Journey To Our Little Crib In The West (5 Room Resale)

[panjangowner 2]

After reading through some of the posts here, my partner and I have decided to add in our experience too. Just a little background, I am in my mid 20s while my fiancee is in her early 20s so we have a tight budget to get our family life started. Not gonna be easy but it would be an enjoyable journey!

How It All Started

Early 2015, we applied for the sale of balance flats in Choa Chu Kang/Bukit Panjang and the number was pretty crappy so we scrapped the idea of trying for BTO/Balance of Sales since the units are smaller and lesser grants. Factoring in our CPF and savings, we decided to hit the nail and go for resale flats instead since the market is somewhat bottoming now. Flat viewing started around Sept/Oct 2015 and we have already decided on the location which was Bukit Panjang. Simply went to PropertyGuru and shortlisted a few units, arranged with the agent for a viewing and off we went.

Yes, plenty of our friends were wondering where on earth is Bukit Panjang but having stayed in Bukit Panjang for 10 over years, it is actually a very convenient location with the upcoming Downtown Line and buses. 20 minutes to Orchard via 972 or 190, seriously?!

House Hunting

Our fruitful yet tiring house hunting journey took us about 2 months. We started off by viewing flats randomly within the area and realised it was leading us nowhere as none of the units was to our liking. We then decided to view 2 to 3 units per area and once the units were not to our liking, we eliminated that area out of our choices as the units within that area were usually within the same batch so layout and design wise would be similar.

We had a few requirements:

1) Corner Unit (For privacy)

2) High Floor (Feels good to be up there )

3) Squarish layout (Easy to manage in terms of design)

4) Bright and airy (Good for health to have ample natural light! )

Simple requirements yet it was a nightmare just trying to find the right unit. Finally, we found one to our liking but the owner was reluctant to sell at our price and the agent told us that the house was previously sold at $465k but the buyer screwed up so the deal didn't go through. Considering how bad the market condition was, we decided to go ahead and offer a price of $435k which kinda shocked the seller I guess. The agent told us that he could try for $460k but we had no interest in paying over the market for the unit considering there was quite a bit of renovation to be done. Credits to my fiancee for being firm by telling the agent that we would settle for $450k, take it or leave it.

To cut the story short, we finally settled for $450k and valuation came about to $450k so there was no COV on our part either. Gotta give the credit to my fiancee as I was pretty alright with paying $460k which was $10k more but we really liked the unit and the house hunting was really tiring. I just wanted to get it over and done with!

DIY Procedures

We decided that it was pointless to engage an agent since he will just be doing the paperwork for us when we could do it ourselves which saved us at least a few thousand since buyer's agent usually go for 1% of the selling price as commission! Seriously, pay them $4k plus just to do paperwork for us? Nah!

Signed the OTP and exercised it with a total of $5k as deposit.

First appointment scheduled in Feb 2016 and keys collection in March 2016. We decided to take up all the grants available to us which summed up to $50k from HDB and ROM was not an issue since we would be solemnized before our second appointment. The procedures are pretty simple as it is all documented in the HDB website, I spent about an hour digesting the website and we were good to go. The seller's agent even told us not to bother with engaging an agent to save on the fees and we could approach him if we needed help, just that he could not represent both sides. Well, if we screwed up and the deal falls through, he will be on the losing end too. Feel free to call up HDB if you are unsure of certain things and they are pretty helpful I would say.

Tadah! Here is the floorplan of our house. The house has minimal renovation except for wall cornice and floor skirting since it was the first owner. Flat is about 18 years old so a major renovation was in the plans with a budget of $30k and another $5k odd for furnishings & furnitures.

Original Floorplan

Modified Floorplan (After hacking of walls)

Edited December 30, 2015 by panjangowner

[ricepapergirl 21]

Nice! We also did not get an agent when we bought our EM and it's also our first house (and we're also in the West hi! *waves*). I think it's much easier to buy your first place without an agent than it is to sell one or to sell + buy at the same time! Great that you found a unit you like and at a price you were willing to pay! Looking forward to your T-blog!

[panjangowner 2]

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Common Bedroom 2

Toilets

Kitchen

Didn't manage to snap much photos but will make do with what I have at the moment. As you can see, the condition is pretty worn down and a major renovation is needed. On a good note, the house has minimal furnishings and fixtures apart from the kitchen/toilet/cornices/skirting.

Main Hacking Works

1) Wall between master bedroom and bedroom 2

2) Wall between bedroom 3 and living room (replacing it with a half glass)

3) Wall in the kitchen to build an open concept kitchen with kitchen island)

4) Removal of cornices and skirting

Tiling & Plumbing Works

1) Overlaying the floor tiles of living and bedroom with laminate/vinyl flooring

2) Overlaying the floor tiles of kitchen

3) Building cabinets and island for kitchen

4) Redoing both the toilets

[wywcl30@hotmail.com 0]

Another Renotalker who took the resale plunge! I'm getting my keys in Feb! Many of the quotes received from IDs are in the 55-65k region

[panjangowner 2]

Another Renotalker who took the resale plunge! I'm getting my keys in Feb! Many of the quotes received from IDs are in the 55-65k region

Congrats! Are you a west-sider as well?

We've met a mix of IDs and contractors and agree with you.. Their quotes are much more than our budget even though we've told them about it during the meeting. And there's a ID who refused to listen to what we want, which was rather frustrating...

Have you guys decided on the renos yet?

[wywcl30@hotmail.com 0]

I have just met 4 IDs and 1 contractor! Currently pending the quote from contractor. Even with a budget of 35-40k. All the IDs manage to quote way above. Hoping to start my own t-blog once everything is set in motion.

My unit will be behind Alexandra IKEA!

Edited December 22, 2015 by wywcl30@hotmail.com

[pankponk 2]

Hello!!

Your house hunting requirement is the same with me and I also want at Bukit Panjang area actually because of the downtown line

Already done some viewing but not to our liking so still searching our dream home.

Looking forward to your Tblog!!

[ricepapergirl 21]

Ooh actually the sink and the toilet bowl in the toilets look like they are in quite good nick! But you're hacking everything?

[panjangowner 2]

Mmm, we've met up with 3 IDs and 1 contractor. So far the IDs quotations are on the pricey end but the contractor whom quoted managed to fit within our budget of S$30k. I guess it is better to engage a contractor vs an ID if you know what you want. We found some photos online that matched our minimalistic/scandi theme and showed it to my contractor. IDs tend to sell their ideas to you (our experience) without taking into consideration of our budget which kinda pissed both my partner and myself off. We got our ID recommendation through  and so far none of them really met our expectations in terms of costing. Another problem with certain IDs is that they tend to design well but leave the labour works to others which might be problematic in the future. A simple problem that my colleagues faced was that the built in table was unable to fit a desktop although that was the initial design requirement.

We noticed that the most costly works ain't hacking but rather tiling and carpentry works. So we decided not to have the built in wardrobe (cost $3.9k for a 4 metre wardrobe) and buy 2 wardrobes for probably less than half the price which will serve the same purpose. Great for those who are budget conscious and the pros of buying a wardrobe externally allows us to change in the future when its damaged. For those who are budget conscious, it would be advisable to minimize carpentry works such as TV Consoles, Wardrobes or Tables as these can be purchased externally. There are furnitures which are just as beautiful aesthetically for a fraction of the price!

Tiling works are really expensive if we gonna hack the tiles and redo the flooring so the contractor suggested to do overlay instead as the tiles are in very good condition. The only concern we have now is laminated flooring vs vinyl flooring. Read that laminated flooring is more resistant to scratches but not so from water. The main problem is that laminated flooring is chemically treated which ain't very healthy although prices are about the same with vinyl flooring according to my contractor!

Will upload the quotation and modified floor plan from my contractor later.

On 12/22/2015 at 5:36 PM, ricepapergirl said:

Ooh actually the sink and the toilet bowl in the toilets look like they are in quite good nick! But you're hacking everything?

Oh yeah, come to think of it they are. But then again, the previous owner had used them for many years which is kinda mehhhh. Probably just buy new ones within a budget!

On 12/22/2015 at 4:46 PM, wywcl30@hotmail.com said:

I have just met 4 IDs and 1 contractor! Currently pending the quote from contractor. Even with a budget of 35-40k. All the IDs manage to quote way above. Hoping to start my own t-blog once everything is set in motion.

My unit will be behind Alexandra IKEA!

Thats awesome and you can easily purchase your stuff from Ikea. I wouldn't suggest getting furnitures from them though as they tend to use wood of lower quality.

On 12/22/2015 at 5:21 PM, pankponk said:

Hello!!

Your house hunting requirement is the same with me and I also want at Bukit Panjang area actually because of the downtown line

Already done some viewing but not to our liking so still searching our dream home.

Looking forward to your Tblog!!

Yup Bukit Panjang flats are still relatively reasonably priced as it is a non matured estate. Do hunt around and I am sure you will find something you really like!

[panjangowner 2]

Nice! We also did not get an agent when we bought our EM and it's also our first house (and we're also in the West hi! *waves*). I think it's much easier to buy your first place without an agent than it is to sell one or to sell + buy at the same time! Great that you found a unit you like and at a price you were willing to pay! Looking forward to your T-blog!

I used to stay in an EM in bukit batok when I was young and I loved how big the rooms were.

In fact, we decided to write up on our journey after reading your tblog. Will be great to document it down for future reference too.

[ricepapergirl 21]

Wow! Haha thank you thank you. My T-blog got nothing much yet, just me typing away because can't actually do much for the house yet. But glad to be reading another new T-blog!

[Lazyfatcat007 5]

Hihi!! I wanted to say welcome to BP but realized you are alr staying here... Welcome to RT!! BP is not bad with the added 972 line recently..hahaha

[panjangowner 2]

reserved for final design & draft drawings

Edited December 30, 2015 by panjangowner

[sarah833 3]

After reading through some of the posts here, my partner and I have decided to add in our experience too. Just a little background, I am in my mid 20s while my fiancee is in her early 20s so we have a tight budget to get our family life started. Not gonna be easy but it would be an enjoyable journey!

How It All Started

Early 2015, we applied for the sale of balance flats in Choa Chu Kang/Bukit Panjang and the number was pretty crappy so we scrapped the idea of trying for BTO/Balance of Sales since the units are smaller and lesser grants. Factoring in our CPF and savings, we decided to hit the nail and go for resale flats instead since the market is somewhat bottoming now. Flat viewing started around Sept/Oct 2015 and we have already decided on the location which was Bukit Panjang. Simply went to PropertyGuru and shortlisted a few units, arranged with the agent for a viewing and off we went.

Yes, plenty of our friends were wondering where on earth is Bukit Panjang but having stayed in Bukit Panjang for 10 over years, it is actually a very convenient location with the upcoming Downtown Line and buses. 20 minutes to Orchard via 972 or 190, seriously?!

GREETINGS neighbour!

Bus 972 is god send indeed, I commute to orchard road daily and I can choose between bus 972 during off peak and 190 during peak to get a seat for the 20-30 minutes bus ride to Orchard Road. The new downtown line is two bus stops away, think I will try getting off at Stevens Road MRT and catch 972 back from town if the bus still runs so frequently. My friend who lives near Petir Road takes bus 700 to town, she is envious with rthe frequency of bus 972 Haha.

Which part of BP are you staying? I am at Fajar Road. Looking forward to the opening of the downtown line Mrt this weekend and the new hawker center next week!

[panjangowner 2]

GREETINGS neighbour!

Bus 972 is god send indeed, I commute to orchard road daily and I can choose between bus 972 during off peak and 190 during peak to get a seat for the 20-30 minutes bus ride to Orchard Road. The new downtown line is two bus stops away, think I will try getting off at Stevens Road MRT and catch 972 back from town if the bus still runs so frequently. My friend who lives near Petir Road takes bus 700 to town, she is envious with rthe frequency of bus 972 Haha.

Which part of BP are you staying? I am at Fajar Road. Looking forward to the opening of the downtown line Mrt this weekend and the new hawker center next week!

We're at Jelapang Road! Quite blessed because the buses are quite empty along Jelapang Road.