Spreading Your Wings

There comes a time in life when you feel the need to untie yourself from your mother's apron strings and spread your wings out to fly to freedom. Well, there are also those who don't ever feel the need but we're not getting into that.

Anyway, for the past one week, I have looked through countless property and room-for-rent websites as well as property magazines and classified ads just to get a feel of the rental rates and the rooms available. I can tell you right now I never knew it was so hard to do that. Anyone who has gone through the same experience as me would know just how much time it takes to sort through all the places, picking a few that struck your fancy, comparing prices and neighbourhoods, calculating the distance between your new home and work, and many, many, MANY other decisions.

The thing is, it all sounds exciting when you're thinking about moving out. But when you get further down the line, _after_ passing the thinking part and into the actual searching part, you'll find that it's a pretty serious decision. "Do you have enough money for rent" is the foremost question. You have to start planning your expenses to make sure there's enough for rent, food, utilities, petrol and any other necessities. For those who are not serious (or not desperate enough to live on their own), the thought of all that money, planning and organizing will put them off the idea of leaving home.

When you finally do make the decision on getting your own pad, there's the issue of getting the one that you want. Honestly, most real estate agents out there are only interested in one thing; their commission. There have been many stories, and I've experienced it once, of real estate agents who put up pictures of an apartment or house but when you make an appointment to view it, it turns out that the place is nothing at all like the images. And when you ask them, the answer is either, "Oh, that one got rented/sold so I thought I'll show you something else" or "Oh, sorry, I accidentally put up the wrong pictures." Be prepared to be plenty disappointed with many places and many agents as you go along on your quest for the perfect living place.

But seriously, finally getting your own place is definitely worth all the trouble you have to go through, even though you may have started out with a naive mind and a romantic idea of having a place of your own to do what you want and to decorate how you want.

To help you start, here are some questions you need to answer as you pick out your place:-
a) Landed property or apartment?
b) Buy or rent?
c) Are the quoted prices more than what you think the place is worth?
d) Do you have enough money to last you through your first year of living alone?
e) Is the neighbourhood to your liking i.e. cheap, quiet, close to work, close to convenience stores?
f) Can you stand to live with the current neighbours or roommates?
g) If you're living with roommates, are there adequate privacy for you?
h) Are there any security i.e. home guards, nearby police station?
i) Are there any convenient parking spaces for your vehicle?
j) Is the chosen area properly maintained i.e. smooth roads, cleanliness?
k) Is the chosen area easy to access i.e. limited traffic jams, confusing roads?

All these questions and more may sound daunting but think them through properly and everything will work out. Always, always, ask for advice from those who have bought or rented their own place and ask them for their honest opinion of your choice. But remember that the final decision is yours and yours alone so make sure that you are happy 'coz you're the one who'll be living there. :) Have fun.