cleong
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Posts posted by cleong
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Hahaha...... 50 units is not a magic number. In fact I think I am quite unlucky to have to view so many units before finding the right one at a reasonable pricing. You have to be diligent in chasing both the fresh postings that appear every Saturday morning in the newspapers as those tend to be more genuine than those posted on the internet which could be outdated or just a placeholder ad. But also keep an eye out for those that are still for sale but have remained on the market for too long because of unrealistic expectations. When the sellers' patience wears out, that's also a good time to wave a chequebook and negotiate on a realistic COV.
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Decisions Decisions Decisions....
Amazing viewing 50 units . I guess its really about the 'feel' on the verge of biting the bullet and hope for the best.
Going to view 50 units gave me a much better idea of value and recognizing a good deal when I saw one. 10 units may or may not be enough for you to calibrate your expectations against your resources.
The second unit that I saw was a fantastic location, very high floor, unblocked, in Toa Payoh Central. Asking a mere 540k for a 4 room. But being ignorant, I thought good flats were commonplace and kept on looking, and only finding worse, and/or asking for more money.
Fast forward nearly 50 flat viewings later, the moment I saw my flat in a private viewing, I made a firm offer and the owner accepted.
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10sqm is alot! do you know which area build last batch of EMs?
need another advice. For upper level ,better to change to Parquet or laminated flooring? what's the pros & cons?
I believe the last batch of EMs were built in Toh Guan (correct me if I'm wrong). I've no experience with laminated flooring but I am used to parquet and will prefer parquet over laminate.
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Wow This sure is a Long Thread...
Need some advice on COV seen a unit which i kinda like in Hougang but the COV is $65K.
Stairs done flooring Homo / Parquet okay roof for balcony done, False ceiling done.
Have seen over 10 EMs and this seems to be the one, only thing is the COV is it too high?
bearing in mind need to do three toilets / full overhaul of kitchen.
Your input would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Bring your chequebook and negotiate. Offer your best price factoring in the renovation you still need to spend on. If no agreement, walk away and keep looking. I viewed around 50 flats over 9 months, participated in two bidding battles, before chancing upon my flat. You need patience.
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So roughly how much one cost?
It depends on how large you want your kitchen to be? There's so many configurations - open concept, normal configuration, some expand to galley style by taking up the maidsroom next to the front door as well. I really can't tell you how much yours would cost. Just measure your countertop length in feet and multiply.
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Normally for a mansionette kitchen cabinet how much will it cost to do?
Roughly about the price how much?
Maisonette kitchen is no different from any other HDB flat kitchen, if I remember correctly goes by per foot run. 300 dollars per foot I think?
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O u got your EM at HG Ave 10 for less than 500 with cov 35? (means value 465+35)..wow...cheap le, a diff of 100k!! just bought it or few yrs back? Good buy ;-)
For Mar, valuation has go up by 10-20k. I seen more n more unit revalue to meet their expect selling price. Currently if im not wrong, its ranging from 575k onwards
I bought this unit which done its valuation on 1Mar12 which already consider on the higher value. But I'm really happy to receive you guys reply for positive feedbacks, at least won't feel regret for buying it at high valuation. If I'm not wrong, ave10 has the newest EM in HG , abt 16yrs old only.
My transaction was completed in the first quarter of 2010, and it is in the Serangoon North area.
Older and mid-generation EMs are bigger by around 10sqm than the last batch of EMs.
Do be aware that historically, flat prices have fluctuated, so its not easy to say whether we're still on the upside of the price curve or not.
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How much for that retractable awning?
No idea, it was installed before I bought my flat. My apologies for my mistake in the previous post. I believe it should cost between 3-5k though. I spent 600 dollars just on changing the fabric material.
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on the verge of buying an EM soon,
how much would it cost to hack kitchen + 3 toilets + balcony + entire lower floor and re-laying with homogenous tiles?
(basically keeping only the 3 bedrooms parquet floor and the staircase)
Sounds almost like mine, so I will say it is $35k give or take $10k depending on your expectations on how nice you want it to be.
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Just want to check whether u guys have installed any shelter on ur balcony?
As my balcony is square and open so i was worry of rain splashing in when heavy rain.
Pls advise
Yes I installed a coffeeshop style electrically retractable awning . It helps to reduce splashing, so long as we remember to extend it when the rains come. You can see my renovation link in my sig for details.
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Good buy for an EM. I think only Hougang, Serangoon N and woodlands can get EM for around 600k.
Don't know why EM in East is more expensive.
One neighbour in our same block sold their unit for $630,000, you can check HDB's resale price enquiry. Going by the recent valuations of between $520,000 to $540,000, it would mean they received between $90,000 to $110,000 in COV.
Prices are still pretty robust. I guess I'm fortunate I got mine for below $500,000 @ $35,000 COV.
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You have a very tight timeline and a lot to get done. You'll probably need to get your ID to give you a schedule and most importantly to slavedrive/whip them to stay on track. I personally find your downstairs flooring OK but I guess everyone has their preferences. In my case, a good cut and polish brought it back to a nice like-new shine, but of course we had to accept that some deep chips and gouges could not be patched. You can see my TBlog for the before and after.
I would personally forgo the study room and have it changed to a maid's room or day room to be used for mahjong sessions, perhaps an Ikea sofa bed that she can pull out at night.
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I also don't think it is necessary to install aircon in the living room. If really need in future, then install another system specifically for the living room.
IIRC you're living in my neighbourhood? "By right" you can only install one compressor due to the current load limits for older HDB flats. I have however seen EMs with two compressors in our neighbourhood though.
In my case, I sometimes use the living room aircon if its really hot because opening the windows/doors lets in a lot of dust along with the breeze. Otherwise I just use the ceiling fan. I rarely open the windows.
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Hi, my renovation quote if I remember correctly was around 38k which included hacking everything except the living/dining room and upstairs flooring. The quote included changing the windows, building the staircase railings and a new set of slide/fold balcony doors. It includes built in wardrobes for two bedrooms, vanity counter and cupboards for two bathrooms, and kitchen cabinets with granite top. Wiring was around 2k including new fusebox. With most EMs being more than 10 years old, new wiring is a good idea.
The quote didn't include items like lights, toilets, taps/showers, sinks, air con, as I sourced and provided my own.
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My open balcony is nowhere near as exposed but still dust tends to build up and rain tends to make it clump together into dark stains on the flooring and parapet. It requires additional maintenance, which is probably why some EM owners end up fully enclosing their balcony. I'm sure when it comes time to paint the balcony I will have a "good" time as well.
From the sounds of it, binka is probably also one of the lucky loft unit owners who can relate firsthand the pros and cons of such units.
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Depending on whether you're wanting a rainshower and good taps and such, a bathroom set from Grohe or Hansgrohe can set you back half of your $1000 budget already, unless you're intending to keep those items? If you're retaining the standard fixtures I think you should be ok. If you look at hotel-style bathrooms, they tend to use warm lighting, marble walls, chrome and glass.
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The gap under your front door...
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Hi, which block are you at? Good luck with your upcoming renovations!
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We had 40-odd guests yesterday and hosted them at home. We "borrowed" the staircase landing for a few hours for the caterers to set up their tables at the very large landing, which became an alfresco dining area!
When night fell, we also put out scented Ikea candles to supplement the lighting......
Then at night, a little birdie flew into our MBR! Can any FS experts tell us more about it?
Spot the birdie!
Spotted it yet?
It was looking for a place to roost for the night!
So round and cute and fuzzy...... -
Bro Cleong,
Can share the quote for works done by your contractor?
email: ted_lim79@hotmail.com
Thank you
I recall it was 45k or so. Toilet fittings and lights were not included in the quote.
My contractor is NOT recommended.
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Some pictures taken on our day of key collection~ Wayyy overdue~
Afternoon sun shining into the living area
You will probably need to invest in good curtains or window film to help ease solar radiation heating up the house through the afternoon. Otherwise it would be quite uncomfortable at night.
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You may want to set a budget if haven't already done so, and work within it. Then allow for 10-20% cost overrun during the process itself, it will most likely happen. While it is logical to opt for quality fittings, you might want to balance the numbers against the other things you'd have to purchase.
Realistically speaking, you don't need renovation. All you need to do is furnish what you already have, because your flat is new. If on a truly shoestring budget, actually all you need to do is buy some Ikea furniture, lamps from Lightings.com.sg, electricals from any of the large electrical shops and the place would be liveable. While it is true Ikea furniture is built cheap, because it is cheap, it will tide you over for a few years until your finances improve. An added bonus is that you can get a new look with new furniture.
Carpentry costs money (a lot of it). Avoid excessive custom carpentry unless you cannot find furniture that can do the job.
Unique costs money unless you can DIY, as you've already found out. If your workmen are not familiar with a certain design or type of construction, they have to factor in their cost of additional time, concentration, wastage of materials doing it wrong and trying again, etc, which is passed on to you.
Something you may wish to consider for your new place is to make it child friendly, if you haven't already.
Renovation is a process where a few hundred bucks here, a couple of thousand there, adds up to a fearsome amount of money when you tot up the sums.
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Hi bro Cleong, couldnt PM u. Wishing u a merry Christmas & happy new year! I was outside your unit few days ago. U r lucky to get a nice space outside where u have a cabinet and recycled bin.... I m also impressed with the things u have done to your reno, particularly your staircase and cove lightings
the retractable awning system is something I look forward to install but hesitated becos I m a little worried about the outlook and design. It looks good from the outside....are u free to invite us over to your place? Hee Hee ... Kay po to see your Reno live rather than just pics Hi,
Probably Monday afternoon? I've got a pretty packed weekend ahead...... in any case, I note that the position of your aircon while similar to mine, uses a different bracket which would preclude you placing the awning in the same position as mine. I suggest if you want to do it like mine you would need to buy a different aircon bracket.
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Nice:) is that a retractable awning system ? Can you PM the vendor and cost? I m also looking for something like this. Does it really help to keep the rain away?
Hi potatoes, I suddenly got reminded in the Maisonette thread that you asked me about my awning - the electrically retractable awning came with my flat, so I don't know who does it. According to
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10324p.nsf/w/HomeRenoGuidelinesBuilding?OpenDocument#Awing
you don't need a permit for the installations as long as you keep within their guidelines. I kept the existing awning structure and just changed the fabric for between $400-600, can't remember the exact cost already. You can contract Green Garden Awning Co. at 64822867. It is pretty useful for managing rain, though when it gets really windy, the balcony will get wet. It also makes a noticeable difference to the living room in controlling light level in the day.
Mansionette Owner
in HDB New/Resale Flats, Executive Condominiums
Posted
Just saw a new ad for a unit in my block asking for nearly $700k "slightly negotiable". I should be happy (that I got mine cheap at below $500k) but frankly it seems like we're headed for a bubble...... people would be looking at 6-figure sums of losses if they time their purchases wrong. Remember, its your retirement funds that you are staking when you buy a flat.