typhoonz

I see... Boh pian lor... Like what you said... After 2nd appointment, pay the agent and tell them get lost... I also have some problems with my present agent. Mine is too greedy. He was haggling over some referal fee issue from the bank loan which he will bring up everytime we meet to discuss some details. Before we decided to get the house , my wife has already contact this present loan officer to discuss the details. When we decided to go ahead with the house, this agent insisted that his name be submitted to the loan officer in order to get some fees. We tried to but the loan officer said my wife approached him first so technically the agent did nothing to qualify for the referal fees. We told him this the next time we met him but he still insisted that we subnot his name. He even told us thet he will split the fees 50/50. This is when my wife and I got a bit pissed and saw his true self. Sigh...

How come your agent too chicken? All the owner need to do is to sign the idemnity form and that's it lor... What's so hard? Your agent worried that your deal might have problem ah? Then tell your agent to discount you some commission lor... I don't know the name of the shop but it's at Defu Ave... I'll take some pics and post...

Sigh just got news that the owner hasn't finish cleaning up his place... Will be meeting my contractor to choose the kitchen tiles tomorrow and I was hoping by then pass him the keys liao... When I met the owner last sat at HDB for the 1st appointment, he told me that he'll be completing the moving out by last sunday... I messaged him a few days ago to arrange for me to collect the keys from him and it was then he told me that the moving out is not done yet... I got the idemnity form signed and I believe the renovation permit has been submitted as my contractor said can start work next week liao... Hopefully the owner can really finish his moving out this sunday...

That time when we did the negotiations with my contractor, like what you went through, lots of stuff was taken out as the cost is not coming down... In the end, we had to forgo the L boxes in the 2 bedrooms, only replace the window grilles and not the windows...etc. But the amazing thing is we added a 4 glass panels in the kitchen to divide the wet and dry kitchen... So got negotiate machiam like never do because the final price is still the same... Sigh...

The price is quite good. Perhaps you can try asking if they have Metropark Mongkok. It's just a minute from Tai Chi (Prince Edward) MTR station. It's a 3 star hotel and the rooms are pretty spacious. The setback is that it's further up Nathan Road so to walk to the Star Ferry Terminal will take you about 20 - 30 mins? http://www.metroparkhotelmongkok.com/eng/index.php I'm also going to HK but it's on the 1st to 5th Nov. Bring my kids to DisneyLand. I took the 5 day trip (3 nights in HK and 1 night in DisneyLand). Adult is about $1060. The agency I booked from is pretty reliable and price wise not bad. If you are interested can email me at typhoonzzz@gmail.com. I booked my 1st Australian trip (Gold Coast) and my honeymoon (Sydney & Gold Coast) with them.

Some more updates... It was a crazy weekend for my wife and I... We packed like mad to make it for the big move to the warehouse on the 7th... Had to also go for the new house's 1st appointment on the 6th and by the time we got home, it was almost 3pm (had to collect the truck and run some errands)... The move was pretty smooth... Had some very good friends to help make it easier... Ran a total of 3 + 1 trips... 3 to the warehouse and 1 to my brother in law's place... When it was finally time for us to leave our 1st home, we took a real good look for the very last time... Memories came flowing back... This was our 1st home... This was the place we "made" our 2 wonderful kids... Indeed we were "she bu de" to leave our 1st home but I guess "jiu de bu qu, xin de bu lai"... Right now we're officially homeless as we just completed my sale of our house today... Everything was smooth except the buyer's documentation had to be sent to their law firm for some more amendments before HDB can send it for lodgement... We got our cheque payout and made a photocopy of it for remembrance... Don't know when are we going to get such a "nice" cheque anymore... Anyway almost all of the payout will go into our new house (renovation, furniture, bank deposit...etc)... We are just glad that the new house didn't eat into our reserve funds... Haven't got the key yet as the owner just finished clearing his house... We'll get it once the renovation permit goes through... When that day comes, pictures galore will happen...

Cannot wait to post also... Akan Datang!!!

It's been sometime since I've done my last update... The time is here and I cannot wait for the day to come... Finally this sat (6th Sept) is my 1st appointment for my new place... I've confirmed my contractor and the final renovation figure is at $34,000 (inclusive of electrical works estimated at $2,500)... Very soon I go on a picture posting spree when the new house is relieved of it's old belongings...

Need to ask something here. My wife has decided to take up an oven (entry) level type so I'm here doing a bit of research. What's the difference between convection and multi function ovens? Multi function as in they also microwave? No right? Someone please advise... Many thanks in advance Please pardon me if you find my questions ignorant...

I see. I guess more importantly is the quality. This contractor that I'm waiting for is also pricing higher than the ID who has still yet to show me the drawings after so dam long (almost a month). His workmanship is there and we are comfortable with him. No point choosing a cheaper one then later cry over it...

Is this your very first quote or the most "decent" one?

The floor plan is the first post but a bit small... Okie... It's tiny... Will only reveal the contractor after I confirm with him next monday. It's okie lah. Thanks for the offer. But can you PM me your mover's number? Thinking of getting movers to do the 2nd leg...

Toshiba System 3 (Non-Inverter) with installation and steel bracket - 1850.

Met up with my contractor last night and we were "negotiating" till almost 1am... Some stuff we added, others we gave up... 1) Decided to only do the L Box for the living room and MBR. The 2 other bedrooms will have normal lights. 2) Will not change the windows but will just replace the grilles. 3) Added a shower screen for the MBR toilet. 4) Will not replace the main door as it's fire rated. Replacing it will set us back about $800 (solid designer door). So it'll be just light sanding and a coat of vanish. 5) Will not do a display set. Will buy a simple one and might do a "box" to hide the mount and wirings. 6) Will replace the sliding window glass in bedroom 2 as the previous owner stick some solar film on it. Removing the film will be troublesome so just change the glass. 7) Added the killer - Glass door between the wet and dry kitchen. 4 panels of 10mm glass all moveable. Think that's about it. Will get the final quotation by next monday, then it'll be a load off my mind...

That's a very nice table. How much is it?

Hey Mwerks, thanks for your highlights... Will note down your thoughts and discuss it with my Mrs. Will be meeting the contractor tomorrow evening to "fine tune" the quotation. There are still some stuff he left out like the glass door for the wet and dry kitchen and the window (ventilation fan) for the toilets. There are certainly things that I want the contractor to leave out like the haulage charge of $800... I think this is quite ridiculous leh... Like that I just get my friends and rent a truck and do the haulage myself...

I see... We are hoping to get a good deal on the electrical appliances too...

37 inches max for a TV but your fridge is huge man... And so is the price...

This is the quotation that I'm waiting for but it seems to be rather high. I expected it to be less than $30K. Re: Renovation works for 4 rooms flat Description Demolition works 1. To hack existing kitchen floor & wall tiles $S800.00 2. To hack existing 2x toilets floor & wall tiles $S1000.00 3. To hack & remove existing build-in cabinets $S250.00 4. Haulage of new tiles & remove debris to MOE permitted dumping ground $S800.00 5. To remove laminate timber flooring & carpet for 3x bedrooms $S600.00 Wet works 1. Supply & lay homogenous floor tiles at kitchen c/w waterproofing $S1200.00 2. Supply & lay homogenous tiles c/w waterproofing for 2x toilets $S1000.00 3. Supply & lay ceramic/ homogenous wall tiles to kitchen $S2400.00 4. Supply & lay ceramic wall tiles to 2x toilets $S2600.00 5. Supply & install stainless steel rubbish chute $S180.00 6. To construct cabinet base & low wall divider $S700.00 Plumbing works 1. Supply & install 2x W.C $S560.00 2. Supply & install 2x basin include waste outlet piping $S260.00 3. Supply labour to install 2x instant heater $S120.00 4. To run cold stainless steel piping for whole house (across living area) $S650.00 5. Supply labour to make inlet/outlet piping & installation of kitchen sink/tap $S150.00 6. Supply labour to make inlet & outlet pipes for washing machine $S50.00 7. To convert 1x W.C $S120.00 Painting & plastering works 1. ICI/Nippon painting for all walls & white emulsion paints for ceilings $S1000.00 2. To construct “L” box for living & 3x bedrooms $S1700.00 3. To plaster smooth living & 3x bedrooms $S1600.00 Carpentry works 1. Supply & install 5x solid naytoh door / designer door (hollow) $S1400.00 2. Design & fabricate 8ft wooden sliding door wardrobe $S2000.00 (Aluminum frame with glass sliding door $2300) 3. Design & fabricate 6ft swing door wardrobe $S1440.00 4. Design & fabricate kitchen cabinet (20ft) $S2300.00 5. Supply & install solid surface top (10ft) $S700.00 Miscellaneous works 1. Supply labour to polish existing marble floor $S800.00 2. Supply & install 2x aluminum bi-fold door c/w PVC board $S360.00 3. Supply & install wrought iron gate $S520.00 4. Supply & install powder coated sliding window to living & bedroom 3 $S1300.00 5. Supply & install powder coated casement window to room kitchen & rooms 1&2 $S1750.00 6. Supply & install aluminum grilles to all windows $S1200.00 Electrical works 1. Supply labour & materials to re-run electrical wiring w/o EMA submission [estimate] $S2500.00 *1x13amp-$S45, 2x13amp-$S55, 15amp-$S90, 20amp-$S90, Tel pt-$S40, Lighting pt-$S25, SCV pt-$S85, Speaker pt-$S30, Light installation-$S9 Hood & hob-$S50, Ceiling fan-$S50, DB board $S280 * For EMA testing additional $5 per units, testing $250 Total Amount:$S33010.00 Any comments anyone?

If you want I can pass you my Kronotex contact... We took the Mahmut package for the 3 bedrooms... PM me if you want his number... Seems like you guys are really going places. Running all over the island but I guess my turn is coming soon. How much did you do up your display set? It's very stylish and classy.

Not really. My current house was done by them and they did a good job. Seems like many here don't like them. Well, I would say even the best contractor here won't get full marks from everyone...

Your house in sone renovating? Sofa already arriving?

53db is pretty loud for an aircon...

Tried asking All Best? Can just ask for quotes and see some of the thread around.

Congrats on your new place... Good location too...