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Expats in Singapore should go for shorter rental leases
| Published: | 24 Feb at 6 PM |
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Singapore is an all-time popular expat professional destination for its modernity, ultra-cool image and fantastic food, but new arrivals are being advised to take short-term rental leases rather than committing to several years in the same city location.
The single, most important downside to Singapore is its incredibly expensive cost of living, especially for newly-arrived expatriates who don’t yet know their way around as regards options. The majority of the city-state’s residential districts appear identical to each other, but long-stay resident are aware of deep differences in costs and ambience.
New arrivals are understandably attracted by aspects of familiarity with the home country, such as stores selling Western foods and clothing and the architectural remnants of Western culture. However, it doesn’t take too long to realise the difference between the real Singapore and the many tourist traps in the rental agent’s ‘central and convenient location’.
At this point, a long rental lease is likely to feel more like a prison sentence!
It’s not always wise to link a rental lease with the fact the accommodation is close by your new place of work, as places of work have been known to change overnight, together with the jobs themselves. Commuting is, admittedly, a hassle, but the fact you’re saving money by living in a less expensive district is compensation in itself. New arrivals should also remember that rental markets fall as well as rise, with landlords more likely to attempt to negotiate longer leases on a downswing.
Tenants, however, have the advantage here as, if you’re on a 12-month lease, you can opt for cheaper accommodation when the market’s heating up, whilst on a higher-cost three-year lease you’ll still be paying top price as you watch local rentals plummet. Another point to consider is that Singapore’s cityscape is constantly in a state of flux. Your present; attractive surroundings can change almost overnight to what sounds like a semi-permanent building site which destroyed your local shops and has no intention of replacing them. With a shorter lease you can soon find another district which isn’t, as yet, in the developers’ pockets.
The single, most important downside to Singapore is its incredibly expensive cost of living, especially for newly-arrived expatriates who don’t yet know their way around as regards options. The majority of the city-state’s residential districts appear identical to each other, but long-stay resident are aware of deep differences in costs and ambience.
New arrivals are understandably attracted by aspects of familiarity with the home country, such as stores selling Western foods and clothing and the architectural remnants of Western culture. However, it doesn’t take too long to realise the difference between the real Singapore and the many tourist traps in the rental agent’s ‘central and convenient location’.
At this point, a long rental lease is likely to feel more like a prison sentence!
It’s not always wise to link a rental lease with the fact the accommodation is close by your new place of work, as places of work have been known to change overnight, together with the jobs themselves. Commuting is, admittedly, a hassle, but the fact you’re saving money by living in a less expensive district is compensation in itself. New arrivals should also remember that rental markets fall as well as rise, with landlords more likely to attempt to negotiate longer leases on a downswing.
Tenants, however, have the advantage here as, if you’re on a 12-month lease, you can opt for cheaper accommodation when the market’s heating up, whilst on a higher-cost three-year lease you’ll still be paying top price as you watch local rentals plummet. Another point to consider is that Singapore’s cityscape is constantly in a state of flux. Your present; attractive surroundings can change almost overnight to what sounds like a semi-permanent building site which destroyed your local shops and has no intention of replacing them. With a shorter lease you can soon find another district which isn’t, as yet, in the developers’ pockets.
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