Henderson Makeover

[macbart 0]

Having stumbled upon this site a few months ago, and progressing to visiting it more frequently over the last couple of times, I figure it's time I start t-blog here, especially since we're now about two weeks into the renovations of our flat. Another reason I figure I should document the process is that I've found the posts by many of you useful in our process of planning the renovation, including deciding on purchases. I figure perhaps what I post may similarly turn out to be useful to someone else who happens to come by.

It's been a hectic few months, beginning with the process of deciding what we'd like to do, talking to interior design companies and contractors, getting quotations, rearranging the items listed (combining some where necessary) so that's possible to compare the figures quoted by the different companies, to selecting one, beginning work, purchasing lights, fans, air-conditioning, fittings, appliances etc. *phew*

Two weeks after hacking began, we've finally at a stage where my wife and I don't have to spend the entire weekend running around the island, checking out all sorts of nice stuff that makes a dent in our bank balances, while helping our new place look nicer (of course, it's about function as well). In fact, we're planning on sleeping in tomorrow, chilling at home, then heading out for a spot of shopping that's in no way related to the flat!

Well, this is not just before, but current and, in all likelihood, will continue to look like this. Actually, this is one reason we chose Henderson Crescent. We love the green in front of and behind our block.

And this is what the living room looked like before renovations began.

This, of course, was the kitchen.

Coming up... the story of how we bought the flat... and, of course, pictures from the first two weeks of renovation.

Edited November 26, 2009 by macbart

[coffee_o 1]

Hi Macbart welcome welcome loves the 1st pic nice environment

anyway it's always a tiring process throughout the reno journey but it can be satisfying too after you see the end product

so hope you have a smooth reno journey

[macbart 0]

Hi Macbart welcome welcome loves the 1st pic nice environment

anyway it's always a tiring process throughout the reno journey but it can be satisfying too after you see the end product

so hope you have a smooth reno journey

Thanx, coffee_o. It's been pretty ok so far, despite a few hurdles and one no-go (more about this later). And yes, I believe the end product will be well-worth everything.

[happypie 0]

welcome!!

wow, i tot ur house is in a quite good condition even before u reno.. haha..

and yep, the greens before ur house looks serene and therapeutic!

do keep posting pics of ur reno journey.. good luck!!

[macbart 0]

Here's the story behind the flat... (feel free to skip if you're in a hurry or not keen on reading the details).

From late last year, when we were planning for our wedding in June this year, we started thinking about purchasing a flat in a more central location and one nearer church (which is in Queenstown). We began scouring the ads in the papers in November and soon realised that the market was on its way down. So we decided to wait a couple of months.

In February, we started viewing flats with our housing agent, who is also a friend. We didn't make his job easy with our list of requirements - a 4-room flat in the Queenstown-Bukit Merah area, but we didn't want to pay more than $400k. And it would be ideal if it happens to be relatively near an MRT station or major bus routes. It wasn't impossible though. It just meant looking at the older (and smaller) flats in the area.

That first day, our agent brought us to a flat in Queens Close, then to one at Mei Ling Street. Then we saw one at Queensway (next to the Anchorage and near Ikea), and finally one at Ghim Moh (which we ruled out). The following week, we were at Henderson Crescent. When we walked around the area and saw the full-height windows in several of the blocks and all that green, we both knew that's what we wanted. We envisioned a place with lots of natural light and the breeze coming in through the windows.

The flat we viewed that day wasn't ideal. It was in block 106 (without the full-height windows) and the sellers were asking for $20k COV for a flat that was in pretty bad shape. We viewed another flat at Henderson Crescent the following week. It was a corridor unit, so it only had full-height windows in the two rooms at the back. And it faced the multi-storey car park, so it felt rather dark and gloomy inside.

My wife then had a dream in which we bought a flat in a building with similar colours to the ones at Henderson Crescent. In her dream, we bought the flat for $315k, $10k lower than the valuation of the dingy flat in block 104 and $75k lower than the asking price of that flat in block 106. Sounds impossible, doesn't it?

Over then next few weeks, we viewed a few flats at Henderson Crescent. We ruled out the ones in block 101 cos it's right next to Alexandra Road, with lots of traffic noise. We figured block 104 would be ok as long as the flat is on the seventh floor or above (so that it's not facing the mulit-storey car park). The ideal blocks were 102 and 103, both L-shaped and facing the courtyard you see in the first picture up there (in my first post). Of course, with any of these blocks, we didn't want a corridor unit, so most of the flats on the third, sixth, ninth and twelfth floors were out.

We viewed a flat in block 102 which we loved. But although it was in good shape, we'd still need to get some work done (rebuild a wall they'd had knocked down between two rooms, redo the kitchen), so we weren't keen on paying the $20k cash they were asking. Besides, the HDB market had dipped by then and there were 4-room and 5-room flats in the Queenstown/Bukit Merah area being sold at less than the valued price.

There was another flat in block 103 with its kitchen and two of its rooms facing the west. They'd had the air-conditioning running for a while (or so the sellers said), but it was awfully warm in those two rooms when we viewed the placed in the middle of the afternoon. And it didn't look anywhere as good as the other flat, but the sellers wanted $30k cash.

We figured it would be really tough to get what we wanted without paying a ridiculous price. But since I had my flat in Serangoon, we figured we could live there once we were married, while continuing the hunt for the flat we wanted at Henderson Crescent.

With a couple of weeks till the end of our HDB HLE, I told God that it would be nice if we could find the right place before it expired. Plus, I told God that it would be nice if we could have something figured out before we got married, so that my wife wouldn't have to feel like she was moving to my place, but that we'd both have "our place" (even if we couldn't begin living there till later).

Later that very week, I saw an ad on a web site. It was for a flat on the second floor of block 103 and the ad said they were asking for $20k below value! While our agent set up the appointment to view the flat, we prepared ourselves. The previous week we'd viewed a flat at Lengkok Bahru (we'd wondered if we'd narrowed our search too soon, so checked out a nearby area) that was in horrible condition. You know how it's the norm to remove footwear before stepping into a home? Well, we did that. But the flat was so dirty that I wiped my feet on the corridor outside when I left - cos that was cleaner than the flat! We figured that perhaps this flat at Henderson Crescent would be similar.

But it wasn't! And the sellers were really nice. We were greeted with a cheery "hello" and a warm handshake. One of them told us about the neighbours in the flat below who'd recently done up their place and asked if we'd like to see it. And she brought us down, spoke to the guy and we met him as well and got to see what we too could perhaps do with the place if we bought it.

One unusual part of the transaction was that the flat would only be valued later that week. But instead of agreeing on a price, they wanted to wait till the valuation report was ready and take $20k off that, whatever it was. So we agreed and signed the option to purchase the day after viewing the flat.

The flat that we'd viewed on the third floor at block 104 had been valued at $325k and there was an ad for one on the second floor at block 101 (we didn't bother viewing this) that had been valued at $320k. When the valuation report of our flat arrived, it stated a value of $332k, so we ended up paying $312k.

We didn't really think about the significance of that price till we realised what it would be. Remember the dream my wife had had? So $312k isn't exactly the same as $315k (even if we add the 1% due to the housing agent, it comes to $315,150), but it's close enough for us. More significant, however, is how we got the place within a week of telling God that it would be good to have something figured out before the expiry of the HLE and that it would be good to have a place that's "ours", so my wife wouldn't have to feel like she was moving to my place.

Yes, we'd been praying through the whole process of searching for the right flat. But it was just how it all came together at the right moment, especially when you consider that we only wanted a flat in those two blocks (out of all the blocks in Singapore), and even in those blocks, not the ones on the third, sixth, ninth or twelfth floors. Yeah, you can say we were rather fussy. But God still delivered.

[macbart 0]

welcome!!

wow, i tot ur house is in a quite good condition even before u reno.. haha..

and yep, the greens before ur house looks serene and therapeutic!

do keep posting pics of ur reno journey.. good luck!!

Hi, thanx for the welcome.

It wasn't too bad cos the previous owners moved in and renovated it eight years ago.

[macbart 0]

Nice location u have living in the Central!

Your place seems to be in a live-in condition!

i suppose u are doing minor reno.

This area must be quite expensive.

Hi Rondy, yes, you're right. It's rather central and getting around from there is a breeze! We just realised last weekend that there's even a shuttle bus to Plaza Sing!

Other than the kitchen and bathroom (total revamp), the rest will just be painting, electrical (new points & relocation of points), ceiling fans, air-conditioning and veneer flooring (lay over). We wanted to change all the windows, but HDB says it's not approved except for kitchen and bathroom.

[Mrs_Macbart 0]

Good morning everyone!

This is mrs macbart!

My first post and yes, not very creative in my nickname

I have to say I am indeed relief to be able to rest abit at home this weekend.

Last few weeks was just going around to shop for what's needed for the house, by mrt, bus and on foot.

I have to say, I am glad we got some deals for our mattress and bedframe set, hob, oven, air-con and ceiling fans.

We are really happy to have found our contractor .... as it was really mind-boggling to decide who to give our reno job too.

I mean they always say you wouldn't know how they are like until they start work on your place.

Needless to say we are also really happy for the flat that we got - price, location and condition.

I really love the location, the green and heard from my hubby that the neighbours are friendly!

Seems like he will be ahead of me in getting acquainted with them before we move in.

Stay tune to our blog!

I am sure macbart will share his finds and tips.

We had our interesting time exploring shops and deals and we think good things must share.

Edited November 27, 2009 by Mrs_Macbart

[macbart 0]

i heard the open net installation will start from Central area and by next mth we should be receiving letter!

I have been living in Bukit merah so i know this place rather well

Ah, how long have you been there? And which part of Bukit Merah would you happen to be in?

[macbart 0]

After speaking to seven different interior design companies and contractors, we settled on the first one we saw Andy of Classic_Ideas at Delta House. We decided on Andy and his company for a few reasons. The first was that we felt comfortable with him and felt that he was trying to listen to what we wanted before advising on possible solutions where what we wanted may not be possible, rather than just pushing "standard/norm" layouts or going to the other extreme of suggesting that we have just about everything knocked down to reconfigure the entire space ($$$). Another key factor was that we believed they would be able to deliver on the target of handover at least a week before Christmas.

One Day Before

When I popped over on November 11 (the day before hacking began), this is what I saw:

We were planning to remove this, have the wall behind it knocked down... and another wall separating the bathroom and toilet knocked down, to combine the two and extend the combined bathroom/toilet to the space occupied by this cupboard in the alcove.

The wall that stood between toilet and bathroom.

And we'd extend the kitchen slightly.

Edited November 27, 2009 by macbart

[macbart 0]

Day Two

I stayed away on the first day but dropped by about 5ish pm on the second day (a Friday), and they were clearing out remains of the walls and tiles.

We were initially planning to have out refrigerator to the right end of this wall, with tall kitchen units (for larder and oven) next to it. But cos of the gas pipe, we we have to place the tall units to the right and the refrigerator in front of the pipe.

With the tiles hacked, we noticed that the flat originally had old-style vents between kitchen and bathroom.

[macbart 0]

Day Four

We dropped by on Sunday afternoon and we surprised to see that they'd already started sealing up the existing toilet and bathroom entrances. Obviously, they came back on Saturday to work on that.

And our living room had turned into a storage area for sand, cement and tiles.

We could finally see the newly-combined bathroom and toilet space (extended into the space that once had a cupboard in an alcove). With the combined space, our bathroom will be almost as long as our kitchen (3.9m).

[macbart 0]

Day Four continued

We also noticed that the contractors who did the reno for the previous owners (eight years ago), missed some 39-year-old cables that are still on the wall in one of the rooms.

Our kitchen will have these black tiles in a row above the counters and the corresponding white ones on the rest of the wall space.

I hope the tiler didn't need his glasses on Sunday. Those are the bathroom wall tiles, btw. We'll also have the corresponding black tiles.

[SGBuzz 0]

Amazing price and such nice sellers

[purplesky 0]

Hi Macbert,

Congrats on the good buy! Great location! Hope u have a smooth reno!