Wedding Themes from Pan Pacific

Since we are going to select the gown soon, we decided to ask Pan Pacific to send us the themes for 2011. We didn't want to select a gown that was too clashing with the theme. 

Here's what they sent us (complimentary narration from "The Architect" coming soon):
*Note: These are the themes for the Ocean Ballroom only and the pictures belong to Pan Pacific

Spring Rhapsody

Blue Jazz

Eden Harmony

Medieval of Love

Our Flat-Buying Journey

Starring: 'The Architect' and 'Miss Hard-to-Please'

We decided not to enlist the help of a buyer agent while searching for the flat.
Reason being that we are not obliged to any agent and we need not receive unnecessary 'promotion' through phone.

We actually consider the parcel of flat adjacent to the in-laws.
Here are some pics of the development (linked directly from H88.com.sg).
We like this development because the exterior & surrounding landscaping look really good. However, we couldn't seem to find a flat within this estate that could provoke an emotion to our hearts. Most of the flats we viewed were either blah, or had one or more defect (e.g. overhanging ledge outside your living room window for the unit on the 14th floor).

If you like condo-look-alike appearance flats, you may want to consider this development.

Disclaimer: It's at Woodlands.Choose it at your peril.

On one faithful day, 'Miss Hard-to-Please' had a sudden craving to check out EM flats. And chanced upon this ad online:
 

The ad did not look too promising, especially since the agent did not post any photos and the $10K COV feels fishy~

Nonetheless she went ahead to book an appointment with the agent since she has never seen an EM before and did not want to miss out on a good deal even if it's too good to be true.








Appended below are the summarised emotions derived from the flat viewing:
1) 'Jia1 Xiang1 de4 Gan3 Jue2' (translated into English = Feeling of Home-coming, ie. Ipoh Kampung Feeling)
2) Big...Very Big
3) Dirty, dusty & smelly (Huge make-over need to be done)
4) Koi Fish Window, Koi Fish Sliding Door, Koi Fish Motif...1st to be hacked and go'
5) 'Oh-my...Grey Granite Floor...2nd to be hacked and go'
6) Cornice at Ceiling - so old fashion...3rd to go
7) Brown Aluminum Sliding Window Frame - 4th to go
8) No Bomb Shelter???? (see floor plan)

Despite these many concerns, we opted for a 2nd viewing and paid $1000 for the option to purchase (OTP) 4 days later.
Main motivating factor was governed by points 1 & 2.
The 10k COV was also lucrative as savings from COV can be used to hack the granite floor (which was later vetoed due to budget constraint).
*By the way, please ensure that you have your HLE letter before committing to an OTP. You can negotiate with the seller to give you an extension or post-date the OTP.

The ad was actually put up by a freelance agent who told us she is the self-made/default buyer agent.
We didn't want to jin1 jin1 ji4 jiao4 (too calculative) and have no time to do the paper work, we accepted with grace her self-appointment as our buyer agent.
To give her due credit, she did try to cut the COV to $9K (not successful) and helped to appeal to HDB on our behalf regarding the submission of ROM cert (successful, but credit goes to the helpful HDB officer as well).
* To appeal, you need to submit to HDB a receipt of your wedding banquet/ROM/wedding gown with the date of your ROM written on it. To add more oomph you should submit a letter from the JP as well.

1st Appointment with HDB
- Date:19 Feb.
- As we will be exercising the additional 10k grant for living near to parents, our parents have to be present, together with their IC and marriage cert.
- Hear say, 1st appointment is for the HDB officer to understand if we are indeed genuine of marriage (to ensure the couple are not those scam type with foreign wives to buy HDB), 

More details of 1st & 2nd appointment will be posted in due time. So keep a look out for it.

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For potential flat-buyers, surfing through PropertyGuru (iPhone app available as well) and flipping through the Saturday Classifieds could be sufficient to help you in your flat-hunting journey if you have an idea on the location and type of flat you want.

By the way, a buyer agent normally earns 1% of the flat purchase price (paid by the buyer) while the seller agent earns 2% (paid by the seller). There is a serious conflict of interest which I really don't understand (why would the buyer agent want to reduce the price for you since he/she is earning based on commission?). HDB allows you to be your own agent and they organises seminars to educate you on the necessities during flat-buying/selling.

Free Advice from "The Architect" when Buying A Resale Flat

"The Architect" would like to share his two cents' worth on some guidelines to adhere to when buying a resale flat. 

Design Consideration:

• The windows should face in the general direction of North & South; to minimize heat build-up from the morning (east) and evening sun (west).

• Sufficient Daylight is of importance. Room depth should not exceed 3 x the height of floor to ceiling (ie. If the full height glass window is 2.8m = the room depth/length should not exceed 8.4 for efficient daylight entry.

• Rectilinear layout for ease of furniture installation.

• Degree of inclination to accept the as-built interior design, if any.

Additional Consideration:

• Check if the house is ‘clean’; look out for hidden amulets, ‘Ba Gua Mirror’

• Check the condition of sanitary point, esp at ceiling region to ensure no leakage from unit above. The last thing you want is a new home filled with shit!

• Check out if surrounding neighbors own the flat or is sublet-ing out the flat to multiple tenants; check the no. of slippers per household and if there is excessive hanging of underwear and bras

• Take a walk around the estate, keep a look out if there is excessive clothes being hung at window for drying. If so, it means there isn’t enough ventilation/sunlight for drying of clothe or it could be the item stated above: too many tenants in a flat – social security issue.

Points to note:

• Home visit during daytime. If agent/seller do not agree, give them a piece of your mind.

• Buyer is entitled to request either the agent or home seller to switch off light to determine if daylight is sufficient.

• Don't get cheated by sellers who switch on the aircon to full blast to give the illusion that the flat is very cooling.

Finding our Perfect First Home

House-hunting is a pain.

Several issues to consider, and some of these issues are inter-linked and inter-dependent.

* Note: The authors have released an update to this article. Click here to view the article.


1) Investment, First Home or Dream Home?

• Investment: There is great intention to sell of the house after a period of time to earn some money.
• First Home: Intended as a mid-term housing arrangement (7 - 10 years) as there is intention to move to a dream home.
• Dream Home: Couple can envision themselves still living in the home 20 years down the road.

Our choice: First Home

2) Resale, BTO, DBSS/EC ?
Pro Resale:

• Minimal waiting time to TOP
• Benefit from govt's grant (although some might dispute that the BTO flats are subsidized)
• You can survey the estate and flat orientation to make a more informed decision
• Tend to be in a more convenient location (near MRT or main roads)
• The older flats are much bigger (think Jumbo, Mansionette)

 Pro BTO:

• Price is much much cheaper ($280K vs $400K for a 4-room flat in Woodlands)
• New flat
• You can use the flat to buy a car, so as to compensate for the inconvenient location.
• Good for investment.

Pro DBSS/EC:

• Your combined income falls between $8,000 to $10,000 and you are not eligible for a HDB flat.
• Condo-like facilities (for EC)
• Good for investment (you can sell off as a normal condo to Singaporeans after 5 years, foreigners after 10)

Our choice: Resale

Miss Practical wants a very convenient location (i.e. minimal walking) and Mr I-Want-To-Be-An-Owner refuses to pay rent while we wait for the BTO/DBSS/EC to be built.

3) Which Location?
Mr Woodlands-Is-Not-Ulu is currently residing in Woodlands. As such, we are entitled to an additional $10K grant from the government if we stay within 2km of his current estate. Additional convenience includes free babysitting, meals, etc.

Miss VivoCity-Is-My-Heartland-Mall will miss bus 57 which brings her to work in 20 minutes.

Anyway, since this will only be a first home, there is intention to move to a less ulu location in the future :)


4) How Big/Small?
For info, the current size of most of today's HDB flats (10 years and below) are as such:

• 4-room: 90-92sqm
• 5-room: 110-114sqm

To put things into perspective, according to my friend who recently booked a room in Pan Pacific, a normal hotel room (for 2 pax) is 42sqm. Either the hotel room is huge or the flat is really small. 

Our choice: 5-room

We decided that we're probably gonna have kids in that flat so we might as well get the extra space.

5) When to buy?
If you are buying a BTO, you can apply under the fiance/fiancee scheme. You would only need to produce your marriage certificate 3 months after you collect your keys.

If you are buying resale, HDB states that you need to produce your marriage certificate by the 2nd appointment (approx 3 months from the time you place a deposit). However, I have heard that you can appeal for an extension as long as you have the receipt of your wedding banquet or letter from church/JP regarding the pre-set ROM date.

Our choice: Appeal

Since we have set on our ROM date (05 Nov 2011, duh!), we'll try our best to appeal for an extension. Will keep you updated!

* Note: The authors have released an update to this article. Click here to view the article.