raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted February 26, 2014 Started house-hunting in May 2013, was looking for a condo near my parents in Potong Pasir. Saw a few potential properties i.e Sennett Residences (very, very nice but a bit above our budget and it’s not freehold), 8 Riversuite (attracted by the price and location, but don’t really fancy the development). Offered a cheque to a particular unit we saw but was rejected (just 8k difference), both seller and buyer (us) refused to budge then the cooling measures kicked in. Actually was secretly pleased we didn’t manage to buy the condo in the end. Hefty monthly installments for a small tiny space. To me, tiny bathrooms + tiny bedrooms + useless bay windows + ginormous balcony (dun understand why) = what’s the point? Hence, we decided to take a break first, then start looking for a HDB flat instead.Late November 2013, we started looking for a HDB flat. Criteria given to our property agent was the following:Must be high-floorMust be corner-unitMust be near MRT (coz hubby and I both don’t drive)Must be big enough to fit a family of 4 adults (1,200 sqft and above)Must be near my parent’s place in Potong PasirDon’t want to pay ridiculous COVNo “stock” at all in Potong Pasir at all, so we widen our search to Boon Keng. Saw quite a few units, saw one that we both like, placed an offer to the buyer but agent decided to sell the unit to another buyer without even asking us to counter-offer. We were really upset by the agent’s action but we concluded no point staying mad. If the place is meant to be, it will be. Hence, we continued to hunt for the perfect house. We viewed all that were available in Boon Keng and we widen our search to Holland Village, Queenstown and Tiong Bahru, but didn’t see anything we both agree on. You know la, both parties must have the right “feel” upon entering the house.One fine day, I decided to try searching propertyguru on my own, and found an EM in Lorong Chuan available for sale, though it wasn’t the area that I requested for my agent to search but I was really tired of waiting and viewing, just wanted to get the house search to be over and done with. So I texted my agent to arrange for a viewing.Went to view the unit on a windy Saturday. Took a quick walk through the EM, husband and I both looked at each other and we nodded our head, we decided to place an offer for the EM on the spot. And the owner agreed to our offer on the spot.Now that we found our future house, next is to plan for reno! We already know which ID we are going to pick as the ID is my husband’s friend. As my husband is in the creative line, he is very ANAL and PARTICULAR about design, but thank God we are still aligned in terms of the look and feel we like (in other words, I am very ching cai )1st appointment happened last week, and we should be able to start the renovation in mid April! Floor plan as per below: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songz 132 Report post Posted February 26, 2014 Congrats on getting your home.Hope to see more updates soon (Esp pictures of cause ) All the best for your reno journey ^^ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted February 26, 2014 Recess area bought by previous ownerMBR toilet2nd bedroom (realised I didnt take a good pic of the master bedroom & kitchen) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted February 26, 2014 2nd level bathroom2nd level bathroom (odd layout of bathroom)Study room/WIW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songz 132 Report post Posted February 27, 2014 Nice.Got extra recess area. Are the flooring marble or what ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted February 27, 2014 Just ordinary tiles in living room and laminated flooring on second floor :-)Nice.Got extra recess area. Are the flooring marble or what ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Selected tiles & laminates:Kitchen's island selected quartz topID proposed to use the above floor laminate (Inovar MF850 Country Walnut) for our 2nd floor..however, I find it too "red" for my liking...After leaving ID's office, then realised forgot to select kitchen cabinet's top... -_- Edited March 2, 2014 by raspberryjam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Prefer these 2 laminates for 2nd floorInovar Congo Oak Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songz 132 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 this is nice ^^ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted April 11, 2014 (edited) Updates... Got the keys to our house 2 weeks earlier than expected. Seller was supposed to rent the place two weeks from us as their new house is not ready, hence as a gesture of goodwill and kindness, we rented it out to them at the minimum rental cost. Less than 24hours before 2nd appointment, seller messaged me to inform us that they decided not to rent the place from us and we can collect the keys during 2nd appointment. Tsk tsk... can be more considerate a bit or not? So.....anyway, we went down to the house with ID, window/door vendor, aircon vendor and tile vendor for site recee...spent a total of 4 exhausting hours there with them. We got quotation on the spot from the window/door vendor as well as the aircon vendor, and spent time with them selecting material as well as discussing about trunking and how to hide them. Spent another 1.5hours discussing the powerpoint and lighting placement.Decided it was time to start shopping for electrical appliances, and decided on the below models, still sourcing around for best price...Samsung 60" TV (UA-60F6300)Chose this coz it is selling during clearance sale. Samsung fridge (RL4013UBASL)Chose this because of the stainless material and minimal look. Wanted a side-by-side fridge, but after going thru the pros and cons (i.e need to reduce storeroom space)..decided to go for a 2-door instead.Bosch Induction Cooker (PMI968MS)Chose this coz my place does not have any gas pipes. Wondering 2 "point" is enough? Have been living with 3 "points" all these while...Bosch Hood (DEE918PSG)Chose this because it comes in a bundle package with the above induction cooker.Karcher Steam Cleaner (SC3000)Heard good reviews from my gfs....they say MUST BUY...lol(to be continued) Edited April 11, 2014 by raspberryjam 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted April 11, 2014 (edited) Nespresso InissiaA very kind gf helped me to lup this all the way from Sydney. It was selling at S$250 with free aerocinno 3 in Sydney. Cheap, cheap, cheap! Aerocinno3 itself already cost S$199 in SG! Only thing is need to buy adaptor to use it...Going to make good friends with the contractor when reno officially start and ask him help me to change the plug head. hehe...Bosch Built-in Oven (HBG43S450A)Chose this because this has self-cleaning function. But it costs more than double from the model that doesn't have this function. Still thinking if I should splurge..Electrolux 6kg dryer (EDV6051)Chose this because this is the cheapest dryer available. Will only use this during rainy season so don't want to splurge too much, and morever, my existing Samsung washing machine only cost $600, cannot justify why dryer should cost more than washing machine when I will not use it as often. BUT BUT BUT.. a better dryer will cost only 100+ more (i.e dry faster which means save electricity) hmmm.. Edited April 11, 2014 by raspberryjam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tessina 9 Report post Posted April 11, 2014 Toilet piping is Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted April 11, 2014 I cannot agree more...super fugly...but not going to spend money to conceal plus the common toilet already so bloody small..Toilet piping is Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OceanEleven 203 Report post Posted April 11, 2014 Samsung 60" TV (UA-60F6300)Chose this coz it is selling during clearance sale. Hi can share the price of this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raspberryjam 10 Report post Posted April 12, 2014 Hi OceanEleven$1,999 from Mega Hi can share the price of this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites