Homeowner

When you agree with the sellers to purchase the flat, you sign an option to purchase on the spot and place a deposit (non-refundable!!). Say, the current valuation expiring soon is $130k. Cash asked for: $20k. Two ways to write it in the option: valuation+ $20k cash or $150k. If you're getting a bank loan, you'll need another valuation. By the time you get a new valuation and appointment, the valuation might be higher or lower, so the end price may vary. I am suggesting that you fix the price in the option to purchase instead of letting the end price vary, if the sellers are agreeable. Just ensure that you don't get two agents marketing to you the same apartment (which may happen 'cos they have co-broking networks)...saves you and the agents time. This has nothing to do with paperwork. This is just viewing the flats. Co-broking means agreeing to share commission. Eg. seller agent A agrees to co-broke. So, agents B, C, and D market the flat for seller agent A. Zirkh3355 has kindly chipped in a couple of interesting suggestions...but the ball is really in your court 'cos its really your flat, your money and your risk. Good luck and best wishes!

Hi Zirhk3355, can you share their stories of how they managed to buy a flat without paying the seller's agent? I'm really interested. Think these stories will be very encouraging and helpful to Lovenest, too. When I was looking for my current flat, I've even heard of 1 property agent buying her own flat and paying the seller's agent 1% commission accordingly!

IC. Well, good for you. The early bird catches the worm!

Oh dear, didn't mean to discourage you in your efforts...but if you succeed, you'd be the second person I have heard of to circumvent this agent thing. And, I bet a lot of people will be interested to know how you did it. But, I think GMC has a very good point about the legal dept. services.. you might want to consider the risk that you'll be taking if you do without an agent from a reputable firm. Think the smaller firms would not have such services. If I remember correctly, another person on the net managed to avoid paying agents' fee but that's because the buyer and seller knew each other and sold the flat without any agent's involvement. On the bright side, the seller's agent has greater incentive to close the deal with you 'cos he/she earns more. If sellers permit, try to fix the price in the option instead of valuation + $xx cash. BTW, if you had been liaising with agents yourself, you'd have realised that they have their co-broking networks...make sure you get the details of the flats you're viewing so that you don't get two different agents setting up two viewing appointments for the same flat. Agents hate doing double work for nothing. Good luck!

IC. Congrats to you. Just wondering - is there a difference in the facing e.g. facing T-junction, nearer main road, etc.?

Moral of the story...if you find a place that is reasonably priced (within the transacted range and your budget) and reasonably nice...better grab 'cos its not a buyer's market anymore. Of course, do your homework to ensure your buying price is not way above the market. But, Spikey, a 6 figure increase over a week is way abnormal...which condo is that?

Oooh. Very nice, Yellow...not too expensive, either.

Think this commission thing is really quite unfair...but frankly, I have not heard of anyone who managed to get/ sell a hdb flat without paying some agent commission. And, HDB just shrugs off this agent commision thing as not within its jurisdiction. Raincole, have you ever bought a hdb flat by yourself without paying the seller's agent commission? If you did, can you please share your experience? I'm just wondering 'cos, like lovenest, I actually looked for my flat myself...and ended up paying the seller's agent 1 percent commission. Admittedly, there is a conflict of interest for the agent. And, to the agent's credit (or discredit, depending on whose side you're on), he did help us by pricing the option to purchase in our favour. He saved us abt $10k (from the sellers' viewpoint, lost them $10k), so I didn't mind paying his commission of abt $3.8k...though I did bargain unsuccessfully...got him quite hot under the collar because he knowingly helped us and expected proper renumeration for his efforts.

Maybank's Isavvy is prob. better. 2.48% (after int on int) + ATM card. Min. $5k only. Disadv: Few ATMS, in case of bank runs, Malaysians get $ first.

Hi, can you share where you bought the Italian basil, how it grew and and where you put the pot...I'm interested in growing herbs too. Previously, I planted Pandan and Indian Borage but both grew tall and skinny, and little bald too after I use the leaves.

How much was the valuation? EM. 162 sqm. CCK. Top floor. Reno. ($43k) done < a year ago. The buyer probably put in a high cash offer to cover some of the reno. costs, not intending to renovate anymore.

Think you realised that you had to pay her if she helps you arrange the viewing and find your unit...if not you wouldn't feel bad or unsure and post the question. But, since you're on a very tight budget, have you explained your situation and negotiated for a commission you are comfortable with? Better be upfront, so that she can quit looking if she's unhappy. If not, you'd be shocked when she hands you her expected commission.

My experience with agents is that if you do an exclusive, you'll have to wait a very long time. They bring in a few viewers in the first few weeks...then they stop and complain that you're too fussy...as if to make you kan cheong and wear you and your price down so that they can do a quick and easy deal.

Chunky Monkey, you're so sweet and encouraging. Hope you'll have a very long and happy marriage.

Use transacted prices as a guage to see if the asking price is reasonable. Private properties: http://spring.ura.gov.sg/lad/ore/real_estate/transaction.cfm HDB properties: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/bb33/ispm051p.nsf Good luck!

Hey, I got the same hob! Working well!

That's fast. How much did you sell it for? Getting your loft unit?

I thought drawers are more expensive than the hanging bar... are you sure you want to swap your drawers for the bar? !! Here are some alternative retractable hanger suppliers: Ez Living (Tel: 6259 9928), Australia Genesis Laundry System (Tel: 6382 2722), Australia Jui-Sheng (Singapore) Pte Ltd (Tel: 6846 1811), remote control Dunno if these are cheap and good, but the one you listed sounds very scary...what sort of after sales service will they give? From what a friend tells me, the ball bearings or dunno what has to be replaced yearly due to wear and tear. Considered a retractable hanger but opted for the traditional bamboo pole in plastic wrapping and bamboo pole holder in the end. Cheap and good. Heheh.

Just another thought...the years of low property prices were also dark years for many Singaporeans...think 1987 - high unemployment and retrenchment rates, job uncertainty, high bankruptcy and business failure rates... Even if you can afford wait for the next cycle...I wonder how many of us would be financially secure and confident enough to purchase our dream home then. Remember the Class 95 FM advertisement? Only hear remember the good stuff.

Think the foreigners who invest in Singapore didn't invest blindly...in the global city property market, Singapore is still cheap thanks to the protracted down turn in the property market. The market only improved significantly last year since 1996...that's like almost ten years in the dumps...can the property market still continue to be so low for so many years with the IR coming up? Think the people who wish for low property prices should spare a thought for the millions of Singapore property owners whose private and public housing property are still languishing sadly way below their purchase prices. Except for certain newly launched D9, D10 and D11 developments, most of the other property are still at a fraction of their glorious past prices. While the prices has inched up, the so call property boom is not wide spread and there are many suburbs that continue to be in the dumps.

Go for pty whose prices haven't increased as much yet. Eg. old ECs (still selling below developer's prices, and many of these are near MRT stations...but pl. note that these are 99 leasehold pty and will depreciate accordingly) and five rooms/ Execs HDB flats. The execs in my estate (20k cash above valuation) are still selling 40k below 2002 prices. My take on pty is that if you need a place, research and buy what you can afford. Why wait? The bubble can last 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, who knows? Can you afford to wait?What matters is that you get a pty that meet your needs, that you can afford and can stay happily.

Are you refering to the white tubes? The white tubes are vents for carrying out the kitchen fumes. Not applicable to hdb flats. We can only use the recycling function not the ventilation function, so the contractor kept these aside for me. But, I don't remember my tubes being filled with charcoal or like material. They were empty. Usually the hood contains charcoal filter to absorb odours. Shouldn't the charcoal like material be inside the hood? !!

Wow. Amazing photography. Really nice. Like postcards.

I bought 2 large laundry bins...so I threw all the small items inside and used the raffia string at the service counter to make a handle strap for the bins. Saved the world and my wallet from plastic bags

Hihi. I got the same Rinnai hood as you...while the ID is still there, get him to get the workers to remove the white sticker on the hood. The sticker is meant to be peeled off.