Chunky Monkey

I love my husband more. And he loves me more. So it works out beautifully. We have had many discussions about our marriage before. When we take care of each other's hearts well, all will be well.

2708soul, I didn't think I was going to post a reply to your thread but seeing your hurt and confusion, I decided to give you my 2 cents worth. I speak as a parent. If my daughter is going through the plight that you're in, I will encourage her to break off her ROM. Every parent wants their children to be happily married and I have concern that you may not find it if you continue in this relatioship. And if you do continue with this relationship, I am sad to say this, but there is a high chance you will cheat on your husband, only because you have a side of you that you'd decided to turn a blind eye to, i.e. what you really want, and instead just to go through the flow. I do not have a personal experience such as yours, but I have counselled alot of friends in your similar situations. And sad to say, out of 5 cases, 4 cases divorced and remarried.

I will be doing some structural work to my townhouse. Does anyone have a recommendation of a good structural engineer that does not charge an arm a leg?

I have helped a relative during the installation of her Ikea kitchen, and the contractor was great. That was 2 years ago.

Which ID firm, please. I have never attended any of these.

I don't. Because if the quilt is not dried or sunned properly, you'll just breed bacteria. I always send it to the dry cleaners.

There are different grades of stainless steel. 18/20 is what's used for kitchen sinks most of the time. Ask for the grading.

That price of $150 for chemical clean is way too cheap. I find it very suspicious. There are aircon companies out there that say they do chemical cleaning but in actual fact, they don't. I use GavinCare and I cannot praise them enough. Good and fast service. And the best part is that they are the real deal. They have the equipment needed to do their work. Before I used GavinCare, I used a freelance aircon service chap who told me that chemical cleaning is bad etc. Then I found out it was because he did not have the equipment and the know-how to do it. So much crap. Call the co. and speak with Diana to get a quote. I am sure it'll be more than $150 but they're the real deal.

I'm not an expert in aircons but I have installed huge aircon units in my homes before. How about installing a ceiling cassette that can blow in all four directions?

My husband has decided that he wants all the kitchen modules to be on castor (wheels) with locks, so that when we have a home party, we can move these individual pieces of kitchen cabinets around to maximise the space. Challenge is - a mobile unit will tip forward if you open up all the drawers (displacement of weight), and it in itself is a hazard. The safest thing to do, is of course to have built-in shelves, but I mostly prefer drawers for ease of finding things. Does anyone have a suggestion what I can get the carpenter to do, to stablise the mobile units, so that the cabinet will not tip forward? Thanks in advance

Miele vacuum cleaner? I hardly think it's worth it. Please don't go for brand name. I will only buy Miele for their ovens and well known honey comb washing machine. I am using a Rainbow system and I swear by it, for all the functions that I use it for. E.g. I vacuum my mattresses very week. If it's for normal hard floor, get one that has very good suction is good enough.

Hugz, I have my views but I won't post it on a public forum with agents lurking around who can't wait to talk up the market. I will PM you instead.

AR is not what is left. AR looks at what is being serviced by you. That's why the lower the better. Yes, any earned income should go to the denominator. Net salary + monthly contribution to CPF-OA + other monthly income.

Sorry, correction and i missed out an important part, the monthly installment of the loan under consideration. ( C ) + new monthly stallment amount / (A) + (B) must be 0.6 or less

To know whether you have a good chance to get a bank loan, it's actually very easy to calculate. Banks always looks at your amortisation ratio. Conservative banks will use 0.6. Most banks will use 0.5. How do you calculate this? You need your NET combined salaries (A) + CPF contribution to Ordinary Account (B) You need to add up all your monthly obligations ©:- a) monthly car loan amount (take from car loan statement) b) unsecured credit line. e.g. $10k line with 15% interest. Whether or not you use this line, the banks will assume the worse scenario where you have maxed out on this credit facility, and straight away, the bank will include $10,000 x 0.15 = $1.5k c) credit card/s e.g. $10k x 5% (I think 5% is the min payment) = 500. To calculate amortisation ratio, Take C divide by (A) + (B) >> Add up your monthly obligations divide by your net monthly income + ordinary account contribution. If the answer is 0.6 and more, the bank will definitely lend it to you. If the answer is less than 0.6, then it's subject to deviation approval, and you'll need to fight your case to get a bank loan approved. The bank will also check your credit worthiness. If you're a good paymaster, then no issue. If you'd been tardy in your credit card/credit line payment, your history will act against you. Pointer - The more credit cards/OD/credit lines you have, or the higher the combined credit limit you have, the worse is your chance of getting a property bank loan.

Yes, it IS the lower of the two. In your scenario, the loan amout is the same i.e. $0.9m. But for the first case, the min cash/CPF outlay is $200K (difference between PP and valuation price) + $120K = $320K. In the second case, the min cash/CPF outlay is $100K. Morale of the story, do not buy a property above valuation. The difference is the cash you need to top up yourself because the bank will not lend you this amount. And yes, the 1st 5% is cash only. (1% option fee, 4% to excercise option). CPF can only be utilised towards the remaining 95% which is due at completion, typically 10 weeks from date of exercise of option.

kikapo, From what I know, F&P fridge is a very well made one. The part that is notoriously associated with F&P is not the core design, it's the cooling fan. Apparently, the cooling fan is made by a local company, and it's this part that always gives the problem. I bought my mother 2 huge F&P fridges, and specially ordered one in with left opening, so that she can use a pair of them like a pigeon pair. The one with the left opening, direct from Australia is problem free. The other one with the right opening, however had a mechanical fault where the fridge stopped being cold. The service men came and fixed the problem. FOC.

There are 3 types of valuations:- a) Indicative valuation >> this is the verbal valuation that you can get from your banker. Call up the bank officer whom you're most likely to get a bank mortgage from, and ask him/her for the indicative valuation of the property that you're considering. You need to give information such as these for them to call their respective property valuers to check. Property valuers do not entertain enquiries from end customers. - Condo name - floor area - Which floor, facing the pool or not - renovated or original It is this indicative valuation that you should use in deciding whether or not to buy the property in question. Mind you, these days, sellers and agents are alike. They want to sell above this valuation. 2) Formal valuation - this is when the home owner or yourself or the agent engages a property valuer to officially value the property. Cost is $500 as a minimum. This is of course, more accurate than the indicative one. The formal valuation can vary from the indicative, because it's an on site assessment 3) Desk top valuation - over time, after a formal valuation has been made by a property valuer, you can go back to the property valuer and ask for an update. They will have your file on record. Give them the reference number, and they can tell you what they think of its revised value Hope this helps. PS: Am a retired banker Valuation reports has alot to do with getting a bank loan. Let me give an example. Valuation: S$1m Purchase Price: S$1.2m The bank will only give a bank loan based on S$1m i.e. max 90% of $1m, and not 90% of $1.2m. The $200k difference must be cash outlay from the buyer.

I am so happy I found this thread. black mango juice, you're a real asset on this forum.

The model that I have, has self cleaning feature, low temperature cooking, fan cooking, convection cooking, grill, etc; cool glass feature .... I bought this 2 years ago .... I think it was about $2,800 The shop is that Centre Point. Eldric Marketing.

I just want to share with all of you regarding the choice of built in oven. The price of a built-in oven correlates with the multi-functionality of the oven. And it depends on what you wish to use the oven for. If you enjoy baking cakes and cookies, I would say any convection oven would do. No brainer. But if you roast meats, then a very good oven makes a big difference. I am hopeless with baking so I really cannot comment on that. I roast alot of meats and I cannot do without my Die Dietrich Multi-function Oven that comes with Low Temperature feature. It takes me 4x the time to roast a ribeye but the tenderness of the roast is uncomparable.

Has anyone installed a steam oven in your home? If yes, which brand have you chosen? And why? Thank you.

No, the aircon switch that your contractor is referring to, is the aircon electrical mains. You only need to switch this off, when the aircon needs repairing. I don't know where the switches are placed in your flats but it's cheaper to install the switch near the wall where the fancoil is. Some customers don't mind paying the money to align all the switches in one centralised location, this means more concealed trunking and of course means more money.

Homeowner, you have one of the best well thought out kitchen layout I've seen. Very often, people leave the kitchen design to the carpenter, who gives standard stuff, and it turns out that there are unusable spaces or things are not organised properly. My guess is that you love to cook and bake/roast (I spot the oven). I am also very particular about my kitchen layout. The "triangle" is very important to me. This is such a high traffic flow every day! I noted with interest that you opted for wood matching ABS trimming. I think I am getting a little confused with terminology. I was told that the matching trimming is actually PVC trimming. Maybe I am wrong. But like you, I do not like straight laminate edgings, which is sharp and over time, it will come off. Rounded edging makes the doors look better and is also safer when you have kids around. If it's ok, please take a picture of your cabinet door trimmings to show us. Thank you very much. And congratulations on well designed and constructed kitchen. Cheers.

I would like to have a clean look in my bathroom. How do you suggest that I organise/store my bottled creams, make up, lotion, etc etc? Whatever this storage place is, it has to be close to the wash basin where I would be standing, for the daily facial routine! I am thinking maybe I should revert to the traditional method i.e. wall hung, vanity mirror cabinets but wonder if there is a more creative way of doing this? I like clean lines. Would like to hear ideas!