We collected our keys last Friday, after postponing it for 5 weeks. Our appointment was at 8am and we both woke up at 5-ish to have breakfast before going for the appointment. Both of us were so tired!
We took our queue number at 8am sharp and waited shortly for our turn. The whole process took about an hour. There were endless forms to sign, so many that both of us couldn't really keep track of what we were signing. But anyway, we had to sign them, not like we could negotiate terms with HDB!
We paid out $23,145.15 in cash! Both of us were busy transferring money into the joint account to reach that amount. The poor husband transferred all his money and only had $1 left. It was my first time writing a cheque and was really nerve-wracking to part with such a large sum of money.
The couple beside us were also collecting keys for Casa Clementi, and they only had to pay like $57 in cash when their flat was more expensive than ours! I reckon these people must have been working for quite some time to have over $60,000 in CPF.
It felt surreal. I rushed back to work after collecting the keys and looked forward to visiting our new home on Saturday!
We met for lunch and went to NTUC to buy a pineapple for the 'opening ceremony'. It's a very, perhaps superstitious and traditional thing we chinese do. We did the 'simplified' version, just for tradition sake.
The husband said it took him about 14 minutes to walk from our home to the train station.
Our future home!
Here's the husband trying to open the gate.
And here's the things we prepared for the opening ceremony. You are supposed to roll the pineapple into the house when you first open it and say 'Ping An Fa Cai' which means peach and prosperity. Then, you are supposed to sprinkle the rice and green bean into your house to signify sowing the seeds of wealth. I'm not an expert on this, but a simple google search seem to suggest this consistently and it was simple enough to follow. There are some very complicated procedures which include buying a huat kuey and joss sticks, which was obviously too much for me!
Once you open the door, you see the kitchen. I'm going to hack off the left wall for a open-concept kitchen to open up the space.
The living room, I find it pretty small really. I imagined it to be a lot bigger.
The master bedroom, which was also miserably small. It can't fit a king-sized bed, with 2 side tables and a wardrobe.
The view from the master bedroom yesterday.
The view from the master bedroom today.
The view from the air-con ledge window in the master bedroom. It's unblocked and facing the sea, so there's a lot of wind coming in from here.
The master bedroom toilet, which was really small too!
This is the opening to our toilet and the door blocks off 1/4 of the sink. You have to either close the door when you use the sink or hit your elbows!
Bedroom 2
Bedroom 3
The other toilet which is very big! We are planning to make this into a really pretty toilet that does not look like a toilet.
I have been there 3 times in 2 days, once with him alone, once with my parents and once with his parents. We have also met up with his uncle who will be doing the renovations for us. We spent the whole Saturday talking to IDs and choosing things like sinks and taps and laminates. It's so tiring! We haven't got the quote from his uncle, but the detailed quote we got from the other ID firm is 58k excluding electrical, plumbing, floorings for the rooms and all lights, hoods, stove etc. It's ridiculously expensive, and I seriously don't think that our design is complicated at all!
We are trying to kickstart the renovations by June if possible, and there is so much to do in the next few months!
At least this is happy work. My dream home is materializing. =)
We took our queue number at 8am sharp and waited shortly for our turn. The whole process took about an hour. There were endless forms to sign, so many that both of us couldn't really keep track of what we were signing. But anyway, we had to sign them, not like we could negotiate terms with HDB!
We paid out $23,145.15 in cash! Both of us were busy transferring money into the joint account to reach that amount. The poor husband transferred all his money and only had $1 left. It was my first time writing a cheque and was really nerve-wracking to part with such a large sum of money.
The couple beside us were also collecting keys for Casa Clementi, and they only had to pay like $57 in cash when their flat was more expensive than ours! I reckon these people must have been working for quite some time to have over $60,000 in CPF.
It felt surreal. I rushed back to work after collecting the keys and looked forward to visiting our new home on Saturday!
We met for lunch and went to NTUC to buy a pineapple for the 'opening ceremony'. It's a very, perhaps superstitious and traditional thing we chinese do. We did the 'simplified' version, just for tradition sake.
The husband said it took him about 14 minutes to walk from our home to the train station.
Our future home!
Here's the husband trying to open the gate.
And here's the things we prepared for the opening ceremony. You are supposed to roll the pineapple into the house when you first open it and say 'Ping An Fa Cai' which means peach and prosperity. Then, you are supposed to sprinkle the rice and green bean into your house to signify sowing the seeds of wealth. I'm not an expert on this, but a simple google search seem to suggest this consistently and it was simple enough to follow. There are some very complicated procedures which include buying a huat kuey and joss sticks, which was obviously too much for me!
Once you open the door, you see the kitchen. I'm going to hack off the left wall for a open-concept kitchen to open up the space.
The living room, I find it pretty small really. I imagined it to be a lot bigger.
The master bedroom, which was also miserably small. It can't fit a king-sized bed, with 2 side tables and a wardrobe.
The view from the master bedroom yesterday.
The view from the master bedroom today.
The view from the air-con ledge window in the master bedroom. It's unblocked and facing the sea, so there's a lot of wind coming in from here.
The master bedroom toilet, which was really small too!
This is the opening to our toilet and the door blocks off 1/4 of the sink. You have to either close the door when you use the sink or hit your elbows!
Bedroom 2
Bedroom 3
The other toilet which is very big! We are planning to make this into a really pretty toilet that does not look like a toilet.
I have been there 3 times in 2 days, once with him alone, once with my parents and once with his parents. We have also met up with his uncle who will be doing the renovations for us. We spent the whole Saturday talking to IDs and choosing things like sinks and taps and laminates. It's so tiring! We haven't got the quote from his uncle, but the detailed quote we got from the other ID firm is 58k excluding electrical, plumbing, floorings for the rooms and all lights, hoods, stove etc. It's ridiculously expensive, and I seriously don't think that our design is complicated at all!
We are trying to kickstart the renovations by June if possible, and there is so much to do in the next few months!
At least this is happy work. My dream home is materializing. =)
Hi future neighbour!
ReplyDeleteDid you know we have a Casa Clementi Facebook group? Come and join us ok? See you!
http://www.facebook.com/groups/164927096918717/
Did you get a king size bed in the end? Do u know if a king sized mattress can fit into the lift at Casa?
ReplyDeleteyes can definitely fit!
ReplyDelete