Whole Cost For Your House

[Hazeyko 0]

Dear all, am very new here and I just started my renovation for my 4RM HDB premium flat. Just finished shopping around for all the things like electric appliances, furniture and bathroom accessories etc. And after calculation, I am spending a freaking $60K on my new house including renovation.

Although we did budgeting but there are a lot of things unexpected and of coz we burst quite a few of our budget. So just want to check with the people here, is it normal? Or am I spending too much for my house? I really don't know. We already tried to get the cheapest thing around and try to cut those unnecessary things, but don't know why we still ended up spending so much. I don't know is it bcoz nowadays things are expensive or we got conned. So can anyone please advise me around how much you spend for your house in total (including renovation, electric appliances, furniture and bathroom accessories)? I know everyone is different coz for example, some may get a dryer but some may not. I just want to see normally on average how much did each new owner spent on their house coz I am really not sure are we consider the norm or are we really spending too much..

Thanks for helping to clear my doubts..

[Tiler Seng 57]

Dear all, am very new here and I just started my renovation for my 4RM HDB premium flat. Just finished shopping around for all the things like electric appliances, furniture and bathroom accessories etc. And after calculation, I am spending a freaking $60K on my new house including renovation.

Although we did budgeting but there are a lot of things unexpected and of coz we burst quite a few of our budget. So just want to check with the people here, is it normal? Or am I spending too much for my house? I really don't know. We already tried to get the cheapest thing around and try to cut those unnecessary things, but don't know why we still ended up spending so much. I don't know is it bcoz nowadays things are expensive or we got conned. So can anyone please advise me around how much you spend for your house in total (including renovation, electric appliances, furniture and bathroom accessories)? I know everyone is different coz for example, some may get a dryer but some may not. I just want to see normally on average how much did each new owner spent on their house coz I am really not sure are we consider the norm or are we really spending too much..

Thanks for helping to clear my doubts..

Hi Newbie, it is normal to spend $50-70k for everything include new TV set, i don't agree

that things are getting expensive but infact, things are getting cheaper such as Fridge, LED 3D TV due to the market are killing its ownself.

like us although levy & materials are higher than before, but contractors are killing themselves even worse than before.... so i would say, you are well protected

[ultimax 2]

Hello,

That's a very good question but there's no simple answer.

In general, I think it's to be expected that things are getting more expensive. Quality labour cost has gone up in particular. A lot of construction work requires skill, and I think contractors know getting the cheapest workers will cause them more problems because they do a lousy a job, and when the client complains, the contractor will lan lan have to redo it. So might as well pay for someone with experience to do a good job in the first place. Unfortunately, these quality workers are becoming rarer, so they can command better wages. No one wants to be a tradesman these days. Sad lah ...

So, I think anything that involves custom work has gone up a lot in price. Custom carpentry especially. Here's a tip: consider incorporating IKEA stuff. People always say it's lousy, but it's not that bad if you use it smartly. For example, consider using an IKEA wardrobe system, but maybe customising the doors? The doors are the most exposed, and IKEA doors aren't the best. For the other parts, replace them as they wear out lah ... IKEA will be here to stay, and their stuff is all modular and is therefore easily replaceable.

Based on my limited observations, I think $35K is the average ID (will be less for contractor) cost for a 4 room flat. This excludes your home appliances, bathroom fixtures, lightings, aircon etc. That will typically be another $20K. So the average grand total for a reno, all in, is $55K. That said, personally, I think the overall feel and look of the place will also be "average," unless you invest a lot of your own time and effort to figure out how to squeeze as much from each dollar spent. More on that later.

The reno budget, of course, can be less, it can be more. I think that goes without saying. Some people rather have a very plain design, but top of the line quality appliances. Others are OK with cheaper appliances, and will spend more on the design/construction. It's a matter of how you channel your resources.

My advice to planning your reno budget is this:

1. Decide on a reno budget you die die cannot exceed.

2. List out all the items your ID/contractor will not provide, eg. home appliances and the items listed above. Be detailed about this.Walk around your current house to see what you will need. Spend a few days thinking about this. You don't want any unanticipated costs.

3. Get a quotation for all these items. Quite easy to do.

4. Deduct this amount from your reno budget. The balance will be your budget for your ID/contractor. Tell them that is their budget they cannot exceed.

I think the most important thing is not busting your reno budget. That's where the heart pain comes in, because it wasn't planned for. If you plan everything swee swee, with maybe a bit of a buffer, you'll feel a lot better because you know where your limits are. I find a lot of people (myself included) started with the ID budget first, then factored in the other stuff which added up to quite a bit! So we busted our budget, and felt the pain haha.

At the end of the day, your reno budget, whether high or low, depends on you. Different people have different approach to renovation. Generally, how much you spend comes down to these 3 things:

1. How long you're planning on staying in your home? If it's for say only the HDB min. occupancy, then some are OK doing the bare minimum renovations or going with typical contractor $10-$20 packages.

2. How much are you willing to pay for "comfort" and "satisfaction"? Some are willing to spend more (sometimes a lot more) on reno because they feel **** shiok being in the house. So they're willing to pay for that kind of satisfaction. Others get their satisfaction by having money in the bank, so they're OK with basic renos.

3. How hands on are you? Can you DIY some of the stuff? Contractors charge quite a lot for labour to do simple things. Are you willing to go through each item in the quotation and decide if it's "value for money?" Very often IDs and contractors can stick within your budget, but when you look at individual items, you may realise it's really not worth it. Quite a few items, esp custom carpentry, is not always worth the money. Like a feature wall for $5K? When you see the finished product, it's nice, but you can't help but ask yourself, "is it really worth $5K? For that?!"

Perhaps you'd like to channel that money into some other part of your house which gives you more bang for your buck. This takes time and you need to do your homework. I think more often than not, people just let the ID decide as long as the theme is to their liking and the overall budget is not exceeded.

So, how much you sepnd depends a lot on your future plans and your personality. So that's something you've got to think about on your own.

Edited October 28, 2012 by ultimax

[ultimax 2]

I personally spent about $60K plus plus all in to reno a 4 room BTO, no floors and no doors. Abt 40K on ID, 20K for everything else.

In hindsight, I would have spent less on the ID, and more on the other stuff. I find the custom carpentry etc. is not very value for money. Nice lah, but I could have cut back on that, and channeled the money to furniture or accessories.

I'm in the process of dressing up my house (because when you finish renos, all you get is a nice, but empty shell) and I am finding it's the small things which really make your house look special. Not so much the huge built in items. Those items fade into the background after a while.

It's these small accessories which also make your house stand out. Even things like photo frames, kettles, pots, pans, fans and table lights.

Otherwise, a lot of the designs sort of look like one another. In fact, you'll keep hearing this from IDs: "oh, we don't want your house to look like everyone else's!" Then you realise if you're not careful, that's the design you'll end up getting

[Hazeyko 0]

Hi ultimax,

That is very useful, thanks! You are right, there are too much things to consider when completing a house. On one hand, I didn't want to spend too much as I don't think its worth it. But on the other hand, i don't really want to compromise myself to certain cheap products but lower quality.

Wondering if we are the only one like that or if others are facing the same issues like us?? Don't know is bcoz we too "atas" or it is just norm for people to feel that way.

But really thanks a lot for your advises, looks like i will need to go and re-look at my budget once again..