berry_surprise

hey we have pretty much the same layout. For me, i m gonna place the dining table in the kitchen plus a lcd tv. i like tv dinner. i save my living room for living room where is ur place at?

@Felixp: Thank you for your comments. The storeroom had alrdy been hacked so no worries about it. My contractor is not mentioned in this forum, I'm still in a deciding process about the ID and contractors stage. Anyway it is a bit too premature to do planning. This is because my completion date will falls in the month of Apr. So it is still a long wait. Yeah, i liked the idea of linking the common toilet to the bedroom too. So far I only see this kind of arrgement in condos. Nonetheless, I will def. keep track of my impending renovations and post here for all to share. super high, more than 3m. it could be a dbl edged sword for me. well, at least i know, i can install chandelier if i want to

this is because i encountered super high cov for resale flats..so when the balance flats came along, i want to buy. but who knows..oversubscribed and >70% of applicants r 1st-timers. so continued on looking for resale..and who knows..found 1 with affordable yet overshot my budget for cov + good location. anyway...the probability of getting balance flats is super low. furthermore, i also have looked at the balance flats locations physically and even though i like some of them but i cannot guarantee i can buy them. so be patient with the ballot results and be mentally prepared.

it is along BB ave 4.

got it. I only came to know about the early inspection today from my agent so i asked him for proof of visit. his proof is from the seller's agent's mouth. so i havent got the time to call up hdb office. and when i told my agent that he can call and enquiry on this matter, he asked me "do i want him to call", i mean come on la, is not i want u to call, you should call! else why i bother to engage his service n going to pay him 1% eventually. even i'm not an agent, i also know more things than him. come and smoke me, wait long long la. >>i am just pissed off with his approach and dealings with issues, everything and everytime say ask the seller agent. as if the seller agent his mother.

yeah, that's what i intend to do. my agent is a pushover and the other agent is scheming.

so hdb inspector can suka suka go inspect, like that it is pointless to schedule a date and time. in regards to my agent, i will continue to monitor him. if he is really that bad, i will do a writeup on him (soon).

he is a pushover. nothing else to say about him. what about the hdb inspector going to inspect the flat earlier than the scheduled date on hdb 1st appt letter? can they suka suka go and inspect the flat other than the scheduled date?

yeah, i also have heard of such cases before. I mean I already gave them extra 2 months and now they want another 1 mth. and my agent propose to us that we collect 1000 from them as rental. i m just wondering is the 1000 rental idea from my agent or from the seller agent. the way my agent approached me about this incident pisses me off. he even say he will ask for more for us. i told him off, saying we did not asked u to represent us in this extension yet. dont anyhow put words into our mouths.

Hello, I need your advice. I received my 1st appt letter from HDB and it stated when will the HDB inspector go to the resale flat to inspects. it was stated Nov 2. However, I was told by my agent that the HDB inspector already gone to the flat yesterday (Oct 29) to check! I asked for proof of visit, my agent replied he was told by the seller's agent. and when I told him he can check with the branch office who send the inspector, my agent asked "do u want me to check", so i say "if everything i do, then i no need to engage your services". and to add oil to the fire, he told us the sellers want another 1 mth extension when we already gave 2 mths! and propose to us to collect 1000 from them. I've nothing to say but hokien phrases. what do u think?

I also bid for the balance flat and I received a letter from HDB, saying... "We will inform you of the shortlisted results by end Nov 09." hope it helps..

@blackcare: Yes, I have got a contractor to check it out for me. Now I will see what the HDB inspector says about it. Also, I think I have got a very reasonable quote on my overall reno. Plus, I can make an entrance to the common toilet in bedroom 1. I'm excited and upset at the same time, being I will have to get legally married in order to buy this flat. Strange enough, only you guys know about my purchase. I have not told my parents yet. Nonetheless, I will bring them to take a look when the owner goes away for a long vacation or maybe not..... All the best to all of u

Hello, we were lucky, we took less than a month and found our flat amidst the high cov period. If you like to know, I m most happy to share w you. and this is my draft layout. Thank you for your time. I will keep this blog posted.

Wooohhh....no joke. At least for now you will be saving some $ which can bring forward to petrol. on the other hand, u went thru so many troubles, it must be an agony process.

Just want to say, I have paid in cash for the $5000 and I am intending to give the remaining COV in cash when I go for the 1 appointment. Initially I issued a cheque but it got bounced for some signature problem. Cold hard cash is better (for myself-Yes) now must give cov...super sian! got $ still must wait 6mths in order for the final completion. no $ wait 4 years. Thanks to my leaders. Just a note: I got the recipient to ack the amount received thru b&w.

this is a NO DEAL for me.

Hi there 1)I like to know how did you pay for the OTP $1000 followed by $4000? 2)Did you ask the seller to sign stating he have received the $? 3)Will we receive any b&w receipt upon paying $5000? @ the 1st appt 1)how did u pay for the remaining COV? cash/cheque? 2)should we be afraid at this point of time because it will be at least 8 week later for 2nd appt. 3)Will we receive any b&w receipts upon paying the remaining cov? Many thanks.

The factor here is timing. I have to monitor the progress. Thanks for your tips. yes.

Thanks for your advice, I will note it down.

Hi there, thanks for writing back. Strangely enough, my agent says the HDB inspector will go inspect the house after we exercise the option and before our 1st appt. My concerns are illegal renovation and waterproofing of ceiling, he told me the officer will check on that day. To me, these are all bull****. So what happens if there are such problems, he say we can hound the HDB/town councils for foc repairs. I dissed him and said we are not going to operate in loanshark style. Besides, the owner claim that the lift upgrading will be soon as he had talked to the town councils people. I check and recheck and there are no ongoing plans yet, just a deadline by 2014. anyway, i already told him to find out more. Truthfully speaking, the owners are 3rd or 4th time owner themselves despite already staying there for the past 8 yrs. To me, the house is still in movable conditions so I wont say there will be no problems waiting to surface after we get this flat. In any case, we will go ahead with this purchase because in the current situation, others are asking extremely high cash and valuation are somewhat higher than 300k. In addition, the benefit of doubt towards lower housing prices is not really realistic. Even if I do ballot for BTO@Dawson, no doubt the price per se will be higher, say towards 300-350k for a 4/5rooms, I also have to be lucky in order to get balloted. What I have in mind is that I will bring a contractor with me when I go for final viewing. So what do you think?

Hi black_car Weeks ago, I saw your house pictures on your blog and your Buddha feature left an impression on me. I didn't it was you until I click on your nick. In regards to whether a condo owner can buy HDB, the answer is YES, however it will have to be 30 mths later? I read it somewhere on HDB before. In any case, the condo doesn't belong to me. We are leasing it from my father so we are first-timers when it comes to applying for HDB grant. Heads up for the high ceiling

Hi there Sometimes, when the owner sells at high price, we the buyer complain. But when they decided to sell at a lower price, we get paranoid. When I was on my 1st viewing, I liked it immediately because 1) its high ceiling (top floor) 2) near to my current condo 3) coffeeshops, ntuc, shop&safe 4) primary n secondary schools (which is of no concern to me at this moment) 5) valuation was <300k This bldg was built in the 80s and about 21 yo. I have already delegate all my worries to my agent before we proceed with the remaining deposit. Besides, we are very accommodating with the owner asking for extension. Initially they asked for 6wks but we told them 6-8 wks will be no problem. Furthermore, all of us are very accommodating with furniture arrangements (moving in early and leaving behind for us). Indeed, the very high ceiling makes the house feels so much bigger although it is only a miserable 85sqm. Do you have anything to share with me?

Hi there I like to share with you and appreciate your comments. We worked with this agent, our 2nd agent, and we OTP upon viewing the 3rd flat. In a nutshell, this was the 9th flat we have viewed. We viewed this 4 room standard corner flat with super high ceiling, more than 10 feet (3 meters) in the afternoon. We were told the owner wanted 18k cov and the last offer was at 13.8k. It was a flat with no lift and the lift upgrading will be done before 2014. So initially we offered our cov and later in the evening, we were told the owner is willing to close the deal at our offered cov, so we asked for another viewing. Hence, the total price will come up to be 300k (which is not bad in this present moment). anyway, our hle loan is much higher so are there any people taking 10 years or 15 years loan instead of the maximum 30 years? In short, this flat is in a movable condition. We are willing to stay for 1 year and save up for renovation. What sets me thinking is that...the seller's agent is on the lookout for 5 rooms flats in Bukit Panjang for the owner. Despite the high cov market transactions, why would the owner be willing to lower his asking price? we have some concerns and trying to sort it out before we exercise to purchase. We also have agreed an extension of 8 weeks for the owner after completion date. do you have any comments? What do u think about the super high ceiling? Appreciated

Hello Everyone Do u know this uncle Robert Liew from Golden Fang Renovations? He specialize in WC. He's Chinese, probably in his 50s and has a big belly. Would you kindly share your encounters with him, his services, his workmanship and any other comments. Appreciated! berry_surprise

Hello Everyone Do u know this uncle Robert Liew from Golden Fang Renovations? He specialize in WC. He's Chinese, probably in his 50s and has a big belly. Would you kindly share your encounters with him, his services, his workmanship and any other comments. Appreciated! berry_surprise