You have just purchased your ideal property and suddenly you feel a little lost on what needs to be done to transform your home into a beautiful cozy pad. Here is some pointers to guide you along to way.
Inspect the house.
There is no flaw-free homes. HDB’s has put in continuous efforts to provide high-quality affordable flats but there is no perfect flaw-free houses in this world. If you have just purchased a flat from HDB, check the walls, ceiling, flooring, fittings including sanitary utilities. List down the defects and if possible, stick a post-it note on the defect site to mark the area. Bring the defects list to your HDB Branch Office within the stipulated period from the date of purchase. An example of a checklist compiled by renotalk's member, diva79:
Defects Checklist 1
Defects Checklist 2
Setting an objective for renovation.
Set your objectives before coming up with the budget plan. This will help you to pioritize items when you are doing up your budget. For example if you may want to:
- Renovate for resale
If you intend to sell off your flat sometime after the 5-year period, you may wish to keep some of the rooms intact instead of e.g. converting your 2 bedroom into a 1 bedroom apartment.
- Child/Elderly-friendly home
It all comes down to design vs practicality. While a fantastic design can change the mood towards your house, you may want to consider practicality too if you have an elderly or a child living in your home.
Establish a budget.
The budget is one of the most important step in renovation. Plan your budget carefully Determine how much money you can reasonably afford to spend up front, and stick to it. It is easy to exceed a renovation budget so prior planning and keeping track of your spending is important to avoid running into a financial situation. |
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Get the best contractor your budget will allow.
When renovating a house, quality is usually more important than quantity. However, always check that the renovator is in the list of HDB Registered Renovation Contractors for HDB works.
Get the permits before renovation commences.
It is important to check that you have all the necessary permits before carrying out the renovation works.
For private residential properties, approval from URA and/or BCA may be required for renovation works. However, there are certain types of renovation works that are exempted. For the procedure to apply for planning permission or for a permit, please click here.
For HDB properties, please note that certain types of renovation works (such as demolition or construction of walls) require evaluation by HDB's Technical Department. Flat owners are therefore required to submit the floor plan of their flat showing the proposed renovation works. Click here to find out more.
Give buffer time for the renovation completion date.
Many couples go through the stress of ensuring that their renovation complete just in time for their wedding ceremony or auspicious move-in dates. Renovating a home is a complicated project and involves subcontractors, workers and suppliers. Even when the schedule shows that it can be completed before your big day, give ample buffer time to cater for unexpected delays.
Monitor the progress of the renovation
It is important to visit the renovation site regularly to catch mistakes because some of renovation works can be carried out in a short time but take a longer time to rectify or undo the errors. For e.g. a mixed up in the color of the tiles layed in the bedroom.
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