asoon88

You are installing quite a no. of new points. Wiring, conduit, housing and labour makes the quote quite reasonable. You can actually do these yourself if you are like me...a DIY person. Why pay $12 / light install ? Drill holes and install the lights yourself. If I were an electrician, I would probably ko-tok you a little bit more !

I am waiting for their quote. Do you have pics of the toilets that they did for you ?

If you have an agent, get him to make the couple return the deposit. You should at least get back $4K. $1K option to purchase fee is gone (partly to the agent). Otherwise, escalate the matter to his agency. Question : Why didn't you check the background of the couple and the reasons why they are selling the flat ? These are questions that buyers must ask no matter how insensitive it may sound.

Six to Eight Weeks.

Well, one doesn't need to pass primary school maths to know that it would be a dumb thing to pay $590K or $780K or even $600K ! This is an HDB flat. What's so wonderful about Bishan ? Gettings stuck in jams ? Having an address with the word "BISHAN" or just following the crowd ? Pay according to what one can afford based on a 15 year loan. Don't be fooled into 20, 25 or 30 year loan tenures by the HDB or agent. A property only has value when someone is willing to offer a price for it. Look at the numerous landed and condo property owners. Many of them are just sitting on assumed paper gain. No one is willing to pay their asking price.

You should be looking hard for an alternative place to stay. It is foolish to sell your flat without planning where you want to stay including budgeting for it. Get the buyer thru' your agent to allow you to move out after CNY. I am sure they will agree because your 2nd appt will be in Jan'10. Don't change the 1st appt otherwise you will affect their plans too. In the meantime, spend every opportunity to hunt for a replacement flat. COVs are here to stay since Mah Bow Tan himself isn't against it. I have bump into alot of people like your situation. Selling is easy, looking for an alternative place to stay at a good price is like finding a needle in a haystack.

I believe having two compressors is allowed for larger flats. See link http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10205p.nsf/WP...es?OpenDocument As long as your overall current drawn does not exceed the specs, it should be alright. Better to talk to a qualified and licensed electrician before you embark on this because if the power trips and affect your neighbours or your block, you will be in deep trouble.

Just refer to your appointment letter from HDB. All the documents that you need to bring are listed there. Just make sure you bring along your ATM card (make sure your bank got money !) for any last minute payments for admin,etc. Don't pay the agent anything. The agent's company will send you an invoice for payment.

Yes, it is impossible to find anything within one's means unless they empty their CPF and bank account including their parents ! My recent EA cost me $390K already. No COV though. This question has been put to our dear minister Mah Boh Tan many times. He said recently on TV that Singaporeans have a wide choice of properties to choose from. From private, to HDB new and resale flats. He said buying property is like going into a "supermarket". He thinks buying property is like buying meat and vegetables ! Vote him out when the next election comes. He has made many greedy Singaporeans and PRs rich, he has made even more Singaporeans 'homeless' and 'bankrupt' every month. That is why no housing estate agent is an honest guy no matter how good his service is. He is out to fleece people in the most 'honest' way.

I paid less than $390K for an EA recently and it is only 12 year old. My loan for 10 years is already exceeding $1.2K/mth ! $420K for a 4-rm flat ? Unless one has a guaranteed income for life, I don't know how one can sleep soundly with a capital $$ over your head for the next donkey years.

Go ahead and buy it ! Didn't I say in my other thread that any HDB flat valued at more than $400K isn't worth to buy? This property is close to 30 years old.

The broken birds,etc, you can dump them. As for the Buddha statue, leave it as it is. You should get a small potted plant and place it near where the broken hands are. It serves two purposes :- i) The plant covers to some extent the broken hands of the Buddha ii) It shows the Buddha's loving tender care and nurturing of the plant Putting feng shui aside, even a broken buddha statue can send a message of love,peace and serenity to the family and outsiders.....especially with a plant in this unique position.

I am just guessing ! It seems feng shui masters always have something to add even when it is very illogical. It is definitely more costly to build a wardrobe. Unless one has the funds, they would more likely to go for traditional cupboards. But for hygiene and general-wellness sake, better to have wardrobes with doors even if it is a walk-in type. As for affairs, whether male or female, my take is this :- Women who prefer walk-in wardrobes tend to be hiao. They will be the type who like to shop and buy things even when they don't t need it. They seldom fold their own clothes...leaving it to their maids (if they have one). They like to stand infront of their tall mirrors and see how well their butts standout when on heels or how their buxoms pop-out in their latest carriers. Men on the other hand tend to be a little ku-liang type. They are whimsy. Say "yes" to their wives all the time. Say they are pretty even when they look horrible. Once they are out of the house, they shower praises on their female colleagues, flirt and do what most feng-shui masters say they will do. The only exception is that they will fold their clothes neatly, hang them up nicely and make sure it reminds them of the army days of yesteryear.

Oh yes ! Typically husbands who can afford walk-in wardrobes are financially better off. Therefore, I am sure feng-shui masters have statistics, that men will tend to fool around too.

Don't be fooled into all this feng shui talk about a-room-within-a room and husbands fooling around with mistresses. Many HDB flats especial prefabs, have toilets built into the masterbedroom leaving an L-shape area for the bed and wardrobe. Isn't this fang-zhong-fang already? Young couples should forgo the concept of walk-in wardrobes because let me tell you this from real-life encounters :- i) You need to knock-down one room to give you enough space to 'walk-in' ii) The clothes smell...especially if it is next to or near the master bedroom toilet. When you knock-down one room, your resale value goes down too. This is a fact. Your clothes smell because without doors, moisture from the bathroom gets absorbed by the clothes. You may not smell it because you cannot smell your own ba-uh. I have been to several house viewings with walk-in wardrobes and I can tell you the women's clothes are the smelliest ! Maybe their clothes are not dried properly with leftover rotting perfume sweaty smell. You know what I mean. Go for wardrobes with doors. It is good feng shui to keep your things hidden....especially if they are your work clothes and undies.

Housing estate agents and crooks are not very different. The former informs you the upfront payment while the latter takes whatever without informing you. Nothing to be fiducial about since all parties seller, agent and buyer were in the discussion before agreement.

This is an agent that knows the best interest of all parties including himself. Nothing "***** suay" about it.

The fact is : The coolest parts of Singapore are in the WEST and parts of the NORTH. Elsewhere it is simply simmering hot ! I wonder why valuation guys never factor this in ? EAST side properties are sitting on reclaim land which can be dislodge by a freak earthquake/tremor sometime in the future. It is also made up of marine clay unlike the granite foundations of the WEST... that's why I stay in Jurong !!

Wow ! That's going to be a painful loan for you and the family. That's what I was trying to drive at in my other threads to people not to overpay for an HDB flat. Clementi is a good location. But still it is too expensive when you consider that you got to borrow so much to finance it. Anyway, I wish you good fortune in your new EM and strike Big Sweep so that you don't have to borrow from the bank at all.

Just curious, how many years repayment for the mortgage loan did you take ?

Staying in a country like Singapore, pollution is everywhere. Horror stories about Jurong area being more polluted than other areas is a very subjective issue and seldom appreciated by people who don't stay in Jurong. I have stayed in Henderson Crescent, Clementi, Bedok, Siglap, Marine Parade, Bukit Batok West Ave 6, Jurong West St 42 and currently in Jurong West St 81 and I can tell you pollution follows you whenever there is construction activity. Yes, aircraft noise is prevalent in Jurong because of Tengah Airbase. This is something residents must discount if they intend to stay there. When I was staying in Siglap, the noise from Paya Lebar airbase isn't any better. In fact, it was much worse. When I moved to Bukit Batok, air pollution from the brick factories around the area was suffocating. Now when I travel back to Bedok & Marine Parade, I am glad I moved out from there many years ago. It has become a concrete jungle of condos and stuck-up people. No longer the laid-back, breezy and easy-going folks that I used to know. My friends stay in Punggol and Sengkang and they tell me horror stories about their floor being dirty all the time because of pollution from JB and on-going construction activity. Similarly, my sis-in-law stays a few blocks away from Centris (Jurong Point) but complains to me about "smell" from the chocolate factory and dust from the near-by petro-chemical factories. However, the property prices there have hit sky-high instead. The current property pricing game is manipulated by the govt. They want to give residents who stay in their respective estate a unique experience and premium over others. Bukit Pajang was a no-go area during the 80's. Ulu to be precise. However, due to its proximity to Bukit Timah and freehold condos around the area, prices have appreciated. No one in their respective estate wll say that their property is over-priced. Many will say wonderful things about their own estate but bad-mouth other estates even when they have never lived there before.

I have called and sms many such flyers with "NO AGENT PLEASE", only to discover that that are not genuine BUYERS or SELLERs but agents ! It is not wise to put one's IC no. down, you are inviting trouble. Similarly, knocking on one's door will not work because, many families refuse to open doors to strangers even if they are at home. I am one of the many.

Just be truthful. Eg. Serious Buyer looking for EM unit. No agents please. Doing direct transaction with Seller. Interested, please email me at : xxxxx@siminet.com.sg to arrange for meeting. Thank you. Tim Buck Too Do not put your handphone no. You will be swamped by calls including agents. Use email to vet the potential sellers just as they would vet whether you are a genuine buyer.

A newborn baby incessant cry is not like that of a dog. The frequency is different. Most people are sound asleep when a new born infant cries for milk, attention or having a stomach discomfort. Only the parents suffer...or the care-giver. Neighbours just put a pillow over their heads and fall back to sleep....mumbling at most the next day. Anyway, the twilight cries go away when an infant reaches 6-months or older. Dogs are different. They bark when they see ghosts. They bark at small children. They bark at adults. They bark at strangers. They bark when they are hungry. They bark when they are angry. They bark when they are happy. An infant doesn't do all that. Therefore, the folks in Bukit Gombak, having enjoyed peace and quiet would not want their neighbourhood to be 'destroyed' by a dog's barking whatever the hour may be. I would suggest you make peace with your neighbours by bringing the dog and your infant out for regular walks around the block. Allow the children, older folks and yuppies to play with the dog and get to know you better. They will be more tolerant after that. That's how my mum's neighbour won over the other neighbours in Clementi. The dog only barks at strangers including me !