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cleong

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Posts posted by cleong

  1. Posted

    Basically, the whole unit needs to undergo reno. Deciding whether to hack the flooring or not. Btw, how much will it cost to hack the flooring for whole level 1 and 2?

    I think for 40-odd K maybe too much to be done?

    In my case, 35k COV (but I feel that my flat is undervalued). I might actually be able to salvage the downstairs marble flooring and the upstairs parquet flooring by refurbishing/refinishing it.

  5. Posted

    The same factors that influence the current valuation will by and large influence future valuation. It would not be possible to tell you which is the better unit, since there are so many factors to consider. But remember the rule of property: location, location, location. Not just location on this island but location to transportation hubs/links and amenities and so on.

    Good luck and do some of your own research (Google is your friend) to find out more about the areas you are going to buy.

  6. Posted

    Thanks for the replies. From simple visual inspection I have detected that there are at least two "bent" structural crossbeams in the unit we're buying. My worry is that if it is visible to the naked eye, maybe plaster is not sufficient to correct the defect. But $70 psf for false ceiling seems to be a good way to hide the defect while allowing for lighting options. We'll be considering that.

  14. Posted

    There are other units that I've seen that have been on the market for months and remain unsold. They start out asking 50-60k COV, but no one meets the offer. 2-3 months down the road, when the valuation report is about to expire, they go "view to offer" and at that point you'd be dealing with COVs of between $0-20,000. So look out for those units with expired or about-to-expire valuation reports, you are likely to get it cheaper. But do note that it has remained unsold for a reason and so you have to accept its flaws.

  15. Posted · Edited by cleong

    congrats on your new home. EM i presume?

    I think that it is still possible to find reasonably priced HDB's unless one is looking at places like Redhill/Tiong Bahru/Marine Parade etc..

    I like Marine Parade but the HDBs are like 30 years old, valuation is high and asking for 30k to 80k for 3Rooms and 4Rooms. Anyone looking to buy a place today should expect some COV but to pay or not, that's still a choice.

    Hi, thank you. Yes it is an EM at Serangoon North Ave 1. Including COV we paid less than 500k, which I feel is below the going rate in Serangoon in general. The fact of the matter is that people are asking ridiculous COVs even for heartland areas. I viewed one EM along Lorong Ah Soo near the old Minton Rise area, in original 20 plus year old condition, run down and unrenovated, and the owner wanted at least 30k COV. I looked at the agent straight in the eye and asked him, 30k COV? Exactly why would I pay 30k for a place like this? He replied that no choice, that's the going rate, everyone has the COV fever. Which is true. The newspaper reports only serve the whip the frenzy up even more.

  17. Posted

    I encountered this particular flat. 3 bedrooms knocked to become 2 bedrooms. I didn't view, but renovation or view must be tok-kong in order to attract a 95k offer. Regardless, if I am a mere 5k short of my expected price, knowing I am already 95k up over valuation, I'll take it and run.

    The agent sounded **** sian when I called, probably because the seller is testing water. When the valuations catch up to the offer prices, he'll not see such a fat COV already. Some people just don't know how to quit when they're ahead!

  18. Posted

    I am 33 years old, and was in the market looking for a home. I'm buying it because we need a matrimonial home, rather that jumping into the fray because everyone else is. So regardless of how senseless it is, you pay what you need to pay to secure the home that you are eyeing, of course up to your budget limit. I have a feeling HDB prices will stay robust. Even during the dark days of the global financial meltdowns, COVs were affected but the valuations stayed pretty solid. Prices of homes aren't the only thing that goes up, even renovation cost goes up. Some 6-7 years ago, my brother paid $32,000 on renovating his 5 room flat, knocking down walls, installing sliding doors, built in cabinets, etc. Today $32,000 only gets you a lot less.

    So at the end of the day, after searching since May, we've found a home that we both like, and slightly under our budget. But it didn't come easy, we had to be both persistent, and quick when the opportunity presented itself. If you're a home seeker, you just have to keep looking, adjust your wants/needs according to how the market moves (I started out looking at 4A flats in Queenstown). After that, its just luck and fate. But the train is pulling out of the station, and everyone is rushing to board the last few carriages before you run out of platform. After that you'll need to wait for the next train to come along.

  19. Posted

    It has happened to my parents' place, my downstairs neighbour complained of water leakage.

    There are two kinds of pipes - one is your own pipe, the other is the central pipe, which is fed by each unit's own pipe. If the leakage occurs on the central pipe, then HDB has to fix. If the defect is traced to your pipe then you are liable.

    We refused a waterproofing test to be done to our bathroom to be done at our cost. The HDB officer said that he will check our neighbour's piping one more time, I suppose he found that the leakage might have either been our neighbour's own pipe, or from the common central pipe, because no one came back to us for anymore rectification work.

  20. Posted · Edited by cleong

    Just signed OTP on a corridor unit along Serangoon North Ave 1, Blk 125, top floor. The bathrooms got leaking problems, but the ground floor marble flooring can be kept, as can the parquet flooring on the staircase and upstairs. All just need a freshen up. When we get the floor plans we'll start properly planning how to furnish it.

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