1st HDB Appointment

Items to bring:

• ICs (Original & Photocopy)
• Passport (if non-Singaporean)
• Latest payslips
• Cheque book

If you are applying for the $10K "Stay near parents" grant, bring these as well:

• The parents
• Parents' ICs (Original & Photocopy)
• Parents' marriage cert
• Birth certificate

Our 1st HDB appointment was a breeze. The HDB officer that handled our case surpassed our expectations. We were very impressed that she even remembered our wedding date although our appeal case (link) wasn't handled directly by her.

Here's a summarised version of the detailed explanation that she gave us:

• Since we're applying for the stay near parents grant, the parents cannot move away from Woodlands within this 5 years
• We must physically stay in the flat for 5 years before we're allowed to sell it
• Because the Malaysian is non-Singaporean, HDB will withhold $10K from our total grant. This amt will be subsequently returned if the Malaysian becomes Singaporean or gives birth to a Singaporean kid.
• The max HDB loan we can take is 90% of the valuation price or what is given in your HLE letter
• Amount of cash needed = (10% + COV) - (Grants + CPF Savings) + Stamp Duty + Taxes - Deposit
• You would need to pay a portion of the amount above after the 1st appointment (payable via cash, NETS or cheque)
• The remaining amount needs to be paid during the 2nd appointment by CASH only. Alternatively, you can opt to pay the whole sum during the 1st appointment.
• The 2nd appointment takes place 6 - 8 weeks after the 1st, as CPF first needs to credit the grant into the Singaporean's account and then deduct them again.
• Home Protection Scheme is also a must. (i.e. Insurance in the event that one of us dies before loan is repayed.) However, you can choose the amount to insured.

The whole process took around 40 - 45 minutes. Our next appointment is on 1st April @ 3pm.

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.

Selecting our wedding bands

Starring: "The Noncommittal" and "The Wallet"

The selection of our wedding bands was a long and arduous process, mainly because "The Noncommittal" insisted that she had to survey all the wedding bands in every Lee Hwa, Soo Kee, Goldheart, Love & Co etc before committing to a single pair. "The Wallet", on the other hand, insisted that he would pay for both the rings but eventually got veto-ed (we decided to split the cost).

The journey started in March this year. "The Noncommittal" had the following requirements for the wedding bands:

• Simple design (preferably something that looks like our existing rings)
• Diamonds are optional for the girl (but do not want to pay for an expensive diamond), strictly no diamonds for the guy.

We saw a really nice ring in Lee Hwa Wisma Atria which had a wave design embedded on it. The rings were also on sale at that time. 

"The Wallet": Do you want to buy them?

"The Noncommittal": No! It's only March and our wedding is not until end of next year!

"The Wallet": Then why are we ring-shopping now?

"The Noncommittal": So that we will know what to buy when it's time to buy!

Sometime in June, someone told "The Noncommittal" that we should consider Titanium rings because they are unique and cool. "The Noncommittal" agreed and decided that now her requirements for the wedding bands are:

• Simple design
• Made of a unique metal (i.e. not gold)
• Diamonds are optional for the girl (but do not want to pay for an expensive diamond), strictly no diamonds for the guy.

The search for the rings obviously became slightly more complicated because titanium rings can only be found online or in wellness stores like Osim, OTO etc. The most unique metal that local jewelers have is platinum. And platinum wedding bands are rather pricey.

"The Noncommittal": Since Soo Kee is already so expensive (platinum bands), we might as well get Tiffany right?

"The Wallet": OK

"The Noncommittal": But Tiffany bands are so plain! And too thin for your finger!

"The Wallet": Uh-huh...

"The Noncommittal": Hmm...but why should we pay for a metal that looks like white gold? Anyway my engagement ring is already platinum.

"The Wallet": Uh-huh...

"The Noncommittal": I think let's just go back to white/yellow/rose gold.

"The Wallet": OK

*This is our effective mean of communication: One to make decision, the other to provide encouraging comments during the decision-making process. However, please use this advice at your own risk. We shall not be held liable for any negative impacts to your relationship.

Our wedding band journey slowed down in the months of July to Sept because we were both busy at work. Nonetheless "The Noncommittal" still managed to slot in impromptu visits to the jewelry shops on the pretext that "since we're here we might as well go in" and "they offer free tea & we get to sit for a while".

In October, we decided to buy the wedding bands on 5 Nov 2010 as a "-1 year wedding anniversary gift". (Note to other couples: There is no precedence for buying negative-years wedding anniversary gifts. Please do not quote us in the event of any emotional or financial impacts on your relationship). With this deadline looming, "The Noncommittal" decided to take the shopping more seriously. Unfortunately for us, we can't seem to find the perfect wedding bands. To make matters worse, the list of requirements grew as we visited each shop.

• Simple but non-boring design
• White gold (because "The Wallet" doesn't look good in yellow or rose gold)
• Preferably a mix of matt & shiny surface because "The Wallet" looks better in matt while "The Noncommittal" looks better in shiny.
• Diamonds are optional for the girl, strictly no-no to diamonds for the guy.
• "The Noncommittal" wants the bands to cost max $1200 (one pair).

Then came an unexpected event: "The Noncommittal" was going for a family holiday to Bangkok during the weekend of 5 Nov 2010. This was a last-minute decision and so our 5 Nov 2010 buy-wedding-band-date was postponed to 19 Feb 2011 (as a 1-year proposal anniversary gift).
(Another note to couples: There is also no precedence for buying proposal anniversary gifts)

The list of requirements increased with every jewelry shop visit, adding to our difficulty in finding the perfect wedding bands. Just as we were about to shelf the idea of getting the ring till January, God blessed us with a white tent at Ngee Ann City.

It was through this jewelry showcase/sale (by Lee Hwa) that a ring caught our eye. It was a white-gold half-eternity band and was on sale (60% discount!). The search for a matching guy band was slightly more complicated since this ring wasnot supposed to be a wedding band. We had to trot down to the Lee Hwa outlet at 313 to scour their counters for a matching guy band. We eventually found one that was a perfect fit! It was a white gold band, with both matt & shiny surfaces, no diamonds, and on sale as well!

Although it was only December, we both agreed that the rings were heaven-sent and made payment immediately.

(Apologies for the grainy photo, our photography skills are not too great)
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We started out with a list of requirements for our wedding bands. And the list changed and grew as we visited more shops and tried on a few more rings.

However, when we saw the ring in the white tent, the list did not matter any more. It was truly love at first sight. And us being able to find a matching guy band gave us the affirmation that the bands were meant for us.


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Advice to couples:

• Do set a budget. This will guide you tremendously and help you to focus your search. If not, you will be easily distracted by the bling-blings "pushed" by the sales personnels.
• Each store carries more than one line of wedding band. Usually one line is more expensive than the other because it uses branded diamonds.
• There are at least 2 kinds of ring fits. We have come across Standard fit & Comfort fit.
• Do ask for free engraving.

Things to do in Queenstown, NZ

1) Bungy Jumping @ Kawarau Bridge (by AJ Hackett)

"The Kawarau Bridge Bungy (bungee) - home to the original 43metre Bungy Jump. If you've heard of Bungy, you've heard of the Kawarau... it is where Bungy founders AJ Hackett and Henry van Ash started it all.

The world's first and most infamous of leaps is still going strong, with tens of thousands Bungy jumping each year. At the world's best-loved Bungy site, you can choose from a number of options; topple over backwards, forwards, with another person, spin or somersault. Kawarau Bridge Bungy is also the only Bungy in Queenstown where you can choose to bob above the water, touch it, or be fully immersed." ~ Image & Text reproduced from http://www.ajhackett.com/nz/

PRICE: $180 NZD (Any sponsors?)

2) White Water Rafting
Possible locations: "Shotover River" (Serious White Water) or "Kawarau River" (for first-time rafters).
Companies: Queenstown Rafting, Extreme Green Rafting, Challenge Rafting
Anyone with experience on which location & company is better?

PRICE: $180 NZD

3) Kayaking
We can choose from independent kayaking (Queenstown area), guided tours (Queenstown, Glenorchy or Lake Wakitipu) or combos (kayak + dinner).
Companies:

• Rippled Earth Kayak and Dinner on Sunset (NZD 170)
• Kayak Adventures Queenstown (independent hire)

* We'll probably decide on this only when we get there since kayaking is something we can do in other countries.

4) Eat!

• Skyline Gondola Restaurant - Buffet Dinner - NZD 55