RimBlock

Nice sized 4-room. Do you have a space planning guide (ie. proposed layout of all furniture etc) you would be able to upload. RB

Hi MSlovers I am British, please let me know what Singapore Citizenship will give to me that will make up for what I would loose from renouncing my British citizenship. I am not saying that as a PR, why would I need to change to a citizen as there are sizeable differences, regardless of what some people would like to think, but more a case of what pluses along with the minuses would I get ? With British citizenship I have access to free healthcare if I choose to go back to the UK, access to easier international travel (visa free). The ability to live and work in any European (EU) city without approval from that country. If dual nationality was available then I probably would apply although NS requirements would have to be confirmed as at my age, why would I put myself up to fight and possibly die for a country I have only just moved to. I will also be going back to the UK with my family at some point to look after my parents as they get older as I am an only child and they have no-one else to care for them. My wife has a brother and sister to look after her parents. I moved to Singapore as I married a Singaporean and she expressed a preference to live in Singapore for the time being. I had no objection and a job offer here so I moved. I moved to be with my wife, not because Singapore was a place I felt I had to live in. I am a PR based on my experience in my chosen field of work and not due to being married to a Singaporean. Now, to be clear, I very much enjoy living here, I love the safety for my kids, the schooling is pretty good and the people, on the whole, are pretty friendly and agreeable. There are many plus points to living in Singapore. I do enjoy living here and now we have a bigger apartment (3 room -> EM) our family can feel a bit more comfortable (soon to be 3 kids). All of our children are Singaporean but we will have to see what the future brings. If I no access to HDBs, as my wifes income is low we would not be able to afford a condo and so would have to rent and what with 1k to CPF, 2.5k for rental there is little left to support a family of 5, I would have no collateral in my property building up and my CPF is at the whim of the Government as to whether I would get it back if I chose to leave. Singapore suddenly becomes a lot less appealing. Singapore is also not only plus points, there are a few minuses as well. I do however understand where Singaporeans are coming from with regards to house prices and sympathise. My wifes family is also affected but I think the HDB ownership needs to be cleaned up (people owning HDB for profit and living in condos for example) before any more drastic measures are taken. RB

Confirm that the plastic is anti UV treated or they could go yellow . I like all the colours although not all at the same time in the same room..... that would be a bit crazy . RB

Np, better informed than have a problem latter. Change your layout back to the TV is on the other wall again. I understood it to be on the short wall due to tv connections but why not just get them moved. With the tv on the other wall you should have more room to wall mount the speakers. Yeah, I hear you. Sometimes it is better just to keep the misses happy . Rb

Of course unless you believe history has no relevance on current times. Just looking at the 'quick and dirty' figures for workforce you can see that the government will need to either loose 200,000 jobs in Singapore, import at least 200,000 more workers (PR or non-perm resident), or train their citizens to a level that they can fill all the jobs and then attract the bodies to fill in the other jobs. They could abolish NS and lower the workforce age which is unlikely or they could raise the retirement age. Looking at the trends can give an indication of the future. Yes I am well aware of what this word means. I am also well aware that it was not included in the OPs initial question and that you have added this from your presumption that it was implied although not stated. The point I was trying to make was that if it was implemented from the start then it would not be feasible knowing what we now know. Over what timeframe are you sure they have a figure for ? Flats and apartments are widely interchangeable terms. Studio apartments are apartments without a separate bedroom. I appreciate your point about 'face' in Chinese culture but we are talking about a country with very limited housing and what you seem to be suggesting is that if HDB built 3 room apartments to ease some pressure on housing then people would not purchase them as it would not give good 'face' for them to their family and friends. Seriously, surely it is worse face to have to live with the family than to be able to purchase your own property regardless of the size ?. If PRs were banned from buying HDB properties I would imagine this would include people who need to upgrade from a HDB they already own. So if a family with 2 kids in a two room had another child then they would have to stay in the 3 room HDB or buy a condo and so go from a property worth around 300k to a property costing a minimum of around 750k, or of course rent at a highly inflated cost. If PRs are are not allowed to buy HDB apartments and cannot afford Condos then they will not be able to use their CPF contributions towards housing costs. This means that they need to find the rental costs, which are currently very high in Singapore, as well as their CPF contribution. To avoid subjecting PRs to a major drop in standard of living, the wages of PRs would need to increase which would in turn make Singapore a lot less attractive. The other option would be for companies to bring back Expat packages as their workers would not want to move and work in Singapore as they would take a hit in their quality of life to do so. What the figures originally posted show is that Singapore does not have the workforce available to fill all the jobs available. Putting PRs in a significantly worse position than they would be in their home countries would result in either Singapore loosing jobs to other countries like Hong Kong or more non-perm resident people having to be brought in who are by the very nature transitory and so a hiring company always needs to rotate staff to fill the position. When people are calling for PRs being banned from purchasing HDB housing or PRs being banned from this or that they only see the benefits for themselves or family etc but either do not understand or are deliberately ignoring the knock on effect for the country. The statistics above are intended to highlight some of the links. Are these links relevant.... only if you have any interest in looking at the big picture rather than just trying to find a cheaper house regardless of the consequences. RB

Plus you could get a great HD projector, 100" screen cables etc plus a 42"-50" lower end TV combined for the same price . Nothing like watching movies or even TV on a 100" screen. RB

Tempered is safer when it breaks but not stronger. tempered laminated is safer like car windscreens where there is a sheet of plastic between two sheets of tempered glass to hold the pieces if it shatters. As one of the forumers here was unlucky enough to find out, just because tempered glass shatter safer, it can still cause nasty injuries. I can imagine our kids slamming one of his metal cars on the table and it shattering. They are truly lovely to look at but, for us at least, not practical with young kids around. Good job on the TV, love them but need ours wall mounted which I would imagine is difficult with this model without a small shelf or the like. I see you are still on for the pods. Did you check the KEF out at all ? RB

Great, now we have a starting point to see how you and Donnys magic wand with your good ladys stylish touch transform this apartment in to a fantastic home. Then you can choose your HiFi . RB

I am sure Donny has the patience of a saint from the fun you describe on your blog but considering Drexters fun and games trying to choose a HT system and not being able to settle on one thing or another I can see a lot of fun coming here too . RB

Link appears to be dead. Shows how statistics and government led media can misdirect the public. The closest comparable transaction recently was up 3.5% on our bought price last quarter. Sure we have a number of things in our favour (high floor, location, unit type) but I am sure the new agencies are not likely to report that the governments knee jerk rule changes have still had little effect of resale unit prices. RB

So what happens to the people how have just had to pay 400k for a 4 room flat. You are happy to wipe out 280k of their equity just like that and basically have them paying a 30 year loan when only the last 10 years will be them paying off the value of their home, the other 20 years will be paying money for nothing ? Reducing housing prices punishes everyone who bought their apartment above those prices. Thousands of voters would suffer. The only way to avoid this would be to buy up all the HDBs and resell them back at the new price which would cost the government billions. There goes your CPF they have been looking after for you. Surely a better way would be to offset the price by grants for citizens to allow them to compete more favourably with PRs or others. COVs and peoples greed have contributed greatly to the current transaction prices. We had to pay 50k COV to get our place. Problem is that if the government banned COV then it would just go 'under the table' again. RB

The numbers give an idea of the scope and various considerations. If it was not retrospectively enforced. If this was the case then the issues would not be fixed any time soon which is what a lot of people are complaining about (not necessarily here). But if these decisions are not made yet then how ?. If companies keep coming to Singapore and setting up their Asia base of operations here but the Government cuts the number of workers who can come and stay here and cannot supply the manpower to fill the jobs with citizens then the companies will rethink their strategy and possibly move out to Hong Kong. Not if they sell up property in their own country. The young may have issues or people from countries who only rent and have no savings. Yeah, have heard that one. Build more studio apartments and base eligibility for certain apartments on number of occupants. Two people then max two bedrooms. 4 people then max three bedrooms if the two youngest are children and of different sexes. Having a couple stay in a 3 bedroom HDB is very extravagant for a country with very limited space. HDBs should be to meat demand for housing, not for meeting peoples desire to have two spare rooms for a games room and a study room. Doing that with a condo is fine but not with government housing. RB

Aww, no sneeky pics when you went to view for the otp / otp excise ?. We asked and the owners we bought from were fine with it. So when are the keys again ? RB

The subject of PRs and property comes up time and time again so lets get some facts out there.... Firstly figures. These are taken from the Singapore 2010 Advance preview census here (pdf). If anyone knows of a more recent set of reliable figures then please let me know. Of a population totalling 5,076.7 thousands (ie. just over 5 million) there are; Citizens: 3,230.7 (3.2 mil) PRs: 541 (1/2 mil) Non-residents: 1,305 (1.3 mil) - These include temporary residents like employment pass holders, foreign students but not tourists or visitors. PRs account for 10% of the resident population. Ok, lets now move on to property. Taken from the Census of Population 2010 - Households and Housing (pdf) There are 1,145,920 households made up of; HDB: 943,859 1 & 2 room flats: 52,275 3 room flats: 229,718 4 room flats: 365,423 5 room and executive flats: 293,336 Condo & Private: 128,854 Landed: 64,908 Other: 8298 Of these properties there are; Owned: 998,875 - 87.7% (of those: (823k) 82.45% HDB, (175.7k) 17.6% private / condo) Tenanted: 132,535 - 17.6% (of those: (106.3k) 20.2% HDB, (26.2k) 19.8% private / condo) Using a quick and dirty assumption that there are two and a half people per PR household then that would give a rough figure of 204,800 PR households. If PRs could not purchase HDB properties then they would need to rent or purchase private properties. If they rented all available properties meaning there would be none left for Singaporeans, that would still leave around 702,000 PR households and only 106.3k private properties. So with the current population there would only be around 304k private properties available to Singaporeans. Oh, by the way, where do the non residents live, all 1.3 million of them now all the rented and most the private properties are no longer available ?. Sure, statistics can be tailored to any goal with a bit of creative accounting which is why I have tried to 'process' them as little as possible. So in essence; You have 0.5 mil PRs to house, You have 1.3 mil temp residents to house, You have 3.2 mil Citizens to house, You have 950k HDB apartments, You have 200K Private / condos. You have 3.7 mil of the population at a workable age (73%) You have 203k Unemployed (4%) You have 720k in education You have 2.8 mil jobs to fill. Note: The last 3 are based on the 2009 census here as I have not found any more recent figures. Fit them all in and keep all the jobs filled... Now consider the age demographic currently in Singapore. Using the charts in the Census 2010 on page 26/27 we can get quick and dirty figures for working population (retire at 65, start work at 20 - taking in to account national service and 50% population are female). The figures are very rough as the age is not separated by residency status / type. In the next 5 years the workforce will; Lose 213 Gain: 264 10 years; Lose: 463 Gain: 509 15 years; Lose: 768k Gain: 764k 20 Years; Lose: 1.181 mil Gain: 959k So in 20 years Singapore will most likely be loosing more workforce than you are gaining. You are now on a downward spiral if you cannot get your birthrate up as you will have less citizens to give birth from that point onwards. One other question for the pro 'ban PRs from buying HDB crowd'.... What is a citizen and a PR marry as in my case. Should they also be banned from buying an HDB, should only the Citizens income be allowable for home loan calculations (meaning most PR/citizen couples would only be able to afford the smallest properties) or should they be allowed as if both were citizens (as now). My personal view.... build more affordable housing, rather than reduce the prices of current housing and destroy peoples equity in their properties (especially devastating if they purchased in the last couple of years), provide bonuses / grants for citizens so they have to borrow less to afford the same property, take the full cost of the property in to account with regards to HDB loans, not just the valuation amount as the COV being fully paid in cash is, in my view, the biggest barrier for people being able to purchase a property. PRs should not be able to get a HDB loan, should not be eligible for any HDB grants. No-one should be able to own more than one residential property in Singapore of any type. HDB should be the only person / organisation able to rent out HDB properties and they should rent at market rates with any proceeds above admin costs to manage the rentals going towards grants for Citizens to purchase apartments. If people have spare rooms they are renting then they should downgrade. It is about space and providing homes not about people having a regular income whilst others cannot afford a place to live. Hopefully that has given some food for thought. I have deliberately stayed away from why Singapore is currently in this position . RB

Finally you got one going . Ok where are the before photos and the floor plan. Hope Donny knows what he is letting himself in for . RB

Hi Defelio, Love the tables but as you say, for us at least, not practical with soon to be three kids running around. Love the look of the sofa as well but I wonder how comfy it will be after sitting on it for some time. We have a 'Zen' style sofa with a low back but are looking to change as when watching movies or TV for long periods especially after work there is nowhere to rest my upper back or head. Saying that, I am quite tall. Seriously love the TV. Looks so cool but Sony tend to be seriously priced as well. The lounge chair looks ideal for me. As you say, white would become a grubby stain magnet I think but the black looks very nice. Good luck on the reno, the 3Ds look great. RB

First of all, Budget: Useage; Movies: % Music: % Any other requirements (eg. flat speakers, small speakers, any size speakers) This will help provide suggestions rather than an endless back and forth of 'what about this' and 'what about that' . RB

Yeah, saw that too. Difficult as in Singapore not many people openly advertise the prices. I believe this could have been the speaker I demo'd my subwoofer with. I personally didn't like it too much but then I may have been a bit spoiled . Best bet is to let your ears do the listening. Buying second hand, you are never sure of how the equipment has been used. This can be especially true of speakers and subs which could have been run hard, under or over powered. It is also hard to test against other equipment as the seller usually only has one item to sell so buying from a shop will give a better idea against comparable products. I tend to do a bit of research, check prices, and compare with other products of the same price and work out if the difference in price is worth that fact that the item is not new. When I go to buy, I just listen to check for defects rather than to check the sound as I have nothing to compare against and aural memory tends to be very subjective. When I bought the Opus center I listened to the sellers Opus 2 and then the Opus. For me they sounded more or less the same and so getting a speaker that sounds like an Opus2 for half the price is a bit of a no brainer. I think research and user feedback is the key and with some wild and wonderful speakers, this can be a bit of an issue. Past that it is checking with your ears and looking for any obvious damage. Damage and marks can indicate they have not been looked after as well as they could be. Someone is selling some Dynaudio speakers which have some ring marks on the cabinet. I would stay away just due to that unless they are very cheap. Someone who puts candles or hot cups on the unprotected wooden speaker enclosures may have done a lot worse things with the speakers you cannot see. So what have you got short listed so far or are you still hopping all over the place like a guy with chilly down his pants . RB

Based on the website he has referenced, their prices here (pdf) are 500 Euros for the 300s and 325 Euros for the center 2. That makes 825 Euros which is around S$1.5k. He is asking S$1850 for a set that is not new. Things I would ask is why is he selling just after buying. Presumably he found something better... Although they are probably pretty good, I would be wary at the price. Also remember you need the rears and possibly a sub if you want a full setup. I tend to find that if people have just bought and are selling off then their new purchases either are not as good as they thought or they have broken the bank. In either case the discount they offer is usually very small (maybe S$100) and if that is the case I personally would rather buy from the distributor. With older high level items, especially speakers, bargains can be found at much reduced prices as long as the speakers have been looked after. My Opus Tri-center I got for S$850. The new Opus2 tri-center currently sells for 850 Euros or S$1.5k (based on same price list). RB

According to the KEF 'find a retailer' here, GPAcoustics at 01-01a Adelphi are their stockists in Singapore. Could also try calling around Adelphi and see if anyone else stocks them. Let us know how you both get on and what they sound like compared to other brands / models. RB

I have now more or less finished the trunking around the place. A couple of little 'fill' pieces to do in the study room and then the final painting can be done and hopefully the last of the small jobs can be done. My wife is pushing for after the month confinement for a movie night and as she is due in around 4 weeks I suspect that will be what will happen. Will keep you updated. Oh and the baby is another boy..... 3rd one. 3 weddings to plan for in the future . RB

All good points. Spikey, you can have a look here for some details on some of the soundbars available. They have some over view info and may help you shortlist. If you want minimal then how about the flat speakers from either Kef (T105) or DefTech (Mythos XTR50). Expensive but may have a better WAF if the speakers are more or less flat with the wall. Would match the slimline TV. RB

It is a forum where they discuss HiFi and have quite active 'for sale' boards You can check it out here. I would recommend listening to the kef kht 2005.3-k1 set which should be around S$1.5k. Add the Onkyo 508 and you should have around S$500 to spend on upgrading the sub and / or cables, stands etc. RB

Well it seems people are updating their blogs quite a lot over the long weekend so I guess I should do the same. I have finally got most of my network wiring done. Little bit of patching, 3 cables to terminate and 2 patch cables to make and I am all done. I do not like trunking . I am selling my excess cable for S$1/mtr if anyone needs some network cable. I have around 150 mtrs left. Our mirrors are up and look fine. Just waiting for a tap replacement, fix a wall socket in the kitchen, fix the plastic strip border between the living room and the balcony area (squeeks) repair to one of the kitchen cabinets which has a crack in the laminate, a little plaster patching and then the final paint touch-up. I have added a couple more hard drives to my NAS and had a WD 1.5GB Green drive fail with bad sectors (3/4 of these have failed on me). Have just got the replacement. I will archive my 'not so important' stuff on it from now onwards. To my surprise, a set of DVDs I ordered from Amazon appeared on Monday (May day). Wow, we had some more movies to watch. Watched Tron last night with my new setup and the sound effects and music coming from everywhere is great. Strong use of the surround sound channels for music and sound effects. My wife is now on week 32 so not long now until the projected date. RB

I thought with you being the big enthusiast your hubby should have been expecting you to take him to lunch . RB