Room Rental Question


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dawgbyte77

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Mar 27, 2005
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non-photographic question:

I'm currently looking for a room/unit to rent and I only know Yahoo Classified and those flyers on bustops. Anyone here know other websites or resources?

mod: not sure if this is allowed so I'll just try.
 

dawgbyte77 said:
non-photographic question:

I'm currently looking for a room/unit to rent and I only know Yahoo Classified and those flyers on bustops. Anyone here know other websites or resources?

mod: not sure if this is allowed so I'll just try.

You can also refer the Classified Ads from Straits Times daily.
 

dawgbyte77 said:
non-photographic question:

I'm currently looking for a room/unit to rent and I only know Yahoo Classified and those flyers on bustops. Anyone here know other websites or resources?

mod: not sure if this is allowed so I'll just try.


Hi dawgbyte77,

As long as the topic doesn't violates the guidelines,

Guidelines

No reason for us to remove it. You can try this site,

http://www.adpost.com/sg/rooms_for_rent

:)
 

Thanks. Appreciate the tips... Yahoo kinda empty and mostly post from same person.
 

I'm not sure which area you are looking at but, to my understanding, there are needy families who are looking at renting out rooms to help get by. If you are interested, you can drop by at the "Meet the People Sessions" conducted by the respective zones' MPs and let them know your intention. They should be able to help hook you up with the house owners.

Good luck!
 

there are always housing agents... but they charge a commission... although you get to specify what you want exactly... usually for renting it's about 1mth's rent for 1 year of renting... so it's up to you i guess... going direct would be the cheapest... but if you are gonna rent for long time .... maybe a gd location might be more impt to you... cheers... my $0.02
 

dawgbyte77 said:
non-photographic question:

I'm currently looking for a room/unit to rent and I only know Yahoo Classified and those flyers on bustops. Anyone here know other websites or resources?

mod: not sure if this is allowed so I'll just try.

As suggested by londonray, you could use a property agent to source for a room for you. But that depend on your budget and the type of room you are looking for. Usually you will not get reply from them too quickly if it is for a small room with a low rental rate. The commission is usually one month's rental from you and at times even from the landlord and usually for a 2 yrs lease. You could get a one year lease. And also by using an agent..some of the hidden "cost" and rules can help protect you if you have an unreasonable landlord. There are stuff you might need to think about in case things happen. If you want to go look for a room yourself...remember to have a contract of some sort written up between you and the landlord and a witness if possible. I was formerly an agent myself so there are stuff I have seen happen to some of my clients and when it come back to bite you...you have a piece of paper to protect you ( and the landlord too ). Also note why agents need to charge you a month as the cost also have to cover ads they might have to put up on your behalf and also to use paid access to certain data found online for potential rooms available..etc.

If you have the time and have some specific location and flat you hope would have rooms to rent. You should go generate some of your own "ads" advertising your room needs and some details and then go to those flats and paste outside the lift area ( neatly and nto make a mess of it to irritate people) to contact you. It is a long shot but it can work better that way then just waste your time with claissfied ads and sit to wait and short list. Plus..if you are not willing to deal with agents, advertising in the classified will only get mainly agents calling you and not actual owners.

just some tips
 

I've dealt with agents before so I'm quite familiar with them.. just that its a turn off to go through them. Extra cost is one thing but they can be quite rude if its just a room because they won't earn much (just my opinion based on my experience). I tried one from yahoo yesterday but got monosyllabic answers (asked if got phone jack for my daily CS and got owner or not, etc., answer is dun know, all got owner), whole enquiry lasted 30s before she hang up. Maybe I called at the wrong time but it just builds up the bad impression.
 

sammy888 said:
As suggested by londonray, you could use a property agent to source for a room for you. But that depend on your budget and the type of room you are looking for. Usually you will not get reply from them too quickly if it is for a small room with a low rental rate. The commission is usually one month's rental from you and at times even from the landlord and usually for a 2 yrs lease. You could get a one year lease. And also by using an agent..some of the hidden "cost" and rules can help protect you if you have an unreasonable landlord. There are stuff you might need to think about in case things happen. If you want to go look for a room yourself...remember to have a contract of some sort written up between you and the landlord and a witness if possible. I was formerly an agent myself so there are stuff I have seen happen to some of my clients and when it come back to bite you...you have a piece of paper to protect you ( and the landlord too ). Also note why agents need to charge you a month as the cost also have to cover ads they might have to put up on your behalf and also to use paid access to certain data found online for potential rooms available..etc.

If you have the time and have some specific location and flat you hope would have rooms to rent. You should go generate some of your own "ads" advertising your room needs and some details and then go to those flats and paste outside the lift area ( neatly and nto make a mess of it to irritate people) to contact you. It is a long shot but it can work better that way then just waste your time with claissfied ads and sit to wait and short list. Plus..if you are not willing to deal with agents, advertising in the classified will only get mainly agents calling you and not actual owners.

just some tips

Thanks.. yup. I went through agents for my past rentals. I agree with you on the benefits of agents. Just that sometimes, the way agents treats their "potential" clients is a bit stressful so I'm open to all window.

Got some "minor" problems with my current landlord (i.e. my current one got spare key and go into my room when I'm not home, irritating but as long as nothing broken or stolen, I just let it be [how I know? sometimes he tell me after, sometimes I find my mails inside my room]) but the agent is the cousin of the landlord so what to do?. :sweat:
 

dawgbyte77 said:
I've dealt with agents before so I'm quite familiar with them.. just that its a turn off to go through them. Extra cost is one thing but they can be quite rude if its just a room because they won't earn much (just my opinion based on my experience). I tried one from yahoo yesterday but got monosyllabic answers (asked if got phone jack for my daily CS and got owner or not, etc., answer is dun know, all got owner), whole enquiry lasted 30s before she hang up. Maybe I called at the wrong time but it just builds up the bad impression.


then you should have dealth with me....you would have a difference view hehe...I go too far to help. But I am not longer in the "game". Market is pretty bad now for the past 5 yrs. I am surprise you get that bad an interaction with whoever you were on the phone with. Times are bad...it should not be that hard to be nice if it helps you to keep your belly full. Unless you get one of those " women" lah...you know the type...they usually have pictures of themselve next to their ads as they know their look will "sell" the property. heheh..they are high "rollers" not all but quite alot are....usually they are looking for house rental type. Even condo might not get as much heheh.....

Try a few others from other companies lah. I don't want to mention comapnies..just try a few others....you should get some of those that will do right by you. Every company will every month have new people that join the company and will be so "virgin" and "uncorrupted" that they will go all out to help you out to close their first sale. You be fair to them and they will do their best to help you.
 

dawgbyte77 said:
I've dealt with agents before so I'm quite familiar with them.. just that its a turn off to go through them. Extra cost is one thing but they can be quite rude if its just a room because they won't earn much (just my opinion based on my experience). I tried one from yahoo yesterday but got monosyllabic answers (asked if got phone jack for my daily CS and got owner or not, etc., answer is dun know, all got owner), whole enquiry lasted 30s before she hang up. Maybe I called at the wrong time but it just builds up the bad impression.

Yep. Room hunting is not fun. The contract is generally in favour of the landlord, and even with a contract, funny things can happen. Got landlord ask my friend for compensation for a small dent in the fridge door that she technically couldn't have created, and a small dent on the ceiling fan that she caused by accident. The way he asked was he intended to replace those items!

My advice is don't rent from those with very serious financial problems. You don't know their background. I did once, owner not staying there. It seemed the owner hung around outside the flat very often because he got nowhere to go. Utility bills of more than $600 was owed, and the water supply was reduced until I made payment. Even worse, somebody dropped a police report at my door alleging that the owner had cheated him of rent and then let somebody else move in (before me). Police also left a note on the door requiring him to show up. I broke my lease on that one. Couldn't stand it. :sweat:
 

sammy888 said:
then you should have dealth with me....you would have a difference view hehe...I go too far to help. But I am not longer in the "game". Market is pretty bad now for the past 5 yrs. I am surprise you get that bad an interaction with whoever you were on the phone with. Times are bad...it should not be that hard to be nice if it helps you to keep your belly full. Unless you get one of those " women" lah...you know the type...they usually have pictures of themselve next to their ads as they know their look will "sell" the property. heheh..they are high "rollers" not all but quite alot are....usually they are looking for house rental type. Even condo might not get as much heheh.....

Yeah.. i think she is one of the "women" because in yahoo, out of 20 lines, she post 10 lines. My last agent was very nice but after signing and paying, disappeared without a trace (probably a good episode for MISSING) :p Still okay. Not that rush yet. :) Thanks fof the insight. Hehe.
 

dawgbyte77 said:
Thanks.. yup. I went through agents for my past rentals. I agree with you on the benefits of agents. Just that sometimes, the way agents treats their "potential" clients is a bit stressful so I'm open to all window.

Got some "minor" problems with my current landlord (i.e. my current one got spare key and go into my room when I'm not home, irritating but as long as nothing broken or stolen, I just let it be [how I know? sometimes he tell me after, sometimes I find my mails inside my room]) but the agent is the cousin of the landlord so what to do?. :sweat:

That is why I suggested that some kind of contract be drawn up. You could tell the landlord this is a letter of understand that is not just to protect your interest but also their.

Yes..it is not uncommon to find landlord going into your room and also for those where they would go into the house even when you rented the whole house! This is not acceptable and usually the excuses are very lame. Yes there is the danger you might be renting out the room to illegal immigrates or some one dealing in drugs..etc. But going in to spot check is not the right thing to do. Nothing might be stolen but what's to stop them from USING your stuff? I have every heard a story from one of my former colleage who had a client called him out and wants to get out of the 2yrs lease as he suspect the landlord's son goes into his room ( somehow the kid gets the key from the parent or something) and dig his piggy bank for some money. He has little proof about it so he just wanted the landlord to allow him to change the lock but they refuse.

Never be shy to talk about all the rules and condition and then having them inked on paper and signed by both parties. This is something you must always do even if you find yourself verycomfotable with the landlord and have such a good time when you first met and talk over the deal. Usually , all the niceties are easy in the begining eheh but as the months goes by...things changes.
 

kaywalk said:
Yep. Room hunting is not fun. The contract is generally in favour of the landlord, and even with a contract, funny things can happen. Got landlord ask my friend for compensation for a small dent in the fridge door that she technically couldn't have created, and a small dent on the ceiling fan that she caused by accident. The way he asked was he intended to replace those items!

My advice is don't rent from those with very serious financial problems. You don't know their background. I did once, owner not staying there. It seemed the owner hung around outside the flat very often because he got nowhere to go. Utility bills of more than $600 was owed, and the water supply was reduced until I made payment. Even worse, somebody dropped a police report at my door alleging that the owner had cheated him of rent and then let somebody else move in (before me). Police also left a note on the door requiring him to show up. I broke my lease on that one. Couldn't stand it. :sweat:

Wah... that is quite serious! My experience is that in one house, the owner wanna charge us to replace the flooring because according to him, it was shiny and nice when we moved in. Luckily we know the previous tenant and he also charged them for the flooring.
 

sammy888 said:
Never be shy to talk about all the rules and condition and then having them inked on paper and signed by both parties. This is something you must always do even if you find yourself verycomfotable with the landlord and have such a good time when you first met and talk over the deal. Usually , all the niceties are easy in the begining eheh but as the months goes by...things changes.

Quite true. This is also why I am hesitant in renting with owners staying. Nothing against the idea but if you live with your gf/wife and gets some disaggrement every now and then, living with a family/owner can also encounter this scenario, specially if lifestyle doesn't match and one or both is not open-minded enough to understand the other.
 

dawgbyte77 said:
Yeah.. i think she is one of the "women" because in yahoo, out of 20 lines, she post 10 lines. My last agent was very nice but after signing and paying, disappeared without a trace (probably a good episode for MISSING) :p Still okay. Not that rush yet. :) Thanks fof the insight. Hehe.


Well sometime you can't help that from happening. I use to alway try to make at least a onces a month call for the first 3 month to make sure thigns are fine with the client and all settled down but after that you have to move on. But if they do call me up, I would take the time to chat and answer their query but you will still move on. That's life I guess. Sometime when you over call, people might feel abit edgy heheh...esepcially if you are a guy and the client is a girl or vice visa. I alway believe so long as do your best for the client and you get them all settled, you have done your job. If you do it good enough, they will come back to you (hopefully after 2 yrs of leasing and lost your card heheh) or recommend customers to you.
 

dawgbyte77 said:
Wah... that is quite serious! My experience is that in one house, the owner wanna charge us to replace the flooring because according to him, it was shiny and nice when we moved in. Luckily we know the previous tenant and he also charged them for the flooring.

Okay, I have done some whole house or flat rental. This is usually what I would do when I first visit the place. I bring my notepad and camera to take photos. I would take note of all condition of the place, shoot the furnitures' condition if they want to include them. Get some pricing on those furnishing in case of damages. The list can be really long but the more you can include the less headache you have later. Also, it is better to go apply your own power,water, telephone..etc. Don't carry on from what the landlord was using...in cases where they own money to the utilities. Also take note that HDB flats that are less then 5 yrs old ( from the time they were bought new) are not allowed for renting out entirely with the owner moving out. I think that should still be enforced as far as I am aware. Flat must be more then 5 yrs old before the owner is allowed to rent it out and be not staying in the flat as well. There are some people who over step the law and do that but charge lower rent. This are not always about people who rent it out for they need money but it could be they fall madly and stupidly in love and then get a house and then marry and then after a year or so into the marriage...they separate...blah blah. Anyway, if they are discovered, you could be in trouble too.
 

sammy888 said:
Okay, I have done some whole house or flat rental. This is usually what I would do when I first visit the place. I bring my notepad and camera to take photos. I would take note of all condition of the place, shoot the furnitures' condition if they want to include them. Get some pricing on those furnishing in case of damages. The list can be really long but the more you can include the less headache you have later. Also, it is better to go apply your own power,water, telephone..etc. Don't carry on from what the landlord was using...in cases where they own money to the utilities. Also take note that HDB flats that are less then 5 yrs old ( from the time they were bought new) are not allowed for renting out entirely without the owner moving out. I think that should still be enforced as far as I am aware. Flat must be more then 5 yrs old before the owner is allowed to rent it out and be not staying in the flat as well. There are some people who over step the law and do that but charge lower rent. This are not always about people who rent it out for they need money but it could be they fall madly and stupidly in love and then get a house and then marry and then after a year or so into the marriage...they separate...blah blah. Anyway, if they are discovered, you could be in trouble too.

Did not know about the 5-years... good info. Yeah, I also bring my own phone n internet lines, and some small appliances as well. I break I buy new one, no stress. :thumbsup:
 

dawgbyte77 said:
Did not know about the 5-years... good info. Yeah, I also bring my own phone n internet lines, and some small appliances as well. I break I buy new one, no stress. :thumbsup:

I made a typo...so just to clarify; When a person buys a brand new flat from HDB and it less then 5 years...not only can they not sell the flat, they are not allowed to rent it out entirely and move out of it to you.

What some people does is, they will have one room locked up in case the HDB comes to spot check. At least when that happen, the one renting the place can claim the owner is out and will be back later and he locked his room. So he will call the owner to 'come home' to meet the HDB people.

So be careful if you have potential landlords asking you to "play" along.


Damn..I am givngaway too much insider info heh...I might spoilt things for me if I ever want to get back into it heheh....by the way..i did not get into it for the money..I wanted to get some sale experience and it is a good way to learn the hard knocks of selling and getting your face slam by the door more often then you can close a sale heheh...
 

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