Hi bluegurl82
Nothing offensive but your husband is very brave to want to undertake a whole renovation for a resale flat. Bcos its going to costs a bomb. Me and my husband just bought a resale flat, even with the nice marble living room and parquet bedroom floorings, the renovation quotations we got from some IDs are pretty hefty.
As for whether there is a need to get a ID, it totally depends on your budget. Even so, it doesn't mean that a contractor will not be good enough. As long as you know what kind of style you want for your house, an experienced contractor will be able to help you do up the house in the way a ID can too.
I would love to recommend my contractor to you but i can't say for the quality of his work right now as he has just started the renovation work yesterday. What i like most about my contractor is he doesn't give me starndard items yet charge me at an inflated price.