well, for example a landlord engage an agent, let's call him Agent A. then this agent go and pakat with his friend (also agent, called Agent B). Agent B then goes and lists the property on some website somewhere and he says "sorry agents, already co-broke" on the listing.

now enter you as the prospective tenant. If you see the listing, you call up Agent B, then if the deal goes through, Agent B will represent you and Agent A will represent the landlord.

or let's say that you lazy to do your own searching, and you engage an agent (agent C) to help you search. This Agent C will not even consider this property at all, because Agents A and B have already agreed to co-broke the deal together.

On the other hand, if the listing says "co-broke welcome," then it's a different scenario. In this case, Agent A has not made any exclusive arrangement with any other agent, so Agents B and C (and D, E, F ... Z) are all welcome to bring their prospective tenants to deal.

seantang is the #1 elite in this thread lah, he where will buy $200k hdb?? he was just saying that the rest of us peons need to target $200k flats that are 10 mrt stops and 10 bus stops away from town

Yeah, 10 mrt stops from town is OK. I live in Bedok, 8 mins walk from MRT, just need 30mins to town, 35-40 to Orchard, which IMO is "close enough."

But 200k HDB's ... you'd need to stay 10 mrt stops plus 10 bus stops away, no? that would lengthen the journey considerably.

It's also double the price for similar square feet

I'm paying $2.3k/mth for my HDB rental now. It's worth maybe 450k on open market (guesstimate). 30 year loan on 390k at 1.5% (which is crazy high) is $1.345/mth. THAT much difference? Or am I miscalculating somewhere ...

I would imagine the limiting factor for most people isn't the monthly repayments, but the amount of cash you need to save up for the downpayments for each property. I mean, like a HDB, I'd say most couples could easily afford the 1.5k or whatever monthly repayment. It takes a lot more discipline and financial planning to save up the (close to) 100k to actually buy it in the first place, though.

Depends on work place and work timing. To me doesn't make any sense to stay in JB if it means an extra 2-3 hours lost daily in the commute.

Yes, it's quite safe. About 5 hours from SG to KL. Buy ticket online lor, popular/common bus companies are aeroline, transstar and first coach.

You don't apply for it. The company needs to apply for you.

obviously you haven't compared housing and car prices.


Eh, for me, bed is damn important. Must have a nice comfortable one so that can sleep well and wake up next morning refreshed for work or whatever. Plus, lousy beds give you poor back support, neck support, etc and could cause all sorts of long term problems.

when i rented my current apartment i told the landlady i dun want any beds cos i wanna buy my own.

Was commenting directly on wintersun's blanket "wah everything in SG is half the price of MY" statement. Just telling him / her to open eyes and look properly before jumping.

live in home town quite comfortable cos can stay in parents' house?

My EP application was pending for two weeks before it got approved. No point worrying yourself to death.

Why not? Money issue? Company won't wait? No matter what also you have to wait for approval of a Work Permit before you can start work what.

You sure it's not somebody you know IRL? That poster seems to have more ... personal information than any random forumer would have.

lol so fast want to pour cold water liao ah?

Ask our resident singkaporean to book Costa Sands? The last round when we split two pits very mahfan have to keep walking up and down.


housing itself is enough to give a 'culture (wallet?) shock' to unsuspecting malaysians. my biggest mistake in coming over to SG was assuming that my GF (now fiancee) would get a job quickly and easily, so we happily decide to rent an entire hdb. turns out it wasn't as quick and easy as we expected ... in hindsight i would have gone for 2x rooms first, but oh well.

PR chances are based on how long you have worked in SG, your salary & work pass type, employer, education credentials, and the mood of the particular person processing your application at the time.

For me I think you need to decide whether you plan to be in SG in the medium- to long-term. If yes, then PR application makes sense, otherwise not so much.

Do note that for West Malaysians, you can't get back your CPF until you 50 or 55 yrs old even if you renounce PR way before that.

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Added on July 25, 2012, 9:53 am
No, you don't pay EPF. You should get your full salary every month. SG doesn't even have PCB (income tax deductions).

Although some ppl in this thread have said in the past that they kena 15% deduction from their company for first 6 months of work or something like that.

This post has been edited by deodorant: Jul 25 2012, 09:53 AM

At that price range you're looking at REALLY small rooms in non-prime areas.

[edit] http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/ ... click "For Rent," set max price $500 then you can see an idea of what kind of location / size you will get for that money.

This post has been edited by deodorant: Jul 25 2012, 11:13 AM

This kind of crap normally only happens if you start work in the 2nd half of the year. If you work less than 182 (or 183? forgot) days in the year, you supposed to pay non-resident tax rates i.e. 15%, and some companies will automatically withhold that from your salary just in case you after few months cabut back to Malaysia. I guess they are then liable for the tax? I dunno.

Before you ask, even if you kena non resident 15% tax rate in your first (partial) year, the following year you can claim it back after you get tax resident status.