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Bought fridge and tv, opt out of ext warranty, not worth paying since item value is small and easily replaceable. But for aircon systems, I did since the ext warranty cost will be easily recovered with one single part replacement, maybe heard too many horror stories on lousy installation.

Yes to both the above questions. I couldn't be bothered renting out rooms, not worth my while IMO.

For my case, I did not use an agent. However, agent with tenant came and like the place. Agent did not get any fees from me, but I supposed he was paid by the tenant. Of course to be fair I try not to trouble the agent too much since i'm not paying him, though he did offer help in lots of other matters to help get place ready for tenant. Frankly if he proves to be good during the tenancy, I wouldn't mind paying for his services when its due for renewal or finding a new tenancy.

Hi maydream, what appeal letter is that for? If its not convenient to post here, pls pm me. Asking cos my brother is going to turn 35 in another year time and he's keen to get a flat but cannot right now.

Hi hentamkings, the lawyer cost for TA is $1k. May get slightly lower fees from those firms that does lots of TA. Still cheaper as compared to estate agent's commission. You can try DIY, will get lots of agents calling you. For my case, it became too much to handle and I chose to work with the selected few. These are IMO the agents with better service. True enough, the agent that sealed the deal was very helpful and helped with lots of other work like admin stuff and helping me to get the place ready for the tenant move in.

I had used agents as well as DIY rental. For using agents, they were ok but most disappeared after contract is signed and will only reappear 2 years later when the lease is due for renewal. My most recent rental I decided to DIY. Advertised stating no owner commission, and had many agents approaching me. In the end, chose to work with a few. Specify type of tenants preferred. Expat tenant found in 2 weeks after only a few viewings, so not that much of a hassle. Tenancy Agreement drafted by my lawyer. TA stamping and tenants' verification can now be done all online.

Depending on rate of return if you've the cash in hand (are you going reinvest, put it in bank or sitting in cpf???) versus interest rate of loan. If reinvesting, how confident are you that the returns will be higher than the loan interest?

Agents gets about 0.15% commission on the loan amount. Some agents may offer a rebate or you may try asking if anyone you know is a client of the bank and both may get some referral fee or gifts.

Hi Calvin, there are many i know that have properties for long-term rent. However, none i know is vacant at this moment. In fact, one i know was just leased out last week. Do also note that if you rent any unit through an agent, you'll also have to pay the agent commission when you renew the lease.

In that case, lookout for house owners whom will be renting out their units on a long-term basis. Usually such owners are living in their other property hence not likely to take it back for own occupation. HDB approval for lease is max 3 years.

I also saw some other higher end brands other than bosch at their experience centre at bishan. There was no staff manning the centre when I first step in. It was after quite a while before I managed to get someone to attend to my queries. At that time, i was very interested in one of their soon-to -be launch new product. I left my contact information for them to contact me once the product is available. Needless to say, there was no follow up from them. From the interaction, i've the feeling that the staff are only interested in bulk developer sales order. Ngtg1, can I check what brand are you having in your new kitchen? I'm also looking at some new kitchen appliances.

Hi chingay, i'm using electrolux oven. So far so good. They've a showroom at Toa Payoh. I'm just a consumer, not affiliated with any bosch competitors... disclaimer in place in case someone claim otherwise.

Hmm will note that. The tenant is a CFO with wife and 2 kids, maybe just my good luck.

Hi therat, i've had experience with northern indian family, they were good.

Thanks all for the advises. Therat, yes i guess most owners are aware of this recent buzz due to wide news coverage!

Hi Piazza, good point! Of course, i know what information the agents are trying to fish! Hi Steffan, if you're still reading this thread... the above knowledge will help if you plan to DIY selling w/o agent. Think why is it crucial for agents to know if it's owner listing or not. Learn how this game plays and you can beat them! There are different techniques for your interaction with direct buyers and agents.

For open listing, other than print advertisement, owners can list it on http://www.nationproperty.sg/ No fees, and this portal will blast it out to all the agencies. There are so many agents on the market, not all has ready units for sale on their hand, but they may have ready buyers. Compare the number of properties available for sale /rent versus total number of agents. For agents with no sale units, they'll just be as hungry enough to help market your unit and find buyers since they still need to find their 'salary'. Of course agents won't outright say no cobroke, there are so many variation answers to this questions. Else, why would agents still be asking such a question - "Can cobroke? ". Try putting up an ad, you'll get almost all agents calling or sms asking this question. Go do some viewings as a buyer, after a while you'll know how this game plays.

I'm lookin out at renting out my flat. Have a lot of agents calling in with prospective Indian and Filipino tenants. Does anyone here have experience with Filipino tenants to share?

I WAS planning to get a bosh front loading washing machine and dryer... but after stumbling on reports here, will be seeking out other brands instead. I'm a current user of Bosch, and had strong faith in their offerings... but these reports are not to be overlooked... will try out some other competitive brands instead for my next purchase. While the media is a good way to bring up sales... if service or product is not up to users' expectations, the media will prove to be disastrous, a PR nightmare.

Sold one DIY last year. Not difficult IMO. Don't let the co-ordination and paperwork put you off. Just go to HDB website and read through all the steps and information before you proceed. It is just a fixed set of rules, just follow it will do. Prepare the flat for sale. Arrange for valuation (online). Book your newspaper advertisement online (they'll call you to confirm and payment via credit card. $11 per line, minimum 3 lines, excluding GST). Prepare a simple flyer to market your flat. Get someone ready to be your witness. Newspaper Advertisement: http://www.cats.com.sg/default/bookyourads Booking Deadlines: 2pm for next day's publication / Friday 5pm for Sunday and Monday's publications One thing to note is that you'll have lots of agents calling you after the ad is published. Some will try to get you into signing an exclusive agreement with them, or others will try to seek commission from you. Based on my limited experience, you will get a mix calls of both agents (more) and direct buyers. IMO, i think DIY have more pros than cons. Some exclusive agents will refuse to co-broke with other agents and thus seller may lose out on the highest offer. If you wish to use agent, you may consider open listing whereby you agree to pay a certain percentage when asking price is met. For my case, the flat was sold during the first open house. Nego on prices took about a week, and closed before the next weekend. Buyer had agent but i make it clear that no commission will be given to the buyer's agent. Just in case if you're wondering if the fast sale is due to low pricing, i can assure you it's not, the flat selling price was the second highest in the vicinity.

Yes I sure did.

Mine is also from the same source as yours, also a popular Japanese brand but not Mitsubishi. I have had the same problem of melted cable for one of my systems. I had never experienced this before with all my other aircon systems, had thought it was a rare isolated case until I read your post. For my case, this happened few months after installation. It took them about 1 week to come down to fixed it. Now i'm praying hard that no more hiccups is going to happen to the other units i had installed with the same installer. After this incident, I opted for another retailer that could at least give me peace of mind for the next 5 years for my most recent aircon purchase with their extended warranty that covers parts and labour. Not to mention the pricing offered is also more attractive. (no need to ask me for the name of retailer, they advertised weekly. P.s. i do not work for this retailer)

Where can i get 3-head light bulb holder? Like the one in the photo below. Please help.

please PM me the contacts of the tiler too. thanks.

I know usually epoxy or marble glue is used for marble tiles grout. But what does the marble skirting use? Contractor tells me marble skirting cannot be polished, and said used colour grout powder. Is this ok? Heard using cement grout will lessen the shine of marble. Is this true? Appreciate any advise. Thank you.