csingeu 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) Hello everyone! I've been hanging around the forums for some time, and managed to get lots of really useful information here and also from some of the forummers (mae29, sgnick, Reiki, ymjp100, reglxt, RimBlock, etc). Been thinking of starting a t-blog chat for some time, but was lazy... And now it seems like a really good time... to really document our homemaking & renovation journey (before we start to forget a lot of stuffs) and, hopefully, get some opinions/comments from fellow homemakers. A short (or maybe not) background My fiancee and I have been looking for a place to call our own since early 2010. As we didn't want to wait too long for the BTO flats to be ready (i suppose they take 3-4 yrs at least) and both of us are nearing 30s and we don't want to stay in with our parents after our marriage, hence resale flats seem like a more obvious choice. Most would have known from the news, that COV was quite crazy for 2010. We decided to look-see and hope for the COV to dip a little, but alas, the trend was nowhere going south (except for maybe the last month or so, prob due to general elections coming soon). Hence we decided to try our luck at some BTO (eg. Punggol Waterway Terraces) and the Sale of Balance Flat exercise, but luck wasn't at our side (which may be a blessing in disguise). I'm currently staying at Jurong West area, near Lakeside MRT, and was actually looking to get a place in Punggol (as some of my colleagues said, it is actually a up and coming place, though my dad and mum think it's really very far away and ulu). I guess, like most people, our criteria for our home was location. Location as in near to town (as both of us work in the city area), and location as in near to amenities (kopi-tiam/food centre, shopping mall, MRT, schools, etc). 2nd criteria is super low or no COV (only in our dreams). We soon realised that other criteria do matters too, eg. facing of the unit (N-S facing), floor level, point blk?, door-to-door/corridor/corner unit?, 4-rm/5-rm/EM? etc. I guess it can't be helped, buying a flat is probably the biggest investment for us (and in fact most other people), and it will be a place to call home for quite some time. Can't fault us to be more choosy. Due to some reason which I shall not share here, we started house-hunting frenzy over the few weekends in Sep/Oct and decided to settle for a EM near Lakeside MRT. I've always wanted to stay in a unit with internal staircase; I like the fact that the "public" area (area to entertain friends, etc) is separated from the "private" area (that's the sleeping quarters, etc). And it's like the closest thing to staying in a landed property (yes yes... i know it can't be compared to a landed property... there's no car porch, outdoor garden, swimming pool, etc), and I probably can't afford a private property in SG, seeing how property prices are going now (unless I strike lottery or so). And given the fact that the new HDB flats are really quite small compared to the older flats, I really appreciate the spaciousness of a EM unit. BUT my fiancee and some other colleagues/friends have their reservations: 1. Not child-friendly or elderly-friendly due to the staircase. 2. Might be troublesome, when my wife-to-be gets pregnant next time 3. Big floor area = more area to clean (3rd toilet, staircase, balcony, etc) = more household chores 4. Potential taxing on the wallet 5. High renovation cost Finally I managed to convince her that this will be our dream home... and was glad that she also shares my thinking now. Some friends question us the need to get such a big unit, when it's only the 2 of us. My reasoning may be flawed, but i guess everyone has different priorities and preferences. For me, 1. SG is land scarce; other than the location of a unit, the size of a unit matters next. 2. Future-proofing; gives me more "room" for future plans (eg. childrens, parents staying in with us next time) 3. HDB not building anymore EMs (though they may build more loft units like those in TreeLodge or Dawson); so it can be considered a rarity(?) Our dream home To cut the story short, we managed to bargain and lower the COV to $27K. To some people (esp some of our friends who have bought their unit at low or zero COV, before the COV started to creep), it's a large sum to pay for COV. But as we have been looking for units ard my area for a while; we do get the sense (or misguided sense) of the COV for units ard the area. The unit is in quite original condition (will post some pre-renovation pics, when we go and do our inspection before the 2nd appt); some may think it's not worth paying so much for original condition; shall not argue more as it's a matter of perspective/preferences. Some info on the unit: 1. It's at least 26 years old and we are going to be the 2nd owners 2. Original condition 3. Ard 600m away from Lakeside MRT (using OneMap to measure the walking distance); hence maybe 5-10 min walking distance. 4. In between 2 major markets (Blk 502 area and Blk 492 area) 5. There's a neighbourhood park 1 block away. 6. My primary school is just downstairs (<200m away). 7. 5 min's walk to my parents' place (my current home) 8. Almost N-S facing 9. At the 10th floor (considered mid-high?) We paid $555K for it ($528K valuation + $27K COV). 1st appt was on 9 Nov 2010. 2nd appt was supposed to be b4 X'mas 2010; however, seller has problem with his new unit, hence out of goodwill, we decided to extend the 2nd appt by another 1 month til 31 Jan 2011 (which is in ard 26 days' time. i'm so excited!) Original Floor Plan Design theme As most of our holiday destinations are going to beach resorts @ Koh Samui, Bali, Batam, etc... and we really enjoy spa resorts/villas; hence for the design theme of our new home is modern resort feel; as we wish to come home to a spa resort everyday! hehehee... Reading the tblogs of fellow forummers here gave me a better idea of what we hope to achieve (though i think it will come at some cost, no doubt). That's it for now. I'll share more on our preferred space planning design in the next few entries and our thoughts on hunting for IDs/renovation contractors (think we or rather I have spoken to >10 different IDs). Edited January 4, 2011 by csingeu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May_dream1 14 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Congrats!!! Quite good price you gotten for em. I think choosing ID is more difficult than choosing flats. All the best!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
csingeu 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 PageOne Warehouse Sales!!! (Part 1) Managed to see the ad on PageOne Warehouse Sale @ Kaki Bukit last weekend, and decided to pop by to check out the stuffs. And I ended up spending $282.46 on interior design and cookery books! LOL... Buying books is my form of retail therapy! LOL... just buying them already made me feel happy and more "knowledgeable". WAHAHAHA Home Decor Volumes 01-20 at 50% off!!! I've been thinking of getting them online (maybe from Amazon), after seeing one of the IDs we've met is using them for reference. Original price: $180.83 for 1 pack. Now: $180.83 for 2 pack!!! (50% off!!!) The Lighting Bible Ideas for Every Room in Your House. Very gd reference book for lighting; and all sort of lighting schemes for different areas. But to implement all the ideas, the lighting and wiring cost would be astronomical, I guess. Original Price: $26.64 30% off: $18.65!!! The Colour Scheme Bible (Neutral Collections) Neutral palettes and dramatic accents for inspirational interiors. Someone posted a screenshot of one of the pages featuring the "Rugged Landscape" scheme. Got inspired, and I just needed to get this book. Happy to find it there and at a discount! Original Price: $26.64 30% off: $18.65!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
csingeu 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) PageOne Warehouse Sales!!! (Part 2) Stylish Thai in minutes over 120 inspirational recipes my fiancee loves thai tom yum soup. This is for her. Original price: $26.64 50% off: $13.32!!! Various selection of "500" books 500 bbq bites 500 soups 500 cocktails 500 juices & smoothies Edited January 4, 2011 by csingeu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
csingeu 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 PageOne Warehouse Sales!!! (Part 3) 500 italian dishes 500 cookies Original price: $15.94 30% off: $11.16!!! 50% off: $7.97!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hates it that the forum only allows 5 pics per post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marshmallow 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Congrats and welcome to RT! you studied in Rulang Pri? hahaha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
csingeu 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Congrats and welcome to RT! you studied in Rulang Pri? hahaha Thanks! LOL! Nope. I studied in Shuqun Primary School. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
csingeu 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 (edited) Congrats!!! Quite good price you gotten for em. I think choosing ID is more difficult than choosing flats. All the best!!! Thanks! We think we got it at an OK price too. Could have waited a little longer for the COV to dip, but waiting may also means the possibility of missing it, which is quite high. Anyway, already bought the place, so just have to psycho ourselves it's money worth spending. Yes. I agree with you that finding ID is even more difficult. We already agreed to look for recommendations from friends/colleagues who have done up their flats recently, but alas, most of them have bad experience with their renovation. Hence we turned to renotalk for recommendations and as some forum members have highlighted, sometimes, there might be bogus posts by "shadow" members. Can be difficult to sieve thru the info. Even some of the contacts I've gotten from other members here also proved to be more $$$ than I've originally thought. Maybe I should be more realistic abt my budget and what I really need to do up. Will post abt my preferred layout and the items in the quotation later. My budget is ard $50K-$55K for renovation (incl electricial rewiring minus furniture, appliances, wetware), but so far most of the quotes I've received are in the range of $63K to $78K and some doesn't even include everything I need to do. Edited January 5, 2011 by csingeu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marshmallow 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Thanks! LOL! Nope. I studied in Shuqun Primary School. oh... i see i see your side... quite a lot of primary schools leh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rickoveron 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Congrats! Wifey and I were looking at your area sometime in 1st quarter 2010, asking price were astronomical already then. Some agents were even setting up mobile offices there to sell the EMs. Once they see u clutching the classifieds, they would start their hard sell. Same reasons as you stated; near parents, good schools, amenities..... We ended up getting an EM in Toh Guan area. I was from Rulang, and my former teacher told me that my kids will definitely get a good chance to enroll there in future. Good luck, and enjoy your upcoming renovation! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yuene 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Congrats on getting a place, and on starting your reno! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
csingeu 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Congrats on getting a place, and on starting your reno! Hi and thanks! Looking at your profile pic, I think we've met before @ salsa events. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
puphusky 0 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Hi and thanks! Looking at your profile pic, I think we've met before @ salsa events. Congrats on your EM.... Looks like what i am having for mine but i am in hougang area.. Good luck on your reno.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May_dream1 14 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Thanks! We think we got it at an OK price too. Could have waited a little longer for the COV to dip, but waiting may also means the possibility of missing it, which is quite high. Anyway, already bought the place, so just have to psycho ourselves it's money worth spending. Yes. I agree with you that finding ID is even mote difficult. We already agreed to look for recommendations from friends/colleagues who have done up their flats recently, but alas, most of them have bad experience with their renovation. Hence we turned to renotalk for recommendations and as some forum members have highlighted, sometimes, there might be bogus posts by "shadow" members. Can be difficult to sieve thru the info. Even some of the contacts I've gotten from other members here also proved to be more $$$ than I've originally thought. Maybe I should be more realistic abt my budget and what I really need to do up. Will post abt my preferred layout and the items in the quotation later. My budget is ard $50K-$55K for renovation (incl electricial rewiring minus furniture, appliances, wetware), but so far most of the quotes I've received are in the range of $63K to $78K and some doesn't even include everything I need to do. life is not prefect. Maybe by the time the COV dropped, valuation goes up. in the end, still the same amount you have to pay, just less cash but more loan. I am paying more cov for my 4A than you, so yours is definitely more worth it (if its any consolation to you hehehe.... ) i got so many recommendations from friends and colleagues too. i think i talked to more than 10 IDs/contractors. tried some through here and tried some from recommendation. i think i will most probably go with the one my friend did 3 years ago cos she gave me very good feedback and his price are abt 10k cheaper than the rest of the other quotes i received. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May_dream1 14 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 Congrats on your EM.... Looks like what i am having for mine but i am in hougang area.. Good luck on your reno.... my initial 2 area are near lakeside mrt and hougang mrt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
