Angel's Heaven

[Angel81 1]

Hi angel,.have u choose ur tiles?or choose after chinese new year?

i wanna see ur choice

Harlow morning! Hee.. We've shortlisted afew already. Should be meeting with the contractor tomorrow to confirm the tiles. My MBR toilet tiles got problem matching.. Signz..

[Angel81 1]

Haha, Bought Another Item for Home

Hee... We bought a Joven instant heater for our current place, as it gave out on us. Just a day before the worker is suppose to come to install the heater for us, my FIL found out the cause and fixed the heater! *pat on the back for my FIL*

So we're going to install this newly bought heater in our common toilet. Yay... saved money.

[pinkpetter 0]

Wah that's good le. Saving money is always a good thing. lucky he found out before you all fixed the new one up

[hello88 2]

Hi Angel81,

Here's the pics from my converted wash area as promised.

my tiny sink is exactly at the position where ur existing WC is located. As u can see, my wc trunking is pretty short as compared to what your seller did as the trunking is very near to the piping.

[Angel81 1]

Hi Angel81,

Here's the pics from my converted wash area as promised.

my tiny sink is exactly at the position where ur existing WC is located. As u can see, my wc trunking is pretty short as compared to what your seller did as the trunking is very near to the piping.

Hi hello88!

Thanks for the pics! Wah, the pipes are very nicely done. They look so neat. Hmm.. I think ur WC can be located there cuz there is enough space btw the sewage pipe and the wall. My pipes are really near the wall, so there's no space for the trunking to turn that 90degs.

I'll show this to my contractor see what he says bah. Thanks again, and Happi Lunar New Year!

[Angel81 1]

Advice Needed

Hi Guys. I need some advice. Here's my situation:

I have a shortlisted contractor and am currently waiting for reno loan approval. Previously I checked on HDB webbie for the list of approved reno contractors, and realized that my shortlist contractor's (let's call him A) company is not listed in it. However, a similar name reno company is listed at the exact same address, and is under another person's name.

I went to ask A, and he told me that it was registered under his bro-in law's name when they joint ventured previously. Then his bro-in law decided to go back msia, and he registered another company - whh is A - using the same address. But he just did not register this company with HDB.

Acting on the advice from a friend, I went to purchase the Biz File from ACRA for this company. And I found out that the company is not registered under A's name.

Now I'm really not sure if it's a good idea to sign with A. A is recommended to me by a forumner, and I've been to a couple of the flats A renovated. I have also went to the shop to take a look. A seems very nice and knowledgeable as well. The house currently done by him for the forumner looks good as well.

But call me negative, paranoid or watever, but isn't it very possible that A may cheat us of our hard earned $$? After all, (1) the company is not registered under his name, (2) the company is not under HDB's approved contractors, whh means that HDB can't help us should anything go wrong.

Advice?

Edited January 28, 2009 by Angel81

[applefreak 1]

you might want to consider working out a payment plan with your contractor

check with your bank if it's possible for the money to be paid to you instead

pay him for work that's done, so that even if he run away you are still safe

[pinkpetter 0]

Just FYI... banks cannot issue checks to your name or to you. Banking policy for all the banks... and not set by them.

mm that said...

mm how did you get to know A? Are there people's houses whom you know have been done by him? If he has a good track record.. I would go with him. But that's me

[Angel81 1]

you might want to consider working out a payment plan with your contractor

check with your bank if it's possible for the money to be paid to you instead

pay him for work that's done, so that even if he run away you are still safe

Just FYI... banks cannot issue checks to your name or to you. Banking policy for all the banks... and not set by them.

mm that said...

mm how did you get to know A? Are there people's houses whom you know have been done by him? If he has a good track record.. I would go with him. But that's me

Hi apple and pinkpetter,

Thanks for the reply and advice! Yah, I did check with the banks and yup, the cheques can't be made in my name. Think they're afraid that we'll take the money and not do reno or sth. I understand from them that the amount can be separated into a few cheques, but still, the main amount to purchase supplies etc is big enough when u think abt it. *shudders*

I got A's contact from a forumner here, and so far this forumner's house is the only one I can find that is done by A. I don't know any other people who use him. Letting my imagination overrun, I can imagine that the houses A showed me could be his relatives or friends and not done by him. Those house owners' words are all I have as good track records, but I don't know them at all.

[Bluetooth 0]

Hi Angel,

when I went sourcing for contractors, the first thing I take note is that the contractor must be a HDB licence one.

Maybe you would like to take a look at the link below.

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10205p.nsf/WP...ed?OpenDocument

[mrspiglet 2]

I'm having the same problem as u! We are still considering if we are going to let hub's uncle handle the whole reno for us, meaning he will do all the coordination and we will pay to him. But the prob is most banks required the main con to be under HDB listing, of which his uncle is not. One reason i see is that he is doing only carpentry, so most of the time he is a sub-con which doesnt required permit as he's not doing wet works, hence no need for him to be accredited under HDB?

If u r doing wet works, u shd get a contractor that is under the HDB list, safer that way i feel. But other way round is to get the wet works contractor (assuming he's under the list) to apply for the reno permit and the provide the quotation for bank loan as well.

[Angel81 1]

Hi Angel,

when I went sourcing for contractors, the first thing I take note is that the contractor must be a HDB licence one.

Maybe you would like to take a look at the link below.

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10205p.nsf/WP...ed?OpenDocument

Harlow harlow! Yah! I read that before, and that's why I feel abit uneasy. Even if this guy won't cheat us of our money, there's still the issue that if he does sth wrong, we will be at fault too, for the fact that we engaged one w/out a HDB license.

Is it true that the contractors have to pay a sum to HDB to be their licensed contractors? That should be why some don't do that bah, and there'll be no need to pay GST and stuff. Haiz.. headache..

I'm having the same problem as u! We are still considering if we are going to let hub's uncle handle the whole reno for us, meaning he will do all the coordination and we will pay to him. But the prob is most banks required the main con to be under HDB listing, of which his uncle is not. One reason i see is that he is doing only carpentry, so most of the time he is a sub-con which doesnt required permit as he's not doing wet works, hence no need for him to be accredited under HDB?

If u r doing wet works, u shd get a contractor that is under the HDB list, safer that way i feel. But other way round is to get the wet works contractor (assuming he's under the list) to apply for the reno permit and the provide the quotation for bank loan as well.

Haha, cannot hi-five u, cuz this is not a good situation to be in.

Hmm, I don't reali know about the banks and main con being in HDB listing. The banks that we went to to apply for reno loan did not say anything about this so far.

But I'm curious if he's not in the HDB list, how can he apply for reno permit to do wet works. But on the other hand, he did do wet works for the forumner who recommended this contractor to me leh. Maybe I'll go ask the contractor when he comes back fr msia.

[Reiki 0]

I always feel that when one is not comfortable making a decision, it is best to recourse the action. Else, doubts can manifest and whenever there is a mistake done by the contractor, we will end up having bad feeling.

Renovation is a big expenditure and we need to feel comfortable with all the people involved.

Hope you will find that peace of mind making the decision.

[snowie 0]

CHANGE TO ANOTHER CONTRACTOR~!!

(^___^)

Better find someone you trust or more comfortable with. Dun regret in the future~!! (Just do more homework, sure there is someone out there can do a better job.) I am sure you do not want to spot check your house everyday~~~ =P

[mrspiglet 2]

Harlow harlow! Yah! I read that before, and that's why I feel abit uneasy. Even if this guy won't cheat us of our money, there's still the issue that if he does sth wrong, we will be at fault too, for the fact that we engaged one w/out a HDB license.

Is it true that the contractors have to pay a sum to HDB to be their licensed contractors? That should be why some don't do that bah, and there'll be no need to pay GST and stuff. Haiz.. headache..

Haha, cannot hi-five u, cuz this is not a good situation to be in.

Hmm, I don't reali know about the banks and main con being in HDB listing. The banks that we went to to apply for reno loan did not say anything about this so far.

But I'm curious if he's not in the HDB list, how can he apply for reno permit to do wet works. But on the other hand, he did do wet works for the forumner who recommended this contractor to me leh. Maybe I'll go ask the contractor when he comes back fr msia.

Dun hi-five me, i also dunno how i'm gonna settle the loan approval thingy. Will dump it to my hub since its his uncle and loan also use his name. hope u can settle it soon too, reno itself is already such a hassle, now with the loan thing getting stuck.

I think for contractors that are not doing wet works or window grills, they do not need a permit? i cant find my closet vendor inside the list as well, but they have been doing closet systems for many yrs. GST is only payable to those company that reaches a certain amt of turnover if i'm not wrong.