Hi Ting
i agreed with hamster_gal (i also jiemei for more than 3x) dont worry too much as long you are happy n your jiemeis happy too
we know that we dont have so much cash on hands so we decided to get a 2nd hand 5-room flat - guess we are lucky too coz the previous owners hardly stayed there (this is a bonus point) they had another appt so the house is in good condition
they paid $40k for the reno include the following:
(1) hacked 2 rooms into 1 master bedroom
(2) built in shelves for 2 rooms
(3) walk-in wardrobe
(4) built in cabinets for the kitchen
(5) hacked the kitchen room into an open concept
(6) built in spot lights for all the rooms
(7) dust-proof blinds for 2 rooms
(8) curtains for the living room
(9) flooring for the kitchen
(10) laminate the flooring for all rooms
while we saves on reno - spent $2k - flooring for the 2 toilets & store room, fixed up the pipes due to leakage; skirting flooring for the door step & re-paint the whole house (except for the 2 toilets - the rest handled by my 2 uncles who only charged me for a nominal fees) yes, my 2 uncles are contractors - another $15k for furnitres & electrical appliances ...
we use CPF to pay the rest (ie. original value for the flat is $250k n owners asked for $300k - in all we paid $500 in cash n the rest using CPF funds to pay)
hope this help ....