zirhk3355

First thing is that each ID would be definitely sore for not getting the rest of the works they quoted to you respectively, NO MATTER how he would tell u that they are ok with it (unless they is not a human). Then when come to cooperation between the IDs, there would definitely be conflicts. Eg one guy doing tiles and one guy doing build-in cabinets, when the cabinets are not aligned, he would blame the tiler. But if these two guys are under the same ID, the in-charge would come in and make them cooperate. End of the day, when anything happens, when comes to defect-rectifying, you do not want the start the finger-pointing game. You want to be able to just get hold of ONE person and he will be solely responsible for everything. That is the underlying reason why people usually employ one ID only.

Sia Huat is the best lah - they are the wholesale distributor for alot of brands, some of which are carried by robinsons and tangs also. Also, note that they supply to restaurants also, at a trade discount of 30%. So if you are buying quite a few pieces, and you can 'carry' yourself like a restaurant manager or owner, then ask them for the discount.

If the tiler says it will warp, I think usually its because they have no confidence in doing it. Laying 800x800 tiles is not just labour-intensive but also require certain amount of skill. Well, since the tiler does not dare to do it, then you have to consider if you want to force him to do lor.

Haha, think I interpreted your earlier post wrongly... You see...it gave me the impression that YEC is formed or re-elected every time there is a GENERAL ELECTIONS...haha, now I know better... Is that supposed to be for me...?? Naughty armani!! Wahh, that made me look so 'weida' like that! Can I water it down a little, that to make the neighbourhood a better place to live in is also beneficial to me and my family mah, so still got alittle of personal agenda here lahh...hehe... I think the senior leaders (like u and my dad) had seen enough of such "yao gui" to be able to tell right from the beginning. But even if cannot spot them also never mind. The truth is, they won't last long because you actually give more than you gain (that's why its called volunteer work!). Very soon they will find that its not worth it to be giving so much just for small benefits like free parking, HDB priority scheme, etc. You said it right; RC members need to find satisfaction in what you are doing, not what you will gain, in order to last long.

Oops, sorry lazy me didn't search properly. Hehe...hmmz, I think this would be an interesting committee to join, won't it? Politics-linked as in YEC is related to the elections, so I supposed its an avenue for the govt to seek new candidates, no? Well for me I am quite clear on what I want from the RC - to help improve the estate and live in a better place. I read Residents' Committee as in a committee FOR the residents, so getting involved politically is not quite my cup of tea. No doubts that being a grassroots leader will gain you some privileges and 'face' (getting things done); but like said above, my aim is to create a better place for my neighbours and (of course) myself, so everything else is secondary and a bonus lor.

Thanks for your explanation!! Wow, and I thought only my dad has this problem in Tanglin Halt because this is an old estate and alot of people are not educated enough so they always depend on others. Yes my dad has been a RC member for quite awhile too, and I had my fair share of people knocking on our doors looking for him too. I won't be discouraged because I only know all these too well; at the end of the day, remember your position as a 'VOLUNTEER', so can help, do help, but cannot help one, stay away. Especially when coming to issues like lending money and getting involved in family fights is definitely a no-no. When my dad heard that I had volunteered myself, he already given me quite a earful, so yeah, quite prepared lah!

Huh lydat also can?? Hmmz then must we also go warn our friends that if we borrow money from them, they must make sure hand over to us personally... Sekali my friends straightaway tell me, then safest way is dun lend hor...how???

Thanks for your explanation! However still not quite sure what does the respective committees do? I also heard of something called CCC (or maybe that's CCMC, renamed or something??), not sure what it stands for...? Hmmz, so for WEC/YEC you mean its actually politics-linked?? Wow, I think I am not too keen to go there at all (Why?? Tell you off-line lahh). So RC is good enough for me, cuz my aim is not politics, but just to help out in my own estate and those needy people. According to theory, if you do not apply under grassroots priority scheme then you will be computer-balloted as per public; but there are alot of urban legends going on, so won't know what really happen behind HDB's closed doors. Speaking of this, i also find it too much of a co-incidence that during the SERS selection for the new replacement flats, my wife and I, together with many other non-original SERS flat owners, were placed at almost the end of the queue, although HDB kept assuring us that its computer-balloted. Oh well... As for food, the only nice Indian stall I could think of is directly opp the POSB ATM; morning they will sell pratas and afternoon they will sell nasi briyani. But its not 24-hr leh, so think this is not the one you talking about...?

Then how is the thief gona get the money from your friend??

Cannot 'resign' within the two years? You mean got to sign a bond or something? Anyway glad to hear that someone here got experience in grassroots activities; would you be so kind as to explain what is WEC, CCMC and YEC? I tried to ask my dad but he doesn't know how to explain; he is just concerned about assisting the needy families and does not care about all these 'ranks' and various committees, plus being semi-retired he got alot of free time so he is not worried about commitment too, unlike us. My dad also did tried for the Grassroots Priority Scheme for our estate, somemore got queue no 4. But alas, due to the Minimum Sum Scam (Oops I meant scheme...hehe), he is unable to purchase because he is 56 years old (yeah, just ONE YEAR too old...haiz).

What was conveniently left out of this letter is the starking difference in purchase price of HDB flat and a condo unit respectively, and the legal entitlement that comes with such purchases. When you buy a strata-title property (ie condo), you do not just own the unit itself; you also own the common areas and including that parking lot. When you buy a HDB flat, well, you only own that HDB flat! That said, if you stay in HDB, you can choose not to own a car and save $90, which is more than half of the $163.50 you pay. Can the condo owner do the same? Would he be able to release his/her parking lot and ask the MCST to slash his maintenance fees by half? Technically speaking, this means that you pay maintenance fees to the condo's MCST to MAINTAIN the facilities that you own, whereas you pay HDB/Town Council to USE the facilities that you DO NOT own. With this statement in mind, I think I do not need to elaborate which one should be charged more... ------------------- HDB/Town Council will employ the same 'subsidy' argument to hoodwink you: Yes, all S&C charges are the same wan, regardless of the size of your flats one leh!! But then hor, our garment subsidises these charges le mah, and more subsidies were allocated to those needy families staying in smaller units, hence they pay lesser lorr; but actualee hor, everyone are charged the same wan...

I got this email quite a long time ago; think its yet another urban legend lah, possible to happen on theory, but not in reality. I was showing my married colleague this email, and he was quickly proud to say, "You see, that's why I stored Kelly's mobile as Kenneth..." Oops...

Why not you go sign up on the website first, then when you get the letter, go call the lady and get her to give you other dates? Also, you could ask if I can attend the briefing on your behalf and you just join in to the RC's meetings? According to my dad and sister, after the briefing, they became "Observers" at the RC's meetings and will only be made a "RC Member" when the committee accepts you. But aiya, just shortcut the process, why not you just call up the Constituency Office at 64741681 and check with them. I am supposed to have the mobile of the lady who called on Sat, but misplaced it. Will pass it to you if I get it... Any more volunteers??? Come, do your part leh...

Good news for those who are keen to make a difference in our estate: Volunteer to do you part! Sign up to join the Grassroots at http://www.pa.gov.sg/volunteer (can read up on more info first also...) I had already signed up and they send me a letter for a briefing as follows: Date: 16th April 2008 (Wed) Time: 7:30pm to 9:30pm Venue: Toa Payoh Central CC, 93 Toa Payoh Central (S) 319794 * Note: You need to sign up at the website first before attending. As told by the lady who called me, this is totally no-obligations at all, just come listen to the briefing and you will find out exactly what you are getting yourself into. Its just volunteer work lor; even if joined liao, dun like it, can just walk away mah, no harm trying. Think this will be a better avenue to voice our displeasure about the estate's condition, rather than just posting about it here...

As the name suggests, its to "warm up" the house and to create more 'ren-qi' lor; this also include neighbours whom you do not even know yet. Which is why I always felt its funny that people have small private gatherings and called it housewarming, defeating the purpose. I believe many of us (me included!!) nowadays actually hold housewarming parties to show-off their houses to their friends and relatives. An usual routine when the guests first arranged at the house, they would go tour the place and the owners will try to 'sell' what their furnishings and fittings are.

To be fair and taking emotions out from the picture, you will realised that this is considered a private matter between the loanshark and you. The loanshark does not go out terrorising everyone; just those who borrowed money and those who are related. Even for those cases where the loanshark harasses the neighbour, it was in a desperate bid to find the borrower. Hence, we cannot really blame the police for not doing anything, because their primary duty is to neutralise those who harm the society as a whole, and not serve as your personal bodyguard for your private matters. Also for being implicated to be seen as 'collaborating' with the loansharks for illegal activities (or abetment), that would be quite a long shot. All you did was to refer them to the correct address of the person they are looking for, as per what you would have done for any postman, despatch, visitors, etc that comes to your flat seeking the previous owner. It is definitely not your duty to investigate if the seeker is going to cause harm to the other party; you are just pointing them to the correct person/address that they had sought for. In order to charge you for abetment, the police would have to prove that you did not just to give address but actually ORDERED the loanshark to harass the previous owner, which is both untrue and difficult to prove. Even if the police becomes so kuku and try to charge you, the simple argument of "I am just trying to defend my own flat and family" would warrant the judge to throw the prosecutor's case out of the window.

That's a good idea! Though I dun watch soccer alot, but I always love the gathering. Maybe want to go subscribe for SCV to join in the fun. My suggestion is that we will take turns to host the session, then it will be a potluck session for all to bring titbits, drinks, beer, etc. As long as all 'auto' and help to clean up afterwhich, I think this will work out just fine... Anymore interested??

Well I dun really know what happen between the daughter, father and the agent so can't comment on that. In any case, the daughter could say that she had never intended to sell in the first place, her father acted on his own; but if must sell, she wants it to be sold at least for xxx amount. If this is their argument and they have a lawyer on their side as well, then there is no use for your lawyer's letter of demand at all because there was no agreement in the first place! And all these nonsense, because of a bardy agent...haiz... Hehe...oh ya, about the pic, its not my bb lah, its just a pic I downloaded from the net...

There are many reasons why the sellers decide to back out - perhaps its precisely because of the high prices and they can't find a new place to stay, thus they decided not to sell? That was what almost happened to me, but luckily the owners only decided to back out after 1st appt where everything was in order. I reminded them of their liability if I were to sue them, so they bo pianz went ahead with the deal. lauahkua, my suggestion is to work closely with the lawyer now until the deal is over; update him/her with all the facts so that he can give the most accurate advice on who to go after. Both the agent and the father should be liable for this, in my opinion...

Will have to depend on the width of your curtains and material leh...

Whether he's a guarantor or borrows money himself, I dun think he should just sell his flat, run away and let others handle the ****. Its just not fair to you. I will definitely try my best to get the address of the previous owner and give it to the loanshark the address of the previous owner; in fact I will even print a A3-size poster with the information and paste it outside my flat.

You got to do your homework and find a property suitable for your needs and budget. Check out places like URA website, developers' websites and go showflats visiting every weekend. How long can you hold the property before seeing any reasonable yield? What is your desired yield? Are you going to furnish the unit luxuriously or just basic necessities? My take: Although transaction volumes had fallen now, the prices are still holding on because sellers still cannot believe that the property boom is over. Those who still can hold, will hold. But by April/May'08, there will be alot of speculators who cannot hold anymore and will let go. That will be the first round of REAL good buys. Then, as the US firms are clearing their bad debts and the US market adjusts itself, they won't go falling for very long; it will recovers within this year (I duno exactly when lah, otherwise I won't be sitting here typing!!) And when the US market recovers, that's when our prime properties (read Dist 9, 10, 11) will fall. My take is that it should be about 3rd/4th quarter of this year (earliest being June/July '08), so that's yet another round of good buys for you to choose from, esp if you are looking at buying prime properties... Last but not least, have you even considered overseas investment? Mark my words, I will not be surprised if the USD falls to $1.25. Yesterday papers already hinted of several worthy properties in US, eg Chicago Spire, going for $1000psf, which is cheaper than The Sail by 60%...

For my wedding, my wife actually wore her ROM dress while I wore a casual shirt/jacket (without tie) to receive the guests at the foyer. Later when its about time for march-in, we both went up to change into our wedding gown and suit respectively. Think this kill two birds with one stone where we can mingle with the guests yet have the 'wow' effects during 1st march-in. But try this only if you can rely on ur xiongdis and jiemeis to handle the situation when you both are not around...

Oh yes, now that you mention this, do check with your lawyer if you have a case against the agent for failing in his duty of care. As far as I understand, agents own a fiduciary duty to paying clients, ie because you are their paymaster, they naturally (and legally) have to act in your best interests. So in cases like if the agent take undertable money or involved themselves in scams, then you can outrightly file a lawsuit against them. However, this is more of a case of negligence where the agent has "forgotten" to check the sellers properly, thus resulting in the bust transaction and incurring losses for you. You might want to see if you could recover some money from the agent if your case against the father falls thru. I must qualify, I am not on a "suing" streak trying to get everyone into trouble, but someone has to be accountable for the unnecessary losses, not forgetting inconvenience, lost opportunities, disappointment of your children, etc which are untangible. It is totally unfair for you to incur losses when its of no fault of yours.

If the transaction is submitted online via ResaleNet or e-Resale, the hardcopy OTP does not need to be handed over to HDB until the 1st appt. Thus you can still get the 1st appt date but it will be revoked if the OTP is not in order. This is what worries me in this case; is the OTP signed by ALL owners of the flat or not? If not, then the daughter may declare that her father had acted on his own, she had not consented to sell the flat and refuse to sign the OTP at all. Thus OTP may be declared invalid and the only recourse is to sue the father.