Charlotte had 14 days to find a rental property in Singapore. Her journey started when she read a few property agent reviews in Singapore, and chose an agent to work with. Charlotte had to overcome a few roadblocks on the way, but finally managed to find the home of her dreams. Till today, her colleagues and friends who visit her never fail to gush about how amazing her rental home is!
My Profile:
- Name: Charlotte D.
- Deal side: Tenant
- Property Type: Landed property
- District: Serangoon
The backstory
Back in 2017, I signed an offer to work in Singapore, and I had to move with my husband and daughter in town. We planned a two weeks trip to SG to find a home before installing the three of us in September. We heard that it was the norm to hire an agent here, so we decided that we should look for one ASAP.
My husband started searching online, and he stumbled upon Propseller. We liked that the site would show us property agent reviews in Singapore, so we submitted an enquiry. The team called us back almost immediately, and we were off to a fantastic start.
Propseller sent over several Singapore property agent profiles, each coming with reviews, but recommended that we work with Sonia, who could speak French and who is specialized in the area and property type we were considering. We can communicate in English, of course, but it makes things easier when you have an agent who speaks your mother tongue. After looking through the property agent’s reviews, we decided that Sonia was the best fit.
We can communicate in English, of course, but it makes things easier when you have an agent who speaks your mother tongue.
Requirements-wise, we were looking for a 3BR property which would have enough rooms for our elder Daughter or our friends when they would be visiting. At first, we weren’t sure if we wanted a condo or a house, but after deliberating, we decided a house would make more sense. We also wanted our place to be near our offices and Lycée Français, where one of our daughters would study. Ideally, it would come with an outdoor area as well.
Hunting for the perfect home
On the bright side, Sonia was very receptive, and she understood our requirements perfectly. She also shared her story with us – she’s an expat mother herself, so she could relate to our situation. There are some things that we wouldn’t compromise on, such as being located near our daughter’s school, and staying in a home which is clean and inviting.
She’s an expat mother herself, so she could relate to our situation.
However, we did encounter some challenges along the way. We thought our budget was pretty decent, but as it turns out, this wasn’t the case. We simply couldn’t find any property we liked. The homes we viewed either didn’t meet our expectations, or they were too expensive for us.
We didn’t quite understand what was going on. We had heard that the property market in Singapore wasn’t doing too well, so we thought it would be easy to find a suitable place to rent. But Sonia explained to us that property prices in Singapore are sky-high, meaning that our budget was too low even though the market wasn’t doing well. At that point, we started to panic.
At the same time, it felt as though Sonia was a little distracted whilst helping us hunt for our property. We had a conversation with her and emphasized the urgency of our situation – we really had to find a home within 14 days and we made ourselves clear that we would not raise our budget to find what we wanted. Thankfully, Sonia threw herself into finding a place for us after that. The search went on.
Finding the ideal property
We had 2 days before we had to leave Singapore, and we were debating renting a house which we were okay with, but didn’t particularly love. Then we received a call from Sonia – she told us that she found the perfect place for us, and asked us if we were free to view the house. At that point in time, we were a little doubtful, and we weren’t sure if the property would live up to our expectations. But we cleared our schedule, and went to meet Sonia immediately.
She told us that she found the perfect place for us.
When we stepped into the house in Serangoon, we fell in love with the first room we saw. And the second room. And the third room. There were plenty of high ceilings, and it came with air-conditioning and fans and sufficient storage space. When we arrived in the kitchen, we were completely enamored. It was an open-air kitchen with flowers everywhere, and it was drop-dead gorgeous. They even had a fridge and dishwasher, which meant that we didn’t have to spend extra money on appliances.
We fell in love with the first room we saw. And the second room. And the third room.
The icing on the cake? The current tenants were extremely friendly and welcoming, and they told us how much they loved their home. We were so excited that we forbade Sonia to negotiate the rent (which was within our budget!), and we signed for the house immediately. We didn’t have a Singaporean bank account yet, but a friend kindly paid the deposit for us, and we paid him back later.
Moving into our new home
Our lease started at the beginning of September, which lined up nicely with our plans. We bought some furniture from the previous tenants, and they gifted us a bike. Everything worked out perfectly. While the previous tenants we met had moved away, the owner of the home dropped by from time to time, and it was nice chatting with him and getting to know him. He told us that he lives nearby and that we could call him at any time (even to change a lightbulb!) We can’t believe how lucky we got – we managed to find the home of our dreams, and even our landlord was unbelievably nice.
We can’t believe how lucky we got – we managed to find the home of our dreams.
Counting our blessings
It’s been quite some time since we moved in, but we count our blessings every morning when we drink our coffee in our amazing kitchen (it’s still filled with flowers!) Literally everyone who visits us finds our home fantastic, and they have nothing but good things to say about this space. We really have Sonia to thank for this. She didn’t let us settle for the other places we viewed, and gave us plenty of tips while house-hunting. And of course, she was the one who found us the home of our dreams!
After this experience, I never fail to recommend Propseller to my expat colleagues. It’s honestly the best place to read property agent reviews in Singapore and look for the best agent who suits your needs. We’ve moved a couple of time over the last few years, and this has been the best experience thus far. If only I had Propseller to help me out every time I move to a new country!
The next success story can be yours.
Manasa Babu 