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i believe citizenship would not be granted as easily as PRs. Not all PRs would want to convert to citizens as they have to give up their citizenship elsewhere.. well, since they become citizens, we should look at them in the same light le. Notwithstanding no NS served.

i think PRs face more problems than citizens when considering babies... higher costs to them and no grandpa grandma to take care. On a side note, i would think that PRs should not even be given the right to buy resale HDB. HDB BTO prices are pegged to resale market and this is increased the burden of citizens buying BTOs. When they ban PRs from buying, thats when i will salute HDB and say that they are doing it for the people here. The mere act of abolishing sibling schemes do not go far enough on a country perspective.

woah! what cheapos! Want whole house? Thats worst than daylight robbery. As forumers said, contractor will settle... u can take revenge later since they live below u. Common things like stamping ur feet, hang out wet dripping laudry to dry, drag heavy stuff, etc to irritate them... if aiming is accurate, can throw stuff on their air con compressor too. i think drop some food on their air con compressor to attract birds is a very good idea as well... [just kidding on the above] im just stating some inconsiderate acts by my neighbours upstairs which irritate me....

Today was a busy day. Pre celebration for Valentines at Shangri La (39% discount for their anniversay) and then went to buy a DSLR for baby and a second LCD TV... Then got home and started to work on our stairs. Ex owners laid tiles on it, and we conviniently forgotten to do anything about it till reno is over. Then i realised it looked out of place and plain ugly. Went through certain choices like overlay, lay stainless steel, paste plywood...etc. At the end, we decided to paint it. Painting tiles is not something new, but these tiles are subject to rain and shine...so we took extra care to choose the paint. Original mismatched condition: Found this all surface primer: Primed, and pasted newspapers for spray paint! Final product!! Still waiting for paint to dry... The so called paint is actually rough, non-slip paint to be used for outdoors. The picture showed that people paint strips of it, to prevent slipping due to rain. Still have to touch up a bit on the paint before its 100% done. Hope it will stand the test of time! If not, i guess it would be time for another project.

Solutions for households Many of us have chrome taps, showerheads which will often have water marks on it. Sinks get dirty over time and glass shower screens are hard to maintain. Wifey likes sparkling clean taps and showerscreens, so we tried many methods. One well known method to get sparkling clean chrome taps is to use toothpaste. For shower screens, we tried glass cleaners. Till one fine day, we discovered the easiest and most efficient way to clean taps, sinks and showerscreens. $2 sponge from Daiso!! Simply wet the sponge, and wipe the taps, sinks and showerscreens. For me, i had to scrub the screens as they were simply too dirty!

wow! thats freaking expensive...some kind of designer lights..? sanitary wares can go to places like Poh Joo, GR link marketing, etc, frequented by renotalk peeps... yeap, taps, sinks all these add up. I spent 1k on all these, despite choosing budget and non-designer stuff. Its one of the most unexpected and underrated expenditure in reno...

Hi Seabass, Our ventiliation fan is in the toilet, fixed up at toilet window. Not sure why u need vent fan for storeroom, since we don't usually stay in there for long... Guess you have to chat with your contractor on this.

Finally got out from out lazy mood and starting doing stuff.. Turned out really well! Quite hard to take a picture to illustrate the effect on the house. The long wires gives an illusion of height, and the birds seems quite apt, esp with the bird cage light.. Extremely satisfied with the results!

hmm no matter how i look, it still looks crowded. how about removing one chair...?

hmm i had not thought that this is possible given that loan rate is 0.1% higher than savings rate... (ignoring the 3.5% on whatever amount...) shall try it when i got enough for repayment....heee... thanks!

Hi Marshmallow, do you mean u invest the CPF OA monies at a guaranteed rate of higher than 2.6%? or could you give an example of your situation. many thanks!

a rough calculation i did previously for my house. hdb 25 yr loan at 2.6% --> for every dollar u borrow, u pay 30 cents interest. Questions influencing tenure of loan: 1. How long are you willing to "slog" for a roof over your head? 2. Assuming zero bonuses and pay increment, would be able to service this loan knowing that CPF contribution rate decreases. A friend i have had assumed 2 months bonus every year when they compute how much goes into their CPF for loan repayment. For myself, i assumed zero bonus and increment and spouse not working. At first glance theirs might be too generous, but hey they are in the banking industry hor... Different people, different assumptions la, just make sure you make the most suitable decision given the circumstances you have.

agreed. what is important is that the individual must have the knowledge of pros and cons of paying slowly and paying faster. that way, it is an informed decision and not a "monkey see monkey do" decision. Cheers!

The monthly payment comprises of interest plus principal repayment. In initial years, the bulk of payment goes towards interest, very little towards principal reduction. This is because interest is computed based on amount outstanding. For example, in year one, your outstanding amount is $270k. So interest payable would be based on $270k. As you make payments, the outstanding amount reduces, so you pay less interest. As to how the $1,080 was arrived at, its mathematical la. But the main idea behind mortgages is explained above. Hence, shorter loan period = lesser interest paid. Smaller loan amount = smaller interest paid. And by the way, it has nothing to do with HDB insurance. There is no such thing as hdb insurance. There are fire insurance and mortgage insurance, which are compulsary if you have hdb loan. Too many people i heard say SG government very good, if die halfway, HDB is "free". What a myth...

those who are young now are likely not to complain about minimum sum when they are at retirement age. Simple reason: Not much left after paying for subsidised housing anyway!

initially i bought a set of everything, but the quality is lousy , end up i threw everything away...haha... then bought separate set of screw drivers and stuff.. got wifey a set of cordless drill/screwdriver set as christmas present, thats like the most expensive piece of toy. next toy would probably be a jigsaw...hhaha... Got most of my stuff from homely (can google for the address). Prices are slightly lower than neighbourhood hardware shop and selection is very wide. try to get hammer with wood..they last longer. Those plasticky handles are nice to look but cannot make it...

this would be a very interesting year for elections. a trend of opposition parties winning in other countries and social unrest among citizens in other countries would somehow scare them a little bit. We have Obama winning, a long stable government in Tunisia being overthrown, etc. Their usual way of offering upgrading and dangling carrots are no going to work as well as before as new generation people have very different thinking from the older ones. Poor MBT even have to show hand to offer a huge mall in Tampines to stablise his position... we can surely expect more talks and carrots ahead from PAP while MM continue to instill fear that our wives might end up as maids in other countries.. But the bigger the drumstick given, the bigger they would take back from us. Afterall, their money all came from the people!

nope, ours only got beams. The flat is the 3NG series, with storeroom between MBR and common bedroom. from what i read earlier, some 3A Tampines flats with storeroom built in between living room and kitchen is pre fab, so cannot be hacked. If its prefab, confirmed HDB will not allow u to hack.... so have to make alternative plans...

hmm...not very sure on this. maybe u check with ID if sand is needed for your reno (since u doing kitchen cabinet base) for new flats, i think sand is sold at cut throat prices... oh i also noted that electrical works are not in there as well, so you might want to get a quote for that too. Things like shower head, mirrors, etc already done up? If not also additional costs... along the way, u might also be tempted to do additional stuff...haha... happy CNY.

can get suitable sized castors from hardware shops and screw the castors to the legs. don't even need to drill... for wood, i usually just use screw to drive it in.

my first time seeing a dbss photos...heeee... really looks like can bring luggage and move in le... the toilet bay window idea is very "condo", i like! nothing much to renovate ba...?

what i can see thats not included in the quote: - cost of sand - solid surface for kitchen - window grilles included for your flat? other things that will increase cost: - soft close hinges and drawer slides - different kind of laminates - different kind of paint - components within the wardrobe - electrical works to connect electrical heater - glass backsplash - costs of installation if you are changing WC / sinks / taps maybe others can add more.

nice place there... nice dining table as well! think it would be even better if u attach wheels on your new ikea side table. Can shift easily when washing... but quite messy leh... haha...think ur maid is in for trouble!

Had wanted to put time deposits in RMB as well. Several banks offer RMB time deposits, like Bank of China. U can google their website. HSBC i heard is offering it as well. i reckon RMB will keep on strengthening untill their property bubble burst (which will certainly come, just a matter of time).

ulu ulu bt panjang...haha...almost there already la... need to drive out for makan....how sad...though he got car la... its a 20year old freehold condo, 3 bedroom. very spacious kind. price shoot up is good? not really, if he sell high means he have to buy high. So buy bigger, better location still need to top up more..at the end of the day, getting bigger bank loan only... its a fallacy to think that rising housing prices are good...its only good if you have enough to invest in 2nd property. If not, rising prices makes it harder for people to upgrade. i think at our stage now, more important is to climb higher up the ladder. Let's talk about it when we get there.... hahaa