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Bunnymummy

Semi-D Full Rebuild Or A&a? Neighbour Building Giant House! :p

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Landed prices are unlikely to fall.

Construction costs are not going to come down, and with more and more URA/BCA regulations, it can only go up, and buildings get smaller.

If you do not take the plunge now, it's a real possibility that due to inflation, that option may not exist in the future.

Furthermore, u are talking about a 3.5K Semi D land size.. how many of such sizes are still available?

Therefore, bite the bullet and take the leap. PM me if u wanna discuss more.

I would not use the same contractor as next door, as differnt owner got different ideas of project time lines. Economies of scale can only be achieved by building at the same pace, and using the same materials. As long as both are different owners, there will be 2 sets of authority fees and compliance matters.

Thanks for your views, appreciated.

Yes, that was my thinking too. I am only looking for a semi-d or corner terr with a decent land size. So many on the market now with small land size (e.g. 2100-2500) and selling for so much due to big build up.

Lauer, I would like to find a single storey old house to tear down too but I can't find one where the price is right. It seems like lots have the same idea as you. My ideal situation is honestly to find a decent house, >3000 sq ft land, at least 4 BR that is liveable and just do it up to my liking with minor works. But hard to find too. Very tired of the house hunting... sigh.

Got a lot to think about! I will persevere in my search! :bleah:

 

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Thanks for your views, appreciated.

Yes, that was my thinking too. I am only looking for a semi-d or corner terr with a decent land size. So many on the market now with small land size (e.g. 2100-2500) and selling for so much due to big build up.

Lauer, I would like to find a single storey old house to tear down too but I can't find one where the price is right. It seems like lots have the same idea as you. My ideal situation is honestly to find a decent house, >3000 sq ft land, at least 4 BR that is liveable and just do it up to my liking with minor works. But hard to find too. Very tired of the house hunting... sigh.

Got a lot to think about! I will persevere in my search! :bleah:

Looking for a landed is much unlike, say, for a condo. I would suggest to retain an agent specializing in the district you are interested. A old original house is almost certainly occupied by the original owners, an old couple. Left on their own, they have no thought of moving, and also no interest in the money they could get by selling the house. When they do, the agent specializing in the district the house is sitting would be the first to know, and his clients would be the first he approaches.

Therefore, it is important to get on his client list.

The landed stock is limited, and if you intend to reconstruct (by tearing down the old dwelling), then the plot has to be FH. So this would further limit the stock. Another reason to retain a good agent.

(Landed owners could tell you that there are numerous flyers in their mailboxes from agents asking if their units are for sale)

Cheers!

 

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Here is a simple math, in costing landed viz-a-viz condo of same built-in:

- Buy a landed (could be a terrace, corner, semi-d), tear down the old dwelling, and reconstruct for 4000 sqf

- Buy a 4000 sqf condo, penthouse with rood terrace from a developer.

If you reconstruct a landed, then you would avoid paying $1.2 mil for the condo developer's profit (at $300 psf multiply by 4000 sqf).

Plus.

When reconstructing a landed, the value of the newly constructed house is not equal to total cost.

To illustrate:

1. Cost of original semi-d, say, was $3.5 mil

2, Cost of reconstructing a new semi-d of 4000 sqf (in this example), say, was $1.2 mil

Total cost = $4.7 mil

The value of this new house would be more than $4.7 mil, maybe $5.5 mil.

Why?

Because in reconstructing a new house, you are the house developer so surely you are entitled to a development profit.

(Of course, this is subject to a continuing favorable market).

Tallying $1.2 mil (the condo developer's profit that you have avoided paying) and $0.8 mil (the new house's equity) give you $2.0 mil.

$2.0 mil is slightly less than 60% of the cost of the original semi-d of $3.5 mil.

In other words, in reconstructing the landed, you would get about 60% of the FH land free. And don't forget that the penthouse condo is likely a LH too.

Cheers!

Edited by Lauer
 

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I always thought that it is odd that landed would not be the first choice of housing, if you are a citizen of Singapore. (That is, if affordability or financing is not an issue). Landed is far more cost attractive when compared to condo.

It has limited stock, at about 65,000 units, and there is growing number of new citizens.

Having said so, you should enjoy landed-living before buying.

Also, buy FH not LH.

Btw, if you building a new house, building an identical one to your neighbor is, well, lack of identity.

I think identity is subjective. On the side road of my house is a stretch of pre-war houses (but not on conservation status), all but one house at the corner has a "fantastic architecture" and made the entire stretch incoherent in style. Eg. House #2-16 touch up their 2 storey houses beautifully with nonya style, then #22 &20 cmi and pop #24 modern architecture 3.5 storey high.

If you happen to crave for Beach Road Prawn Noodles & Katong laksa at the same time, example is there, beside Shell Station

Or stretch of 3 storey terraces houses and suddenly you see one intermediate house with a 4th floor after A&A.

Maybe its just me but i prefer to conform to some sense of uniformity.

Alot of people these days no issue with $$, seen many many examples of new citizens (parents from HongKong/Malaysia/China...funny not much from India though) paying $4-5m for newly developed terrace house (by consortium of sales agent and contractors pooling $$ to buy old houses, build sibei big big buildup and selling for $1500-2000psf, well i know coz my friend is one of them pooling $$ and my ugly modern neighbor house is done up by group of house agent, contractor and architect loh, they do many units in the easy, Duku Road, Seneet etc if u google on Property Guru all same pattern). That's why for original born and bred, 3-7th generations singaporeans cannot afford landed anymore. Coz there's no way u can fight with a group of them eyeing at those super old houses.

Then again, TS talking about SD then i abit out of point. But my take would be if new neighbor building 3storey or 3.5storey (in fact after u pile can go up to 6storey!!!) then i'll do the same and redo have the same height. There are some issues when u are of a different height with your adjoining neighbor. Eg. if you are 2storey or even 2.5 and neighbor is 3-3.5 then your roof wears out easily, water from his end will fall onto your end. Possibility of his contractors stepping onto your roof (what my 2storey neighbor faced with his 3.5storey neighbor step onto his and he doesn't know coz daytime no one home)

Edited by pantieileen
 

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I agree with yoongf - construction prices just keep rising. I deliberated on the construction of my terrace house for almost a year before taking the plunge. My initial checks were S$800K but this went up to S$1m when I next checked. It doesn't seem to come down at all.

When I first started my project, I was so confused over the huge discrepancy in prices - how some can reconstruct for a few hundred thousand dollars and others for a million up. Now that I have taken the plunge, I think I can understand. Take what everyone says as a gauge - the cost is dependent on what you want to do with YOUR house. The type of works can vary the price by a lot, while the quality and finishes that you want would vary the cost by a little. Eg. adding a storey is in the hundreds of thousands, deciding between marble and homogeneous a tens of thousands decision, choosing pre-cut marble vs marble slabs another couple of thousand. So depending on the extent of your works and the finishes you choose, the price could differ by a lot.

Who you choose to work with can also hugely impact your cost. When the tender for my project was called, the bids differed by as much as S$100k to S$300k. Whether your contractor is GST-registered can also impact your cost by 7%. Going for a one-stop shop builder can be more cost-effective than going the full architect-contractor route, but here, it depends on how complicated your project is and what you want done. Funnily, inter-terraces might be more complicated than semi-ds, as there are more party walls to contend with, more structural issues and the space to work with is much tighter.

Another factor is how "on" you are. I know of one forumer who was very dedicated and hands on in his project and managed to get very high build quality for a good price. Throughout my project, I also managed to find opportunities to get better deals, such as buying leftover stock from big building projects or maximising your architect/contractor's discount with suppliers. I also did not accept every quote that was given to me at face value, preferring to do my own shopping to satisfy myself that I am getting the best deal. If you have the expertise and time, you definitely can get better value.

My two cents worth - find a team that you trust (review their past projects - preferably those that are a couple of years old already, talk to people who have worked with them before, talk to them to get a sense of their standards), set your budget at a level that is comfortable to you and be prepared to have to forgo certain items if you want to stick to it strictly and lastly, be realistic and reasonable in your expectations. Everything is very costly now, not just construction, and it all adds up!

Good luck!

 

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Funnily, inter-terraces might be more complicated than semi-ds, as there are more party walls to contend with, more structural issues and the space to work with is much tighter.

Because the entrance for terrace is more narrow than terrace and even worse for intermediate terrace, the piling machine cannot enter and thus u have to micropile which is more expensive. From developer point of view, normal piling is easier and and more readily available (the same kind u see at condo/hdb construction sites) but for terrace u need the smaller one, Micro-Pile, less readily available = more expensive.

Also, if u intend to do A&A and u need piling coz BCA die die need u to do due to poor soil condition then it builds up coz the machine cannot enter through the low ceiling (if u do not intend to change ceiling height coz A&A) then u might have to figure a way to lift the machine over the house so u need crane = additional cost

But but but, if u do "new erection" cost over total buildup is significantly coz demolishing is going to be the same flat rate and they can just build from scratch which is also faster coz don't have to build new beams to support before u remove old ones.

If your TS neighbor only sign contract haven't started works then worth to hack and pile together and u'll see the savings there. But from the way he write, i think he hasn't even bought a place so no story. Honestly, if he's serious to buy the place and build later, then the new neighbor will feel Lan Lan, nice place then u do he will suffer cracks

 

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Wow, thanks for all the perspectives! Very grateful, I learnt a lot from this forum.

I just spoke to the neighbour's builder recently. He informed me that if I do not do a full rebuild and just do a reconstruction with adding a 3rd storey (to somewhat match the height of the neighbour's new building - cannot match 100% because neighbour is making his ground floor ceiling super super high at 4.5m!) would be approx $700k vs $1m for rebuild. I guess that's just a ball park figure cos depends on my interior finishings and how much changes I want to make to the interior walls/any extension to the sides etc. He says I can expect around a $30k savings or so if I were to engage them to do my unit at the same time as the neighbour's and not much more. :|

I do have an important question I would like to seek any advice on if possible from all the more experienced folks here. I was shown the floor plans of the 2 semi-ds which was obtained by the builder's next door. I noticed that the backyard and living room in the house has been extended out in the house I want to buy but this is not shown in the floor plans. Does that mean that they didn't get approval to do the extensions?

 

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P.S. Lauer... I would be super happy to find a decent plot of land at $3.5m to redevt. But then.. I also don't have $1.2m to throw on rebuilding a nice big house! Lol.

Too bad I did not think of starting my search some time last year. :P

 

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I do have an important question I would like to seek any advice on if possible from all the more experienced folks here. I was shown the floor plans of the 2 semi-ds which was obtained by the builder's next door. I noticed that the backyard and living room in the house has been extended out in the house I want to buy but this is not shown in the floor plans. Does that mean that they didn't get approval to do the extensions?

Formal approval is tedious. Minor extensions is allowed by URA/BCA without the need to seek approval. There are certain guidelines to follow, and as long as the extensions comply with these guidelines, dun lose sleep over it.

Most landed properties got some form of deviation from approval plans.

 

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Formal approval is tedious. Minor extensions is allowed by URA/BCA without the need to seek approval. There are certain guidelines to follow, and as long as the extensions comply with these guidelines, dun lose sleep over it.

Most landed properties got some form of deviation from approval plans.

And if your neighbor not complain king/queen whistle blower

 

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Wow, thanks for all the perspectives! Very grateful, I learnt a lot from this forum.

I just spoke to the neighbour's builder recently. He informed me that if I do not do a full rebuild and just do a reconstruction with adding a 3rd storey (to somewhat match the height of the neighbour's new building - cannot match 100% because neighbour is making his ground floor ceiling super super high at 4.5m!) would be approx $700k vs $1m for rebuild. I guess that's just a ball park figure cos depends on my interior finishings and how much changes I want to make to the interior walls/any extension to the sides etc. He says I can expect around a $30k savings or so if I were to engage them to do my unit at the same time as the neighbour's and not much more. :|

I do have an important question I would like to seek any advice on if possible from all the more experienced folks here. I was shown the floor plans of the 2 semi-ds which was obtained by the builder's next door. I noticed that the backyard and living room in the house has been extended out in the house I want to buy but this is not shown in the floor plans. Does that mean that they didn't get approval to do the extensions?

There's a 4.5m ceiling one at Jalan Senang, 3storey house looks weird to me, drive from the buddhist temple and u'll see it. I believe same builder, or unless u are trying to buy the house beside it?

 

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There's a 4.5m ceiling one at Jalan Senang, 3storey house looks weird to me, drive from the buddhist temple and u'll see it. I believe same builder, or unless u are trying to buy the house beside it?

Haha! I believe I went in to view that one. I don't think it's the same builder but nowadays it seems like a trend to have super high ceiling!

If it's the brand new one which is currently for sale, land 2700 sq ft or so then that's the one that I have viewed. However, after thinking twice we felt that the land area was too small for the price that they are asking even though the house is brand new and nice.

The neighbouring house next to the one I am eyeing is not yet completed. In fact, they are just starting construction. :)

Thanks Yoongf for answering my qn. I guess I will mention it to seller anyway just to make things clear. :)

 

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Haha! I believe I went in to view that one. I don't think it's the same builder but nowadays it seems like a trend to have super high ceiling!

If it's the brand new one which is currently for sale, land 2700 sq ft or so then that's the one that I have viewed. However, after thinking twice we felt that the land area was too small for the price that they are asking even though the house is brand new and nice.

The neighbouring house next to the one I am eyeing is not yet completed. In fact, they are just starting construction. :)

Thanks Yoongf for answering my qn. I guess I will mention it to seller anyway just to make things clear. :)

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/listing/12282478/for-sale-1503-changi-semi-d-brand-new-mrt-kembanga

this one done up liao. prob can take more loan don't need to worry about cash for reno close to 3500sqft land, but i see "esso" colors in the waterfeature pix, i think it's near to TRUMPS

 

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http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/listing/12282478/for-sale-1503-changi-semi-d-brand-new-mrt-kembanga

this one done up liao. prob can take more loan don't need to worry about cash for reno close to 3500sqft land, but i see "esso" colors in the waterfeature pix, i think it's near to TRUMPS

Heh I saw this on Property Guru too. A lot of agents marketing it. Looks not bad but a bit out of my humble budget. I might go and take a look though, it looks like the location next to petrol station like you said which is not really ideal... also might be odd shaped plot.

 

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Heh I saw this on Property Guru too. A lot of agents marketing it. Looks not bad but a bit out of my humble budget. I might go and take a look though, it looks like the location next to petrol station like you said which is not really ideal... also might be odd shaped plot.

These are the kind of units developed and market by a group of individuals. They are very very unlikely to drop prices coz the investment for each individual is very low like 100-300k each so they can hold quite long sometimes as long as 1yr after TOP but looking at the climate now and so many similar units, wonder how long they can hold.

 

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