MetalTab

Am new to landed property. Renting a place and I have to take up a pest control contract. Called 2 companies - company A says guaranteed against ants, rats, cockroaches; comes once in 2 months - $900/yr company B says no guarantee; cover mosquito, cockroaches, ants, rats, termites; comes monthly $960+GST Would anyone have any company/contacts to recommend? Thank you!

Hi Chaorui, thanks for the link... I have gone on to engage someone to do the garden and fingers crossed that the outcome will be reasonable.

Can PM contact? Thank you!

the shade sails are not at all popular here; and guess I have to re-look my options with some polycarbonate and screen shade...

am thinking of installing shade sails to block out the sun... anyone tried this before? How is it?

I'm contemplating to re-plant small garden (about 3m by 18m) with pearl grass. think it's of low maintenance. Is it an easy DIY job or better to get some professional help? Any lobang? Thank you!

may I know what is the land and built-in for your 999? Seems 'reasonable' in the current market.

I was thinking about keeping the cost to as low as possible for moderate type of fittings - and getting the contractor to do the buying probably will lead to higher costs as he is not incentivised to save owner's money (in fact, he will earn more if he can convince owner to accept lower quality fittings). No offence to contractors. And you are right about picking the fittings so that they will be to taste - and guess my wife will be super happy to do this (shopping is in my wife's DNA)... hesistated to generalise for the populace...

wow, this is a good listing; at least can give us some reference points! Thanks. wondering if u have opted to buy your own items like floor tiles, roof tiles, kitchen stuff, taps, showers, sinks etc or they were supplied by contractor/company? Always thought that will save a bit if we left these items out of the contract.

Took a drive just - agree pay peanuts get peanuts. But think here it's one man's meat, another man's poison. Qualifier is that I saw both from the outside, so truly external facade comparison only. Semi-D is still under construction; while inter is with white gate - so hope we are talking about same 2 houses. I frankly thought that the semi-D is better done. Cleaner, more modern. And for the land area differential, the semi-D would have gotten a better deal in stretching the 750k. And I did bring 2 sets of builder/architects to the house. Wow the 1st one gave a ballpark of "500k to 600k" - to extend front and back walls to 1st and 2nd floors, add attic. Basically increasing built-in from 2450 to 3300. (oh and when i parted with this builder, i went off in an old Japanese car and he zoomed off in a brand new 7 series ...) And I remembered all the advice given that "500 to 600k" means prepare to pay more than that Whatever's left of saving grace is that we did not discuss material and finishings... but he did mutter that construction alone will be about $250k. The 2nd architect still got to push some buttons and revert after new year...

Thank you much for the tables. Comparing the figures, I am wondering why there is such a disparity in the payment to principal:payment to interest ratio for illustration 3 (starting from 58:42 in 1st month and scaling to close to 62:38 in 36th month) as compared to the same ratio for illustration 2 (45:55 in 1st mth and 49:51 in 36th mth). The differing ratios lead to 60:40 for illustration 3 and 47:53 for illustration 2 at the end of 36 months. Am wondering if we are comparing apple for apple or did I miss out something. Hope you can help clarify. Thank you again!

Hi, need some clarification on whether it is wise to re-finance a home loan, after the lock-in period is past. I was under the impression that it was prudent to do so. However, someone explained to me that this may not always be the case. He went on to elaborate that as we often pay more of the interest (than principal) in the early few years of the loan period, jumping to re-finance will only re-start the loan (and the principal would hardly have been lowered). So this 2nd loan will once again start with the majority of monthly payments servicing the interests rather than principal... and the cycle repeats itself. Any bankers or people familiar, please share. Many thanks!

oh you have made it all the more enticing for me to drive down and take a look. OK, thursday I will do so! Maybe can chat up the owner to get some ideas

True the quality of material and finishes will determine the price range. I don't think I will have the ability to go for the top top of the range - something on the moderate type will do - homogenous tiles will do as I don't think i can maintain marble flooring. Wooden strips for the bedrooms (and no I will not settle for painting of the kitchen floor). The modern look with moderate quality material will be the probable choice (unless the $0.5m can give us better). 4 human beings, no dogs (yet) looking for 3 ensuites and a study to accomodate the 4 of us... I will take a drive around St Pat's area (as am living nearby). I assume yours is the inter at Jln Sotong...

took your advice - have arranged to view the place again, this time with the architect and builder. Hopefully will get some ballpark figure. But think you are right, in the end the team must be a trusted one. Thanks.

Thank you Chaorui for sharing. You have been one of the active members who openly and happily share what you know. (The german roof tiles with 50-year warranty is now stuck in my head) There is a neighbour along the same street who has a 3.5 storey house which gave me the confidence that height limitation-wise, ought to be ok (though I know it's best to check with BCA?). My burning issue is I'll probably not know if it's going to be an A&A job or a re-build until I have bought over the property and asked a civil engineer to make the necessary tests. So it's like a $0.5m gamble! Based on your experience, do you know of a better way I could go about to get that A&A or re-build assessment done before I put the down payment for the option to purchase? Thank you, again.

Have been reading the posts in the forum for sometime... lots of great sharing! My wife and I have been shopping around for a landed pty and one thing that we can't get clarity on is whether a house can be A&Aed or must it be re-built. We have narrowed to a 30-odd year 2-storey inter that is around 2300land and 2400built-in. We want to extend the 1st floor kitchen backwards to the boundaryline, extend the 2nd floor (so that we will have 2 good size rooms, ensuite), add a 3rd sty (also with 2 good size rooms ensuite) and a roof terr on the 3.5floor. I think it will come to 3500-4000built-in. We are really at a loss as I know the estimate cost for re-build ($900k) and A&A ($550k) can be significantly different. Are there ways we can get an assessment done whether house can be A&A before we make an offer to the owner?

Hi there! Anyone had experienced with the UNO hob model UP6300 (3 burners) priced at $318? http://www.tecnogas.com.sg/product_list.as...nd=3&type=3 Or The Tecno hob model TZ4000 (4 burners) priced at $398? http://www.tecnogas.com.sg/product_list.as...nd=2&type=3 All prices includes transport, installation. Thanks!