Hi to all who read this blog! Hope my story can inspire some of you and nothing is unachievable if you work hard for it.

I am a single mum (early thirties) with 2 boys (aged 7 & 10)currently staying in a 3 room flat. One fine day, my elder boy told më :"mummy, I think our house is too small."

(Thinking back to where I started, I used to stay in a 2 room rented flat and upgraded to this 3 room flat 5 years ago).

He continued by describing his dream house... Ï wish our house has a staircase"and the little one added, "how about a swimming pool!". This struck me and it was just the right time to hunt for a bigger house.

I met a VERY nice agent who is now my "brother" in Property Guru. We viewed units from 4 room/5 room flats, Condos and EMs (where I always dream of).

Luckily the COV was not as high as now, finally settled with an EM (corner with recess area 159sqm)at a reasonable price.

This unit is a GEN 1 (I think so) EM with its 1st owner and everything needs to go so a major overhual is needed.

My reno budget is between 60-70k. In my mind I know that finding a good ID to match my requirement and budget is difficult.

However.. I initially chose a wrong ID (my friend's friend) to start with. Things seems okay at first, but later, I found out she has shallow knowledge and does not has much ideas.

Too late to regret as we have already gave her 3K to start booking materials. She says the 3K will be hers as I should be paying for her time & effort and she charges the 3 drawings @ $350 each!!!!

I was upset of course, 3K is not a small amount to me.

After that, I searched for contractors and other IDs. Shortlisted "D'Trenzo" and "Design 4 Space" and a main contractor.

D'Trenzo is out, simple reason. Because they are slow and kept delaying the quotations even with repeated calls. They promised me 10 mins, 15 mins, etc.

Days passed, still nothing. They called to apologise, but told them that this experience with them has made me even more insecure. All empty talks.

As for main con, Mr Teo is a nice man. However, I need to think of ideas and let him know what to do. Also lots of coordination work needed during the reno period. So no time!

I finally chose "Design 4 Space". This ID gave me a good impression right over the phone.

During met up, he was sincere & a professional. He can hand-draw out 3D pictures of my ideas within 2 to 3 mins!! *WOW*

He told me, "Your nightmare ends here, your dream home starts here. The end result of your new house will be my Christmas present to you." (AM Touched)

Thats all for now, thanks for your patience for reading this. Floor plan, 3D drawings and pics will be coming on the way! So stay tuned!

Congrats on ur new house! Will be following ur blog.. have a great reno journey ahead! :cheers:

Congrats on ur new house! Will be following ur blog.. have a great reno journey ahead!

Welcome and congrats on your new dream house... You are a wonderful mother to begin with..

Edited October 18, 201214 yr by FatFatFamily

Thanks Sygnur & multi888.. It wasn't an easy road to start with, but for the sake of my boy's happiness, I must be determine to work harder to provide them a better life!

Hi hi,

We engaged the same ID firm!! But we have yet to collect our keys. Have a smooth reno journey.

Welcome and hope to c your reno pics soon

Hi

It must be very tough for you as a single mother!! Salute!!!

Hi hi,

We engaged the same ID firm!! But we have yet to collect our keys. Have a smooth reno journey.

Thanks badtzmaru.. I will be collecting my keys on 7 November..

Same ID firm..Great!! Who is your ID? Maybe the same person..haha

Edited October 19, 201214 yr by FatFatFamily

care to share how much cov u paid. wish to know the current market.

Hi Luciusteo! My COV is 43K.. You are interested to buy an EM too?

Welcome and hope to c your reno pics soon

Hi Casa, if I remember correctly, you own an EM too? I was browsing through and saw many beautiful renovation pictures. 3D drawings are already out, however, my ID still needs to fine tune the colour scheme.. will be ready by tomorrow.. pretty excited!!

Hi,

I also just purchased a EM but key collections only in Jan.

Care to share what reno work are you doing?

Hi

It must be very tough for you as a single mother!! Salute!!!

Hi StellaFun! Thanks..!! How tough also must give the best to my boys..Their smiles are so priceless!! Haha.

Hi,

I also just purchased a EM but key collections only in Jan.

Care to share what reno work are you doing?

WOW! Congrats to you on being an EM owner!

Which area did you buy at?

I am doing an overhaul, except for flooring in living, dining & bedrooms. Just need to polish the marble will do.

As for the rest of the area, complete overhaul..

Previous owner is the first owner, had stayed there for 20 over years, so it is very run down & cluttered.

I had to walk sideways at the recess area. I will be uploading the current state of the house pretty soon as well..