Most of us, at one point or another in our lives, will have to face the “exciting” task of hunting for a rental flat — whether you’re an international student who didn’t manage to get one of NTU’s hall rooms, or a fresh graduate eager to build a new, independent life outside home.
“Exciting” in inverted commas, because while house-hunting calls into mind delightful moving-to-somewhere-new montages in a coming-of-age film, in reality it’s often a stressful process that doesn’t always lead to satisfactory outcomes.
Now, I’m no real-estate guru, but as a foreigner living in Singapore for several years, I’ve gained some familiarity with the process of renting flats. Based on my own experiences, here are a few tips I’ve gathered which I think can help almost anyone looking for a space to rent.
The basics
You can get a lot of information from a property listing. Apart from the self-explanatory categories like location and price, some other important details to look out for include:
Minimum lease
The minimum rental lease in Singapore is 3 months. Short-term leases span several months to a year, while longer ones usually last two years and above. It’s important to confirm the lease term so that you don’t find yourself stuck with a long-term contract you might regret, or having to move out because the owner only wants to rent short-term.
Longer leases are more welcomed and can even give you leverage in price negotiation. If you are certain about staying in the place for a long time, the owners are more likely to be willing to offer you a cheaper rent.
Amenities
You might not really care if your house has a jacuzzi or not, but it’s nevertheless important to check whether your apartment contains the necessary amenities, such as air-conditioning, internet connection, a washing machine or a fridge.
You may also want to check if the utilities bill is included in your monthly rent, and if not, how many people you would be splitting the fees with.
Cooking
If home cooking is important to you, you will need to check if cooking is permitted in the household at all. Many listings allow light cooking (such as making instant noodles.)
Living arrangements
Some landlords/landladies may live together with the tenants; you may be staying with a family of several people; there might also be no live-in owners, so you are living with other tenants. If you value personal space or are uncomfortable living with strangers, you might want to find friends to move in together with you.
Where to look
I mostly use PropertyGuru and 99.co to look for rentals, because I find the websites quite easy to navigate. They also have pretty user-friendly app versions. Carousell also has a property portal. I recommend that you create an account on these sites, so that you can “favourite” listings, contact agents directly, and even save your search preferences.
Both those websites offer listings for HDB flats, studio apartments, condominiums and landed properties. There is the option to rent just one room or the entire unit. If you’re on a comfortable budget, agencies like Hmlet and Figment provide relatively hassle-free services for very nicely-furnished flats shared with other people, and are more flexible in their leases.
There are also many other platforms on which you can find housing, like Carousell or even chat groups.
Learn as much about market prices as possible
Having the various portals at your disposal, it’s important to go through a good number of listings and get a good gauge of current prices. Even if it’s just one room, rents can differ significantly; for example, HDB rooms would be cheaper than private properties, near-town locations are usually expensive, and common rooms would be much cheaper than master rooms. (As students with no major income, I think the most wallet-friendly option is renting an HDB or condominium room.)
Whichever type of accommodation you’re looking for, researching the market prices thoroughly ensures that you don’t get cheated into overpriced rents (which happens a lot!); conversely, it can also help you get good deals.
Know your non-negotiables
At the beginning of your search, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the vast amounts of information you need to take into consideration: location, budget, room size, number of flatmates.
So, it’s important to know your non-negotiables — your bottom-line requirements that you will not compromise on. Some examples: your rented space has to be close to where you go to school or work; the space must be fully furnished; you must stay in an all-female environment; you need to have your own private bathroom; you must be able to cook… You may also take one step further and rank them by importance, so that you remain clear-headed when comparing options.
Setting these non-negotiables can quicken the process of searching because you can immediately filter out places that don’t meet your minimum standards, as well as negotiate with agents and owners so that they may cater to your needs.
Always go for a viewing
It’s convenient to look at listings online, but before you make a decision to rent, always go to the actual place for a viewing — even if you’re renting the place together with friends, and they’ve already viewed it. More often than not, apartments would look less charming than depicted in the photos. Once, in a rush to find accommodation, I almost rented a room just based on the pictures taken by an acquaintance. Luckily, I made a trip there before signing the contract, and upon seeing the actual place (which could barely fit a suitcase besides just one single bed), I immediately decided against it.
Apart from allowing you to see the true state of the place, a viewing can also help you get a sense of what the neighbourhood is like, how accessible it is by transport, and even how comfortable you feel in the environment.
Establish clear rules with your flatmates
Before you move in with your flatmates, make sure to communicate clearly where your personal needs and boundaries lie: daily routines, weird habits, pet peeves… even if you are close friends — especially if you are close friends! It might actually be harder to raise a complaint to someone you already know well, and I’ve heard a fair share of stories where bridges are almost burnt between friends who live together, due to the lack of open communication which resulted in resentment.
It’s also important to set rules about guests (who/how many can visit, how long they can stay, etc.), curfews, and the distribution of household chores. Make sure you’re all on the same page that these rules are reasonable and should be respected. If discontent arises, voice your concerns and address the problem promptly, rather than bottling up the emotions.
Renting a place to live in is a rather significant milestone in life, because you’re getting the first few tastes of independence and freedom by living away from home. However, the fun parts also come with considerable responsibility and stress you need to face when hunting for houses, or living with people you’ve never lived with before.
My advice is: it’s not going to be perfect, because every place — and every flatmate — has some flaw. But you can prepare yourself well by doing more research, being careful with the details, and not compromising on your most important needs.
Hopefully, this article has helped you find a little more footing in the frenzy that house-hunting can sometimes be. All the best!