First... We take Hougang

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

3 minutes ago, matchalatte said:

ah ok, so you didnt have any meetups before. because for me, apart from price, chemistry & rapport is also v important. since i want to buy lots of things from taobao, there are actually a few who're not agreeable because they either think the stuff will be of bad quality or they want you to buy from shops that they can earn commission from. or some just say everything cannot, or their prices are really ex. at least if you meetup once you can get a rough quote or decide whether or not you want to meet them again. even the famous mr. k set aside time to meet me despite him being very busy, this i really appreciate. but i guess all of us do things differently, and resale will be more straightforward since the unit is already there.

anyway i LOVE your home so so much! any reason why you didnt document your reno journey from start to end? i actually didnt even know about your thread until @spooky commented and brought yr thread to the first page lol

Thank you for loving my home!!!  I guess I was very focused on end results, not so much about the start to end journey. Cos, when things happened, it happened fast. I didn't do a lot of hacking. My walls, floor remained the same, I only redid the 2 bathrooms, wardrobe, kitchen and tore down a bunch of built in stuff which i didn't need/like/want

[JasY 0]

Gosh stumbled on your pics and I LOVE the look. Gorgeous place you've put together!

[carkingsheep 0]

@ohwowitsmc, How much does it cost for a make over like urs? mind Pming me?

You hack your whole kitchen ??

your masterbedroom/changing room together? can share your floor plan on the lay out?

Edited April 21, 2017 by carkingsheep

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

On 4/20/2017 at 9:51 PM, JasY said:

Gosh stumbled on your pics and I LOVE the look. Gorgeous place you've put together!

thank you so much!!!

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

On 4/21/2017 at 8:53 AM, carkingsheep said:

@ohwowitsmc, How much does it cost for a make over like urs? mind Pming me?

You hack your whole kitchen ??

your masterbedroom/changing room together? can share your floor plan on the lay out?

hello! sorry for the late reply! i completely missed your comment.

I paid around $42k for the entire renovation- this include hacking of 2 bathrooms, full length carpentry (19 ft) in changing room, 6.5 ft island and 13.5ft kitchen cabinets, various electrical stuff, painting etc. i went direct for parquet/gate/doors. all in would be in the range of $48k or so. i kept the floor tiles as it is in great condition, and yes my master bedroom and changing room are connected, accessible via a twin folding door.

hope this helps! i don't have an updated floor plan which reflects the changes in the room doors position.

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

a little different from most of the t-blogs here since i'm only typing this up when my renovation is already done.

so here's a recap on various chapters of the entire renovation process that's still relatively fresh in my mind.

chapter one- choosing and identifying the right house.

i knew for a long time that i have to get my own place, after spending all of my life living with my parents.

condo

i toyed with the idea of purchasing a condo 2 bedrooms unit and had visited several show flats but couldn't bring myself to go ahead with the purchase due to reasons like the following:

• very small space, e.g. less than 900 sqft for some of the 2 bedrooms unit 
• expensive start up costs- some of the units i saw was going for $900k-$1.4million- once i make the downpayment, it'd leave me with little flexibility for renovation and furniture
• monthly conservancy fees- again, this will be a significant amount of money to fork out every month to finance the maintenance of the facilities which i will hardly use (e.g. gym, swimming pools etc), so just wanted to be realistic.

BTO flat

i'm a singleton so i'm only eligible for the 1 bedroom unit option which i'm not interested in because:

• long TOP lead time
• too small a living space

HDB resale

after coming to terms with the above factors, i concluded that i can only do the resale route, and therefore, downloaded propertyguru app onto my phone and started bookmarking shortlisted HDB flats like crazy. i didn't engage a property agent as i felt, as long as i understood the broad strokes of how the transactions work, i could manage it reasonably on my own. i started viewing HDB units before my 35th birthday to grasp a good understanding on what i like and do not like, what's realistic and unrealistic in terms of pricing expectations. all in all, i've viewed a total of 15 or so 4room and 5room flats in Hougang and Serangoon area. with each visit, i made a very detailed note on various things and used a scoring system to shortlist/eliminate:

• storey- high units 
• views
• condition of renovation e.g. flooring, window frames, pipes, walls
• light- is there sufficient natural light?
• breeze- is it breezy? or i'll be scorched to death even in indoors?
• corner unit?
• are there a lot of hacking to be done? e.g. a lot of built in carpentry?
• humidity in bathrooms? look at the ceiling for hints of that
• neighbours? how many units? are they noisy? 
• layout of the rooms
• surrounding amenities 
• proximity to my parents' place

it was somewhat tiring as on some weekends, i'd see up to 4 units consecutively but the more units i saw, the clearer i was in being discerning.  and finally on 27th august 2016,  i made the offer for my 5 room flat,  20 mins after viewing the place, 12 days after my 35th birthday. 

[KFC1189 11]

Hi Ohwowitsmac,

Your apartment is very nicely done.

I could not view your floor plan anymore. Could you please check the link. Thanks.

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

On 5/2/2017 at 9:39 AM, KFC1189 said:

Hi Ohwowitsmac,

Your apartment is very nicely done.

I could not view your floor plan anymore. Could you please check the link. Thanks.

Thanks!

Edited May 29, 2017 by Ohwowitsmac

[May_dream1 14]

 

On 5/1/2017 at 10:30 AM, Ohwowitsmac said:

a little different from most of the t-blogs here since i'm only typing this up when my renovation is already done.

so here's a recap on various chapters of the entire renovation process that's still relatively fresh in my mind.

chapter one- choosing and identifying the right house.

i knew for a long time that i have to get my own place, after spending all of my life living with my parents.

condo

i toyed with the idea of purchasing a condo 2 bedrooms unit and had visited several show flats but couldn't bring myself to go ahead with the purchase due to reasons like the following:

• very small space, e.g. less than 900 sqft for some of the 2 bedrooms unit 
• expensive start up costs- some of the units i saw was going for $900k-$1.4million- once i make the downpayment, it'd leave me with little flexibility for renovation and furniture
• monthly conservancy fees- again, this will be a significant amount of money to fork out every month to finance the maintenance of the facilities which i will hardly use (e.g. gym, swimming pools etc), so just wanted to be realistic.

BTO flat

i'm a singleton so i'm only eligible for the 1 bedroom unit option which i'm not interested in because:

• long TOP lead time
• too small a living space

HDB resale

after coming to terms with the above factors, i concluded that i can only do the resale route, and therefore, downloaded propertyguru app onto my phone and started bookmarking shortlisted HDB flats like crazy. i didn't engage a property agent as i felt, as long as i understood the broad strokes of how the transactions work, i could manage it reasonably on my own. i started viewing HDB units before my 35th birthday to grasp a good understanding on what i like and do not like, what's realistic and unrealistic in terms of pricing expectations. all in all, i've viewed a total of 15 or so 4room and 5room flats in Hougang and Serangoon area. with each visit, i made a very detailed note on various things and used a scoring system to shortlist/eliminate:

• storey- high units 
• views
• condition of renovation e.g. flooring, window frames, pipes, walls
• light- is there sufficient natural light?
• breeze- is it breezy? or i'll be scorched to death even in indoors?
• corner unit?
• are there a lot of hacking to be done? e.g. a lot of built in carpentry?
• humidity in bathrooms? look at the ceiling for hints of that
• neighbours? how many units? are they noisy? 
• layout of the rooms
• surrounding amenities 
• proximity to my parents' place

it was somewhat tiring as on some weekends, i'd see up to 4 units consecutively but the more units i saw, the clearer i was in being discerning.  and finally on 27th august 2016,  i made the offer for my 5 room flat,  20 mins after viewing the place, 12 days after my 35th birthday. 

Congrats!!! i am like you, single but when i bought my place, there was no option for buying 2 room BTO. so my choice was either condo or resale. my 1st choice was hougang as the flats there are slightly cheaper.... but in the end, for convenience sake, i have chosen the one i am now. stayed for 6 years already........ hehehehe.... 

Happy you found a unit you like and make it into such a beautiful home

[May_dream1 14]

On 4/11/2017 at 11:12 AM, Ohwowitsmac said:

ah i see what you mean now! for me, i asked for a day from the seller (even before i collected keys) and got everyone i was interested to work with (no quotation prior) to go on site, brief and then ask for quotes. but yes, agree that your case, since keys collection is later, then a bit hard. but, if you feel that no loss working with J&E, then just move forward with your shortlisted ones! might be a good experience, no less!

 

your seller very accomodating..... i also managed to get my seller to let my contractor to do measurement before the final quote as without actual measurement, there are things that might not be seen on plan. After seeing the actual unit, then can decide what else to add or remove.

i really miss the reno period.... was fun even though was busy..... if ask me whether there are anything i want to change after living for 6 years, i am glad to say that i have nothing that i want to change, except i wish i have a bigger kitchen. hahahahaha.......  

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

19 minutes ago, May_dream1 said:

 

Congrats!!! i am like you, single but when i bought my place, there was no option for buying 2 room BTO. so my choice was either condo or resale. my 1st choice was hougang as the flats there are slightly cheaper.... but in the end, for convenience sake, i have chosen the one i am now. stayed for 6 years already........ hehehehe.... 

Happy you found a unit you like and make it into such a beautiful home

Thank you so much!!! Where are you staying now? For me, I've lived in Hougang almost my entire life so it was a no brainer decision for me. And also, if I move further away, I risk being disowned by my parents! Hahaha  

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

9 minutes ago, May_dream1 said:

your seller very accomodating..... i also managed to get my seller to let my contractor to do measurement before the final quote as without actual measurement, there are things that might not be seen on plan. After seeing the actual unit, then can decide what else to add or remove.

i really miss the reno period.... was fun even though was busy..... if ask me whether there are anything i want to change after living for 6 years, i am glad to say that i have nothing that i want to change, except i wish i have a bigger kitchen. hahahahaha.......  

Yup! I was definitely quite lucky! The sellers are a very nice and young couple and we got along pretty well during the entire process. You are absolutely right! Now that the Reno period is over, I find myself thinking about it. I've come to realize that I really enjoy the whole conceptualizing and matching furniture part of the process. It's especially satisfying to see the outcome of your own imagination. 

[May_dream1 14]

52 minutes ago, Ohwowitsmac said:

Thank you so much!!! Where are you staying now? For me, I've lived in Hougang almost my entire life so it was a no brainer decision for me. And also, if I move further away, I risk being disowned by my parents! Hahaha  

staying in mcnair road, at boon keng mrt area..... i seen almost 15 units in hougang area, mostly near to IMH area but none was suitable for me. most of it have no view and the layout is not very ideal for what i wanted to do. 

you can read my T-blog i think the pictures are mostly not viewable anymore. 

i don't have much furniture to match as most of my furniture are built in...... so i don't need to worry much abt buying moveable stuff...... 

[Stream 4]

On 5/1/2017 at 9:55 AM, Ohwowitsmac said:

I paid around $42k for the entire renovation- this include hacking of 2 bathrooms, full length carpentry (19 ft) in changing room, 6.5 ft island and 13.5ft kitchen cabinets, various electrical stuff, painting etc. i went direct for parquet/gate/doors. all in would be in the range of $48k or so. i kept the floor tiles as it is in great condition, and yes my master bedroom and changing room are connected, accessible via a twin folding door.

Was the sliding glass door for your kitchen done by J&E or different supplier? If latter, can pm me? Tks

[Ohwowitsmac 2]

20 hours ago, Stream said:

Was the sliding glass door for your kitchen done by J&E or different supplier? If latter, can pm me? Tks

it's by J&E's subcon