blueocean

The last time i saw the landed housing there, they are 99 yrs leasehold. And it is really ulu ... very far in.

It is like asking the contractor to build a house on the land, and the house is build slanted. And then the contractor tells you it is because the plot of land is not flat. How's that for an example ? As a contractor, whom you assume is reasonably skilled, he/she owns a duty of care ..... cannot say, it is because ceiling is slanted after executing the work.

Is your renovation for the ceiling part of the whole house renovation ? Not happy ... then hold back payment lor ... My usual take is that if they claim that the ceiling was slanted already in the first place, then it is the contractor's duty to warn the consumer before proceeding.

There are some plots of land that are actually freehold but are sold "leasehold". A good example is "The Shore" at Marine Parade. Essentially, the owner sells the land with reversionary interest. When the lease expires, the estate returns back to the owner. The reason for doing this is when the developers think that the land is going to be worth much more 99 years later and they can then re-develop it again for bigger profits. If the land is on a government land lease, it may not necessary be "topped" up .... You have to make use of SLA website and purchase the property title information .... There are many factors to consider when thinking about whether a condo will "en-bloc". The most important factor is how "homogenous" the units are. These days, when the units types are so different (studio etc), getting the residents to agree on something may not be easy ...

[ hahaha ... that was what my contractor always say ... cannot be done ... like that not nice ... in the end, he still had to rectify for me quote name=JadeShrimp' date='Jun 16 2010, 07:38 PM' post='543467] I already made the request for the contractor to rectify it twice and same thing. He said it just cannot be helped..... sigh!

If you are renovating your house, just get your electrician to do it. It is no different from lying a new telephone or SCV cabling point ...

that's for a private lift ... not sure if it only serves that penthouse ...

Actually, unless you get a landed housing that doesn't have any neighbours, it will always be a risk ... Neighbors may shift out or if the unit is rented ... always have to cross fingers and hope the neighbor is considerate

In reality, there is really no "standard" commission fee. It is freely negotiable btw the agent and client. Some agencies will state in the contract with the agents that the minimum fee should be this or that. Most agencies do not publish any fee guidelines anymore because it may contravene Section 34 of the Competition Act which prohibits the fixing of prices directly or indirectly.

Thanks ! If one owns a landed unit, you will be one of the lucky 70,000 unit owners then ... Just to contribute. Some interesting statistics i gathered in the past : **************** Top 10 planning areas ranked by number of singapore residents (June 2009) staying in Condo/Private flat 1. Bedok 2. Bukit Timah 3. Bukit Batok 4. Tampines 5. Hougang 6. Pasir Ris 7. Novena 8. Geylang 9. Kallang 10. CCK **************** Top 10 planning areas ranked by number of singapore residents (June 2009) staying in landed properties: 1. Bedok 2. Serangoon 3. Bukit Timah 4. Hougang 5. AMK 6. Bishan 7. Marine Parade 8. Novena 9. Pasir Ris 10. Geylang **************** Number of HDB public housing units 837,883 Number of condos owned by Singaporeans 134,311 Number of condos owned by non-Singaporean 32,839 Number of condos owned by companies 16,277 Number of landed units 69,498 Number of passenger cars 497,116 Number of private passenger off-peak cars 47,224

One of the projects i have seen, the lift maintenance fee is estimated to be at $250 per month ... Hmm ... then add maintenance for the pool. Sounds like a lot of monthly running cost.

yeah lor ... sometimes they just test the client to see if they will accept ... if they accept, then they save money ...

Some parts of the ceiling are false to conceal pipes/services ... just get a rod to tap ....

Landed housing or condo caters to the needs of different profiles of families. Although most people look forward to having quiet time, lots of space and have own land/garden to do hobbies, as one retires, and when the children move out, there are also health issues that needs to be considered. One should also consider the functional aspects of aging - risk of falls, declining eye sight (staircases, narrow roads), osteoarthritis of knees, crush fractures of the spine, complications of pre-existing health problems - heart failure with exertional breathness or cerebral vascular accidents with lost of strength. Hip fractures are a real issue with aging and one of the most common reasons for admission to the hospital. Things to consider : - climbing staircases may be a problem if you have bad degenerating knee joints or hips or crush fracture of spine (may need to install a mechanical lift in the property - assuming that is space for it) - access barriers for wheelchair access - future problems if you have loss bodily functions after a stroke - maintenance ... may need a full time domestic helper to look after house - risk of dementia also rises as one ages - real problem of being "lost" in a landed housing - poor eye sight - falling down staircases etc Also do consider the surrounding amenities for successful aging ? near medical facilities, pharmacy, easy of access to shops If are renovating your house/condo, do consider width of doorways to assess if suitable for wheelchair to go through especially if installing carpentary works, grab bars for toilets to prevent slips etc And also depending on the place you buy, i know of some people who bought landed housing in the 90s, and are still incurring a lost. So cash flow and exiting from your a landed housing to a smaller unit because of ill health may incur bigger losses .. Some things to consider

Residential buildings are developed "for profit". The developer would tell the architect to maximse the gross floor area and achieve 110% efficiency in sell-able floor area. The reason why it can be more than 100% is because of bonus GFA from balconies, roof terrace etc. That's why the design are so cramped up. Buyers have a choice. And if buyers continue to bite into such small apartments, the developers will continue to sell such products. Buyers are attracted to the net quantum amount and dont realise that the PSF is high. I have also noticed some couples are are buying up studio apartments to stay - maybe the attraction to own a condo ? The rental market for studio apartments especially if it is out of the central area is not established - it will be interesting to see how it develops later. Another innovation in in some developments is mechanical parking (one lot can have 3 cars). Basement parking is sometimes not feasible and it is also more expensive. And if I can free up more space on the ground floor to sell via mechanical parking, i would do that as a developer. If the property is located near a MRT, the developer can also maximise the GFA and building cost by having less parking space under LTA rules.

The opennet fibre optics is no different from the SCV points. Im sure in the future, the Opennet points will become a "standard". The termination point for the Opennet is no different from the SCV point except it uses "fiber-optic" rather than coaxial for the SCV point. The SCV point can be hooked up to a standard cable modem or a wireless cable modem. It is the same for the Opennet.

I havent seen any full condos at Telok Kurau yet (with tennis courts and reasonable sized plot of land). Most of the condos along Telok Kurau tend to be "apartment status" with swimming pools. There are some that come with security whilst most dont. Even "The Sound" doesnt have tennis courts ... The developers like building small apartments there ... just buy over two plots of land and build vertically up .. And there are even studios cropping up along TK ... i wonder what's the rental demand like there for studios ...

Common things contractors will say to test you resistence : "your ceiling is crooked" "its like that" "its nicer this way" My reply is that, if the ceiling is uneven, then they have to take steps to construct the L box so that it is not uneven. If yours is a design and build contract, the contractor is also responsible for the design. I had my ceiling works amended as it was not constructed properly also ...

Interesting history about Telok Kurau. Extracted article : Telok Kurau Road By Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala written on 2003-08-04 National Library Board Singapore Telok Kurau Road connects Changi Road to Marine Parade Road. Named after a fishing village called Telok Kurau on East Coast Road, the road has been a popular middle-class residential district since the 1960s. History The word Telok Kurau means "mango fish bay" as telok is Malay for "bay" and Kurau is Malay for "mango fish". Before kampongs were phased out by the 1980s, a Malay village called Telok Kurau was located on East Coast Road. It is not known when and why this village was named Telok Kurau Road. In the pre-war days, it was common to see the Indians in Telok Kurau, They reared cows, leading the animals about freely on public roads. The cows would be led from one house to another and milked whenever someone wanted to buy milk. Telok Kurau Primary School, formerly called the Telok Kurau English School, was established in 1926. A two-storey wooden building set in the middle of a coconut plantation, it shared the same football field with the Telok Kurau Malay School which lay in the adjacent compound. During the Japanese Occupation, the Telok Kurau English School was used as a screening centre before Sook Ching or "purging" was done by the Japanese soldiers. The road also had its share of violence during the Maria Hertogh riots. Description Since the '60s, Telok Kurau has been a sleepy and tranquil suburbia in Katong, known mostly as a residential enclave of the middle-class. This suburb roughly covers Telok Kurau Road which is intersected by several smaller roads namely Lorongs J, K, L, M and N, Telok Kurau. The charm of this area is in a big way due to the presence of unimposing buildings; a mix of modest bungalows, terrace and semi-detached houses and low-rise apartments, existing with coffee shops and small businesses. This settled charm it has managed to retain despite the thronging urban development that had taken place in nearby Katong. Since the '90s, new housing projects has altered the landscape of Telok Kurau although not drastically. The low-rise character of the buildings still dominate with tall condominiums being the exception. New semi-detached houses have sprung up, and together with freshly-painted terrace houses, they constitute a notable feature in the changing landscape of Telok Kurau. Another prominent building along this road is the Hua Yan Jin She Temple.

$2800 before viewing ? Did you give the specifications to the electrician ? eg number of power points, lighting points, fans etc

That's a small agency. I dont know whether it is one or two man type of agency. I prefer to deal with big agencies ...

Transfer account quite troublesome if you dont have agent to service you as you need the buyer and seller to sign and the meter readings. Then if you dont co-ordinate the date correctly and owner is still there after 2nd appointment, the new owner becomes liable to pay.

There is always a balance and that is part of the nego process. It doesnt mean if you pay more ... you get better quality. You just have to be fair. If money is not an issue, then it is your choice then Some pointers : 1. The quotation should be specific. It should specify the length, the type of material used etc. 2. You should be happy with the schedule of payments. In the industry, there is no such thing as a "standard payment scheme". They will always like to say "oh .. this is standard market practice". There is nothing standard about it. Some contractors demand almost 50% or more even before work has started ... 3. It is very difficult to get back money once you have released it. 4. "Lifetime warranty" does not exist because it depends on whether the company will last a lifetime. 5. There will always be "hiccups" with the renovation work, and the person you choose to co-ordinate the works will determine how busy your life is going to be. Is he going to be uncontactable all the time ? Does he supervise the work ? 6. Most companies are not "ID". They are actually general contractors with a retail storefront and they are offering a "design and build" contract. 7. To prevent conflicts and prevent miscommunication, you should have everything on paper eg design works ... how it is going to be like ... Else the contractor will just design and build along the way and just say it is part of the design if any mistakes occur. 8. Read the CONQUAS guidelines on BCA website and also the guide to renovation at CASE website. You need to have a reasonable understanding of what is the quality expected from tiling, windows works etc ... Else, you will just get "smoked" by the contractors. Common excuse they give would be "oh .. it is like that" or "your wall or ceiling is slanted and thats why like that". Always verify what they say with your friends or other people. 9. Read the contract that you are signing. The terms and conditions are again not "standard" and usually are more favorable to the contractor. CASE has standard contracts for renovation and so does the RADAC - but seldom contractors use those as they find that it is not benefical to them.

I generally feel that most quotes are marked up by 40% to 50% of cost price ... I had an electrician which initially quoted like $5000 ... in the end agreed for $3k plus ... Then the usual justification is that ... oh ... we are giving you xxx quality etc

I have seen some at Sim Lim Square but the patch panel is quite common for office projects. When I did up mine ... i just used 2 x 4 telephone point faceplate to terminate my points in a cabinet as i didnt have many LAN points ....