schiz0id

Haha to be fair to him he ain't a "dirty old man" lah.. I suppose he sees these things that are fixed. We asked him previously abt shifting the toilet bowl position but he says it isn't of much use cos the pipes will still be there.

Mae, The rooms and kitchen seems to be the least of our problems so far. He's looking at things that can't be changed like toilets and rubbish chute. I'm not sure which school he subscribes to but whatever he practises seems to give us roadblocks all the time. After 3 months, i'm still trying to keep my sanity in check....

Edenstrauss, I was also very surprised when he suggested NW. From what I know, it suggests NW wind - something not favoured by many Chinese. But he says it's based on my dad and the whole family's bazi i guess. Sadly, in our househunting, not many houses have NW-facing main doors. We encountered many S or SE ones. Still waiting patiently for the right one to come along...

Hi everyone, Thanks for all the suggestions here. Went down to see the geomancer today. He says that our toilets are always in the wealth area or that it affects the health. And unless we don't use the toilets (which of cos is impossible) then we should probably look someplace else. He mentioned about flushing our luck or wealth away.. something like that.. *grumble* However, that wasn't the worst. He said that this particular unit we are looking at has got lots of 'yin'. Says there are many 'brothers and sisters' there. I'm not an expert (nor a well-read amateur for that matter) in the field of fengshui but can a house's fengshui actually invite 'brothers and sisters'? Does that mean the whole stack in that block is not livable? He got me pondering after the meeting. Thought i'd post here to enlighten myself and those who are interested. Thanks for all your advice. Am glad I found this site! (:

Hi gnolard, Thanks for your reply. Just frustrating cos he doesn't seem to offer any other advice other than saying it's no good or not suitable. It will be helpful if he says he can try to 'fix' the problem or offer some other solution. All 5 houses we've seen thus far have hit roadblocks and always cos of the toilets. Sigh.. Oh well, will ask him again tomorrow the possibility of this particular house. Thanks again (:

Hi all, Not sure where else to vent so here I am. My family and I have been looking at houses for the past 3 months. We have been with our fsm for quite a number of years now and this is the first time we are shifting since we got to know him and are consulting him for pre-selection. Before we started house-hunting, we were told to look specifically for NW facing houses (main door facing NW). Since then, we have gone to him with 5 different layouts, in different towns and now when we have finally decided on this one unit that we absolutely adore and love, he slaps us with another "No, toilets will affect health and wealth". In all the 5 different layouts, we always had problems with the toilets. Always. My question, to all the experienced forumers here, is whether there is a possible remedy if the "toilets affect the health and wealth" or should we just continue our arduous task of searching for yet another house and set ourselves up for another round of rejection? Will appreciate any insights to this problem that doesn't seem to go away for us. Sigh.... Thanks.

Hi naim, Thanks for the advice. Not considering EM cos we are quite tired of climbing stairs, that's why limiting ourselves to only EAs and Jumbo this time. I have been tasked to find a unit that fits many 'conditions', but still not succumbing to look for an agent to help us. I will press on! Haha! Thanks to everyone for your two cents'

Hi naim, Thanks for the info. I hope you're right. Eagerly anticipating for more jumbos in the area. We are not in a hurry to buy, we need only to vacate our current place end of this year. Waiting for the right one to come along sure does take lotsa patience...

Hi random, Actually we are looking for anything with 4 decent sized bedrooms and a large kitchen. I notice some EAs (not those in Punggol though) seem to fit that bill. However, Jumbos tend to be a lil less tight. Not fussy whether they're combined or not, most important is the size of the rooms i guess. Yup some people advertise jumbo as combined flats. Was very surprised to see amk adjoined flats going for 800k with valuation at 600+k. Gosh... But I guess mature estates have all the amenities blahblah... so they can command that kinda COV *shrugz*

Wow, good for you! Thanks Hope to find something soon too. Currently market sprouting many EM units being put up for sale, not so much for EAs and Jumbos. Will press on and hope we don't have to rent. Nothing beats having your own place.

Hi all, Thanks for all the insights and great advice. Thought I should update here that we are giving that unit a miss and moving along, hoping to find something better.

Hi all, Thanks for all your replies. So happy to hear everyone thinks 80k is crazy - thanks for the assurance that i'm not (crazy to think it's high) Well, I am not the one buying the flat. My parents are. I would love to be a first-time buyer unfortunately age doesnt permit. My family and I are downgrading as such jumbo or EA units seem to be most comfortable for us since there are technically 6 of us (a furry one included). We were looking at Pasir Ris and Hougang and so far none have asked for the exorbitant 80k. I checked past transacted prices (thanks for the link!) and yup, the price that the owner is asking for is indeed "out of this world". Will still be on the lookout for big units. But yes, generally the feel I get is resale prices are getting very unaffordable. We might have to rent for a year and hope the market will come down but even then, we are not sure market will ease. With regards to agent, I don't have a buyer agent, prefer to do it myself. The agent who is "supposedly" representing me is asking for 1%. After doing all the searching and calling and whatever and now have to pay that 1% i really sian half.

Hi cleong and Timothy, Thanks for both your replies. It was very concise and laden with very useful points. Thanks! Well, the area in question is actually Yishun. It's not near any of the 2 MRT stations. And, it's quite near the hospital (not good for fengshui reasons if you ask me). Not a prime location i suppose - unless one likes to take many MCs If not for the fact that it meets many of our requirements (and i really mean many ) I think my parents and I won't be so concerned about the COV. Honestly, I have my reservations about this unit. Firstly, agent says owner not paying commission, wants to collect from me - when i heard this I sian half (literally). Secondly, after we expressed interest in the unit, agent seems to side the seller by saying $30k sure no go, cos they had offer of 80k but that guy was super despo for a place and his bank loan fell through, she prompted us to offer $50k onwards. Well, the more I think about it the more I'm determined to look for other units. But we have also looked at numerous other units the past 2 months and so far this is the closest bet, that's the dilemma. Should I counter offer and hope the owner budges or should I move along and look elsewhere? *headache*

Hi there, Am posting for the first time. Hope I got the right channel. So happy to find this forum filled with people who love floor plans and looking at photos of reno works - just like me. Anyway, need help deciding.. Went to look at a few jumbo flats lately (been looking around at EAs the past month or so) and my family and I love the size and the potential to do major demolition and reno works Saw a unit today, it was relatively low floor and in original condition. We offered $30k above valuation on the spot. Agent called me less than an hour later to say owner rejected our $30k and is looking for $80k. My question - for a jumbo in original condition is it worth $80k COV? Is this the norm? Perhaps for high floor but low floor? We like the unit a lot but disappointed the asking is so high.. Sigh...... Would appreciate any comments. Thanks