All About the Policies

It striked me to pen it down after reading the big fuss on the forum: whether is it safe to even consider using a non-HDB licensed/CaseTrusted/RADAC Accredited contractor.

Before meeting up with the contractor i've engaged, I've spoken to tons of IDs/contractors, of which some are forever selling on the point that they are HDB-licensed, CaseTrusted, RADAC Accredited.... all sorts of fanciful names that the governing body came up with. The intention of the setup was meant with gd intentions to protect the rights and interest of house owners going through renovation.

I've did my fair share of research in various forums and there were so many complains by house owners, unpleasant renovation experiences.. sub-standard workmanship.. absconded with owners' money... etc.. of which most of them can produce the numerous certification as listed above. But what happened in between?

While I'm impress by the extend these companies sell their 'credibility' through these certifications, I'm definitely one consumer that doesn't buy their story. For simple reasons like "you have to register with Case to be a member in order for Case to take up the complain"... and how often does HDB/Case/RADAC step in when things go wrong in a renovation?

From the point I see it, those who can sell by just word of mouth and reputation holds... there's no need (and they do not see the point) of going through all these applications. For those who doesn't have a strong foothold in the relevant industries, probably these certifications give them a gd point to market with.

How does this sounds:
1) "I've got this.. this ... and this cert... My price is higher but you can rest assured that the renovation is nicely done." vs
2)"I have nothing to tell u. You go to those existing houses that i'm renovating, see for yourself if you are ok with my workmanship.. then u decide from there on whether to give me the deal or not."

I'm coming from an professional industry that has lots of certifications, but we all know how standards can deviate from one to another.

At the end of the day, as long as the job is done to my satisfactory with all the legal issues settled, I couldn't care less if a contractor has got any "license issue" or "trusted or accredited". It is never my issue how he/she settles the legal part with the authorities, I'm only concern about the end product.

The Shop to Avoid!

Our hunt for all fittings for the house was a tiring one. While we met with shops that were not fantastic in pricing, most of them were pretty gd in serving us and making their recommendations to newbies (us) who were absolutely clueless abt renovations.


There's a particular shop, however, was absolutely disappointing despite high recommendations from a fellow forummer. A shop that I wanna avoid going back at all cost.


It was a typical hardware shop, claims to be distributing sanitary fittings to developers for condo and private apartment projects. We made an extra effort to drive all the way down to check out what was available, since the pricing was claimed to be fantastic.


On our arrival, we were 'greeted' by an absolutely nonchalant guy who seems to be one of the bosses. We had to approach him ourselves while he was busy smoking, and another older man came over to assist, after much waiting. Let's call him Mr K.


We had already purchased our MBR toilet fittings and lacked only the common toilet n kitchen necessities. The choices there were minimal as compared to shops in J.Besar or Geylang, but we had the intention to buy all our remaining fittings from the same place if the price is right. The taps and bidet spray were of less interest to us, the design was more of typical ones that we see in our parents places - plain. Politely rejected Mr K that we would like to get from other shops with better design, he sarcastically told me off that "美没有用的啦! (asethetics do not win over quality)". Why cant we have the best of both worlds (asethetics and quality), esp when his taps weren't really cheap?


Left the shop telling Mr K we will call back to confirm the order b4 delivery. I wanted to take a 2nd look at shops along J.Besar as the selections here were really pathetic. He was still nice at this point of time, and promised that delivery will be made once deal is confirmed, thou a little snobbish that his prices are the best I would ever find.


Made a 2nd trip down to PJ, realized that the exact models there were cheaper, not to mentioned with friendlier service from the staff. Still feeling a little guilty for spending so much time at the hardware shop, we decide to buy a few items from him – inclusive of a kitchen sink and the chrome pipings. I made a call to Mr K, and the conversation went… (translated from Mandarin)


Me: “Sorry.. some of the items I don’t want already. I will take these remaining items."

Mr K: “Huh? What u don’t want? Then what u want?”

Me: *goes down the list he wrote for me and re-confirms one by one which are the items I wanted*

Mr K: “Ok ok…. So u only want *this and this* lah?”

Me: “Ya, so uncle.. when can u deliver them?”

Mr K: “I don’t know. See how lor.”

Me: “Huh? What is ‘see how lor’?”

Mr K: “See when my driver pass by ur area then he will deliver lor.”

Me: “…..??? Then when will I know he’s at my area?”

Mr K: “Aiya, ur order so little. I don’t deliver one leh…”

Me: "Huh? U don't deliver, then how I buy?"

Mr K: "The kitchen sink is very light what. U come n take yourself lah!"

Me: ".... ok. Fine, i'll ask my hubby to drive over and pick up when he's free."


At this point of time I was already on the verge of bursting. While I understand that my orders may be little, it just takes simple words to tell me that I need to pick them up myself, which I’m perfectly fine. I ended the conversation since he wasn’t keen in earning the peanuts from me. Made all my purchases from Poh Joo instead, and the bulk discount given at the end made the whole price tag cheaper than at Mr K’s shop. Not forgetting the humiliation n poor services I received.


Lastly, the ‘highly’ recommended shop:

Chan Weng Wah Hardware
Blk 149 Silat Ave
#01-46, Singapore 160149

The Toilet Bowl Biz

I didn't pay much attention to the selection of water closets (WC) when we made our purchases. It was more than just 'fit-the-budget' checklist that we had to follow. So i'm gonna pen down the notes of selecting a WC after trying out both WCs we bought.

My buys: 1-pc WC Baron (W303) vs 2-pc Claytan (WC4506)

1) Aesthetically, the 1-pc looks sleeker and classier as compare to 2-pc WC. Wanted something better for MBR toilet and gotta a simple one for the common toilet since we wouldn't be using it often. Price wise, 1-pc is much more expensive than a 2-pc WC.

2) A MUST to sit on the WC when buying. Although my 1-pc was more pleasant to look at, the seat feels much smaller and narrower than the 2-pc. Unless you needed to trim those muscles at the bum. :P

3) Flushing. Single flush, dual flush? I read on forum that PUB only allow sale of dual flush systems (i cannot verify this Found! Read more here) from 1st Jul 09 onwards. Both my WC had dual flushing, but the half flush on the Claytan (2.8lit) was significantly much weaker than on my Baron (2.5lit), and it wastes even more water that we have to flush twice even for liquid waste. Although i cannot provide how we can test the flushing pressure at the shops, i gathered from sources online that Claytan is quite notorious for the weak half flush.

4) Soft closing seats - forget abt it i say. We didn't specifically asked for it, but thought it was a gd to have feature if it came free. But i'm getting a little more irritated each time I need to wait for the seat to 'descend' slowly. And in the long run, the soft closing usually wears out. Replacement of these seats are more expensive than the normal covers as well, and eventually i'm not surprise to find myself buy a normal seat as replacement. There are some who absolutely hated the slamming sound and would list this as one of their must-get.

Some listing of WC rating found here.

Toilet and Kitchen Fittings

This is a huge part to cover, and was the one that made us walk through the stretch of J.Besar for countless times. We finalized all our buys from 3 shops - Eestilo, Poh Joo and Bellari







Package from Eestilo (Geylang): $299 for 1-pc WC (in white) and round sink.











All taps/rainshower/shower mixers from Bellari. Total expenditure $760.











Mirrors, kitchen sink, Common toilet WC and MBR basin from Poh Joo - $520 (with other misc fittings)

Eestilo was not exactly the cheapest, but the 1-pc WC was really a gd buy from all the shops we have hunted. Cheapest we found was on high-end of $200, whereas the promo package was only $299 for a WC+sink. Service by Sunny was gd and delivery was prompt.

Bellari had some of the nicest faucet around, sleek designed handles (noticed i bought the same series for all). Claimed to be made in Italy, but i'm sold becos of design and where it's made is secondary to me. Downside, fixed prices and no further discount even when i've bought this much. Aftersale service is excellent, we had two leaking bidet spray and they went up to check and exchge for us even when it was our high water pressure that burst the spray.

Poh Joo, reasonable prices for some items (if you managed to find). Rainshower slightly higher priced, but otherwise not a bad place to shop at. Delivery was commendable, the guy called 1hr ahead to inform that he will be late and that I don't have to arrive at my place early to wait for him in a bare house without chairs. He arrived sharply at the 2nd agreed timing.


Eestilo De Vida
540 Sims Ave #01-01
Sims Ave Centre
Singapore 387603
(Between Geylang Lor 35 & 37)
Tel: 6844 0901

Bellari
117 Jalan Besar
Singapore 208837
Tel: 62963455

Poh Joo Hardware Engr Pte Ltd - Closed on Sundays
159 Jalan Besar (Opp. Jln Besar Hawker Centre)
Singapore 208875
Tel: 63980588


Some other highly recommended shops online are:

Genova Industrial Ptd Ltd
58 Bendemeer Road
Singapore 339937
Tel: 6299 0222

Asia Excel - Ray @ IMM branch
2 Jurong East St 21
#03-29A, IMM Building

Royal Fanco - Henry (B0ss)
135 Jalan Besar
Singapore 208849
Tel: 62990543

Lights - Brightens my day

Started my research online for recommended shops to go for and those to avoid. Ended up with quite an extensive list, but in the end, we've visited less than 5 shops. Decided that we did not had the time and energy to go touring ard SG, and probably the petrol would have cost us more than the savings and discounts.

Bought most of my lights from No.1 Lighting in Geylang - price n service won us over. The uncle was not out to extort, and even advise us against certain lights which we absolutely loved but was way out of budget.



Top: Wardrobe Room
Bottom: MBR



Top: Study/Guest Room
Bottom: Kitchen


L: 2 of these (with silver holder) for toilets
R: 2x13W Square downlights (x12) for living room


With 2 more cheap lights ($3.90 ea, bulbs were expensive thou) from Ikea for store and service balcony. Ikea is quite a gd alternative for cheaper lights. Designs are pretty decent and value for money as well. Downside: can only use Ikea housebrand light bulbs, which is quite pricer as compared to their lights.

No fanciful drop-downs for dining or anywhere in the home. We've yet to decide where the dining table goes n besides, maintenance is probably gonna kill my neck.

All in all, we spent $600+ (after bulk discount, n best of all NO GST!) in No.1 Lighting.

No.1 Lighting
673 Geylang Road
Singapore (389600)
Tel: 67496636 (May be open on Sundays, call to double check)


IKEA Tampines Singapore
60 Tampines North Drive 2
Singapore 528764
Tel: 6786 6868
Fax: 6786 6888 (IKEA Tampines)


Having mentioned so much, it makes a fairer post to list out all the shops that i did consider or had +ve reviews online too.

A Lighting Enterprise
463 Geylang Road
Tel: 67451826

Crown Lighting House
600 Geylang (Near Lor 34)

Extreme Lighting
371 Balestier Road S(329788)
Tel: 6358 3113
Fax: 6358 3003

Chan Huat
391 Balestier Rd
Tel: 62551033

Chelsea Lighting
Blk 353 Jurong East St 31
#01-117 Singapore 600353

Pan Tech Light Trading Enterprise
Blk 353 Jurong East St 31
#01-107 Singapore 600353
Tel: 65608601

Hylite Deco
Blk 353 Jurong East St 31
#01-109 Singapore 600353
Tel: 65603212

****************

*Edited: My switches/powerpoint sockets were thrown in FOC by my contractor and I wasn't too fussy abt getting designer switches. As long as it's the 'big big' switches, I'm prefectly fine with any brand he provides. "Beggars cannot be choosers." :P

But nonetheless, this shop seems to be one of the more popular shops in forums for Clipsal and Legrand switches that I may take a 2nd look if not for the FOC switches.

Choo Chiang Marketing Pte Ltd
http://www.ccm.sg/index.html


****************

Having shifted into our new pad for almost 2wks, there are a few things i would have reconsider or insisted in my next home building.

1) Double tube PLLs lights, 2x36W for each time i turn on them on. That's quite a thirst on electricity.

2) Wire fewer downlights to individual switches.

3) Single tube vs double tube downlights - latter drinks a lot more, but not necessarily brighter by a lot? Since there isn't any single tube downlights in my entire house, i do not have the necessary findings to validate this stand.

4) Table lamps and floor lamps would be my next buy. Bring a little coziness, esp in the bedrooms, instead of the normal PLL white lights on ceiling. Budget didn't allow us to have false ceiling/downlights in the bedrooms, so we sourced for alternatives for mood-setting ambience. A little more savings in electrical bills too as now we have an option to get energy-saving bulbs that goes as low as 5W!

5) would still insist on downlights (for asethetic reasons) and at the same time, lesser cleaning as compared to pendant lighting or chandelier.

Money Senses

Buying a house is never easy.

Having bought a house in 2 days of search and forking out huge amts of cash for COV, agent fees, reno/furnishing.. etc (the list goes on n nvr ends), i could have be asking myself was it worth it afterall. Why not a new flat right from the start?


We did try, but...

- lady luck wasn't shining on us for the HDB balloting exercises: the no. gets bigger each time.

- We were not willing to wait 2-3 yrs for a Build-To-Order exercise. Locations of such exercises are usually way too far from our preferred place to stay as well.

- DBSS. Another waiting game. With a higher price tag (of cos nicer deco/layout), n in my opinion not worth slogging 30yrs for another condo-alike HDB. Or simply, not within my comfortable means.

- Location, location, location. It has to be in the East. No more no less. That's where we both grew up n where our roots were. :)


I did my calculations (not a very meticulous one, there were still glitches in planning occasionally, thou nothing destructive) and decided the price tag we can afford. Things that played a major part in my planning were:

1) Cash - Simple reason. Cash for COV, cash for agent fees (usually 1% of selling price), cash for renovations (that determine how extensive a reno shd go and how much COV i'm willing to fork out).

2) HLE - Housing loan eligibility. How much HDB is willing to loan us. I noticed that HDB's extremely generous, given us an in-principle approval loan amt that we wouldn't dare take. Would cost us handssss and legsss to finance that monthly installment.

3) CPF savings - Enough to cover downpayment after Housing Grant? Do i need to fork out cash for monthly installment thereafter, or would my monthly contribution be sufficient to finance the installment?

4) Other financial contingency plans.


With the common consensuses that we are looking forward to upgrading our house in future, we would rather be prudent, get a reasonably nice house with budget renovation n fittings. Afterall, what matters most is just being comfortable with loves one in your place call home, not showroom. :)

Dollars and Cents

Setting up a new home nvr comes cheap. While we tried our ways and means to cut cost and go tight on budget, there were still moments of temptation. Thankfully, we managed to work everything out within our tight budget.

Renovation - $20900
Aircon (ME Sys3 Non-invertor) - $2236
Electrical Appliances - $2852
Furniture - $5522.50
Bathroom Fittings - $1716
Kitchen Fittings - $629
Windows (Privacy Film & Curtains) - $1500
Lighting - $666.50
Laundry System - $670
Misc - $968.65

Total costing (as of 21/04/2009) - $37660.65

Before and After

The renovation started on 26th Feb 09. After 38days and with partial touch up remaining, we surprised ourselves by placing the before and after pictures together. It is only then we realised we did a lot of work and for the $21k spent, was well worthy.

Before...


After...

Living room w new half wall for TV console.



Inner hall with all downlights on.

Before...


After...

Open concept kitchen sealed up, with new door.

Before...


After...

MBR with TV console

Before...


After...



Other side of Lollipo rm, with wardrobe (done up by another closet specialist)

Before....


After...

Study/Guest room

Before...

After...

Kitchen door & feature wall


Before...

After...

White kitchen cabinets

Before...

After...

MBR toilet


Before...

After...

Common toilet

Some other misc stuff..


Shoe cabinet


FOC store room shelving


Laundry system

My Quotation

The winning factor for my contractor was both the price and his flexibility. I had my fair share of speaking to IDs/contractors and probably (i'm trying to find excuses for them) they r working for their companies, they cannot be as flexible as Ah Soon when negotiating for the best deal. Each time i add/remove an item from the list, they will have to re-quote and get back to me again, which sometimes take as long as wks!

For the fact that Ah Soon is so busy, he would rather be upfront of all the prices and quotations, as well as FOCs - one very gd point abt him. However, his 'package' also came with a lot of 'aeroplane flying' (otherwise known as no-show) during our appts. Well, its was kinda a give and take situation we had to bear with at the initial stage.

Having thrown in many many misc items, my quotation came up to $21k+, with a briefly translated English quotation (he doesn't understand English and got someone to help him with it), it summed up to be the following:

Toilet & Kitchen
Hacking for 2 toilet wall and floor tiles
Hacking for kitchen wall and floor tiles
Removal of kitchen cabinet
Supply & lay 2 toilet wall and floor tiles (<$3psf)
Supply & install 2 fixed glass screen (without door) at MBR toilet
Install 2 WC and 2 basins Install toilet accessories at 2 toilets - FOC
Supply & install 2 PD doors for 2 toilets
Supply & install 1 waterproof chair at MBR toilet
Supply & lay kitchen wall and floor tiles (<$3psf)
Construct 2inch base for kitchen cabinet and washing machine
Supply & install 11ft kitchen cabinet (top & bottom) - Extended to 14ft @ no additional charges Supply & install 11ft Bellus solid surface top - Extended to 14ft @ no additional cost
Supply & install stainless stain backing at kitchen cabinet (hob area) - FOC
To seal up kitchen half wall
Supply & install 1 top-track sliding door at kitchen entrance
Supply & install stainless stain water piping for toilets & kitchen (inclusive of 2 hot water piping shower point)
Alter kitchen window grills - FOC
Supply & change window panes at 2 toilets - FOC

Living Room & Bedroom, Misc
Supply & install false ceiling for living room area (w 10-12 lighting points)
Supply & install half wall at living room area with 5ft TV console - Extended to 6ft @ no additional cost
Supply & install wrought iron window grills at living rm and bedroom 3
Supply & install wrought iron main gate
Supply & install 5ft TV cabinet at MBR (half height)
Flushing of beam in MBR with half wall gyspum board - FOC
Supply & install 4ft shoe cabinet at living room (included an extra cushion seat FOC)
Supply & change location of DB box location and box up of wall area
Wash & polish marble floor for whole unit
Plastering for whole unit (inclusive of ceiling)
Painting of whole units, doors and pipes (unlimited no. of colors, ceiling limited to white only)
Supply and install 8 ft cabinet w sliding doors under windows in Bedroom 2 - FOC
Shifting of existing power points - FOC
Change all existing power point and switches cover - FOC
Design wooden strip at main door - FOC
Supply & install additional 5 double power points - FOC
Supply & install 3 SCV points - FOC
Supply & install 2 telephone points - FOC
Supply & change main door lock and all room doors lock - FOC
Supply & change door viewer at main door - FOC
Supply & change door latch (x2) at main door - FOC
Supply & cover vent area above 2 bedroom doors - FOC


My house is currently in the midst of rectification for some minor upsets here and there. With no hiccups, i would expect my renovation to be within $21k even after the variation order.

The ID/Contractor Search. Part 2

It was a tough fight for us. Wants vs Needs. But who doesn’t love a pretty house to stay in?


Apart from realising our tight budget will never fit us into any IDs, we realised most of the ID seems to be only following my exactly layout. We know exactly what we want and I dictate very much the space planning. At end of the day, i realised i didn’t need to pay someone at a higher price to do all these planning for me.


Reading the reno forums gives much idea and recommendations to IDs/contractors. That is one very powerful channel for research. Otherwise, proceed with caution at Expo Home Fairs and IMM - there are lots of very intimidating sales personels. It is always gd to find out who are the highly raved IDs/contractors before approaching them. Speak direct to the person you wanna work with, at least u know for sure he/she is experienced and not some designer-wannabe fresh from schools.


The list of IDs we’ve approached and their brief review:

1) Unique D*sign (ID) - Extremely horrible hardselling and refusing to let us leave their showrm without paying the $1.5k for them to do up six 3D rendering. Price is high, but with lousy quality. No surprises abt that, i’ve been seeing their -ve reviews everywhere online.


2) Menag* Dzign (ID) - Dealed w a initially-nice young chap who turned extremely boastful abt his own designs eventually. Cunning to left out the wardrobe in his quotation so that it will meet my budget. When i say i have a budget, i expect everything to be done within that budget.


3) InnerRm (ID) - One of the more true blue designing house, which i’m really comfortable w. Sadly, that came w a high price tag too.


4) A&D (ID) - Gd reviews online, reasonably priced for ID range. Sincere ID attended to us (he’s one of the boss of the family biz anyway). But still abv my budget.

5) GPlan (ID) - Supposedly gd review online. Called me to complain abt his company’s problem, his fellow coll who absconded w customers’ payment for a WHOLE 30mins! And never came back w any quotation even after mths. Absurd.

At this point of time, my dearest decided to increase the renovation item list!
More things to do but w the same budget = TIGHTER BUDGET! So the list goes on…

6) Ideal House (ID), Impress21 (Contractor) - Gd reviews online as well, but never met up at all so no reviews 1st impressions. Unable to match my miserable budget.


It boiled down to last 3 candidates:

7) JGH (Contractor) - Recommended by coll n i even went up to view the two completed houses. Disappointed w the carpentry finishing, but if prices were to match, i could probably close an eye.

8 ) Relative (Contractor) - Family pressure, we had to approach him. i’m the least comfy w this arrangement because it is always harder to do things with relatives. Esp when i’m a fussy person by nature.

9) Ah Soon (Contractor) - Superman contractor who won my deal. His carpentry’s better than JGH and cheaper as well. The only minus point - he’s a super busy man that i have difficulty catching up w his speed over the phone. Our conversation never lasts for more than 1min.


Apart from the budget bursting, there are always 101 possibilities that things can go wrong in renovation. Go with someone that you feel comfortable with, talking n working. Extremely important!

The Contractor/ID Search - Part 1

Ever since the deposit was made and while waiting for the 1st appt with HDB, we started our search for the right one to do up our house. It was in a shift-in condition to those who aren’t fussy and particular, esp people like our parents. But further scrutinizing the unit, we believe we would be a little upset if we didnt do up our house the way we wanted it to be.

Now, an ID or a contractor?

ID (aka Interior Designers): most (not all) provides more visual aids and conceptualise the interior layout of the house to your liking and preference. It would be easier to visualise the output of the renovation with 3D pictures almost 90% similar to the actual end-product. Besides the visual part, coordination work from giving instructions to contractors/carpenters, right down to selection of lightings and furnishings, they will be there to advise.

Contractors: simply just provide the work. Usually does not come with any 3D pics. Hand-drawn perspective layout and simple furnishing advise, they may be able to help. But in general, they just follow your instructions and do the job. You’ll have to be the own designer for your house. Gd enough if u have a very strong idea of how u want your house to turn out. The $ saved from using a contractor could well be used to buy designer furnishings/ornaments that could always turn your house into another showroom.

So… which one?

After searching for months, asking for quotes after quotes, we have came to a conclusion that IDs generally charge MUCH higher for the same amt of work. Tight on budget = Contractor. Unless you are willing to forgo some not-as-important-work and allow the budget to be spent on those deemed as higher priority. Then again… its gonna be HARD! Very hard in fact.

Rule of thumb: whether speaking to an ID or contractor, ALWAYS (!!) give them a lower budget. Give them your actual budget, most likely they are gonna hit it exactly…and when u top a few items here n there, it’s gonna burst ur budget by a gd 10-20%. This… i’ve gathered from my own experiences as well as from feedbacks from various reno blogs.

Just to have a feel of the difference. My initial proposed works cost me $24k - $28k to get an ID. After throwing in additional overhaul for another toilet, kitchen floor/wall tiles in my reno list, contractors are quoting me ard $24k. Now, feel the diff?

**$24k isn’t the lowest, btw. My final contractor quoted me even lower.

Things to look out for in the search

We did make a couple of mistakes when it came to buying this house. Our parents couldn’t help much either, their idea of an ideal house differs a little too much from ours.

This small little checklist could also help in deciding if you would prefer to wait for the lucky lot from HDB ballots or to go ahead w a purchase in the resale market.

The most serious mistake we made was that we placed the deposit for the house without much negotiation. After inspecting the house for the 2nd time, we realised there’s quite a bit of renovation to do. Too late, price had been fixed. Given a choice, i would have negotiated with the seller because of the overhaul i have to do. That may make him lower his asking price a little, making it a even better than 'good buy'.

Having gone thru’ many many renovation quotations, here are some of the things i’ll look out for in my next purchase (that’s if i ever will shift).

1. Tiles - Living rm/Dining rm/Bedrooms/Kitchen (floor n wall)/Toilets (floor n wall). The variety of floor tiles/laminates makes tiling still pretty affordable. It is the hacking n demolition cost that kills. A major overhaul of a typical 4rm flat here can set us back by $2000 just to hack the existing tiles. Overlaying is another option, but there’s always a heated debate of over the popping of tiles underneath the overlaid tiles.

2. Walls/Ceiling. Rockstone painted walls (my nightmare!) and relatively old flats will require extensive plastering and the cost is high! Ranging from $1400 - $2200, this is another killer that burst my renovation quotation. Hacking of walls to enlarge spaces may also require assessment and approval by profession engineers. Additional cost again.

3. Kitchen cabinets/Bases. Another hacking job involved if the bases and cabinets aren’t to your liking. If cabinets are still in gd condition, there is an option to change the laminates and refurbish to make it look new n gd. Bases, i had an ugly looking one and it stretches all the way into the service balcony. I’ve meet contractor that warn me if i just hacked the bases away, the waterproofing layer may be damaged, i would be restricted in wet-scrubbing the kitchen floor. Solution: to chge the entire kitchen’s flooring = hacking + tiling = expensive!

4. Sink Taps/WC/Water heaters. If you intend to overhaul the toilet, this isn’t of relevance. Otherwise, do ensure all the above mentioned are working. My WC wasn’t flushing btw.

5. Windows and grills/gates n doors. Windows n grills, need i say more? Esp for those units along the common corridor, the window grill are recommended to be fixed w quality materials for security reasons. Wrought iron grills/gates r more expensive than aluminium, but are more secured as well. If the unit is near the stairs or lift lobby, it is a requirement to install fire-rated main doors as well, and the replacement of this door is quite expensive shd one decide to chge because of aesthetic reasons.

HDB and most banks only issue loans based on the valuation of the flat. Anything above that will have to be paid out by cash, which effectively lessen the budget you’ll have for renovation. A very rundown flat probably cost lesser in cash terms, but a major overhaul will cost quite a fair bit too. So weight the pros and cons, as well as the balance sheet!

Moral of the story: scrutinize the flat as much as you can, and bargain as hard as you can!!

The Search for the One.

The set up of this blog is mainly to archive my renovation process and the research i’ve did for the renovation of our matrimonial house.

The search for our house started off and ended within 2 days. That was an extremely quick search which never failed to amazed a lot of people. I know of friends who searching for weeks and months, only to find themselves confused over the tons of units they have seen.

I wouldn’t dare say this is a dream house for us, we are trying hard to turn it into one. We started the search with a little thought of ‘doing the norm’ - take weeks to get the house we want, that is. But our housing agent from Dennis Wee was gd. He understood our requirements and waste no time in bringing us to the units that we were not interested or simply beyond our budget. Coming back to it, I don’t have an idea of a dream house, i just need a house that’s spacious enough for the both of us. Having said that, it also has to be on high level, lift-landing level, single step to unit, big bathrooms, near my mum’s place… etc.

Main thing to note: there may be 101 important criterion to meet for the house, but one has got to prioritise which goes to the top list and which are the gd-to-have. A gd housing agent that knows your exact needs helps to make the hunt a less time consuming one too. Remember, no budget is too little (i’ve met agent who criticized me for my fussiness given my meagre budget), it is only how competent the agent is.

Oh yes, not forgetting some who r extremely into fengshui, do let your agents know the ‘directions’ that benefit you/family in the hunt, not to waste time in seeing units that are gorgeous in interior and location but failed in FS.

All in all, we saw a total of 7 units in the nearby vicinity and found this 4A 107sqm that’s 20mins walk away from my mum’s place.

Next up.. What to look out for when bargaining with the seller.