My renting experience in Sg - House No. 1

I wasn't sure what to write on Lemon8, but then I suddenly remembered my experience with the houses I've stayed in over the past 8 years. I've moved five times, and my friends are always surprised by how often I change homes in such a short time.

Each move comes with its own set of horrible and interesting stories. So today, let me start by sharing my experience with my first home and how it all began

I worked in Malaysia for almost 4 years when I realized I didn't want to stay in that job long-term, so I decided to move on. My brother encouraged me to apply for jobs in Singapore, and fortunately, I was able to negotiate the salary I wanted. I was set to start my new job in October 2016, so I handed in my resignation in mid-August, giving a one-month notice and compensation since they didn’t allow me to use my remaining annual leave. However, in September, I started to feel uneasy because I hadn't heard anything from my new employer after submitting my passport copy. When I followed up via email, I discovered they hadn’t even applied for my work pass yet—they had forgotten!

My start date was originally set for October 1st, but since they hadn't applied for my work pass in time, I had to postpone it. I had also informed them earlier that I was unavailable at the end of October due to a trip to Hokkaido with my mom. As a result, they called me again and asked if I could push my start date to November 2016 instead

After securing the job, I began searching for rooms to rent with a budget of no more than SGD 550 at the time. I found three options and booked my flight and hostel to view them in person—one in Chinatown and two in Toa Payoh. When I visited the Chinatown location, I discovered it was situated behind Pearl Hill. Climbing the hill on a sunny day made me realize I didn't enjoy arriving at work feeling sweaty. In that house, cooking was restricted to light meals, and the housemates were a brother and sister. I would have been sharing a room with the sister.

Next, I visited the first house in Toa Payoh. All the tenants were Malaysian girls. The room had a bunk bed, but it was meant for a single occupant. The house was clean, and everyone seemed friendly. However, the rent was SGD 550, not including utilities.

After that, I went to the second house in Toa Payoh. The rent was more affordable at SGD 450, but I would have to share the room with a Vietnamese girl. The house was on the second floor, with a laundry shop located just below.

Both locations in Toa Payoh were convenient, as the walk to Braddell MRT station was shaded the entire way.

After much consideration, I decided to go with the Vietnamese house because I was nearly broke. In the meantime, I found out I was blacklisted from traveling overseas due to an outstanding study loan from Malaysia. I had taken out two loans—one for my Diploma and another for my Degree. I thought the loans were combined, so I had been paying only the Diploma loan monthly. It turned out that the loans were separate, meaning I needed to pay both simultaneously. As a result, my Degree loan had a significant outstanding balance, and I had to clear it before they would lift the travel restriction.

I had to cover the rental for two months plus a one-month deposit (since I was supposed to start work in October 2016), pay for the Hokkaido trip, and manage living without a salary for three months (September to November, with my first paycheck arriving only after a month of work). On top of that, I needed to clear my study loan. In the end, I had to rely on my family for support during that period.

Since I was starting work in November and had already paid the deposit and October's rent, I decided to move my things in early. This way, I could take care of my medical checkup and work pass at the same time. I booked a flight to Singapore and arrived at night. Unfamiliar with the city, I took a cab directly to my new place. When I arrived, my roommate was there too.

After settling in, I noticed something crawling out from the bed when I moved my blanket—it was a cockroach. I was horrified at the thought of sleeping with cockroaches running around the room. Thankfully, I found it on the wall. Since I couldn’t find any insect spray, I quickly wrapped my hand in a plastic bag, smacked the cockroach, and disposed of it.

The next morning, I headed to the office to sign some documents and complete my medical checkup. When I got back home, I did a thorough cleaning of my room and discovered an old, dusty bolster, pillow under the bed, and a plastic container with something black and moldy inside. I clarified with Irene, my roommate, that these items didn’t belong to her and threw them away. I couldn't understand how she could tolerate such clutter.

Over time, I noticed she seemed to be a hoarder, piling clothes and other stuff on her bed, leaving just a small space for herself to sleep. Additionally, she was a heavy sleeper and used a loud alarm that rang at 8 a.m. on weekends. I would wake up because of it and end up having breakfast and chatting with the other housemates in the kitchen. When I returned to the room around 10 a.m., she was still sleeping, and the alarm was still ringing. Quite a sight!

After spending several days here, I noticed there are five girls living in the house. The other three (Kathy, Rachael, and Jennifer) share a separate common bedroom. Miss Kathy, a student, is carefree and good at cooking, but her understanding of hygiene seems lacking. For example, she might drop a sauce on the floor and then walk through it without cleaning up. Each morning, I was the first to wake up and turn on the kitchen light, only to find cockroaches scurrying across the counter, which I couldn’t catch in time.

Racheal is the oldest among us and quite pretty. She takes on a big sister role, giving orders to the others. She even mentioned that when she moved in, there was hair clogging the toilet drain, which is why there are now notes in the bathroom instructing everyone to clean up hair after showering.

While the other girls aren’t unfriendly, their hygiene practices are challenging to tolerate. During my stay, a friend of theirs, Tricia, moved in temporarily for a month while she looked for a job. I learned that her boyfriend, now her husband, was undergoing chemotherapy, so she needed to be with him. Tricia was very quiet and slept on the couch in the living room. I found her to be more mature compared to the others in the house.

I stayed here for only six months because the landlord decided to sell the property. We were given one month to find a new place and move out. So yes, this is my first house story. 

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The names and identifying details in this story have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals

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Love to read more story? Check out my 2nd home story here:

Chapter 2: My 2nd Rented Home in SG

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