A Meeting Place for New Home Owners!

decbride

Member
Hi catz,

Think that the 10% cash payment change is only for private. There is only change on the amount of loan we can borrow on HDB.

Not sure about EC though. I should think that it should fall under the same.

Anyone knows?
 


catz

New Member
Hi all,
From 1 Jan 03, HDB downpayment will be 10% downpayment cash, in line with private property policy. I think the same for EC.. this will definitely drive the demand for HDB down and prv pty will go up!
My apartment is pretty big (1450 sq ft )and it's freehold 'cos I didn't see a point in buying leasehold. So I'm quite happy with my apartment but just thinking about the extra 10% I would if I had bought slightly later.. *sigh*... never mind lah!
 

decbride

Member
Hi All,

The HDB downpayment changes will be inline with the transfer of HDB loan to banks.

FYI

This is quoted from the Ministerial statement.

"10% Cash Downpayment on Housing Loans"

"Currently, bank financing for private property is subject to a cap of 80% of the property value. The remaining 20% downpayment must be paid in cash and serves as a buffer for the banks. CPF money cannot be used for this downpayment, because the CPF Board ranks ahead of the bank in its claim, and so, in a default, CPF money does not provide any buffer for the bank.

Now that the lending bank will rank ahead of the CPF Board, CPF can be used for part of the downpayment. However, it would not be prudent to do away with the cash requirement altogether, because this could encourage excessive property speculation. We have thus decided to allow 10% of the downpayment for private property purchase to be paid out of CPF savings. The remaining 10% will still have to be paid in cash. The maximum quantum of bank financing will stay at 80% of property value.

The new rules will apply to CPF Board applications for private property purchases where the options to purchase were entered into, on or after 1 Sep 2002. Properties for which the options were signed before 1 Sep 2002 will not be affected.

HDB loans, whether subsidised or not, currently have no cash downpayment requirement. HDB flat buyers are allowed to use CPF savings to pay the full 20% downpayment, because for HDB loans, CPF’s claim rank second to HDB’s claim. When market rate HDB loans are transferred to bank origination, we will initially preserve this arrangement. But for the longer term, the rules for these bank-originated mortgages on HDB flats should be aligned with the rules for private property mortgages. We will phase in the 10% cash downpayment requirement for bank mortgages on HDB flats gradually, over 5 years. "
 

dew

New Member
Thanks to all for clarifying...now i have a better picture
happy.gif
 

kpo

New Member
great news about the 10% downpayment from CPF!!! hopefully, the private property market will pick up as a result of this...sure hope our apt can fetch a good price!!

for those who love aussino products...can sign up for the Aussino Linen Lover's card @ $15/pa and you can enjoy savings and benefits.
 
J

jamesbon

Guest
Hi guys,

Just wondering if U guys are interested.

I am going to get a system 3 air-con(Mitsubishi inverter) and if anyone interested (be it if your reno is somewhere in September), we could get together and buy at the same shop so that everyone could get a BIG discount since we're buying in mass!

Don't really have to be Mitsubishi since most shop sell different brands.

Those of ya interested, email me at [email protected]

If you heard of any prefered shop, pls indicate in the email too.

(PS: I think we should set a deadline for this. Let say, those who are interested have until mid August to reply.)
 

jenjen

Active Member
Hi, anyone knows where to get "arm" protector for the sofa?? Coz my sofa is white colour... so dun want it to get dirty so fast... =P
 

catz

New Member
JenJen, I bought something from Ikea which might save your sofa - it's like a holder for your remote controls. Don't know if it's still available 'cos I bought it while back. It comes in cream
happy.gif
Don't dare to go down to Ikea nowadays with the sale :p
 

jenjen

Active Member
Hi Catz, actually I went to Ikea yesterday but did not see anything suitable... I only walked on the 1st floor... did not go upstairs... may I know which section did u pick it up from??
happy.gif
 

catz

New Member
It's not available in the basement leh.. I picked it up when I happened to walk past the sofa display area. Usually I skip straight to the basement hall so it was quite a stroke of luck on that day.
happy.gif
Hope you find it!

Was Ikea very crowded yesterday? I wonder if it will be crowded after office hours 'cos I need to get a set of curtain rods... if it's crowded, I might try Spotlight instead. :p
 

jenjen

Active Member
okie, thanx catz... at least I know I missed it...not that they dun sell..
happy.gif
everywhere in singapore is crowded lah... I find the crowd abt the same at ikea everytime I go there... never met a time when it's very empty yet...
 

catz

New Member
hey JenJen,
no leh.. I find Ikea on weekends is such a nightmare! Sometimes it's empty on week nights.. Dunno whether to risk it or not!!
happy.gif
Sigh..
 

jenjen

Active Member
Up to you lor... wah... during weekend, I bought so many things... finally got the dining set, coffee table and TV console... still haven't settled the bed... hehehe... I'm still looking for a final set of bedsheets (those with chinese words type)... for the final zen look...
happy.gif
 

catz

New Member
hehe.. all your big ticket items at one shot! last time i was at robinsons, a couple of months back, i saw those kind of bedsheets you were looking for leh. dunno whether now still got leh.
happy.gif
good luck!
 

ann

New Member
Hey,

Ikea is not crowded on weekdays and nites. Can shop in comfort during those times. Not during lunch time though.

Had the luxury of dropping by there on a Fri after 1PM. Was great!
happy.gif
 

catz

New Member
Hey Ann,
Cool.. Thanx for the advice 'cos I don't work around Queenstown. In fact, I'm right on the other end of the island, Pasir Ris so the trip's quite inconvenient for me.
happy.gif
 

decbride

Member
Hi JenJen,

I remember that I saw these chinese wordings in embroidery at Ausinno, not sure whether they still have them.

Try Taka. They have quite nice Oriental bedsheets.
 

catz

New Member
Did anybody buy the ready-made curtains from Ikea? What do you do with the extra length? Did you sew it up or use the iron-on hemming tape? I don't have a sewing machine and there's about 1 metre of excess length so dunno whether to cut and hem with the iron-on tape or send it for hemming... trying to save $ and effort leh. Any advice pls?
 

decbride

Member
Hi Catz,

I got some of my curtains from Ikea.

I'm thinking of washing it first before I do any alternation. Some Ikea curtains do shrink after washing. So if you want to do any alternation, you might want to give some allowance for the shrinkage.

You can get some of those iron-on tape from Spotlight. Less than $10 for 22 m, I think.

I think the safest way is to hem it up without cutting unless it's really way too long, then cut a bit but leave some allowance.
 

catz

New Member
Hi decbride,
Yeah, I know the tape is available at Spotlight but I've got about 1 metre of excess length leh! If I don't cut, the curtains might not hang nicely. But if I cut then I have to hem again! :p So how much excess length do you have on your curtains?
happy.gif
Thanks for reminding about shrinkage.. I forgot!
 

decbride

Member
Hi Catz,

I think that an allowance of about 5% should be sufficient.

If I'm not wrong, the original length is about 3m.

If your window is about 2m, I guess you should still be able to get away with keeping about 25cm. Try not to have too thick hem at the bottom, it will look ugly.

I will try to wash it with clean water first before I do any alternation. So I have not done it yet. :p
 

catz

New Member
Hi decbride,

Yeah, the original length is about 3 m... I guess I will try not to cut the length 'cos I'm too lazy to hem... I will just try to stick it on with hemming tape.. hope it doesn't look too ugly. :p Keep me posted on your progress too yah?
happy.gif
 

bea

New Member
Hey girls,

Haven't been in here for a while.

Currently, renovating the house.

Will complete in Sep.

Take care..weekend's coming up. Go shopping!
 

zerokitty28

New Member
Hi all,

I really need to get advice from all of you in terms of the following for my new 5-rm flat:

a) recommendation of good ID or contractors
b) any good ideas how to design the flat
c) what are the good materials to be used
d) quotations

I really appreciate if you are able to email your quotation as a reference to me at this email add:

[email protected]

thanx a million
 

ivy

New Member
Hi there!
I've just gotten a new flat too and currently busy between my house & my wedding. Everyday is like shopping day and seeing the $$$ flying away brings lots of heartaches.
Just bought my lights at $1500 & it's not all the lights in the house.
sad.gif

When I went to Ikea over the weekend, realise that their lights are so cheap!!! So my advice, if you're looking for cheap lights, go take a look at Ikea first before going anywhere else.
 

catz

New Member
Hiya Ivy!

Yeah, it's kinda fun shopping shopping shopping until you get the bill! *faint* True, Ikea has a wide range of lights.
happy.gif


Update on my Ikea curtains, I managed to get the iron-on hemming tape from Spotlight. My short cut method - use pinking shears (y'know, the zigzag scissors) to chop off the excess length, then do a double hem with the tape.
happy.gif
So far, so good but after ironing, need to put a phone book so that the tape will 'stick'.
happy.gif
 

decbride

Member
Hello Ivy,

I heard from my contractors that there has been alot of complaints about Ikea lighting. It seems that the quality is not good. I wanted to get one of those tracklight ( cos it's the cheapest) and was advise against that. In the end, I got something else at a lighting shop and spend about 10-20 more. I think it's safer loh. At least it's not made in China. However, if you are looking for those bulb lighting (use just a bulb, got no starter and the rectangle thingie in normal light) , I think should be alright, cos it's just plain wire and bulb). What I did was that I got one light at $9- for my bathroom, and one frosted glass hanging light at $12 for balcony, but got the Osram bulb, as I don't want to risk having to change bulb frequently.
You don't have to go to Ikea to get cheap lighting. I spent about $1K for lightings for my entire house including more than 30 downlights. I think that is quite decent as well.

Ikea's quality cannot be compared with most lightings as it's made in China.
 

decbride

Member
Hi Catz,

why do you need to use the zigzag scissors to cut?
I have not done my as I'm waiting for my contractor to help me put up my curtain rods
 

catz

New Member
Hey decbride,

Thought it would be better since I'm not using sewing machine to hem so hopefully the pinking shears will prevent the ends from fraying so easily.
happy.gif
Hehe..
 

decbride

Member
Hi Catz,

I see, but I'm actually not so sure what scissrs you are talking about cos I have not seen such scissors (can prevent fray ends) before.
Suah Ku!:p Where did you get them?

How much allowance did you give?
 

catz

New Member
Hi decbride,

Pinking shears do not totally guard against frayed ends but it's better than using the normal scissors. I borrowed mine from my mom.. think you can get them from any craft shop.

I gave about 20cm allowance on the bottom so I folded it up twice. The advantage of having a slightly longer hem is that it weighs the curtain down so it doesn't fly everywhere when the wind blows.
 

decbride

Member
Hi Catz,

I understand now.

I think I will most likely sew up mine. But want to make sure I got it right, so will sew it after my curtains rod are up and then decide how much to cut.

Do you know what happen to the tape after you wash the curtains?
 

catz

New Member
Hi decbride,

The tape is pretty hardy - it won't come unstuck unless you really pull it very very hard. Are you going to hand-stitch? It's quite a lot of fabric, warn you first.. Damn shack man... :p
 

bea

New Member
Heys gals,

Just chosen the colours for my curtains and roman blinds for the house. All in different shades of Ivory/Champagne. It will only be done up next mth just before the ID company hands over the house.

My painting starts tomorrow. After all the carpentry is up, touch up again. Delivery of lites will be this weekend and then it will be installed on Monday.

Wow...doing up the house is like a jig-saw puzzle...in phases. Can't wait to see the end product. As of now, the tiles are making me giddily happy...haha. *faint*

Have fun renovating ur houses too! And doing up your curtains!
 

catz

New Member
harlow Bea,

Eh.. my curtains all ivory / champagne too! looks like we've got the same colour scheme.
happy.gif


yah, when my place was being done up, i couldn't resist popping by everyday just to see what was done!
happy.gif
hehee.. don't faint ok?
 

decbride

Member
Hi hi catz,
I wanted to machine sew. Hand sew takes up too much time.

I'm actually trying to sew my own day curtain for my dining and living room (just before the balcony). I don't intend to do any night curtain, and the quotes I got for doing just that is more than $1K :p. In the end decided to do it myself. Cost less than $200/- for 27m of materials. Quite shack also. Who asked me to be so "Ga Rang" :p

I think I need 1-2 more week to get it done.


Hi Bea,

ya, renovation is quite a tedious chores.
Me too! I went to my new place whenever I have a chance. Almost everyday. :p
 

catz

New Member
Hi decbride!

Wow.. even machine sewing is going to be quite shack leh.. I decided to tahan this temporary one until I make more money to get better ones.
happy.gif
Hehe.. good luck, my "ga rang" friend!
happy.gif
27m is a lot! Why not try Spotlight? I think they've got sewing services leh, cheaper than Ikea. I only saw it after I bought all my barang. :p
 

gwen

New Member
Hi Bea,

So exciting!! Your reno is finishing already and mine is only starting. Doing up the cornices today.
happy.gif
Will get to see the flooring next week. Can't wait!! Hee hee
 

decbride

Member
Hi Catz,

Ya, me too! I wanted something just for temporary use. Will invest only when we have settle down. By then, should know, what is best suited for us. Don't want to spend few K and then regret later.
I've spent approx. $600 for my whole house curtains including curtain rods. The only thing I have invested in is good quality rods.

Ya, my window panel is quite big. My balcony is almost 5m wide and more than 2m high. That's why lor. I got my materials from Spotlight and did consider that, but their sewing service is not that cheap. Nevermind, since I already started, too late to turn back now.

I've completed the ones at my masterbedroom balcony and it doesn't look too bad. I used up another 5m.

Cannot believe that I actually bought 27 + 5m materials altogether! :p

For materials, don't get at Ikea if possible, cos very expensive. Then again, they do have very nice fabrics sometimes.
 

catz

New Member
Hi decbride,

I think I spent about $200 on my two bedrooms 'cos I bought the ready-made curtains from Ikea ($59 each). I spent about $1300 on my living/dining and master bedroom. Quite a bit 'cos my living room is entire full -length windows and same for the living room. :p

Hope your sewing goes well, don't worry ok?
happy.gif
 

angel

Member
Hi Ivy

My new house just completed renovation. Same as you, my $$$ has been flying away since the day i collected my house keys from HDB.

Even though mine is a Premium house - with floor tiles for living room & bedroom, kitchen, toilets as well as the wall tiles done for us from HDB, the reno also cost me around $10K...plus furniture...almost $20K gone...

My friends told me it will at least take me 1-2 years before i can filled my house with things we want...she advised me not to buy all things at one shot to avoid buying things that is not suitable for the house...

Just curious, anybody stay at Woodlands Drive 75, Blk 689...
 

shirsweetiepie

New Member
Hi there

I am now waiting for my keys to my love nest .... is in the mist of looking for good, and reliable interior designers and kichen specialist around?

Any recommendations and advices? :p
 

decbride

Member
Hi all,

seems that all have gone quiet. Anyway, just to keep the forum alive.

Anyone got any recommendations for good quality stainless steel pots and pans.

I've seen the AMC range and really likes it very much. But it's very expensive and the sizes are pretty big. Not so suitable for a small family.

Anyone knows of any other brands of similar quality?
 


catz

New Member
hi decbride,

i don't dare to use stainless steel leh.. i remember my flatmate burnt her stainless steel pan once.. had to boil umpteen times with detergent to get the burn marks off! for me, i opt to use non-stick. still eye-ing an Armatal wok
happy.gif
'cos my current tefal wok is a little bit too small.

wmf also does stainless steel but very expensive too!
 

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