A Guideline And True Story For New Home Owners..

[categan 0]

Dear all,

this is a guide line cum my renovation story.. it's goin to b long but please b patient n read finish.. it'll help u!

i got my hse keys on aug 2008.. but quite a number of disasters happened to me n hubby.. as expected, new home owners would bond to b excited over their flat, so were we.. we went ard lookin for contractors, went to home shows, went to look for furnitures and applicances, came to renotalk and read forums..

at one of e home shows, we took laminated flooring directly Supreme.. partly we felt that their prices were reasonable and it's lifetime warranty against pop out and colour fadin.. and of course, we believed that they wont give us inferior quality like contractors do.. so our next stop was to look for contractor..

oh gosh.. think we sourced more than 10 contractors.. most of them, do not have HDB license... so dun really dare to hire them.. but even if they have HDB license, also wont take fr them.. their quotations were between 18k to 22k.. omg.. only renovate 2 bathrooms, kitchen, service balcony, balcony and hack 1 wall.. so came over to renotalk n see who got any gd and cheap contractors..

so found one.. called n got a quotation fr him.. wat's e price?? slightly less than 10k.. so chop chop on since tat contractors got HDB license (let's named e contractors Mr A and Mr B - they are twin brothers)... Mr A said they were shareholders from Multi * * * * * (wont b revealin this company’s full name)… they are more like hokkien uncles.. age mid 40s.. speak eng, mandarin, hokkien and malay.. but they insist that they dunno how to read nor write.. which i felt weird.. but since someone fr here intro, then i trusted tat introducer.. but do note.. they only do tilin works, plumbin n electrical.. e rest, no no.. i paid a deposit on e 29th of oct.. i had to write on e receipt myself n he signed.. no contract or so watever.. e rest, paid chq thru bank loan directly to his company (full amt paid wor).. they are a pair of very irresponsible contractors.. look carefully wor, i used IRRESPONSIBLE.. y? they happy, they come n do.. din turn up to do, nvr inform and went mia.. cant reach them on their mobile.. sometimes went mia for more than 1 week.. HDB permit ended on 10.12.08, yet hackin of e wall was not even done.. worst case was at tat time, HDB officer was still carryin out some misc reinstate works.. n e HDB officer asked me y e wall havent hack yet, i cldnt reply at all.. cos demolition works was supposed to b carry out durin e first 3 days once permit approved.. their workers always changed.. today 2 china men, next day, 1 taiwanese, next day changed another china man.. changed until i confused..

passed 2 mths.. i'm very worried tat we cldnt moved in before CNY so kept callin them and asked for an answer when will b done.. their answer were always e same.. soon or by next week.. i'm quite pissed off.. cos i'm kind of doin wall touchup, paintin n puttin silicone by myself.. all their stuffs were layin everywhr and blockin my ways.. ended up, i cldnt do much which also slowed down my own process.. oh ya.. whenever c them, they like to talk alot of rubbish.. like their workmanship very gd and blah blah blah... frankly speakin, i listened til i really headache.. durin tat time, i had to search for a carpenter.. but due to constrain budget, i can only look for cheap cheap de.. but kanna conned.. okie.. dun talk abt tat.. and at tat time, my bedframe, sofa, mattress and pillows bought fr seahorse dun allow further postphone for e delivery.. ended up, hubby n me got to work thru e nite to paint finish 1 room so tat we can store e furnitures.. cos all other places were full of their junks..

CNY was over.. both their mobiles were off..kind of pissed of.. almost make a police report.. then 1 day, happened to go up n continued my work, was very surprised tat their worker was there.. so asked tat worker out of curiosity.. was he really a worker fr tat company.. he replied no.. he was fr another firm.. was hired by them n paid $100 daily n out of tat $100, he had to pay $20 daily to his own firm.. i almost fainted.. immediately, i called their company.. e office lady told me tat they were no longer with their company for quite sometimes.. i really sobbed hard.. i talked to e boss of tat company.. asked him y on earth did he lend his company HDB license to them and let my renovation loan chq go thru his company's a/c.. his reply, relatives wat.. help abit lor.. it was at tat moment, i realised my mistakes.. i shd have checked everythin carefully before engage them to do.. i draft up a contract using tat company's letterhead as Mr A gave it to me to draft out.. but the boss of tat company said it wont b valid cos he did not received any money for e renovation n e contract shd b signed by him.. he asked me to talk to Mr A again..

In truth, they were jus coverin each other's ***.. and e boss of tat company and Mr A and Mr B are not related at all.. i asked e office lady again.. they had nvr give a thought of me.. Mr A and Mr B continued to drag my time.. In early March, i blew my top.. i'm e client.. i paid full amt and they treated me and hubby like monkeys, foolin us ard.. imagine, made us wait for them fr 12pm to 9pm and nvr show up.. not e first time already.. i called them n demand an answer when will they finish?? they had already dragged for 4mths plus.. my patience limit had reached.. Mr B shouted back at me in hokkien " u not happy with wat? can dun push us or not?" and hanged up on me.. i called e boss again and demand an answer fr him.. he simply told me tat it's not his business.. i threatened him tat i complained to e HDB if he dun interfere and get them to finish e job..

on e 14th of Apr, job finally finish.. but wat i can said is their workmanship is d*** lousy.. tiles are uneven... grout lines, some places have, some places dun have or have rusty stains.. tiles are not cut properly, tat if accidentally, u brush by, u can cut urself.. toilet curbs, nvr consult us to use wat tiles and jus use whichever they like.. steppin stones at my balcony is d*** ugly.. they leave big gaps in between e stones.. unlike steppin stones at neighbourhood parks.. kitchen floor tiles are full of scratches cos they are so stupid tat they did e floor tiles before doin e wall tiles.. tiles chipped off.. they simply refused to changed for us.. so got nothin to say..

this renovation taught me a very great lesson.. i almost got divorce with hubby becos i cldnt take their nonsense and frequently had quarrelments with hubby.. besides this, i slipped into depression and almost jumped off fr my parents in laws' hse.. i din know tat a renovation which was supposed to end within a mth's time will eventually takes 5 mths n 18days.. u must b wonderin whether will i make a complaint to HDB.. my answer is no.. i have no wish to get involve with those 2 irresponsible contractors and their doings.. selfish rite?? anyway, i jus checked HDB website for tat company's HDB license number.. cldnt find it.. might have been suspended..

so dear new home owners.. pls take down e followin inportant points for ur hse renovation...

- find at least 5 different contractors and ask for quotation

- check company's hdb license whether is it valid or not..

- call company's tel n check if ur contractor or ID is still with e company if bein intro by others

- hire reputable company rather than save cost..

- hire a contractor or ID whom u can communicate well with..

- dun ever pay in full amt even u are takin renovation loan, demand them to give u back all e money u taken fr e loan and pay part by part accordin to e contract

- if u are hirin a contractor without HDB license, pls ask them to draft a contract and get a lawyer to endorse e contract.. it'll safe guard u shd anythin happened during and after e renovation..

- do not let contractor or ID change ur thinkin.. let them know wat u wan..

- try to let 1 company finish all renovation unless u are doin paraquet, laminated or bamboo floorin cos find respective companies kind of more worth ur money even though u may think tat it's more expensive..

- cut down unneccessary items if cant afford

- do not buy any furnitures or applicances until renovation is completed

- check carefully for chipped off or hollow tiles

- make sure everythin goes as wat u wan..

- try to check daily if contractor and workers got turn up for work..

- do not exceed more than 1 and half mth..

If budget really constraint, jus cut down unneccessary items.. dun end up like me.. pple intro contractors or IDs to u, pls check throughly..

all e best to all new home owners!

Cheers,

Cate

** Hope the person who introduce me this contractor, can send me a private msg, shd she read this topic.. name start with sar***.. thanks

[alan26 2]

Wa categan, it's a long story u have there. If I'm in your shoes, now that the renovation have been done. I would post their

NAME, IC number, Handphone, Name of the firm, post their picture, list down their crimes...whatever info. Everywhere on the internet...Muahahaha!!!

(RELAX, dun get too heat up)

[pbtgal 0]

Hi Categan

so sad to hear from u this - yet another groups of irresponsible contractors. But i agree with alan, u can consider to post their names & the reno co. involved so that more forumers will be more conscious when come into contact with these skunks.

Hope everything fine wif u and ur hb now. Cheer up, okay?

[cannotisit 0]

cate,

u have my full support, u shd list their full details in hardwarezone, renotalk, singapore brides and all other popular forum u can think of. maybe can call lianhe wanbao to tell them your story.

[categan 0]

Wa categan, it's a long story u have there. If I'm in your shoes, now that the renovation have been done. I would post their

NAME, IC number, Handphone, Name of the firm, post their picture, list down their crimes...whatever info. Everywhere on the internet...Muahahaha!!!

(RELAX, dun get too heat up)

if can, i also wan to post everythin out.. jus dun wan to get into further trouble since they know whr we live.. and they threatened my hubby tat if we call e police or HDB, they'll give us ****.. i saw them yest at my hse nearby coffee shop.. abit suspicious of wat are they doin there since everything done.. haiz..

Hi Categan

so sad to hear from u this - yet another groups of irresponsible contractors. But i agree with alan, u can consider to post their names & the reno co. involved so that more forumers will be more conscious when come into contact with these skunks.

Hope everything fine wif u and ur hb now. Cheer up, okay?

we are still tryin to mend our relationship.. after all these things happened, it's different fr e past.. so jus can only hope for e best..

cate,

u have my full support, u shd list their full details in hardwarezone, renotalk, singapore brides and all other popular forum u can think of. maybe can call lianhe wanbao to tell them your story.

most probably, i'll repost this topic in hardwarezone and singapore brides.. me not very active in forum.. renotalk also my hubby told me abt it.. lol.. i'll be more specific.. e company name starts with multi.. used to located at ubi but i think shifted to beach rd liao.. boss of tat company, his surname is liew.. and e contractors' surname is wong.. most probably license kanna suspend liao cos i check HDB website, cant find this company name liao..

jus hope all will remember to b cautious can liao.. ^^ thanks all for ur encouragement!

[enivi 0]

categan,

do u mind sharing the name of your contrators and the company with me at ivinetay@yahoo.com so that i can avoid them for my upcoming reno.TIA

[fondue_ 1]

categan, i'm very sorry to hear that has happened to you.

thank you for the sharing so that others will not fall into these trap set up by unscrupulous contractor.

cheer up will pray for you and hubby relationship.

[categan 0]

categan, i'm very sorry to hear that has happened to you.

thank you for the sharing so that others will not fall into these trap set up by unscrupulous contractor.

cheer up will pray for you and hubby relationship.

thanks alot..

[categan 0]

categan,

do u mind sharing the name of your contrators and the company with me at ivinetay@yahoo.com so that i can avoid them for my upcoming reno.TIA

sent.

[fizadee 0]

Dont mind sharing the contractors name n cmpy at fiza.othman@yahoo.com...thanks

[categan 0]

Dont mind sharing the contractors name n cmpy at fiza.othman@yahoo.com...thanks

hi, had pmed u..

[hazelzen 0]

Categan, thanks for sharing! i also feel that we as the first-timers, should do more homework and research, and not believe any one agent, contractor, co-ordinator/planner or whoever is helping in our wedding/house easily..

but sunshine and rainbow come after the storm! hope u n ur hubby are well...treat it as an experience but don't bear grudges anymore...not good for u...

juz my two cents worth..

Edited April 29, 2009 by hazelzen

[categan 0]

nope, i dun bear anymore grudges for them.. watever they had done were past but i do believe tat retribution will come upon them.. now so far so gd.. my laminated flooring jus up so left only kitchen cabinet.. though i still have to paint e kit, toilets, svc balcony and abit touchup on walls.. oh ya.. almost forgot, got to redo all e grout lines which are not acceptable.. but hopefully can move in by jun.. afterall got this flat for almost 9mths..

Categan, thanks for sharing! i also feel that we as the first-timers, should do more homework and research, and not believe any one agent, contractor, co-ordinator/planner or whoever is helping in our wedding/house easily..

but sunshine and rainbow come after the storm! hope u n ur hubby are well...treat it as an experience but don't bear grudges anymore...not good for u...

juz my two cents worth..

[Potluck 0]

Hi Categan, sorry to hear the mess you have. I fully understand. Finding a house and renovating your love nest is suppose to be a happy thing and not end up like this. I had just purchase my resale flat..and yes we been thru so much **** with unethical agents and becos of that we had lots of arguement and affected our family relationship. I was so stressed that I took out from my frustration at my child, I have never whacked her before and it was just over a matter which she was already remorseful and apologized. I was so guilt stricken after that. Please dun let such external issues affect your relationship which you have built over the years. It's not worth it, the unethical contractors will just get your money and they simply have no concern over your agony. I hope things are looking better for you.

Lastly pls pm me the related parties, I am going to start hunting for a contractor and after getting **** from agent, I want to avoid **** contractors. I will post my **** story after my transaction is fully completed, I dun want it to affect my current transaction.

Take care

[googocat 0]

Hi categan

Sorry to hear about your renovation problems. It sounds incredibly aweful. I can understand how you feel since me and my hubby are also currently renovating our hse and our ID is also giving us problem...and we also got a bit quarrelsome lately...coming 6 weeks liao.

Hope you and your hubby's relationship will improve. Cheer up!