s0journer

Buying in JB is cheap. but beware warranty issues.

my mom's place uses Bennington instant heater, tankless. just 1 for whole house heating - incl showers, sinks, kitchen sink. hers is new 5rm BTO it comes with this 2pin heater installation for either gas or this type of heater. so its quite easy. u can chk with contractor if it can fit your house. its abt $150.

u can get a good price wc at univerwal union. I think its Baron and $250-280 for wc + sink combination. actually many are now made in china but if its for tenant as u say, no need brand named expensive types.

sure u can. as mentioned above keep receipt and pay gst at customs. or u can chk if the company can send for u at a flat rate.

usually 1-2 weeks. if not dont bother.

we use kdk. for hall can get the 5 blade ones.

I use a large pd door for balcony. u can consider for kitchen. its nice. slide in and flip back so u can also open the door if u want. save space.

we used pvc cover and putty.

hi if you're getting hdb loan and using hdb lawyer the fee is only few hundred. if bank loan and using private solicitor the fee is $1800-2200.

There's 60% limit on your monthly income for loans. includes car loan, housr loan, credit cards and any other types of loan that you've taken. if you're close to the limit its unlikely the bank will approve the loan esp if you have 1 reno loan. advise is keep reno simple.

hi there is now a loan limit of 60% of your monthly salary. so if you've taken up car loan, housing loan, credit card loan etc you might have hit the limit. another way is to loan from your life insurance policy. the loan is about 6-7% per annum and if you dont pay back the loan amt + interest is deducted from your insured amt at claiming. u can repay as and when u have money eg after sale of home or bonus... or by mthly repayments agree with above advise tto be prudent in your reno. I believe that reno should not cost more than 15% of the home value. also consider alternative materials eg. do u need a quartz counter top or u could use solid surface and save $1000? . esp for new first time home owner if you are stretched thin in monthly home loan repayments and reno. do what you can within what you can afford. anyway after 10yrs you will want to reno again and you might be earning more by then and can afford that mossaic decorative wall.

my cousin and I are doing our respective reno. she used alot of taobao. I didn't. yes you could save money and it is quite cheap. here's some advice. its not all about the price. first, transactions much smoother if you transact in chinese. second, u can get stuff that are unlikely to break or require warranty. buying from tb is like forget abt warranty. its not like amazon where they will replace no qn asked. tb isnt like that anyway it would be troublesome to replace. so things like lighting, electrical items u dont recommend it. my cousin ordered a light from tb, "veery cheap" he say but when it arrived one side chipped. how? too bad they still put it up. if u want u can get things like bookshelves or non breakable furnishings. apparently u can also custom make curtains in taobao but it u measure wrongly nobody is going to re do for you. not like u can bring it back. for lighting I bought my LED lights in sg thru BL lighting. $39 per piece 15w. ok maybe twoce the price as taobao but no fuss, deliver straight, and more importantly 2 yrs on site wareanty. anything not working they will come and fix it. third, shipping time/collection time. u need to factor in shipping time, collection time. and must be around to receive the items. good if u have time to do that and wait for multiple shipments esp for new reno. I u get in sg, u pay and go off. call them few days in advance when your contractor is ready to make the part and they can accept the items for u. I got my sinks/bathroom fixtures from bathroom warehouse and universal union in sg. the prices were good $250-280 for wc + sink combi. cheaper in tb? possibly but i dont have to time entertain so many parcels and drive to new place as and when delivery comes. and I get warranty.

hi check out Bara Interior. I just did my place. quite happy with their work. 97474255.

I chose curtains as it is easier to maintain. I just throw them in my washer/dryer every few mths. its easy for me. dont need to wipe the blinds. I still like the feel of curtains. makes the house more homey. blinds remind me of the ofc. also for offices there are no open windows, it is aircon all the time 24/7 365 days. But for home, it could get dusty and then the dust can rolled into the blinds.