Single Buyer Single Income...going To Be A Long Journey

[haven32 0]

.....long journey to pay for the mortgage and fit the place up. For starters, thank you to so many of you who took the time and energy to share your experience (pain & joy). I had spent every nite, sleepless at the thought of amount money going, immerse myself in all the posts here.

Buying a property is such a commitment, i have been renting for the last 8yrs,finally took the plunge to buy a resale HDB. The wait to cross 35 simply means i have missed many lows and one high after the next on pricing. well, i am looking forward to moving to Punngol, with the waterway and punngol beach, changi village all within biking distance. even planning to bike to work in tampines.

My resale flat is 7 or 8 yrs old. The condition of the flat is good. my first appt will be in may thus i anticipate completion to be end july or early aug. couple things i wanted to do

1) change the tiles in the living rm, kitchen

2) renovate both bathrooms

3) painting

3) Remove part of a kitchen wall to become a new access from the living rm.

Can i ask do anyone here takes a renovation loan ? how do you go about with the bank if you engage a contractor and a separate carpenter etc... Do the bank give me the money and i pay to the individuals

the house is fully aircon. after 7/8 years now, is it a need to change all the aircon now ? how can i know that the a/c are still in good condition

thanks in advance to your inputs towards a greenhorn

With a limited budget, i am going to priortise certain buy. Top on my list would be a good mattress.

[haven32 0]

is it to late to start looking for a contractor after the 1st appt or do i need to start now ? Since the day i exercise the option, i have been researching and researching on the net. did not take massive action in talking to contractor and id. the only thing i did was visit new show flats. btw,the crowds are back at show flats. trying to steal some motivation

[ayazumi 0]

Hi there. Congrats getting your own home. Regarding about renovation loan from banks, the cheque will be issued under the renovation firm. I'm not sure if you can apply renovation loan for carpentry, if can, you can apply another loan from different bank. Why don't you let your contractor or ID to package carpentry work for you? Unless you have contact for carpenter and offer cheaper quotation for you. I would not suggest to get so many loans for home renovation because you have a budget in mind to spend, and over budget may not do any good to you.

Do take note that if you are not loaning 100% from the bank, the bank may not issue different cheque payment to you. All renovation contracts have progressive payment, and this becomes a big issue if let say your renovation is $40k, the progressive payment is 15%, 80%, 5%. You loan only $20k from the bank, the bank issues you a $20k cheque only. Naturally you will give the contractor or ID the cheque on 2nd progressive payment. If the progressive payment is 5%, 45%, 20%, 30%, you will not know which progressive payment to give first as 45% is only $18k, but your cheque is $20k cheque. It is best that when you are firm you want to sign contract with the ID or contractor that time, look at the progressive payment first. Then you decide how much you want to loan from bank, and which payment you want to pay your contractor or ID. Normally it takes 1 week for the bank to give you a cheque. So don't worry about it.

I suggest to change the aircon since already used 8yrs. It can be quite troublesome to do aircon after renovation. If budget is a concern, opt for non inverter aircon since you are using it yourself.

You can start sourcing contractor or ID now. It is better to plan ahead than to panic later.

Edited April 7, 2012 by ayazumi

[muska1119 1]

I also support the idea of changing the aircon. My previous place , when I bought over the aircon is only 5 yrs.. But few yrs down the rd.. It become so old.. And not functioning well

[Edlyn 0]

Dear Haven,

Congrats on your new home. I think ultimately whether you change the air con or use contractor vs ID, it boils down to your budget. A lot of time, we are so focused on the entire renovation of the home and forgot about the furnishing cost which could be quite substantial. It is a little tedious but if you have the time, you should come out with your own budgeting which list down things you want to do, things you need to buy and get the entire costing budget to see how much loan you can get, how much to use for reno and how much for furnishing. While I only did my reno budget, my contractor friend did assist me in listing down things that I need to purchase(lightings, switches, LED, furnitures such as sofa, dining table, beds, aircon, cusrtain, blinds, wall paper, fans, sanitary stuff, hob, hood, microwave oven, fridge, washing machine, electronics like LED TV, amplifier, hifi, cooffee table, paintings, mirrors..... etc etc) so that I can control my budget

It is true that changing aircon will be troublesome after finishing your reno so I think you should get a good technician to do a thorough check. Also, how often are you going to use your aircon? If you are planning to turn on everynight, a new one will be better but if you plan to turn on 2hrs a night to cool the room before you sleep and turn on fan, might not be necessary to change it especially if existing unit is in working condition and already inverter type.

From many of my friends' experience, many ID do not know and though they show you nice 3d design, a lot of time, the ideas come from the owner themselves. A lot of problem arise when ID take up too many orders and have no time to go on site to view and monitor site progress. If you have the time to monitor the job yourself, you can try to engage individual contractor, provided you have the technical know how to do it. There are many technical coordination to consider. Looking at things you want to do, you need hacker, tiler, supplier of material for sand, cement, haulage, clearing debris, plumbing, applying for permit, painter and maybe electrician.

All the best to your new home reno. Cheers.

[May_dream1 14]

Congrats in getting your own flat! We have the same common problem, single income single buyer! But not to worry, you have quite a few of us here to help you along your renovation journey!

As for renovation loan, bank will issue the cheque in the name of your ID/contractors. They will not give you the money and you pay to ID yourself. This is because renovation loan is lower interest compared to other non collateral loans (ie credit card loans). Thus, to make sure its not being misused, the banks will issue it to the ID/contractors. So if you want to have loan for contractor separately from carpenter, then you can apply for 2 different banks. But each have to be at least $10k.

Some banks issued max 3 cheques for renovation loan, and some only 1 cheque. For eg, if you have 15k loan, you can ask them to issue $5k each. Then you have to look at the progressive payment of your contractor. If its above $5k, at least you can issue your own cheque to top up the difference. If its less than $5k, then its really up to you whether you trust your contractor. For me, there was a payment that was above the cheque amount i asked the bank to issue but i trust my contractor, so that payment was more but the following payment was less.

As for aircon, it depends on whether you use it often. If not that often, then to save money, you can just use what was there. but take note that if next time you want to change, then might not be easy to hide the trunking and have to repaint again. And most probably, the aircon have to be at same position as now. But if you change, then at least it can last you for another 10 years or so.

[LLChing 0]

Hello Haven, may I know is your new place a 3/4/5 rm? Before you decide to install new aircon, ask yourself:

1) Do you really need to have aircon to work, sleep etc in your home? Will fan do?

2) Do you need aircon for all the rooms?

3) Ever consider new single unit for your room only and subsequently, casement aircon for the other rooms if needed in future.

4) Though the old aircon may still be in working condition, watch out for the remote control. The metal parts where the battery touches may be rusty and the control not functional.

I have aircon for all 3 rms yrs ago, thinking just like everybody else that better have the trucking done so that it will not be messy next time. The aircon became a white elephant as we hardly use it(not more than 5 times a yr). Yet, for hygiene purpose, we still have to clean and service the aircon regularly which is not cheap.

Being on a tight budget can be challenging but not impossible to have a cosy home. It all boils down to Need vs Want. Already being saddled with a substantial housing loan thru CPF, I'm sure you won't want to be burdened too much with a huge personal/reno loan as well.

All the best . We are here to lend you support .

[DingDong 0]

Congrats on getting ur new place!

Is good to source for the contractor/ID now so that you can have a clearer view of what u wan to do/budgets etc.is never too early to plan.

With many electronic fairs around, you can source n compare prices of stuff u may want to purchase.

Important is you need to know your budget and work ard it to make ur hse functional n cosy!

I would suggest change of aircon now as the mess of changing in future might be a challenge with all the furnishing/painting/deco all up.

Hope all goes well for you and do post pics of ur reno ya!

[haven32 0]

Hi there. Congrats getting your own home. Regarding about renovation loan from banks, the cheque will be issued under the renovation firm. I'm not sure if you can apply renovation loan for carpentry, if can, you can apply another loan from different bank. Why don't you let your contractor or ID to package carpentry work for you? Unless you have contact for carpenter and offer cheaper quotation for you. I would not suggest to get so many loans for home renovation because you have a budget in mind to spend, and over budget may not do any good to you.

Do take note that if you are not loaning 100% from the bank, the bank may not issue different cheque payment to you. All renovation contracts have progressive payment, and this becomes a big issue if let say your renovation is $40k, the progressive payment is 15%, 80%, 5%. You loan only $20k from the bank, the bank issues you a $20k cheque only. Naturally you will give the contractor or ID the cheque on 2nd progressive payment. If the progressive payment is 5%, 45%, 20%, 30%, you will not know which progressive payment to give first as 45% is only $18k, but your cheque is $20k cheque. It is best that when you are firm you want to sign contract with the ID or contractor that time, look at the progressive payment first. Then you decide how much you want to loan from bank, and which payment you want to pay your contractor or ID. Normally it takes 1 week for the bank to give you a cheque. So don't worry about it.

I suggest to change the aircon since already used 8yrs. It can be quite troublesome to do aircon after renovation. If budget is a concern, opt for non inverter aircon since you are using it yourself.

You can start sourcing contractor or ID now. It is better to plan ahead than to panic later.

I did not know about progressive payment with contractor/id. good to get the heads up from you on this. thank you

[haven32 0]

Thank you all for the valuable feedback on the a/c portion and the thing on progressive payment from id/contractor and how to go abt with the banks. good start.

over the long weekend went to several show flats. crowded. would prices go down ?..ha ha..believe the "expert"

went to showflat to get ideas. sorry to those agents serving me. Ripple Bay is nice near beach. have some idea now on what is anti slam, brands of oven and hob/hood, homogenous tiles, laminate, timber floor....

thanks to share your input to this question rgds flooring. I am thinking of removing the existing tiles in

1) Living rm - One of the wall have very nice wall paper. by hacking the floor would i have to also sacrifice the wallpaper. i saw some of the photos of floor hacking in this forum and saw walls covered in dirt and small knocks here and there.

2) Kitchen - current cabinets are in fair condition. by hacking away the floor tiles and replace it with new tiles, would it damage the kitchen cabinets.

i wish i can post photos but did not took any the last time i was there when exercise the option. cant wait to share them with you.

[haven32 0]

Hello Haven, may I know is your new place a 3/4/5 rm? Before you decide to install new aircon, ask yourself:

1) Do you really need to have aircon to work, sleep etc in your home? Will fan do?

2) Do you need aircon for all the rooms?

3) Ever consider new single unit for your room only and subsequently, casement aircon for the other rooms if needed in future.

4) Though the old aircon may still be in working condition, watch out for the remote control. The metal parts where the battery touches may be rusty and the control not functional.

I have aircon for all 3 rms yrs ago, thinking just like everybody else that better have the trucking done so that it will not be messy next time. The aircon became a white elephant as we hardly use it(not more than 5 times a yr). Yet, for hygiene purpose, we still have to clean and service the aircon regularly which is not cheap.

Being on a tight budget can be challenging but not impossible to have a cosy home. It all boils down to Need vs Want. Already being saddled with a substantial housing loan thru CPF, I'm sure you won't want to be burdened too much with a huge personal/reno loan as well.

All the best . We are here to lend you support .

Hey LLChing, many thanks

) Do you really need to have aircon to work, sleep etc in your home? Will fan do?

Actually i dont sleep in a/c. always with fan. but bcos this unit is not high, i am concern of the heat more in the living n study where i work

2) Do you need aircon for all the rooms?

living rm + Master + study

3) Ever consider new single unit for your room only and subsequently, casement aircon for the other rooms if needed in future.

Would this method actually be cheaper ? Would aircon system add value to the valuation of the property after 5 yrs ?

4) Though the old aircon may still be in working condition, watch out for the remote control. The metal parts where the battery touches may be rusty and the control not functional.

2 /5 of the remote is spoilt. Yep there are 5 a/c 3rms+living+dining. i don't see the need for 1 in the dining personally.

[ayazumi 0]

Hacking kitchen tiles may or may not damage the kitche cabinet, really depend on the skill. What is the reason that you want to hack the floor tiles? Normally 7-8yo houses floor tiles are quite okay. Tiles will pop up or become hollow after 15 or 20yrs. You can start off doing maybe the living room first then later stage when you have more budget then you do the kitchen together. Or you can do kitchen and toilets first, leave the living room alone first. Normally people want to do kitchen and toilets first. When they got money, they do bedrooms and living rooms. Divide your renovation into different phases then you will have more spare cash to spend

[Akitsuki 0]

Hey LLChing, many thanks

) Do you really need to have aircon to work, sleep etc in your home? Will fan do?

Actually i dont sleep in a/c. always with fan. but bcos this unit is not high, i am concern of the heat more in the living n study where i work

2) Do you need aircon for all the rooms?

living rm + Master + study

3) Ever consider new single unit for your room only and subsequently, casement aircon for the other rooms if needed in future.

Would this method actually be cheaper ? Would aircon system add value to the valuation of the property after 5 yrs ?

4) Though the old aircon may still be in working condition, watch out for the remote control. The metal parts where the battery touches may be rusty and the control not functional.

2 /5 of the remote is spoilt. Yep there are 5 a/c 3rms+living+dining. i don't see the need for 1 in the dining personally.

erm... since you dont really sleep in air con.. i dont think there is a necessary to change it yet ba.. most prob u will turn it on only when the weather is super hot mayb 1 or 2 months in a year?? a fan should be sufficent since you are living alone.. mayb just get the air con to be serviced should be enough and you can save the $$ for other more important furnitures and electrial appliances? unless of coz if it's within your budget.

[Edlyn 0]

Dear Haven,

If kitchen cabinet still in good condition, you can ask hacker to protect the kitchen cabinet with cardboard before hacking start, as for wall paper it could be protected but depends on the condition. My sister did her EM recently and hacked some wall and floor tiles, the contractor used protection cardboard to cover up the entire cabinet and fortunately no damage to the cabinet.

Base on your scenario, I will recommend that you stick with existing aircon and replace the existing aircon remote with universal remote which you could purchase it easily at any hardware/electronic shops, provided the aircon are still in working condition.

You can also request from existing owner if they still have some spare wallpaper which you could use to replace any damaged ones at the bottom portion of the wall instead of relaying a brand new one. That will save a lot too.

Hope it helps. Cheers

[haven32 0]

dear friends

reason why i wish to change the living rm flooring of the feel. i like big tile like this pic below. current tiles is not in a dark tone which ideally would be my choice. i know these big tiles would cost much thus can only wish for

hey what happens when you have hollow tiles ? I read here on using heels, marble and coin to test the floor rite. therefore if you find 1 pc that is hollow..the contractor will dig out that 1 pc and replace isit.

the plan is to change the flooring for kitchen and living, 2 toilets which include tiles and flooring + basins and wc. prefer to do it at one go to save the hassle later on. actually the condition in the fixture is good which also heart pain if damage during the reno. looking back at some of the posts i read, i envy those who bought a really bad condition unit and have to do n replace everything. shiok can re-design and do to personal likng n taste. of course money counts too.

a lot of thoughts went into the comments on the a/c. good advice. will kiv changing by getting the serviceman to come in and check the condition. changing a new system going to cost $2 to $3K n my usage is likely to be 4 hrs a night or less.