cleong

Just saw a new ad for a unit in my block asking for nearly $700k "slightly negotiable". I should be happy (that I got mine cheap at below $500k) but frankly it seems like we're headed for a bubble...... people would be looking at 6-figure sums of losses if they time their purchases wrong. Remember, its your retirement funds that you are staking when you buy a flat.

Hahaha...... 50 units is not a magic number. In fact I think I am quite unlucky to have to view so many units before finding the right one at a reasonable pricing. You have to be diligent in chasing both the fresh postings that appear every Saturday morning in the newspapers as those tend to be more genuine than those posted on the internet which could be outdated or just a placeholder ad. But also keep an eye out for those that are still for sale but have remained on the market for too long because of unrealistic expectations. When the sellers' patience wears out, that's also a good time to wave a chequebook and negotiate on a realistic COV.

Going to view 50 units gave me a much better idea of value and recognizing a good deal when I saw one. 10 units may or may not be enough for you to calibrate your expectations against your resources. The second unit that I saw was a fantastic location, very high floor, unblocked, in Toa Payoh Central. Asking a mere 540k for a 4 room. But being ignorant, I thought good flats were commonplace and kept on looking, and only finding worse, and/or asking for more money. Fast forward nearly 50 flat viewings later, the moment I saw my flat in a private viewing, I made a firm offer and the owner accepted.

I believe the last batch of EMs were built in Toh Guan (correct me if I'm wrong). I've no experience with laminated flooring but I am used to parquet and will prefer parquet over laminate.

Bring your chequebook and negotiate. Offer your best price factoring in the renovation you still need to spend on. If no agreement, walk away and keep looking. I viewed around 50 flats over 9 months, participated in two bidding battles, before chancing upon my flat. You need patience.

It depends on how large you want your kitchen to be? There's so many configurations - open concept, normal configuration, some expand to galley style by taking up the maidsroom next to the front door as well. I really can't tell you how much yours would cost. Just measure your countertop length in feet and multiply.

Maisonette kitchen is no different from any other HDB flat kitchen, if I remember correctly goes by per foot run. 300 dollars per foot I think?

My transaction was completed in the first quarter of 2010, and it is in the Serangoon North area. Older and mid-generation EMs are bigger by around 10sqm than the last batch of EMs. Do be aware that historically, flat prices have fluctuated, so its not easy to say whether we're still on the upside of the price curve or not.

No idea, it was installed before I bought my flat. My apologies for my mistake in the previous post. I believe it should cost between 3-5k though. I spent 600 dollars just on changing the fabric material.

Sounds almost like mine, so I will say it is $35k give or take $10k depending on your expectations on how nice you want it to be.

Yes I installed a coffeeshop style electrically retractable awning . It helps to reduce splashing, so long as we remember to extend it when the rains come. You can see my renovation link in my sig for details.

One neighbour in our same block sold their unit for $630,000, you can check HDB's resale price enquiry. Going by the recent valuations of between $520,000 to $540,000, it would mean they received between $90,000 to $110,000 in COV. Prices are still pretty robust. I guess I'm fortunate I got mine for below $500,000 @ $35,000 COV.

You have a very tight timeline and a lot to get done. You'll probably need to get your ID to give you a schedule and most importantly to slavedrive/whip them to stay on track. I personally find your downstairs flooring OK but I guess everyone has their preferences. In my case, a good cut and polish brought it back to a nice like-new shine, but of course we had to accept that some deep chips and gouges could not be patched. You can see my TBlog for the before and after. I would personally forgo the study room and have it changed to a maid's room or day room to be used for mahjong sessions, perhaps an Ikea sofa bed that she can pull out at night.

IIRC you're living in my neighbourhood? "By right" you can only install one compressor due to the current load limits for older HDB flats. I have however seen EMs with two compressors in our neighbourhood though. In my case, I sometimes use the living room aircon if its really hot because opening the windows/doors lets in a lot of dust along with the breeze. Otherwise I just use the ceiling fan. I rarely open the windows.

Hi, my renovation quote if I remember correctly was around 38k which included hacking everything except the living/dining room and upstairs flooring. The quote included changing the windows, building the staircase railings and a new set of slide/fold balcony doors. It includes built in wardrobes for two bedrooms, vanity counter and cupboards for two bathrooms, and kitchen cabinets with granite top. Wiring was around 2k including new fusebox. With most EMs being more than 10 years old, new wiring is a good idea. The quote didn't include items like lights, toilets, taps/showers, sinks, air con, as I sourced and provided my own.

My open balcony is nowhere near as exposed but still dust tends to build up and rain tends to make it clump together into dark stains on the flooring and parapet. It requires additional maintenance, which is probably why some EM owners end up fully enclosing their balcony. I'm sure when it comes time to paint the balcony I will have a "good" time as well. From the sounds of it, binka is probably also one of the lucky loft unit owners who can relate firsthand the pros and cons of such units.

Depending on whether you're wanting a rainshower and good taps and such, a bathroom set from Grohe or Hansgrohe can set you back half of your $1000 budget already, unless you're intending to keep those items? If you're retaining the standard fixtures I think you should be ok. If you look at hotel-style bathrooms, they tend to use warm lighting, marble walls, chrome and glass.

The gap under your front door...

Hi, which block are you at? Good luck with your upcoming renovations!

We had 40-odd guests yesterday and hosted them at home. We "borrowed" the staircase landing for a few hours for the caterers to set up their tables at the very large landing, which became an alfresco dining area! When night fell, we also put out scented Ikea candles to supplement the lighting...... Then at night, a little birdie flew into our MBR! Can any FS experts tell us more about it? Spot the birdie! Spotted it yet? It was looking for a place to roost for the night! So round and cute and fuzzy......

I recall it was 45k or so. Toilet fittings and lights were not included in the quote. My contractor is NOT recommended.

You will probably need to invest in good curtains or window film to help ease solar radiation heating up the house through the afternoon. Otherwise it would be quite uncomfortable at night.

You may want to set a budget if haven't already done so, and work within it. Then allow for 10-20% cost overrun during the process itself, it will most likely happen. While it is logical to opt for quality fittings, you might want to balance the numbers against the other things you'd have to purchase. Realistically speaking, you don't need renovation. All you need to do is furnish what you already have, because your flat is new. If on a truly shoestring budget, actually all you need to do is buy some Ikea furniture, lamps from Lightings.com.sg, electricals from any of the large electrical shops and the place would be liveable. While it is true Ikea furniture is built cheap, because it is cheap, it will tide you over for a few years until your finances improve. An added bonus is that you can get a new look with new furniture. Carpentry costs money (a lot of it). Avoid excessive custom carpentry unless you cannot find furniture that can do the job. Unique costs money unless you can DIY, as you've already found out. If your workmen are not familiar with a certain design or type of construction, they have to factor in their cost of additional time, concentration, wastage of materials doing it wrong and trying again, etc, which is passed on to you. Something you may wish to consider for your new place is to make it child friendly, if you haven't already. Renovation is a process where a few hundred bucks here, a couple of thousand there, adds up to a fearsome amount of money when you tot up the sums.

Hi, Probably Monday afternoon? I've got a pretty packed weekend ahead...... in any case, I note that the position of your aircon while similar to mine, uses a different bracket which would preclude you placing the awning in the same position as mine. I suggest if you want to do it like mine you would need to buy a different aircon bracket.

Hi potatoes, I suddenly got reminded in the Maisonette thread that you asked me about my awning - the electrically retractable awning came with my flat, so I don't know who does it. According to http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10324p.nsf/w/HomeRenoGuidelinesBuilding?OpenDocument#Awing you don't need a permit for the installations as long as you keep within their guidelines. I kept the existing awning structure and just changed the fabric for between $400-600, can't remember the exact cost already. You can contract Green Garden Awning Co. at 64822867. It is pretty useful for managing rain, though when it gets really windy, the balcony will get wet. It also makes a noticeable difference to the living room in controlling light level in the day.