Semi-D Full Rebuild Or A&a? Neighbour Building Giant House! :p

[Bunnymummy 0]

Whoops! I dunno why leh, I go and check maybe my inbox is full

Sorry, just cleared my inbox, it should be okay now. Thanks!

Edited January 25, 2013 by Bunnymummy

[Coffeequeen 0]

This is my first post here. I have just bought a modest 1700Sqft single storey inter for rebuilt. But was shocked to receive a quote of almost 1.1M with piling etc for new erection to 3 1/2 storey.

I am seriously thinking about whether to rebuild or just leave it as it is. Appreciate some feedback from fellow forummers:)

[Lauer 15]

This is my first post here. I have just bought a modest 1700Sqft single storey inter for rebuilt. But was shocked to receive a quote of almost 1.1M with piling etc for new erection to 3 1/2 storey.

I am seriously thinking about whether to rebuild or just leave it as it is. Appreciate some feedback from fellow forummers:)

But you wrote that you bought it for a rebuild?

If the question is whether the value of a landed is better enhanced with a rebuilding, then it depends on how much you paid for the landed. 1700 sqf for the land or built-in?

If the question is whether $1.1 mil is a good price for a 3.5-storeys, then it all depends on the design & material proposed. For example, is it a full 3.5-storeys or a 2.5-storeys with basement?

Cheers!

[Coffeequeen 0]

Hi Lauer

Thanks for ur reply. I should correct myself, the 1.1M is for new erection to 3 1/2 storey to 3,600 built in. I was shocked with the inital quote as my budget was just 800K when I bought the land. Appreciate if there is any recommendation for builders so that I can compare.

[Lauer 15]

Hi Lauer

Thanks for ur reply. I should correct myself, the 1.1M is for new erection to 3 1/2 storey to 3,600 built in. I was shocked with the inital quote as my budget was just 800K when I bought the land. Appreciate if there is any recommendation for builders so that I can compare.

At $1.1 mil for 3600 sqf, it gives us just over $300 psf. This pricing is OK for me, considering that yours is a terraced and for 3.5-storeys as well.

Of course, pricing is just one part of the equation; there are also other factors to consider especially the reputation of the builder, etc.

The budget of $800K, at $220 psf, I would say that it is slightly unrealistic for the type of house you are building.

Cheers!

[yoongf 11]

And there is a thing called GST on top of the building cost..

[Lauer 15]

And there is a thing called GST on top of the building cost..

Lol...Yes, but GST is normally not part of the construction contract, and to be paid by the owner.

I have a quick (some said lazy) way of costing a building, by apportioning each of the items listed below at $20,000:

1. Air-conditioner

2. Carporch cover, steel beams and glass with trellis

3. Timber and glass doors

4. Timber flooring for bedrooms

5. Marble flooring for living and dining areas

6. Tiles for bathrooms, kitchen and outdoor areas

7. Glass works for partition, bathrooms, staircase areas

8. Clay tiles for roof, sunscreen for open trellis

9. Electrical works

10. Sanitary & plumbing works

11. Bathroom sanitary fixtures and kitchen sinks

12. All windows

13. False ceilings and painting

So we have a total of 13*$20,000= $260,000 here for these items. Of course, some items, such as Electrical etc, would be more than $20K but the point is to group the big tickets and assign a cost.

And the cost of building each storey (the floor slabs, the columns and beams; the cement, bricks and steel rebars, the drywalls etc) should be about $200K, so when you have 3.5 storeys that would be 4*$200,000=$800,000.

Others please comment on their ways of costing?

Cheers!

[Lauer 15]

And for the music break, a song by George Harrison, released in 1967 I think.

And an interview with him just after the breakup of The Beatles...

Enjoy!

[Coffeequeen 0]

Thanks for much for the input. I have a lot to learn along the way. Your computation is helpful guide for 1st timer like me.

Cheers

[Lauer 15]

Thanks for much for the input. I have a lot to learn along the way. Your computation is helpful guide for 1st timer like me.

Cheers

You are welcomed.

So now you should know where to look out for to negotiate. Most people would tend to negotiate on reducing the costing of the 13 items, for example, the price of the air-conditioner, by swapping one brand to another. Or by reconfiguring its capacity. But the total cost of the 13 items constitutes only about 25% of the building cost, so these items shouldn't be the focus. Moreover, these items have a great impact on how the building would eventually look. If you were to replace the marble with homogeneous tile for the living and dining area, the look and feel would be different?

The $200,000 figure for the wet works for each storey is just a guesstimate, as I don't know the proposed architecture for your house, the build-in space for each storey etc.

Just 4 years ago, you could get a pricing range of $90-$110 psf for the wet works, or $90,000-$110,000 for a space of 1000 sqf. Earlier last year, I heard that the pricing has gone to $150-$170 psf. And then it kept going up throughout the year. You could read the headline news today, on the higher labor cost impacting building contractors.

Also, you could discover that contractors would price the wet work $psf higher for a terrace than a semi-d, for example, because most of them don't like to do a terrace. It is true that the building process is somewhat less effient for a terrace, being flanked by 2 neighbors. If the neighbors are nice, then they wouldn't mind the workers to step on their roofs occasionally. But some neighbors would mind, to the extent of calling in the police to complain of the infringement. (Be very friendly, and attentive, to your neighbors during the construction, ok?)

Cheers!

[fcar 0]

Rerouting a sewer line is quite a common activity. Involves quite a lot of work, expecially if the sewer line is deep. Need proper submission and approval, and goes through their own TOP inspection process. Most likely with require before and after CCTV inspection, and a final survey.

Requires a 2m buffer, 1 m on each side of the line. The use of a mini excavator is required, and that will require quite a lot of working area. As sewer flows by gravity, gradient is very important, and depends on the last IC before joining the public sewer, whether got enough depth to accomodate the extended length.

10K no way, closer to 60 to 100K depending on the length.

Yoongf or lauer or some kind soul

i got a quote for diversion of a public sewage running thru the backyard. >100k. Can anyone care to recommend any "specialist" sewage specialist for me to get another quote?

[Lauer 15]

Yoongf or lauer or some kind soul

i got a quote for diversion of a public sewage running thru the backyard. >100k. Can anyone care to recommend any "specialist" sewage specialist for me to get another quote?

Sorry to hear about that, but I couldn't see how you would want the sewage work to be done by another other than your building contractor?

Why do you want to divert the sewage line again? Are you the one who intended to build a lap pool?

Cheers!

[fcar 0]

Sorry to hear about that, but I couldn't see how you would want the sewage work to be done by another other than your building contractor?

Why do you want to divert the sewage line again? Are you the one who intended to build a lap pool?

Cheers!

Well, i feel that the main con is ok for the actual house, but his subcon sewage quote a bit high. So trying my luck to see if i can get a cheaper subcon to do it; or at least show the main con his quote is too high.

THe pool......., together with the house still at the design stage!! LOL.

[xienqi 3]

I am currently doing my house project now and its a complete tear down and rebuild.

I wanted to reroute the sewer IC to my house and was strongly discouraged from this by my architect in terms of cost and time. Even I brought this up several times over a month, he stood by his opinion, its not worth the trouble. The IC affected the positioning and length of the pool. At the end, I accepted and did work arounds.

In terms of asset appreciation on whether to do a renovation, A&A or reconstruct, my thoughts are as follows.

In the last 5 years, landed property has appreciated more than 35% which is ridiculously high and I believe this is driven by the low interest rates and the overall high prices of HDB and resale properties. If you look at a 10-13 year trend, landed homes price rise about 1.3M. I recall in 2001, the row of newly build terrace houses about 1700 sqft land in Mimosa area was going for 1.2M to 1.3M for inter and corner respectively. An old semi d in same area was going for 1.5M. Florida Park in Sunrise in 2004 land size 1,700 sqft was going for 1.75M by far East.

Today, the same properties are asking for 2.7M to 3.0M as is. For land size above 3,000 sqft, whether corner of semi d, new or as is, you will not get any for less than 3.3M. Even more incredible, the recent project Haus at Serangoon Gardens which is 99 years, land size 1650 sq ft with build up more than 3,300 sq ft were sold at between 2.6 - 2.9 M. Last year, Luxus Hills, floor size 1650 sq ft, freehold or 999, build up more than 3.300 sqft, was sold at 2.45M and now reselling at 2.8M.

Looking at the above data, it is hard to contain optimism that the landed property prices will continue to move up. The logic I am thinking is that if an inter terrace with land size of less than 2,000 sqft with rebuild to 3000 sqft is selling at 2.8M, then a similar inter or corner with land size of 3,000 sqft with rebuild to 4,000 sqft can be sold at 3.8M at least ? And what about semi D under similar conditions, 4.8M ????

So the question of whether to rebuild or not in my opinion is largely dependent on why are you doing this. Are you building to sell or to stay. The rule is the sell price of a house is based on land and build up, depending on the purpose of the buyer.

When it comes to rebuild, the rule of thumb is to max out your allowable plot ratio. This is because if you are building to sell, your buyer will tend to look more at the build up size, location, surrounding neighbourhood, and the visual which is very important are the : ceiling height, finishing and swimming pool.

If your buyer is looking to rebuild, then its land size and shape, location and neighbourhood.

I believe so long as interest rates are low, and the cooling measures are not too draconian, prices will continue to move up. I believe most sellers of landed property have holding power, and so long as interest rates are low which there will be buyers, the sellers will control the prices. This means once price moves up, it will not come down. Another factor stopping property owners from selling is that there are no better investments in terms of returns and risks currently that is better than landed property.

On top of all these, landed homes supply are limited and will become more scarce as population increases.

Sorry for writing so much. I did alot of research before deciding on whether to go ahead with my rebuild project. I checked up on historical trends of interest rates vs landed house vs condo pricing. I also consulted various old timers property investors, agents, developers and banking friends. It is difficult to predict the future but the consensus is that interest rates trend will remain as is for the next 3-5 years, but the condo prices will slide downwards over the same period. The biggest discussion is that salary / wages have not been keeping up with costs, and this means the current level of consumption is fuelled not by real earnings but cheap money and savings.

[acasia_lee 0]

Hi eaglrf18, how is your new house? l planning to rebulid my private property completly new at this ,can recommend me the contractor, architecture, P.E engineer. How was the workmanship? Anyone who have these contacts please send me the info my email: acasia_lee@yahoo.com.sg Thank you all.