P3nguins - Route Back Home (no, Not South Pole But Up North..cck To Be Specific)

[p3nguins 0]

psst..you...yes you... thank you for taking the time to click on our little thread. I'm sure you are hard at work in the office right now, and ya only taking a quickie (tea break that is), having a time-out before charging head on to the day's challenges, with a commitment and passion for your work eh...

Yeah right....

We're first time home owners, and to be honest we were at a complete lost when searching for a 'cozy' little iceberg to call home.

Fast forward - After much searching (3-4months), we've found such an 'ice cube', and have staked our claim on it indefinitely! *Muhaha* at valuation no less, no COV and at a location where we both always wanted and hoped to have.

Mental note; we're extremely cash tight, hence being able to secure a home @ valuation meant a great deal to us as that meant we had spare cash for our reno - that in itself is a whole chapter all together

Of course the journey to date has not been without its challenges i.e. useless property agents, causing us much unwanted and unwarranted distress, ridiculous "cash-above-valuations"demands, dodgy units and dishonest property agents... did i mention useless property agents?

You know....those agents who never seem to get anything done right, and tends to look to you for answers when your parents poses a question to them on the then-potential unit that we were viewing....No? Well..we have, & it irks the heck out of my WTB and I...... not that they've done anything WRONG, but it's just that they've not done anything RIGHT... *shrugs*

Of course this is not to stereotype all property agents, but it takes only 1 to ruin your day, let alone 2 (owners' agent) *shrugs*...go figure.....

Fast forward - We've finally exercised the OTP, signed the resale application and all that's left to do now is to wait for the first appointment. Destination - Cck, 5I unit, 128sqm *hope i got the terminology correct* hehe

Just managed to re-schedule our first appointment for early June (as per our request as WTB and I are on company training courses hence the need to re-schedule). Can't wait to take the process to the next step.....will try to upload our original floor plan, but the current layout is quite different as the first owners had made some major changes to it... yep, we're the 3rd owners ^^

Original Layout

Current Layout

On to the main point which I'm sure is the mother of all headaches for all new home owners... which ID to use given that there are just as many IDs as there are Indians in Little India on a weekend night -

We've scoured from the east (bedok) to the west (IMM / tradehub) for IDs.....with no clear answer in sight as to who can * and we are able to afford* sculpt our iceberg cube. Especially since we have major reno works given that we have specific restrictions and a tight budget... who doesn't right....

Any tips, suggestions or advice is extremely welcomed as we're hoping to suck..i mean tap on everyone's experience here to help achieve our ideal iceberg where we hope we'll be able to nest for as long as we both shall live *or until the next en-bloc, whichever comes first*

If there's anyone out there who is also new to this whole experience like we are, we know that any piece of advice no matter how small, can mean so much ... so pls, feel free to click on the 'reply' button and we hope to exchange pointers with one another.. to make the experience that much happier & memorable

In the meantime, it's back to the the hunt for our ID..... fingers crossed~

Edited May 25, 2009 by p3nguins

[pinkpetter 0]

WELCOME!!!

I think after the major modifications by your first owners it looks better... you have HUGE MBR. But those two little walls facing the main door are still blocking the view into the living.. hehe

You still have time to hunt. Take your time... slowly. Most imptly pick someone who is right.

You sure work late...

Edited April 27, 2009 by pinkpetter

[shkeat 0]

Welcome to T-blog More pictures...

[stevetang 0]

Congrats on ur purchase of CCK 5I

128sqm are huge house so envy

More pics

[hibernate 0]

welcome and congrats on your purchase!

looking forward to more pictures

[Metalsubzero 0]

Congrats!! I actually liked the modified layout.. Your MBR is huge!! And is that the full size of ur MBR toilet?? There's a WIW rite? LOL.. But how come there's 2 black pillars or such in the middle of the MBR?

Nonetheless, wishing u good luck for your reno!!

[preciousjam 0]

Welcome!!! Congrats on getting your new home....At 128sqm its consider big for 5i....and your master bedroom is HUGE!!! can build WIW...

The area between the balcony and living room...is it a room cos i realise there are beam on the left and right side?

Take your time to look for an ID/contractor you are comfy with....Communication is very important...

[Pinklady 0]

hello, haha you so cute, calling your hse an iceberg. so you intend to on aircon and fans the whole day for your penguin home? more pics please! how much is your budget can tell us? then what are the list of items that u intend to do?

[stage 0]

Got current condition pics to show us?

[guy77 0]

congrats on the house bought. very big. nice. more pics.

[p3nguins 0]

pinkpetter - But those two little walls facing the main door are still blocking the view into the living.. hehe

Those are at the top of our 'to go' list hehe...

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Metalsubzero - Congrats!! I actually liked the modified layout.. Your MBR is huge!! And is that the full size of ur MBR toilet?? There's a WIW rite? LOL.. But how come there's 2 black pillars or such in the middle of the MBR?

Thanks MSZ ^^ nope, it aint a WIW, but rather the previous owners had converted the area just outside of the toilet into a "dry" area where the basin or vanity" is

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preciousjam - The area between the balcony and living room...is it a room cos i realise there are beam on the left and right side?

Hmm if I'm viewing it the same way you are, that 'room' is actually the current living room *a L Shaped Living room*, with the bedroom 3 being converted as a dining room. & yes...there are loads of beams dangling around..arghhh.... giving us a real challenge when it comes to the deco and theme of our home.. Hope the IDs we've been to / going to are able to work around those...

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Pinklady - so you intend to on aircon and fans the whole day for your penguin home? more pics please! how much is your budget can tell us? then what are the list of items that u intend to do?

Neh..we're penguins with a TAN! lol... budget approx 34-40k? Likely to burst though, 'cos our icy butts were feeling a bit itchy so we went to consult a Fengshui master, and ended up with tons of 'specifications'...

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stage - Got current condition pics to show us?

Nope, not at the moment but hope to have those soon as it'll make our work easier when we approach more IDs 'cos we realized that they don't usually request to view our home before coming up with the quotation? Is this normal? Wouldn't that mean that the more 'dishonest' IDs can throw in 'hidden costs' after we've confirmed with them?

Any one had similar experiences?

[pinkpetter 0]

haha Just as I had though. Those two teeny walls really have to go. Otherwise I think the layout's really good for a small family.

[p3nguins 0]

haha Just as I had though. Those two teeny walls really have to go. Otherwise I think the layout's really good for a small family.

Haha those aren't even really walls to begin with, but rather 2 teeny frosted glass partitions with a wooden frame.

Oh yea, by the way, came across your tblog chat that your agent had delayed submission of your resale application. That was what happened to us too! Friggin agent (seller's)... as a result our 1st appointment was delayed till 28 May, which so happens we aren't free thus delaying it all the way to the 3rd June.

Gave both agents a telling off and in return we received a hang written apology hallmark card..... whoppie, what joy...... that means a great deal to me....

[pinkpetter 0]

mm My mom pointed this out... one of the reasons why they could have had the partitions was to prevent the "wealth" coming in the main door from flowing out the balcony window... Some fengshui thing. But if you're ok

OH MY!! You had the same sort of sucky agents I did!!! how horrible! Can't you deduct the GST off their commission or something? A card is like... *duh*

[hibernate 0]

huge bedroom .. very nice!