asoon88

Hi Everyone, My nephew Jonathan Wong is participating in this year's OCBC Cycle Singapore to raise funds for the National Cancer Centre Research Fund. I have done my part and would like forumers who have profitted from selling their properties to donate a small fraction of their profits to this worthy cause. No amount is too small. For those who spend a fortune on Feng Shui products, please channel some funds for this worthy cause because it is lives that we are aiming to save and extend for those suffering from cancer. We spent a fortune renovating our properties, buying furniture/ appliances and throwing good money away to con-men in the feng shui business ! Spare a thought for those with good intentions to raise funds for a cause. Please click on this link to donate http://www.everydayhero.com.au/jonmax014 Thank you very much and may those who contribute be rewarded a thousand times in good health and wellness .

If your flat is a new flat (within 1st year), get HDB to rectify the problem. If your flat is a resale unit and a pre-fabricated type, cracks like this is part and parcel of thermal linear expansion/contraction within concrete slabs which HDB may not bother to address for you unless the cracks is getting bigger and bigger. Just buy some cement powder n mix it with water and fill up the gaps. Paint over. Your problems will be over.

If your wife wasn't a PR before she married you, get an annulment instead. Your status will be SINGLE instead of DIVORCEE. Show to the court, thru' your lawyer, that your wife manipulated you into marriage. Shouldn't be too difficult. If your dick isn't working, that's the best annulment excuse because the marriage wasn't consumated .

Divorce is a serious matter. The fact the your brother and his spouse arrived to this stage cannot be the doing of one party only. His spouse is claiming an exhorbitant amount for child support. Unless your brother was (is) a rich man, coughing out $3.5K is no small change. I sense that your brother has done something grave enough to piss-off his wife. That is why she does not want the children to be near him at all. I suggest that your brother stop insisting on his 'right' to see the children. The cheapest and simplest way is to create a facebook account with an identity bearing the children's name + "father", eg. Trilyn Tang's Daddy or Desmon Goh's Papa. Soon enough, the children will have their own facebook account and somehow, things will connect. It can be on any other social website. I am a married man with 4 kids aged between 6 to 18 years. I know a woman can be nasty and unreasonable at times despite a husband's best of intentions. However, every party in a marriage must give-n-take including the children. Only time can heal wounds. Ask your brother to reflect on what he has done to cause his marriage to fail. He cannot be an angel. You know what I mean. I wish them well and get back together for the sake of the children. They are still young. Falling back in love isn't that difficult if one stops being selfish and point fingers

During renovations, the tiler usually mixes a bonding powder which is white in colour with cement to strengthen the adhesion between the tile and the cement mix. Try buying acid meant for washing floor tiles and see if it helps in removing the stain. I know it works in my own toilet.

Have you ever been to a restaurant or coffee shop kitchen ? Even with their powerful suction hoods turned on, you can still smell burnt oil or nice garlic aroma depending on the time of day. I have used a cooker hood since the 80s' from Elba to present day Ariston and I insist on having one. The reason is simple, it removes at least 80% of the oil fumes. You need to maintain the hood because the carbon filter can only do so much as far as smell is concerned. Next, clean up the kitchen after every cooking session especially if you have deep fried something. Many people assume that having a cooker hood will keep their kitchen 100% clean and smell free. Well, it will if you maintain the hood by washing the filter regularly and changing the carbon filter at least once every 2 years. Many people's homes have hoods that smell like an oil tank ! They complain their hood is a lousy brand...hey, Fujioh, Rinnai, Ariston, Castor, lousy ??? I think the owners are just LAZY.

I used Classic 20 years ago for my first flat and was very impressed with their kitchen design and worksmanship. 20 years later, I regret not using them for my second flat but trusted someone else to do them job instead. Results were miles apart ! If I strike TOTO, I will tear down my kitchen and redo it all over again....using Classic.

You must have seen the maid ! Peggy is a typical Singapore girl.

Hi, my renovations are completed. I wouldn't call the person a designer but more a coordinator. Her name is peggy. Just a word of advice : PLEASE INSIST ON BEING INVOLVE IN YOUR CARPENTRY DESIGN INCLUDING DIMENSIONS, FITTINGS USED and ACCESS AREAS (how your want to put your cutlery,utensils,etc). I trusted the coordinator too much and I am stuck with a nice-to-look-at but sub-functional kitchen cabinet !

I would recommend Swift United Logistics - Tel : 6502-0025. Look for Sky. They charged me $680 using 2 trucks with automatic platforms to move out my barang-barang from a 5-rm flat to an EA. This includes handcarrying 3 floors down and up a 72" Glass Table The move took a total of 3 hrs to clear everything from point A and move to point B. Therefore, for those who thinks $680 is expensive, think again. These guys know their stuff. They protected everything with a glass or wood surface, eg. CRT TV, Glass cabinet,etc with thick cardboards and shrinkwrapping. Its a lot of work for $680. I felt pai-seh after the job was done but that was what Sky quoted me.

I hit some hiccups with HDB permit approval and it caused a two week delay in work starting. Xclusiv made up by putting extra manhours. Overall, I am very satisfied with the people they use to do the hacking/tiling, painting, cornice,plumbing and electricals. Very responsible and easy to chat with I must say ! Carpentry work is average ( because of the heavy work load before CNY) but material used is good. If you are able to accept some hiccups here and there, I say use them. Anyway, they made good what they promised me. One advice which I told other friends of mine is don't depend on the ID person to do everything. You will see the complaints coming in thereafter like in this forum. You must have your own ideas....workable ideas and colour selection...then everything will fall into place including price $$

I started this thread and have kept to my principles. Bought an EA - 12 years old, no COV, under $395K !

There is nothing wrong with the ceiling. Just a case of poor preparation before painting that resulted in the peeling of the paint coat.

I've signed up with Xclusiv to do up my flat. Their pricing is reasonable when compared to other small renovation contractors and bigger ID firms in Singapore. Worksmanship is good judging from the progress I see in my two toilets. Workers are responsible too ! What impressed me most was their commitment to deadlines. None of the other renovation firms that I approached dared to commit to the start and finish dates of my renovations. They did. I will provide forumers with more updates in the days ahead.

You need to engage a qualified electrician to change the DB. It is up to you to spend money on the rewiring. If I were the electrician, I will recommend that you change everything because I can make money ! However, unless the DB's casing plastic is 'yellow' even after cleaning, a good coat of ICI Dulux paint will do the job. DON'T paint over the Switches !

You made a serious mistake believing the agent that the seller will hand over his keys after 1st appt. The agent should have it written in black n white and signed off by you and the seller with him being the witness. Now it is your word against his. The seller can deny agreeing to any of this arrangement. As far as HDB is concerned, handover of keys should be during 2nd appt. Therefore, the agent's backside is covered. I suggest that besides lodging a complaint to his company, hold back the comm payment. His company can send you demand letters but that is only as far as they can go. They will ultimately try to compromise with you, eg.less $1K or 1 mth of your rental incurred.

It is asoon88@singnet.com.sg Thanks !

I see ....! Do you wash the floor often ? I have seen many homes with raised floor skirting to accomodate cabinets ,washing machine, refrigerator,etc. Many say it is for washing the floor. However, many do not wash their kitchen floor at all. What I normally do is to mop the kitchen with soap water and then do a rinse twice. The underneaths of washing machines and refrigerators can be cleaned if you move it out once a year. A raised floor skirting doesn't solve the problem because dust and our 'cousins' get trap and die beneath these appliances.

Why do you need a drip pan ? A washing machine is supposed to be waterproofed as far as its washing tank is concerned. If you fear leakage, better dump the washing machine and get a new one. I have been using washing machines for the past 25 years without any cement base, why the need for a cement base in the first place? Make the washing machine taller ? Just make sure you have a reliable washing machine that is used regularly and well maintained. Do not soak your clothes overnight in it. Do not overload it. Do not use ordinary detergents otherwise the suds will overflow into the drum mechanism and rust the bearings. Change the drainage pump every 3~5 years. Clear the lint deposit area monthly. Do not let water sit in any reservoirs,eg. gasket area or detergent / softener dispenser area.

Very strange that you are so budget conscious when you can afford to buy a private property ! I will recommend you a contractor who has been in business since the late '70s. His workmanship is good. He is a reliable and honest old man. His company is Kim Bee Loon Interior Renovation. You can email Winnnie at kblreno@singnet.com.sg or call him at 90115987. He is a very practical guy. So provide him your ideas and let his guys do the physical work. Don't expect him to speak English to you because he can't or draw nice pictures....he can't. Show him your concept and get him to follow it. His prices are by far the most reasonable that I have come across. He has brought me to see several units that were work-in-progress and I must say I am pretty satisfied. My mother-in-law's house was done by him 20 years ago, my sis-in-law in early 2000 and my own house soon.

This present house of your client must have been a second time he had taken a subsidised HDB loan. Therefore, he is not eligible to apply for a third time. OR he could be buying a similar size or smaller unit. Again this will not allow him to borrow from the HDB. With regards to Q1, he can buy House B if he has the cash to pay COV and other misc charges. If he doesn't have the cash, better to sell House A first and wait for 4~5 mths before doing so. HDB appts are very long nowadays. With regards to Q2, Lawyers don't give a ****. They just do up the paperwork. Buyer must pay Seller....period. Positive Sale Profit or not, lawyers cannot guarantee TIME. Neither will HDB. So long as all procedures are followed, your client will just have to follow through with the respective payments.....if he has the cash otherwise he will breach the terms spelt out under HDB's resale procedures. With regards to Q3, if you are an agent, you are poorly qualified one. I am not but I seem to know better !

Your friend is very rich ! $520K + $30K COV and she can afford it ? These are the people driving HDB flat prices through the roof. Go ahead do the "under table thing". She can afford to pay the fine if caught anyway.

I believe you are truly one of us...Singaporeans. However, that's the problem with Singaporeans.....many of us are selfish, inconsiderate and greedy. Always blaming someone else for our problems. When I see people paying sky-high prices for their HDB flats and rushing to buy private properties as well as cars, it makes me wonder how come Singapore have so many rich people ? I mean local people with pink IC, gone thru' NS, voted opposition and yet simply allowing the market to suck whatever it dictates. I can only conclude that those of us who lament the current situation are only a small group of people. There are thousands of Singaporeans out there still frolicking in their nice cars, houses and spending habits and do not access sites like this to know what is good for them.

Dear TrulySingapore, Perhaps you may want to repost your thoughts in other politically charged forums,eg. ST Forum, CNA, TalkingCock.com,etc.... Many of your postings are eating into our valuable reading time. Renotalk.com was designed to allow people who buy, sell, renovate and borrow money for their properties to share their experiences and offer good advice to others. Many of us including me have an axe to grind against the HDB and some govt dept policies. However, let all writers be short and concise about the issues and questions that they wish to highlight for others to offer their suggestions.

It's a failed sale. The initial $1K is usually split between seller and the seller's agent. Unless both seller and his agent are 'decent people', they will not return a cent to the potential buyer. The same goes for the valuation report. You won't get a cent back because it is already done. Valuation company has been paid for their services. Submission charges to HDB of $80 is burnt too. Unless all parties including the HDB are "decent people", the poor buyer will have to accept the losses.