leechaorui

Hi Snooze, for a 3.5 storey building that maximise the height permissible by building control authority, does it mean that the attic floor cannot be served by lift, given that there is an overhead requirement of between 3.4m? How much floor space is required to be set aside for the development of the lift (assuming the lift size mirrors those of HDB flats).

Not sure why the owner is reluctant to provide you with the floor plan. I think it is not all landed house owners are anal. Hope that you have taken over the house and can now renovate to your liking. Agree with you that reconstruction cost a lot now, in the millions. Do share with us pictures of your new place and how you have transformed it.

Yes, for easier maintenance, you need to have an access panel near it. I installed a casette aircon and got the contractor to install an access panel next to it.

If you have a bit more of height space, you can construct an extension upwards (like a small house sitting on the roof) and has a bigger piece of glass cover over the perimeter of the extension. In this way, you should not have an issue with water seepage. You can pm me and I can draw a simple picture for you to help with visualisation of how it looks.

Certainly the owner of the house has spent more on rebuilding given that piling can be expensive especially when micro piling is used. Some engineers have opined that Singapore's construction safety standard is very high and for most small landed properties construction, piling is not really needed. However, with the high engineering standards, many of these cases that do not require piling also end up with piling being used, with likely even higher safety requirements. The piling cost in the 1990s shouldn't be too high and if the owner wishes to charge a bit of premium in the selling price for having used piling to construct his house, I feel it should be accepable.

Hi Snoozee, followed your navigation to URA website. There is nothing on Road Reserve. Got the following info. GROSS PLOT RATIO (GPR) GPR of landed houses is resultant of the allowable building envelope BUILDING HEIGHT CONTROL Maximum 3 storey

Hi Snoozee, I am not sure of plot ratio. So far, I noticed that the houses surrounding me could build to 3.5 storey. I doubt that my house would be worth $10m. That is a lot of money. I can see your logic that even with rebuilding cost sunk in, the value of the house can still appreciate further and more than the construction cost. Thank you for your sharing.

Hi Snoozee, the houses that are sold at the estate I am staying in are quite varied in prices. There was a 5000sqft old semi detached (condition is very poor, no window, no door, seriously damaged flooring, etc..) along the road sold for $6.9m. There are also terrace houses sold for between $3m to $4m. There are a few new built detached and semi-detached houses of about 2400sqft for semi detached and about 4,000 sqft for detached sold for $6m and $10m respectively. Didn't really keep track of prices after I bought the house and only look at the prices now. The house just right behind me is huge. The agent shared with me that the owner sold the house for $27m. The prices have quite big variation. You are right about empty house. Hence, not sure of whether to rebuild as there are not many people in the house. Having a bigger house is nice but high maintenance cost, very low utilisation and high taxes are the consequences.

There is no intention to flip but will consider selling if offered a very attractive price. You are spot on in the cost of demolition and erection of new house. The contractor that is building the house opposite of my place did quote me imformally : design and build, $2m for 3.5 storey and construction is expected to take up to 2 years from the time submissions are approved and work can be started, baring any unforeseen circumstances. This price doesn't include lighting, cabinets, toilet items, aircon, solar panels, etc.. but include vinyl flooring/ homogenous tiles for flooring, door frames, one small made in China lift, wooden doors with keys, aluminium windows, gate pillar, motorised gate, termite treatment with warranty and all M&E works and carpet grass for the garden. I think his price is less than $400 psf, though it still adds up to $2m. To pay for the rebuilding cost, I will still need to save up for a few more years. Hence, not in a hurry to rebuild. For rebuild, is it better in terms of value appreciation to build into detached or remain as semi-detached? At present, my house is in livrable condition as A&A works was done in 2000 by the previous owner. You are right in your computation of landed property prices as the prices have moved up quite a fair bit over the last 20 years. It is fine with me to keep the house as it is and moving house is quite a big hassle. The cost to pay for constuction is also quite steep, not to mention the after construction defects discovery. If shoddy materials and workmanship took over from good sense construction, the house will end up with a lot of difficult to rectify defects. The trouble of chasing after contractor, getting them to honour their commitment and setting aside time for defect rectification works can be quite painful and disruptive. This money if not spent on construction, can be a good source of reserve for comfortable retirement. Hence, don't really know if I should really plan to rebuild.

Don't plan to flip but if there is a good offer that comes along the way, I may sell the property. Not a big family and the current small living space in the house though tight is still tolerable. The contractor who does construction work opposite my house shared that construction cost is facing constant upward revision due to inflationary pressure in raw materials, wages and services cost. As the family is not big, I don't plan to maximise the ground floor area, probably can use about 2000 sqft of land out of the 6000+ sqft of land to build upwards. Not sure of budget required to rebuild and if rebuilt, I am also undecided on whether to construct semi-detached or detached. In any case, prefer not to take construction loan or bank loan to do construction if I can help it. Another concern is my neighbour may also rebuild and given his land size of close to 6300 sqft, he could potentially construct a very big house. If I construct a smaller house, the visual contrast between the 2 houses could be very great. One could look very grand while the other could appear quite mickey mouse and small. I thought renovation such as a new rebuild would still be able to add quite tremendous value to couples.

Thanks Snoozee and Peteherock. Will wait patiently to read your advice/comments.

I notice that there are many variations of small house that is easy to set up that you can purchase online. https://reachflypanel.en.made-in-china.com/product/askEGlAVgCch/China-Prefabricated-Small-Cottage-Homes.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pc-new-cns&utm_content=pc-new-stheast-cns&fbclid=IwAR1Z30y9vrIWtqnxo4IwXIHFA0tCtcenAPVZ26xPGHBmgj3_cd_XMbzciXA This is something for you to consider but I don't know how this is being done. I think you will still need a contractor to work on the sanitary system and electrical system. If you do not need to have a toilet in the room, I think it will be easier. These can be perceived as temporary structures and therefore, you may not need to seek clearance from URA. Besides, URA doesn't police even when there are complaints

Would like to seek some advice/ opinion on finances and construction of semi-detached house with slightly more than 6000 sqft land. The land is fairly rectangular with about 15m frontage, backyard width of about 12m and 43m depth. Neighbouring semi-detached is slightly below 6,300 sqft. Currently this semi-detached has done A&A in year 2000. It looks like an old house with only 3 bedrooms of modest size and the house is small relative to the land. The current planning guidelines allow for construction of 3.5 storey and the house directly opposite of mine built 3.5 storey without piling as the soil is very solid. The building contractor opined that the area around do not require piling. Three possible options that are available: 1. Retain the house as it is. It has the old charm of the yesteryears black and white house but the living space is tight though there is a lot of greenery around the house. 2. Demolish and erect into another semi detached. 3. Demolish and erect into a detached house. Prefer to have more greenery and therefore, not looking to maximise GFA in terms of ground floor space but will install a lift if the house is reconstructed and build to 3.5 storey. I am a simple person and do not need to decor the house with parquet flooring, huge marble/ granite slabs, fancy cabinets, lighting, sanitary wares, etc.. Looking to use only homogeneous tile for interior space and simple cabinets (do not have so much things to keep). For bedrooms, vinyl flooring is fine, no need full glass windows but will need aircon, more powerpoints around the house including charging station for electric cars and use pavers for car park areas, a motorised gate with a gate pillar that can also double up as a dropbox. The house should be built in a way that it is easy to maintain. The rest of the outdoor areas can be grassland. In terms of finances, there is still an outstanding housing mortgage loan which can be settled by paying off using CPF savings and there is still excess for retirement. No other financial debts. In purchasing this house, CPF was not used and if CPF is used now, it will be the first time that CPF is utilised. In terms of cash, have about $900K in cash savings excluding shares and stable annual income of about $0.5m. If chose to rebuild, will probably wait for the recession to hit first before embarking on reconstruction as the cost of rebuilding now is quite high. If rebuild, will have to move out and probably stay with parent. Advice needed on whether I should rebuild given my current financial situation and if rebuild, should go for semi-detached or detached? Currently the property tax of this house is not high as the living area is small but reconstruction will probably expand the living space signifcantly and cost more in terms of yearly property tax payment and other expenses of maintaining the house such as lift servicing, more toilets, etc. Have probably not included all information about rebuilding or finances but feel free to ask.

shhh201, based on your land area of about 5000 sqft with 12.2m frontage, your depth should be around 38m assuming you have a regular rectangular land. With back and front set back of 9m and side setback of 4m, the max that you can build your house on the land is about 237sqm/ 2500 sqft (round down for being conservative). If you wish to use the side area for potential parking instead of garden strip at least on one side, you may wish to consider leaving a setback of 3m at the side so that it provides a more comfortable space to get in and get out of the car. The usual car park space width provision is 2.4m and it can feel quite tight to get in and out. However, this will mean that your house size will shrink a bit more. Agree with Snooze, for long term self stay, it is better to do a new erection. This means you can potentially build to the max height limit of the planning guidelines on envelop control in your area. Based on the size of your house, I think most quotes will hover around upwards of $3m at today's prices and takes up to 2 years for completion. In construction, it is important to take care of the agreement and be very clear what you are getting and paying for including a clause on how disputes can be resolved. If you want a house that is fairly unique and meet your needs (provided you are clear with your needs) and optimise the space allocated, you will probably need an architect to design it for you. A well design house and a mediocre design makes a difference in terms of functionality, aesthetics and future maintenance. For a detached house, a 5000sqft land area is not exactly big. If you wish to leave more ground external area for green spaces, it will eat into the interior space availability. Other considerations that can help you better optimise space is to build a basement which can house the home shelter and provide sheltered car park spaces for potentially 3 to 4 cars. However, the cost of a basement may increase cost by quite a substantive sum, depending on design. Better to plan both finances and design carefully first before taking the plunge as this is for your own stay into the long term. Quite a lot of home owners didn't plan carefully and regret after building the house as they realised that the house that they built is not what they want most, after spending their life savings.

When upgrading your electrical system, do consider installing a vehicle charging point. $30K for all the electrical works sound very reasonable in today's market.

It is normal for the contractor to take over the utilities and pay for it. The cost of utilities would usually have been factored into their pricing of construction to you.

I am ok to let my neighbours' contractors come into my house to do servicing or repair works, if needed. However, they should not design their houses such that this is imposed on me indefiniitely. I alsi let my next door semi detached neighbour come over when he erected a common wall and changed his roof. As this dispute with my neighbour is recent, i will let him cool down for a while first. If he continues to remain stubbon and inconsiderate, then i will be left with no choice but to lodge a complaint with BCA or URA. As neighbours, I try to be fair to him by speaking with him first (though he unleshed a lot of anger at me) rather than making a complaint immediately. Not sure if the authorities will compel him to comply with the setback requirement.

Even if I run a cable across the field, he can still complain that the line of sight from the side light is not bearable. In any case, I am not switching on the lights every night. We probably switch on the lights when there are visitors and when we are doing gardening in the evening.

Yes, agree that there is line of sight of the light. Similar to other lightings of houses next to each other where the light doesn't cast directly into each other house but there is light emitting out and one feels uncomfortable with the side light. Not sure if this is something reasonable on line of sight of light from the side, not to mention that the lights are only switched on occasionally in the evening and there is a tree that block about 60% (my estimate) of the side light. On the other hand, he behaves aggressively at the mention of his unlawful extension all the way to the entire setback where he could simply open the window at the back and look into my house, in addition that his roof drainage pipe can only be serviced from my premise and if it drops, it probably has no where to collapse into accept into my premises.

Thanks Snooze, that is a financial reason for deciding against installing solar aircon. I find that the solar aircon marketed in China is only a couple of hundred US$. However, when it comes to installing it in SG homes, the price is several thousand dollars. A very big jump in prices from source and in SG. Probably wait for the market to be more mature, with improved technology and more competition, the price of solar aircon and solar panels can hopefully reach a more realistic level.

As my house is an old house, the lights is placed a the height of about 4m. In addition, there is a tree to cover about 60% of the side light that illuminates my garden. The nearest flood light location is about 5 m away from my neighbour's boundary wall and if considered diagonally, it would be about 7m away. If my neighbour has adhered to the setback requirements, the distance from my light to his house would be even further. I have not been to his house to know how much light is shining into his house. Hence, cannot gauge. Nonetheless, I will tilting the lights further away.

Yes, the 4 neighbours have their backyard facing me and their houses are built on ground that is at about 1m higher than my house (my estimate). The lights installed are not for aesthetic reasons, they are placed directly on the second storey of my house shining onto my backyard garden. The lights are meant to help me illuminate my backyard garden (estimated at about 25m from the placing of the lights. I do not plan to switch on the lights throughout the night but only switched it on when I am at the garden in the evening. If I do not go to the backyard garden, the flood lights shining onto my garden will not be switched on. Hence, the flood lights will not be switched on throughout the night. I have not entered their house to know if the extension ground is covered by concrete. From my second floor, a small view of it tells me that they are using it for dry kitchen and dining room. Hence, it is likely that the ground for the extension is tiled up.

Hi AWS, you are right that he is just finding fault when I spoke with him about his extension. Difficult to talk to him as he is very aggressive. Not sure if his building is within envelop control. I think his house is built during the 1990s or 2000. The other 2 neighbours have left the setback as it is but the last 2 neighbours have actually built up the setback. The design is not modern but still considered properly built up. For the tree roots damaging his foundation, it is very unlikely as this tree is known to have weak lateral roots and there were no damage to the boundary wall besides the tree.

Thanks Snooze, I also wish to be a good neighbour and avoid dispute through give and take. I bought this long time vacant semi detached house a few months ago and only started renovating recently. The orientation of the house is rectangular with neighbours on all 3 sides (the two sides of the house and behind the house). My neighbours beside me is another 2 storey concrete constructed semi detached house (with whom his plants will sometimes grow over to my side and I am ok with it, though he has given me the go ahead to trim them or I can asked him to come over to trim them). The other side is a row of 4 neighbours (all are 3 storey/ 3.5 storey semi detached houses) whose backyard faces my side wall and they are on slightly higher ground. They are not wood structure houses. As I have quite a good size field behind my house, I bought 2 flash lights (I think it is either the 200w or 300w type) to shine onto the garden in the evening when it is dark. The lights are installed at the back of my house and aimed at my garden and it is quite bright, though it cannot reach the end of the back boundary wall. As my neighbour is at the side, he told me that my lights are stadium lights and it affects him when I turned it on. On the other hand, the 2 neighbours at the side of my house have extended their kitchen/ room all the way from their backyard with covered roof and windows to the boundary wall. I think they felt that the lights were bright partly because of the extension to use their backyard setback entirely. The other 2 neighbours kept to their setbacks and have no complaints about my lights. About a week ago, the extension roof drain of my neighbour's house collapsed into my garden. I helped to clear up the debris and informed him about it when he returned from overseas. I also used this opportunity to alert my 2 neighbours with illegal extension that they have built their extension too close to my house. One of them is agreeable to renovate and build up a wall to provide privacy while the other is upset and started complaining about leaves falling into his house, the roots of my tree possibly damaging his foundation and my lights shining at my field are too bright. On the tree, I think it is about 4 metres tall and the stem of the tree to the boundary wall is about 2 to 2.5 metres away from my neighbour's house. I have also got a gardener to prune the tree such that none of the branches touches my neighbour's boundary. My contractor has urged me to lodge a complaint to get them to dismantle their illegal extension but I am reluctant to do it as I can understand that they are used to having the space and there will be cost and inconvenience to them if they were to totally demolish their illegal extension. At the same time, one of the neighbours has refused to wall up his extension and keep his drainage pipe to his side of the house such that he can do the servicing without coming over to my place and remove the risk of his drainage pipe falling into my house, should there be an accident.

Hi Snooze, as the technology is evolving so quickly, I suspect that every 6 years or so, the technology would have changed quite substantially that it renders the solar panels installed earlier appear obsolete and inefficient. While home owners may continue using the solar panels, some may choose to discard them and install newer technology ones. Looking at it from the lens of a green perspective. While solar power helps to reduce the monthly electrical bills, I would like to check if they are environmentally good in the sense that these solar panels can be disposed off in a way that doesn't harm the environment.