h2go

Hi guys, I am in the midst of doing up by new place. This will be the 2nd time in my life that I am embarking on a reno. Here are some of the lessons learned after staying at my previous place for 6 years: 1) Ceiling fan is a must. You will not care about aesthetics when it is so hot and humid. 2) Never place a TV under an Air-con unit. If the air-con leaks, the TV will die next. 3) Never place a dresser under an Air-con unit. If the air-con leaks, and the missus' cosmetics and jewelries get soaked, you will die next. 4) A Bathtub is a great idea...until you need to scrub of the mildew once every other day. What are some of your lessons learned then? Do share them here. Regards.

Thanks to bepgof for the links. Unfortunately, due to time constraint, I tasked my ID to source for their own PE contacts. Basically, the PE is required to give approval to hack the wall dividing the kitchen and dining room. And for this simple job, I was billed $700. I hinted to my ID that the norm is $500. The ID told me some story which sounds convincing. But I know that the extra $200 i paid will be useful to assess how truthful/honest/profit margin % the ID is. Not a bad deal in this respect.

Hi everyone, I am currently in the midst of starting my reno at my apartment. I have some hacking to do, and as required by the MSCT, i will need to engage a PE to assess the floorplan and structural plan to give the "go-ahead". Does anyone have contacts or recommendation for any Professional Engineers (PE)? Will really appreciate the heads-up. Regards.

Just to share my experience with acquiring the floorplan of a condo from BCA. It is actually quite a breeze. Step 1 - Go to the BCA website, fill in the e-application form and pay the search fee with a credit card. Step 2 - Wait for an email from BCA which will instruct you to bring along the necessary documents to proceed with search and print. It look 4 days for BCA to send me the notification. Step 3 - Pop by BCA and procced with the search with microfilm. The personnel will give you some instructions of how to search and operate the microfilm machine. Great fun with the microfilm. But do cater an hour or so to search the films. Step 4 - Note down the index number of the required films and the personnel will get you to a "Printing Room" to print the microfilm. Depending of the number of print jobs, you may need to come back on another day to collect the printed floorplan. Step 5 - I returned to BCA on the next day to collect the printouts. Huge A3 size. Also note that it will cost you $3 per print out. Kudos to the personnel at BCA. Very friendly and helpful.

Sharing on my local knowledge (staying at Kembangan at the moment), the site is quite a long and unsheltered walk from the train station - a good 12 minutes. The nearest amenities are also a distance away. The coffeeshop/provision is at the Lengkong Tiga HDB, and the prata shop is beside the Kembangan MRT. The units facing the PIE will suffer from the noise generated from the expressway traffic. It is quite unbearable at times (i have a relative staying at Starville and it's terrible). The agents have already started distributing leaflets around the neighbourhood. No indicative price yet, but i won't be surprise if they ask for $1.1k psf.

May I just add an important point about Primary school enrolment. While it is great to stay within 1km from a desired primary school, it does not guarantee a place during phase 2B of enrolment. When when balloting (60 parents trying to get the 10 available lots) is involved, it will all depends on the luck of the draw. In fact, in 2010, only 4 primary school did not have have organise ballotting. To get a guaranteed place for your kid, it will be recommended that you enrol your kid in the alma mater of you and your spouse. That will put you in phase 2A.

Hi Guys and gals, I will be receiving the keys to a resale 10 years old apartment in the first week of August, and will commence a small reno subsequently. My lawyer 'hinted' that I should get some administration done before receiving the keys i.e. Starting an account with singapore powers, cable tv perhaps, informing IRAS, speak to management committee, etc. Can someone advise (or perhaps list down) what are the things I must do in preparation to collect the keys and start the reno? Thanks in advance.