1399-Sqft. Hdb Flat - Super Budget!

[jocelynymm 0]

Hi all! Decided after much thought to pay it forward, seeing as how i got quite enlightened about my home reno from renotalk.

First conquest: sourcing for a $0 cov (or better yet, cuv!) unit without having to pay commission for a housing agent!

Status: Done!

Outcome: After scouring propertyguru for a few weeks and several house visits, finally found the unit my SO and i loved... A 1399-sqft resale hdb flat at pasir ris street 21. Corner unit, absolutely NO shared walls with any neighbours, a home on a hill, and the best part, $26000 under valuation! So proud of ourselves for such a fantabulous find!

Now, what's for the second conquest?

Edited July 3, 2014 by jocelynymm

[jocelynymm 0]

Second conquest (shan't bore you guys with the minor conquests... just the really major ones will be on this t-blog!): searching for Mr./Ms. Right to head our renovations! We actually had a very clear idea of what we wanted already, just that we didn't really fit those ideas into a theme per se. I did tonnes, and i really mean A LOT, of research and downloaded a million pics. Thanks to the renotalk t-bloggers out there whose posts really did help me quite a bit too!

Status: FOUND OUR MR. RIGHT! Finally!

Outcome: We met with a whole list of ID's and contractors. This was VERY painstaking and time-consuming, but a worthy investment of time and effort! We even met with the contractor whose family did xiaxue's place... we just had to find the right ideas with the right budget... our top priority was seeking out Mr. Right CONTRACTOR, cos we felt we couldn't afford ID prices... here's the list (names and firms left out on purpose, just in case... can always PM me -

1) Ms. J from S.C.

2) Ms. E from D.S.

3) Mr. M from U.H.

4) Mr. B from D.

5) Mr. J from R.M.

6) Ms. A from S.C.

7) Ms. K from V.

8) Mr. N from A. (this firm recently gave a talk at one of renotalk's events!)

9) Mr. A from H.C.

10) Mr. L from C.K.L.

11) Ms. A from E.F.

12) Ms. J from D.4.S.

13) Mr. X from A.C.

14) Mr. R from D.H.

15) Mr. A from M.C.

I digress: WHO MEETS WITH 15 ID's AND/OR CONTRACTORS RIGHT!

There really was a tough fight choosing between 14 and 15! Prices were extremely competitive, people were extremely friendly, honest, realistic and professional, but alas! We went with 14 as he is really an on-the-ball contractor who will reply to our messages even past midnight. How much more awesome and reliable can he get!

Pictures of our flat before reno coming right up...

[jocelynymm 0]

Raw pictures BEFORE we got our keys... Lots of work to be done!

[OceanEleven 203]

Maybe you can share with us the floor plan layout for better visualization?

[samuelmk 0]

Wow , that is a pretty good big u got there! 26k cuv, big house, great air.. how old was the flat?

[Bibliokitty 0]

Second conquest (shan't bore you guys with the minor conquests... just the really major ones will be on this t-blog!): searching for Mr./Ms. Right to head our renovations! We actually had a very clear idea of what we wanted already, just that we didn't really fit those ideas into a theme per se. I did tonnes, and i really mean A LOT, of research and downloaded a million pics. Thanks to the renotalk t-bloggers out there whose posts really did help me quite a bit too!

Status: FOUND OUR MR. RIGHT! Finally!

Outcome: We met with a whole list of ID's and contractors. This was VERY painstaking and time-consuming, but a worthy investment of time and effort! We even met with the contractor whose family did xiaxue's place... we just had to find the right ideas with the right budget... our top priority was seeking out Mr. Right CONTRACTOR, cos we felt we couldn't afford ID prices... here's the list (names and firms left out on purpose, just in case... can always PM me -

1) Ms. J from S.C.

2) Ms. E from D.S.

3) Mr. M from U.H.

4) Mr. B from D.

5) Mr. J from R.M.

6) Ms. A from S.C.

7) Ms. K from V.

8) Mr. N from A. (this firm recently gave a talk at one of renotalk's events!)

9) Mr. A from H.C.

10) Mr. L from C.K.L.

11) Ms. A from E.F.

12) Ms. J from D.4.S.

13) Mr. X from A.C.

14) Mr. R from D.H.

15) Mr. A from M.C.

I digress: WHO MEETS WITH 15 ID's AND/OR CONTRACTORS RIGHT!

There really was a tough fight choosing between 14 and 15! Prices were extremely competitive, people were extremely friendly, honest, realistic and professional, but alas! We went with 14 as he is really an on-the-ball contractor who will reply to our messages even past midnight. How much more awesome and reliable can he get!

Pictures of our flat before reno coming right up...

Wah! That's an amazing number of contractors to speak to. Can please PM contractors, including the 2 you were deciding on? I'm finding it very hard to find suitable contractors whom can click with

[jocelynymm 0]

@samuelmk: The flat is into its 21st year this year... its youth is wearing out soon!

@OceanEleven: Good point! Floorplan coming up!

Edited July 6, 2014 by jocelynymm

[jocelynymm 0]

Floorplan that the seller's agent sent to us:

After an insanely messy editing that i sent out to my contractor #14 in the very early planning stages (it's so atrocious, i wonder how he actually managed to make sense of anything!):

As you can see from the edited floorplan, my SO and i (or more me actually hahaha) wanted to make quite many changes to the flat! However, quotations kept coming back to us that were >$40k, and although we told the ID's/contractors who we met that our budget was $40k, it really was $30k... Contractor #14 was one of the few whose initial quote was <$40k, which was one of the major reasons he was placed on our radar!

Our final quotation (works still ongoing so final amount will surely change!): ~$26k! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MANY THINGS WE HAD TO SACRIFICE TO REACH THE AMOUNT we even went to JB to shop for tiles and i arranged for our own cargo shipment etc 'cos the delivery charges from the tile shop itself was craaaazy! But in the midst of our bargain hunting, my SO and i met many people who really warmed our hearts. What a blessing in disguise to not be rich, haha!

A summary of our reno works:

1) hack both bathroom floors and re-waterproof + re-tile (as we checked with neighbours downstairs who said that they previously had water droplets form on their bathroom ceilings)

2) overlay both toilet wall tiles (incl. removal of all sanitary ware, mirrors, etc)

3) hack all cornices and false ceilings in the whole flat, except for guest room (trying to cut cost so just do the really necessary... sorry, future guests!)

4) remove old air-con & install new air-con (air-con price not incl. in quote)

5) remove wall panel mirrors in living room + build partition wall at study entrance

6) cement screed 390sqft kitchen wall over existing tiles

7) overlay 170sqft kitchen floor tiles (incl. removal of concrete supports, cabinet bases, etc)

8) construction of 27ft kitchen cabinet in total + 36sqft non-directional stainless steel backing + 5ft breakfast counter

9) hack service balcony wall, window, door and kerb (did not hack lintol 'cos we didn't want to pay $1000 for PE endorsement fee and hacking cost!)

10) hack some walls and door frames and make good after hacking

11) convert area outside mbr bathroom into vanity area (dry toilet) + new doorway for mbr ($480 for a door frame and lintol! watching our money fly away through the door... pun intended. haha!)

12) a platform for our WIW and laminate flooring for the WIW and MBR

13) some others... minor stuff... and oh yes, incl. plumbing and electrical stuff too!

Very little carpentry work for us as built-in furniture, though extremely lasting, really costs a lot... can't afford at the present moment.

The next few posts of this t-blog will be posted in retrospect... beginning with reno day 1 pics!

Edited July 13, 2014 by jocelynymm

[worldangel 0]

May I have the contact number or email of the contractor which you have selected? Thanks!

[eastlovin 1]

Wow I'm so proud of you too for finding such a fantastic flat!! If I were looking for a flat in Pasir Ris, it would have ticked all the boxes for me too!!

[Songz 132]

Great purchase you got there.

From the pictures it seem the house is in quite a good state.

Good luck for the reno.

[metta 0]

i also just secured a 121sqm flat at hougang area. but i haven gotten my valuation yet and am waiting in anxiety over the selling price i offered was it too high ... would u mind sharing what was your purchase price?

[jocelynymm 0]

i also just secured a 121sqm flat at hougang area. but i haven gotten my valuation yet and am waiting in anxiety over the selling price i offered was it too high ... would u mind sharing what was your purchase price?

Hi metta, mine was close to $500k... quite ex, also dunno why the valuation price was very high, but since it was, couldn't bargain any further :x

[jocelynymm 0]

SORRY for the lack of posts - have been VERY BUSY 2 jobs to handle, 2 wedding preps (in 2 cities) to worry about, 1 house to reno.. losing hair!

@all of you who have asked for contractor contacts: I am uncomfortable to give out the info at the present moment as there have been some unsatisfactory works going on... it's been like a roller coaster ride! after my reno work is completed in about 1 month and if my SO and i are satisfied with the work, I'll reply all you guys... Sorry about that!