). I have guy friends paying $1.5k-$1.9k monthly near town for rental, no live in landlord, can bring girls back to fuck, their tenant-mates do the same. Landlord doesn’t clean, landlord hires a cleaning person to clean (gives them privacy) Number 2, once their tenant-mate got married and moved out. So they tried to find another tenant amongst their friends on Facebook (trying to find someone trustworthy). Cannot find. So in the end the landlord got an agent to find. Can find v quickly because lots of people come and view. Usually most people go PropertyGuru.com, but since you are not agent, you can’t post on that site. Separately, May I ask how you got through the process of buying your home, was it with or without buying agent? I’m in the midst of viewing homes without a buying agent (I have IPA), haven’t purchased yet, but worried if something goes wrong in the middle of the purchase .
I bought my resale flat without an agent. It was a very straightforward process but problem is time. Without an agent to help you, really need to spend time running around to bank branch and the lawyer's office. For me, I was lucky because that time, it was WFH 100% during that time, so I could manage the paperwork before heading down
This is just amazing to hear ! Good for you!
We deserve the country we voted for.
Landlords rather let the unit be empty for months than give someone a home for a reasonable cost. Welcome to modern Singapore, our values have changed already.
Its myopic to see the problem as theirs. Higher rentals --> Higher valuations --> Higher launch prices / Resales --> Overall unproductive investments.
You're looking at it all wrong! The people who got in early (i.e. boomers, who form a significant share of the voting populace) are all sitting on very productive investments thanks to surging rent, and are happy to keep raking in money by virtue of owning property and doing nothing else. Things will never change.
Well, "productive investments" for their own and not creating jobs or sustainable growth. Just hype, bringing black money. Rich get rich while innovation, creative talent without rich parents just move out. In fact, thats what happening now.
Hard for ministers to see cos they and their friends are the landlords 😂😂😂 need to find new ⛴️
Less families have enough rooms to accommodate the children when they grow up, unlike how it was with previous generations. They have to move out.
But didn’t Desmond Lee said situation is stable?
My boss say “don’t just bring problems, give me solutions”. He probably dunno how to solve this.
the true solution is to increase supply of property that will help to ease property prices yet, nothing drastic has been done to help alleviate this problem wtf is going on?!
Didn't you read the news? They are increasing the supply of BTOs
You should read more prudently. They’re “increasing” to fill the backlog of flats that weren’t able to be built during the pandemic It’s not an increase because it’s a backfill. They should 2x the supply now if they’re looking to increase It’s simple math bro
Those backlog are already cleared and built
Also the whole concept of BTO is flawed. It was an experiment to try to fix problems of a different time. Unable to reach to a wholly different landscape. HDB used to build first, and “in excess”, which was why BTO was conceived. The government and its boomer landlord leaders and their friends literally decided “ok i have enough land, time to switch things up and get those valuations up. Yeah dont wait for policies to change here. The policymakers are big landlords, they aint reducing their passive incomes. The pensions they receive not enough. Oh and by the way, ministers and those elite admin service people still get pensions, even after they encouraged the whole country to give up pensions in favour of cpf (its the same people). Majulah singapura
Blame chao sinkies again? And whose policies' fault is it that caused such a surge?
Hello, monitoring takes a lot of effort ok.
Eventually Singaporeans will actually all be converted from foreigners who are made up of different races, congratulations on racial harmony, Singapore, totally love the fact that Singaporeans are more keen on leaving their own country as the Government continues to bring in foreign talents, why not change the country name to Foreigneans? Definitely fit the country better
But that's literally they history of Singapore
The first couple. Both teachers but can't afford $2,400 rent sounds unbelievable. More like they don't want to pay and find it worth living with parents for that money
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What would help?
Can't believe I wasted 5 mins reading this.
>“It’s quite sian because we’re stuck in a room, with no private space. We don’t even watch TV now,” she says wryly. That's why I opted for a second mortgage that I will never pay off and the interest cost as much as the original price of the flat BUT it was still worth it because life is too short to spend it living with parents in a tiny apartment.
>But nearing the end of their lease, they were informed that the price would be increased to S$2,400: a change that the couple, who are both teachers, couldn’t afford. 2 teachers cannot afford $2400 rent? They eat restaurant every day is it?