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!!