cboonh 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 Hello all! After months and months of hanging around in the forum, it's time to contribute to the expanding list of home owners renovating their place! Renovation works for our place is currently approaching the final stages, so we're taking this opportunity to pen down our home finding and furnishing journey. Hopefully we can get some timely advice and guidance on our maiden renovation project from fellow reno-talkers! The search for HOME After applying to 7 HDB balloting exercise (over a period of 2 years) and not having any luck :bangwall: , my wife and I first decided to take a peek into the resale market in March this year. Our home seeking journey took us all over Seng Kang and Punggol. And after a few iterations, we narrowed down our search to these few criteria: a) Seng Kang or Punggol Area b) Selling at valuation or below valuation (impt criteria! Broke lah, no choice. hehe) c) Decent condition requiring little or no renovation d) Within walking distance to town central e) Mid to high level All in all, we viewed 30+ units before finally finding our current unit. Along the way, we had our fair share of bad experiences, drama and some near misses. This was all before we met our last housing agent. He was resourceful and really attentive to details. Within the first few units with him, he was able to understand our needs. From then on, our viewings with him were mostly pleasant. The unit we bought (also the last unit we saw) fulfilled all the above criteria and you can say it was “love at first sight”! It was a few blks away from my in-laws, above average maintenance, decent distance from Seng Kang MRT, high floor and most important of all, owner was willing to sell at valuation. We made the offer after our first viewing. Incidentally, it was also the last day of the valuation report and we signed the OTP on the very same day to “save” the valuation report. We were on our way to being proud albeit poor home owners. Next up a preview of our unit's pre-reno condition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rainbowgal 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 Hello all! After months and months of hanging around in the forum, it's time to contribute to the expanding list of home owners renovating their place! Renovation works for our place is currently approaching the final stages, so we're taking this opportunity to pen down our home finding and furnishing journey. Hopefully we can get some timely advice and guidance on our maiden renovation project from fellow reno-talkers! The search for HOME After applying to 7 HDB balloting exercise (over a period of 2 years) and not having any luck :bangwall: , my wife and I first decided to take a peek into the resale market in March this year. Our home seeking journey took us all over Seng Kang and Punggol. And after a few iterations, we narrowed down our search to these few criteria: a) Seng Kang or Punggol Area b) Selling at valuation or below valuation (impt criteria! Broke lah, no choice. hehe) c) Decent condition requiring little or no renovation d) Within walking distance to town central e) Mid to high level All in all, we viewed 30+ units before finally finding our current unit. Along the way, we had our fair share of bad experiences, drama and some near misses. This was all before we met our last housing agent. He was resourceful and really attentive to details. Within the first few units with him, he was able to understand our needs. From then on, our viewings with him were mostly pleasant. The unit we bought (also the last unit we saw) fulfilled all the above criteria and you can say it was “love at first sight”! It was a few blks away from my in-laws, above average maintenance, decent distance from Seng Kang MRT, high floor and most important of all, owner was willing to sell at valuation. We made the offer after our first viewing. Incidentally, it was also the last day of the valuation report and we signed the OTP on the very same day to “save” the valuation report. We were on our way to being proud albeit poor home owners. Next up a preview of our unit's pre-reno condition. hihi! welcome to RT! noted that your contractor is Jason too! btw, who is Florence? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cboonh 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 After the long-winded first post, it’s time for some pictures! We’ll be sharing the layout and some pictures of our place before renovation. This is the stock layout of my 5roomer. Now for some pictures... Entrance This was the view that greeted us when we enter the unit. Very good first impression! Love the pebble floor entrance. Definitely will feature in the rejuvenation of our home! Living Room The living room is sparsely decorated and that’s to our liking. There’s something that we dun really fancy though.. If you notice the CRT TV, you’ll see that there’s actually quite a substantial depth built into the wall.. The 4 display boxes on the left of the room are actually built into the partition board. You cannot really tell from this picture, but quite a bit of living room space is eaten up by the partition board. Among the things to ponder was.. to hack the partition or not to hack?? Dining Area Sweet feature wall at the dining area. We’ll be preserving this area. to be continued... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cboonh 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) Kitchen The kitchen… First impression was good, carpentry work was decent and well maintained.. except for one portion.. the area under the sink where the wood is starting to rot from water seepage. We had the option of either repairing the portion of the cabinet, or re-do the whole kitchen. To be continued… Study room (Bedroom 3) This is a very “corporate” study room. Our intention is to turn this into a cosy little room for reading and also some space for work (like real! hahah). Overall this place should feel more fun rather than dreadful! more to follow... Edited November 18, 2009 by cboonh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cboonh 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 MBR and Common room My missus is pretty happy about the build-in wardrobe in the MBR. Not much to be done for the MBR and common bedroom. Both are in good condition. Laminated flooring for all the rooms. MBR and Common toilets Our “lao tu” toilet bowls and Sink. Especially the Pinkish W/c and wash basin in the common toilet! Definitely a must go! That's all for now! Phew...! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cboonh 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 hihi! welcome to RT! noted that your contractor is Jason too! btw, who is Florence? thanks rainbowgal! Florence is Jason's wife. She's handling some coordination work for my reno~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ossify 1 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 welcome to RT! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Angel81 1 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 Welcome! Ur new place looks really good, and there're lots of lovely areas where u can keep and save $$. Looking forward to the transformation. Hee, I would encourage u to hack away the partition in the living room, since u will sure get a lcd tv and there'll be no need for such a large space to put a crt tv. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supersimon27 2 Report post Posted November 17, 2009 welcome to RT - blog Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rainbowgal 0 Report post Posted November 18, 2009 thanks rainbowgal! Florence is Jason's wife. She's handling some coordination work for my reno~ oic... your house requires minimal reno.... it looks realli good! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coffee_o 1 Report post Posted November 18, 2009 Hi welcome welcome hmm...anchorvale link block 300 plus ? used to stay in anchorvale lane and compassvale lane b4 i decided to leave sengkang and moved to tampines hahahaha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cboonh 0 Report post Posted November 18, 2009 welcome to RT! welcome to RT - blog ossify, Supersimon27: thanks for the warm welcome! Welcome! Ur new place looks really good, and there're lots of lovely areas where u can keep and save $$. Looking forward to the transformation. Hee, I would encourage u to hack away the partition in the living room, since u will sure get a lcd tv and there'll be no need for such a large space to put a crt tv. xie xie! we are intending to keep much of the existing areas but add our own touches here and there. hehe! You're right ah, the partition must go! In fact, already gone liao , looking forward to show you guys the changes too! hehehe oic... your house requires minimal reno.... it looks realli good! yah lo, it's quite good that way, i've 2 people i can pester for all my reno request! hehe Thanks for the kind comments! $$$ no enough so have to do minimal reno lo. Hi welcome welcome hmm...anchorvale link block 300 plus ? used to stay in anchorvale lane and compassvale lane b4 i decided to leave sengkang and moved to tampines hahahaha Duo xie! yeaps, 300plus, the design and build blocks. We like seng kang for its relatively peaceful and tranquil environment. Everything seems slower here. good for relaxation laa. hahaha~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supersimon27 2 Report post Posted November 18, 2009 Duo xie! yeaps, 300plus, the design and build blocks. We like seng kang for its relatively peaceful and tranquil environment. Everything seems slower here. good for relaxation laa. hahaha~ that time I visit Newnyew... I also feel that way ... The enviroment seem to peaceful . Rachel then start to say "aiya y we din consider sengkang ar" .... She forgot abt the near parent grant ... lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chinchye 0 Report post Posted November 18, 2009 Hey cboonh, Welcome to RT.. ur house is beautiful.. i guess u need little renov right? Still look very new and clean.. U have abt the same layout as my house.. except for the kitchen and bomb shelter.. urs is bigger.. envy.. we also have a walkin path to our MBR.. but i think the space is abit wasted.. dunno wat to do abt it.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cboonh 0 Report post Posted November 18, 2009 that time I visit Newnyew... I also feel that way ... The enviroment seem to peaceful . Rachel then start to say "aiya y we din consider sengkang ar" .... She forgot abt the near parent grant ... lol owoo, woodlands is good too mah! can drop by our neighbour's area jalan jalan and do some groceries shopping! hehe Anyway, 5 years later can still move to sk???? hahaha! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
