Budget Too Low ?

[Antz 0]

Hi all.

Can anyone tell me whether a $45K budget is too low to do up a 5-room resales flat (abt 120 sqm) ?

i've been searching for an ID since Jul/Jun but those IDs i'm interested in quoted me much higher. Sigh....

i thought it's already quite a high budget liao.

To share with you guys my main requirements so i can have some fair comments on my budget :-

1) Hack whole house flooring, false ceiling, carpentry work (kitchen cabinet, 2 wardrodes, 1 feature wall, 1 study table), wall bw kitchen & living

2) Hack toilet and kitchen wall tiles

3) Redo whole house flooring and wall tiles in homo (ceramic for wall)

4) Painting, replastering, rewiring

5) Carpentry works

a) 2 wardrodes (abt 6 to 7 ft each)

b) platform bed (half of the bedroom)

c) study table (10 ft)

d) kitchen cabinet (40 ft)

e) wall feature for bomb shelter (abt 5 ft)

f) full height storage cabinets (total abt 12 to 15 ft) around the house

g) TV console with feature wall (6 to 8 ft)

h) TV console cum dresser at master bedroom (abt 5 ft)

Really very painful searching for the right ID with the right attitude, right workmanship, right price....

Almost wanted to give up.

[zeny 0]

IMHO your budget is quite high.

alot of people here did similar reno as yours but dun think they exceed the 45K

[summerholiday 2]

you give these companies a try, seah soon lee, homemaker, lego house, ideal house, 3d innovations.. ask them for quotations, they don give high price, compare "apple to apple" beware of hidden cost, then you judge and see if you $45k too low or not.. bubblepearl 5 rm also abt your size didn't spend too much lo

Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 - 4:57 pm:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

oic...no worries..i did everything include fixtures which is include in the reno package ...abt $30,200? My aircon is mitsubtshi sys3(non invertor, dunno how to spell..keke)abt 2k include the support rack, lightings are from light arcade abt 1.1k . So total i spend abt $34k which is what u see in the pixs.. My flat is 121sqm.

posted by bubblepearl in sg f

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?sh...c=7787&st=0

this is bubblepearl blog

[bullet 0]

Hi all.

Can anyone tell me whether a $45K budget is too low to do up a 5-room resales flat (abt 120 sqm) ?

i've been searching for an ID since Jul/Jun but those IDs i'm interested in quoted me much higher. Sigh....

i thought it's already quite a high budget liao.

To share with you guys my main requirements so i can have some fair comments on my budget :-

1) Hack whole house flooring, false ceiling, carpentry work (kitchen cabinet, 2 wardrodes, 1 feature wall, 1 study table), wall bw kitchen & living

2) Hack toilet and kitchen wall tiles

3) Redo whole house flooring and wall tiles in homo (ceramic for wall)

4) Painting, replastering, rewiring

5) Carpentry works

a) 2 wardrodes (abt 6 to 7 ft each)

b) platform bed (half of the bedroom)

c) study table (10 ft)

d) kitchen cabinet (40 ft)

e) wall feature for bomb shelter (abt 5 ft)

f) full height storage cabinets (total abt 12 to 15 ft) around the house

g) TV console with feature wall (6 to 8 ft)

h) TV console cum dresser at master bedroom (abt 5 ft)

Really very painful searching for the right ID with the right attitude, right workmanship, right price....

Almost wanted to give up.

This budget can do a total revamp to your place and build a palace with it

[h4happy 1]

$45k is alot.

There are lots of id/contractors sure want your business.

If they dont want your business, I think something wrong with their head!

[waileong 0]

Budget should be ok. But price not the most important factor. See my blog.

[Antz 0]

Thanks guys, very comforting to hear these comments.....

All the IDs i approached commented that so much carpentry works so expensive loh, quoted me over $50K, 2 of them even quoted me more than $60K !

Maybe i've looked for the wrong IDs ?

Sorry forgot to mention that i also wanted to change the bedroom and toilet doors and build glass panel and sliding door for one kitchen wall (sort of open concept but with glass door/panel to block the fumes). That's about all.

If you think there is any ID that is willing to take up my reno, would appreciate it if you can let me know.

Thanks thanks thanks.

[summerholiday 2]

there you mention glass panel, i called up a contractor yesterd and was quote for a kitchen sliding door tempered glass $750.. and another guy told me $950..

[ggmummy 0]

I'm facing the same situation. I have a budget similar to yours. My requirement was to hack and replace everything including doors, and I have quite a fair bit of carpentary. For hall and rooms, I wanted burmese teak. The only reasonable quote I got so far is 52k excluding wiring and air-con. Now got to think of how to reduce it.

[Antz 0]

i've read an article saying that we should spend only 10% to 15% of the value of our house on reno. $50K is far more than 15% liao. I almost signed on a $50K contact but luckily my sis knocked some sense into me.

[zeny 0]

i've read an article saying that we should spend only 10% to 15% of the value of our house on reno. $50K is far more than 15% liao. I almost signed on a $50K contact but luckily my sis knocked some sense into me.

dun sign blindly... go shop for more ID you'll be surprise you can find one that match your budget and FYI during the process of reno there bound to be amendment to design so that can result in +/- in $$ so if you lock yourself to a higher amount in the beginning, with the amendment you might ended up even paying more $$$

[bullet 0]

i've read an article saying that we should spend only 10% to 15% of the value of our house on reno. $50K is far more than 15% liao. I almost signed on a $50K contact but luckily my sis knocked some sense into me.

Truly that this is average adviseable amount to spend for a decent house. But certainly not enough for a palace. In Singapore context below 20% of your house value is reasonable basically due to all building material are imported plus high cost of labour. Other country may be much lower. The closer to 20% of house value, certainly the closer you are nearer to palace. But all these are just estimation only. For instance, if you buy a 5 room flat at Tiong Bahru and compare to a 5 room flat in yishun, I don't think this theory apply anymore. Cost of both renovation with same items should be consistent irregardless of area.

[waileong 0]

The % is just a guide. What if you bought your HDB flat at $720k? Does it mean you should splurge $100k for reno? Obviously not! The idea of paying such a high price is for it to be in move-in condition!

On the other hand, if you bought a dump at $200k, should your reno be limited to $30k? Well, you're not going to get a nice place with $30k.

[jt88 0]

Thanks guys, very comforting to hear these comments.....

All the IDs i approached commented that so much carpentry works so expensive loh, quoted me over $50K, 2 of them even quoted me more than $60K !

Maybe i've looked for the wrong IDs ?

Sorry forgot to mention that i also wanted to change the bedroom and toilet doors and build glass panel and sliding door for one kitchen wall (sort of open concept but with glass door/panel to block the fumes). That's about all.

If you think there is any ID that is willing to take up my reno, would appreciate it if you can let me know.

Thanks thanks thanks.

from my exp, some ID companies just want to try their luck, ie. i tell ID not to do wet works, two weeks later, she happily propose a kitchen makeover!

u may want to chk out the company on Renotalk homepage under "Promotions & Deals". their promo rates very competitive. they sure want yr biz. good luck!!

Edited September 8, 2007 by jt88

[Antz 0]

It's the existing flat i've stayed in for the past abt 10 yrs liao. Most IDs commented that it's well maintained . The purpose of my reno is cos the existing design of our house cannot cater for our changed needs. When we bought it yrs ago, just newly married mah so do very minimal reno (no $$$), some not so practical design too. Now we've a better picture of what we want.

Furthermore now with kids around, house really need to revamp to cater for their needs eg. for storage space for all their barang barang (clothes, books and esp toys), open concept kitchen to watch over them while cooking etc.

Somtimes i see very swee renovated houses for newly married couples, i feel like telling them to also take into consideration about their middle term needs. If you think to have a kid in two yrs times and continue to stay in your existing house, some design may not be practical at all. Eg. glass panel too dangerous for them ? do you still have time to clean up the house as much (sometimes sleep also not enough liao) , like the grossy black surface furnitures that you can see dust resting on it very clearly even minutes after cleaning ? etc etc .

But easy say than done, most of us will be carried away with our first house. i guess it's part of growing up.