forgotten

Cheer up. We are still more fortunate than the homeless people sleeping on the streets. This is your first house? How old is the flat? To save money, can just do painting, order the necessary furnitures and applicances first, then move in. I intend to do only painting and move in. My MIL offers to loan us some money for our renovation but I die die don't want to take it.

113sqm is considered very big for a 4room unit! Even 5 room units are only 110sqm nowadays.

But over there, 5room units' valuation prices alone are > 600K liao leh

Thanks for sharing it. I emailed it to my friends who're having banquets this year.

Heng u bought your unit earlier!

Q4 home prices up 7.3% http://business.asiaone.com/Business/My%2B...104-189624.html http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20091229/tap-...om-231650b.html If u can afford to grab a hdb shelter now, don't wait liao. MM Lee, Mah BT already said prices will go up further as the economy improves. Once IRs open, more foreigners will be flooding in & competing with u for shelters.

Same same. I also do not have any budget for renov. All my cash goes to the bank (5% downpayment) and COV. I do not want to take up any renovation loan. No worry. The fixtures and built-in are stated in the valuation reports. It will be funny if I see my seller dragging the toilet bowl out of the house, perspiring, chanting that it has sentimental value to him cos he sits on it for 5 years lol.

Hope my seller is not removing the sinks, toilet bowls, stove, window grilles, gate etc, and leaving many holes for me to mend I will get BIG headache, as I do not intend to do any renovation lor. All of us buy a house according to the condition that we see at the viewing. Same as u, I had checked with my agent on the fixtures before I exercised OTP. She said seller is not supposed to remove any fixtures in the house.

Fixtures and in-built stuff are included in the valuation report, so they cannot be removed by seller. If seller removes them, the buyer has the right to reject the house at 2nd HDB appt after their inspection and it can render the valuation report invalid.

Yeah list his mobile number and company out. Don't get more people be cheated by him.

Just to share... Not all divorcee sellers will sell their houses below the market rate. I have about 10 friends who are divorcees. They are considered serious house sellers but only 1 of them was more qingchai at the house price. I would say that her buyer was lucky to meet her. The rest sold their houses at the market rate. I saw one Sembawang unit that was asking for 10K COV, which was the lowest COV that I came across so far. Later my agent did a check on seller's financial background and told me that he was declared bankrupt and the bank was forcing him to sell the house off. She warned me that he might have borrowed from loanshark. I don't dare to buy such unit......

If your dad hasn't banked in the cheque(s), there's still chance to revoke the sales. I ever read on newspapers that if the cheque(s) are banked in, it means the seller has legally entered into the contract even if the form is not signed by him. Since your dad has banked in the cheque(s), it may be too late? You should list the name and contact number of this agent out so that people will not be cheated by him. He's so unethical! I feel very unjust for your dad.

I'm opposite from you haha. I think I was too decisive, too rush to choose the unit! I'll be able to save 20K if I choose other nearby blocks that are mere 5 more mins walk to the MRT station than my block . The latters' valuation prices are 20K-40K lower. Luck and market force play a part. It's tough to gauge the situation sometimes. We won't know how much the other buyers are bidding for the unit, how serious is the seller in selling the unit etc. My friend didn't manage to grab his 2 units successfully though he offered what the sellers requested (COVs of 35K). There were other buyers who offered few Ks more than what the sellers requested.

Total 3 years. 2.5 years trying for balance flat ballotings of hdb but failed to strike any. 1 week looking for resale unit. Viewed 10 units, then OTP. Now waiting for 1st appt with hdb. Renting a room for 1 year

It's time for you to plan your renovation and furnishing budget, then source for contractor/ID Getting any renovation loan?

If you also want cable tv, then you can look at the other bundle packages that include cable tv and internet hehe. http://www.starhub.com/promotions/hubbing/97569.html http://www.starhub.com/promotions/hubbing/89569.html http://www.starhub.com/promotions/hubbing/96833.html My family and I don't need the cable tv. Free desktop promo - It was on the web site weeks ago. oops.. if the web site doesn't show it anymore, it probably means the promo is over.

- 2Mbps with cable TV and home line - $22+ after discount - 8Mbps with cable TV and home line - $44+ after discount See prices here: http://www.starhub.com/broadband/homebroadband.html I went to the Starhub outlet 2 weeks ago and saw there was a promo. Sign up for 8Mbps, Maxonline Express and get a free desktop computer! I have both accounts, 8Mbps (Maxonline Express) and 2Mbps (Maxonline Surflite). 1 for my parents' house, 1 for my rented room now. I find Surflite very slow, crawling like snail at peak hours 6pm to 11pm. If you can't tahan slowness, go for the 8Mbps one (Maxonline Express). Somemore, now it comes with a free desktop computer leh. Last time when I signed up for it, I had to pay $59 monthly and there was only free home line. Sharing my 2 cents worth about the two Starhub plans.

Erm the quote didn't include the electrical wiring of the house?

Good piece of advice to people who are shopping for their house.

Yeah, the advantage of buying units in new estates is the saving in renovation cost. Of course, there're some well-renovated units in matured estates. Which area did u get in Sengkang? My parents stay at Compassvale area in Sengkang.

Hey I viewed that same unit in Oct too hehe. It's indeed very well-renovated, looks like a resort and has nice views. The agent was pretty cocky in the way he talked to us. He was demanding at least 50K COV and boasting that he was very confident that it would be sold off the very next day! After we left that unit shortly, the agent called us up, accused us of stealing the valuation report and scolded us over it. Why should we steal his report LOL? Seeing the agent's attitude, my hubby and I became uninterested to bargain the price and make an offer to him though we like that unit. I think u really have fate with that unit! U viewed it at the right timing when the valuation report was expiring + the right agent who CMI haha. That unit is defintely a great buy!

I have no kid to pay for but we have to pay $700 rent for our room monthly (no aircon) for a year hehe. Can't stay with inlaws to save on rent cos our mentally unsound sil chased us out of house. I hope I can start my baby plan in 2 years time. Yes it's definitely feel great to have own house. Merry Xmas everyone! Ho Ho Ho

From the stats, the COVs seem to go crazy after July 2009. Congrats to those who bought your house before July 2009, u save a lot on your COV. 1st quarter 2010's valuation price range will be = 4th quarter 2009's valuation price range + 15K-40K ?? I sincerely hope SG government will build many more houses so that houses remain more affordable to everyone in Singapore! Many couples like us become bankrupts after the wedding and property purchase. We have no existing house to sell to gather the cash COV component, so we either have to wipe out our whole life savings or to take up personal loan to pay off the COV. Now we have no money to do renovation. We want to have a baby, also no money.

IMHO, the units in Sengkang are not really that cheap as compared to other suburb estates. Of course they are cheaper than those in matured estates like Toa Payoh lah. In Sengkang, some 5-room prices are already hovering above 400K. The good thing of getting Sengkang units is that they are < 10 years old, pretty new, so you can choose not to do an overhaul and save $ on the renovation part. I think every estate has its pros and cons. As long as one likes the unit very much, one will just grab it haha!