JustAsking

There is only ONE RULE when dealing with such ppl and that includes car salesmen, property agents and those in the 'like minded kind of these sorts' Always hold more money of theirs than work done that is the only effective squeeze the consumer has on them. If they renegade, that's their lost.

TS probbaly hit a RC bar ( I won't want to know why he went to drill where there are metal bars within, maybe he was searching for GOLD bars) LOL But if you use a SDS drill with a good quality SDS bit you will be able to drill thru. But for driling a few holes would you go to the lengths to buy a good quality high powered SDS drill? I don't think so. (another LOL)

You could try going to shops like Thye Seng at Geyland ( Sims Ave side) or another one operated by his younger ( and not so nice younger bro) at Changi. They sell all sorts of generic brackets and stuff to 'hold things up or down' LOL

Lightning fixture has no live and neural wires and both could be incoming or outgoing same as a common light switch. But if you're going to attached the two wires to each terminal just make very sure that neutral NEVER comes into contact with LIVE! And NEVER try to do this without turning off the main switch AT THE BOX. I know the daring expert just try to switch off at the light switch but I never take such a risk myself. So Plse be SAFE, Mr DIY electrician.

Please post who is the ID so that many many others here do not fall victim. I noticed ppl here can do each other a GREAT favor if they sound out the warning. Then those who OVER CHARGE , run road and do bad service are out of the reno and construction business for good. Benefits those who want to remain in the business and provide good service and mostly ppl like yourself and the rest, who are potentiol customers , DO NOT become victims also.

Customers like you can be called difficult. Will the slant affect anything? Does the water logged one side becos if it and cannot flow, even if there was some water log, those are tiles and cannot adsorb water, right? Of course, if you want tiler to tile straight straight all the way using the level to check every surface. He'll also be straight upfront to charge you a BIGGER sum for all the time consuming work he'll have to do the job rather than using estimation only!

You need legal action to get these ah beng ah seng to 'move in the right direction' or else all talk is useless and you end up losing more of everything.

I no plumber but I DIY my own plumbing besides many other things ( legal ones of course...hahaha). If you want help or advice, it will be extremely useful to post pictures ( to paint a million words) to your problem.

Not only spoil the market but landlord is killing himself..hahaha..at today's electric charges + increasing rental rate and other related fees he have to pay. Price Guide to Land lord. Master bed room rate $650 to $700. Even second room you can charge $600.

Hi Just like to provide some pointers to landlords and tenants alike, who are renting out their premises or wanting to rent a premise. Firstly, it does much favour, to both parties if the transaction is carried out without an agent but why you may ask, why are there so few if ever direct transaction taking place, with so many rental transactions going on every year. First, tenants need to realistic about offering a price which they want to rent a premise for. Even if they were to put up notices of their need to rent a premise at the many free/paid web sites if they offer a rental rate way too low from the current market price for that sort of premise, no decent landlord would contact them. The same applies to landlords, who overprice their property for rental. But there is no shortage of landlords or owners themselves putting their premise up for rental at whatever price. Then why are the direct tenants not calling them? This is where my second point comes in. Second, tenants must make the effort to sieve and call up as many owners/landlord who advertised their property themselves to be able to do a direct transaction. And they must inform the landlord honestly about their needs and the possible type of tenants they are. Failure to do so, will cause them to miss the chance to get a good premise at a good price. Experienced and good landlords will be able to sieve and negate these 'dishonest' tenants even if the tenants are willing to pay the rental rate. Thru experience, landlords have mentioned that they have received so many calls form agents but few from tenants themselves. This shows the lack of effort from the tenants themselves and their faliure to fully disclose their needs, which have allow agents to quiclkly filled up this void and act as the middle party. So if tenants are unable to get a place directly with a potentiol landlord and has to do it thru an agent and has to pay a substantial agent fee for it, they only have themselves to blame, well mostly. Hope this helps. Cheers

Dear TS Can you kindly explain your suituation. I only guessed that you have paid some money as deposit but the purchase fell thru after OTP was signed?

Take it from me. Out of a hundred agent, that I have come across, 95 don't quite make it in the ethtic department let alone being tactful and be upfront open and honest. But the most surprising thing is, even when I am not an agent, I get alot of ppl, I had come across in the property line, approaching me for housing advice and asking me whether I have come across availiable units for rent and sale. The most important aspect of being an agent is honesty, tactfulness and able to work on a win-win suituation whenever possible. A little kindness and helpfulness here and there helps too. It is easier if an agent starts with a mindset that money really isn't that important. So from the looks of it, the impression was made when a person one is dealing with or had dealt with, left a good impression on whoever the person had come across. As they say, good reputation takes years to build and even more years to maintain and improve upon it and all it takes is just one or two lousy incident to tarnish all of it.

Hi Seng Asking for a friend to see whether your quotes are better. Cost of tiling kitchen and two bathrooms wall of a 3A unit of typical area 70 sqm. Thanks

Attempting to build a 1 storey to 1.5 storey depends on a few factors. The layout of your terace and is your unit a inter terrace with neigbours having rebuilt to 2 stories or have a potentiol to rebuild. If your neighbours have rebuilt to 2 stories then it is not wise to do 1.5 stories..you are still getting water from their roof down to you and you will still get the squashed feeling! It is better if the unit is a corner. As the old structure was built without foundation, it is wiser if I-beams can be used to create the other half storey for support beam sturctures. But keep in mind, it is not cost effective to rebulid to 1.5 stories. You add another $200k thereabout to the in initial $200K and you can have a possibility to completely re-construct. Your overall value would not appreciate much if you rebuild to 1.5 stories but your property tax will increase. So with a little increase in space, there is still a lot of disadvantages.

In the laws of contracts, if a pervious contract has been terminated and a new contract made even between two same parites, all terms and clauses of the pervious contract has NO bearing on the two parties signing the new contract. Although, some might called it unethical or loopholes to exclude the agent from getting another commision from the 'new contract', laws are laws. To facilitate and removed any doubts, landlords should wisely chose to renew the contract after formally terminating the old. All written in 'black and white' would be useful, including termination agreement in written form. Creating a space of a few days, would also be useful before putting the actual beginning period of the new contractual period. One of the most brillant reason(s) even if the agent were to go legal ( and he would not, as the agent will surely lose) used by landlords is : the tenant initally wanted to terminated and leave but changed his mind a few days after formally terminating the old contract and opted to renew! But do make sure, if you want to be in the proper standing in the eyes of the law, you yourself as a landlord, has to obey all laws like renting out a approved unit if HDB, reporting your rental income to tax authorities etc. As some agents being unsatisfied that they are ruled out of getting another commission, would try to 'make trouble' with the landlord for 'playing hardball with them! Hope this helps.

Just a general rule or two, regarding the road widening and set back required. If you are buying a landed near main roads or facing main roads, then check for this requirement. Alternatively, check if the front boundary lining of developed house and those undeveloped are not in line. As a safe rule, buy regular land shaped houses and those within the landed neighbourhood away from main roads, gov facilites ( sub station etc).

Welcome to the Club! Once you have worked out that you can repay for the landed terr and it is in rather good condition, you are well on your way to peaceful living till retirement ! Choose a nice neighbourhood to live in. Make sure the roofing is in good condition if you're are not doing major A-A. Pest Control is about $250 to $400 per year quarterly inspection. Refuse should be about $40+ included in the Utility bill monthly. If not cable ready then you have to pay about $2500+ to have it cabled up , you can opt for a 2 year installment payment and get 2 yrs of many free channels too. PUB depends on uasge but reasonable rate would be about $250 to $350. Security depends whether you need it or not, most does not. Others would be for repair and maintanence. Need to set aside $2000 to $5000 yearly depends on size of unit.

Dear cookcpu Just thought I'll offer this advice. If your neighbour did build some structure on your land without your consent explictly written ,then you are entitled to, first inform them to remove it and relocated to their own boundary. If you don't take action now and as time pass, it'll be more difficult if eventually it has to be handled thru the legal process anyway to have it removed anyway. But firstly, you have to engage a land surveyor ,who will determine rather accurately for you both on site and in drawing where and how much the 'encroaching structures' had come over. This process is not very costly, range from less than a $1k or so. With the factual information, if there was indeed encroachment as shown by the land survey mapping then inform your neighbour about it and be firm that they should remove the structure by a given deadline. If they delay to act, give a positive reply or refuse, you'll have to engage a lawyer to act upon it. Hopefully it doesn't come to this. Cheers.

BCA or URA would not intervene if the issues do not fall under the guidelines regarding building restrictions like set back required or other specified rules in private landed houses. Yours has become a private dispute and the reason is this. You should not have asked your own roofer to remove any of their encroaching properties in the first place. The right way is to ask ( nicely at first) them to remove it on their own accord and expense or else you lawyer letter them.

If the flooring has cracked and some old tiles have pooped out here and there, then it is not adviseable to overlay. For a successful overlay you need a soild and even plane surface of the old tiled flooring to do so. Hacking will be the best option and you can use laminate instead of tiles to save some cost here.

Can't really answer your question but it really boils down to your personality. For example, if you are not the person to 'control' the contractor and need him to be helpful and honest during the course of the reno work then Contractor A would probably suit you better. But be prepared for some slip up and shoddy workmanship. But if you can firmly and tacfully 'control' the contractor in his 'sleazy' traits then Contractor B would be better and you get a more nicely done up project, with less supervision required for you to be on-site to ensure that issues go smoothly. It isn't easy to decide of course, as you still have a reno budget to keep to.