Category: Our Shoebox

Our search for the perfect house was not an easy one.

It was our first time balloting for a Flat. Right at the start, we foresee, there’s gonna be some obstacles. There were only 43 4-room flats available in Bukit Panjang.

Only 41 flats are available for Malays.

We got the Email Notification from HDB on our Queue No on 25th October 2010, my birthday.
That was the best birthday surprise i’ve got this year.
Until i realise that our Q no is 0049. oh sheeesh.

I hate that feeling. So near yet so far. You know, macam kasi harapan palsu. lol.

We told our families about it and they were very confident that we will get the house.
We, on the other, do not want to put too much hope into it for fear that we get dissapointed and be back to square one.

After a long wait, HDB finally send us an Invitation Letter just before Christmas to come down for our Flat Selection on 18/01/2011 at 2.15pm.

So we did.

We arrived HDB at 1.00pm, got our Q no and had lunch at Delilfrance.
It was the most intense 1-hour wait i ever had. Throughout lunch, i keep refreshing the HDB page on my laptop. 10 units left and the unit we love is still there.

At 2.20pm, we were called in and when asked which unit we wanted, i immediately told the CSO i wanted that flat and we sealed the deal. No questions asked, no turning back.

The house is almost ours.

We went through a lot of houses in Bukit Panjang and only a few met our criteria.

Our criteria for the houses:

1. No Malay neighbours right smacked next door.
2. The unit must be at least 100m2 and above.
3. Must be of walking distance to the LRT and a Supermarket etc.
4. No messy neighbours
5. No Loanshark paints on the door.

Trust me, if you got invited to select a Balance Flat, please do the following:

1. Before going up to the unit, look around the vicinity. Are there supermarkets or convenience stores? Is the MRT/ LRT near? If not, look for the nearest bus-stop and check out the bus that stops there and would it be convenient for you? Remember that you be staying at that house for at least 5 years and you sure do not want your house to be inaccessible for yourself and your guest.
2. Once you get up to the lift lobby, look for signs or those loanshark ‘drawings’ O$P$ and unit no etc. Go to the unit and check if there paint marks or sometimes dodgy paint-over jobs. We came across at least 8 units with paint jobs on them, One of them even had a black and red paint splashed all over the door. wth.
3. Look around for the neighbours. My theory is, if the neighbours have a whole lot of shoes and bicycles lah, skate scooters lah, taman bunga lah, confirm ramai anak or a very messy family. I hate messy stuff so that was a no-no for me. But if you can live with that, why not?

There are a couple of things we look out for especially the view. Kita tak nak pagi2 bangun, tengok luar tingkap, nampak orang block sebelah tengah gosok gigi. potong steammmm.

We actually love the location of the house and everything about it so it was no surprise how ecstatic we were when we found out we got it.

At first, we pretty much apprehensive. Kept asking ourself why people rejected that house and took some others less favourable ones.

Then i realised. My Unit No is #04-40. It is deem as unlucky to the chinese.
But oh wells, i don’t care much about these superstitions.

Their loss is my gain! 🙂

Bus-stop nearby – checked.

2 mins walk to LRT Station – checked

Long Corridor + Neat Space + Chinese Neighbours – Checked!

No paint marks – checked!

Only 1 neighbour will be walking past my door every day. Next to my unit is the lift lobby. So technically speaking, i only have 1 neighbour. Cos the other neighbours are quite far and i don’t need to pass by their door. Neither do they need to pass by my house.
God, i sound like a social outcast.

Don’t get me wrong, i am a people’s person. I love talking and all that but i require a certain amount of privacy especially since it’s a corridor flat. I don’t want the whole of the 4th level to know what TV show i’m watching or what i’m cooking today. lol

Side view from the corridor. Neighbour bawah orang melayu.
Pokok dia peh banyak, dah macam Botanic Garden.

Front view from the corridor / living room.
Open space + Carpark. Good enough for me.

Towards the Lift lobby.

I took this picture through the window panel. My house, naked.

I’ll be going down to the house again on Monday with the HDB officer to check on the house. Will be bringing my contractor down as well to measure the area and get him to do a quotation for me.

I can’t wait!

Yesterday was my 1st appointment with HDB to select a flat.

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!

We got the unit we wanted!! Happy, happy, happy!

Sumpah sebelum nak masok Sales Room, my hands were all sweaty and i was so scared (don’t know why!)

But Alhamdulilah, everything went well. 🙂

The boy signing for our BIGGEST purchase ever. lol

Anyway, if all goes well, we might get the keys in April.

However, i am facing a dilemma. We are applicable for the AHG (Grant) of about $20,000. But that would mean that we need to produce our Marriage Certificate when we take the keys in April.

If i don’t take the Grant, they will give me about 6mths to get married after taking the keys.

I have emailed HDB to appeal for an extension. We’ll see what they say about it.
2011 is gonna be interesting for us.

Looks like it’ll have to be a simple solemnisation for us 1st and then followed by the Reception maybe one year later. 🙂

We finally got an Invitation Letter from HDB to select a house from the Sales of Balance Flat at Bukit Panjang.

It is not a confirmed offer though.

Our queue no is 49.

No of flats available for malays – 41.

Wish us luck!

If you are also living in Singapore, you would know how difficult it is to get a decent flat.
We have been trying for a flat and so far, we have applied for two sales launches.

One of it is the Sales of Balance Flat and we chose Bukit Panjang Area because it woul be near to my
parent’s place and we personally love Bukit Panjang.

We applied in August and we got our Queue no in October.
Guess what our no is? No 49!

Those who heard about it said that we were very lucky to get a low queue no.
However, we are talking about Balance Flats here and they only have 43 units of 4-room flats at Bukit Panjang!

I know right, so near yet so far! Worse is, there are only 41 flats available for us cos that is the quota for the Malays.

So right now, the boy and me are praying hard that people are rejecting some of the houses.
So that our queue no will move up. BUt that would be like hoping for the sky to turn pink, right?

We are definitely crossing our fingers.

We have been going around Bukit Panjang to look-see some of the houses as HDB have released the Houses details
(eg, Blk No and Unit No). So, what the boy and me did was, we drove around Bukit panjang and try and go up to the unit
just to see if it is suitable for us.

However, it is also during this trips that we realise some of the units have the “O$P$” marks on it.
Yes, the previous owners have meddled with loansharks before.

While all those marks have been duly covered up, we are still worried.
After-all, we all have heard about how some people get harrased by loansharks because of the previous owners.

Another of my concern would be the neighbours. I would very much prefer to have neighbours who are tidy at the common space.
I hate it when people hang truckloads of their clothes at the main corridor or even worse, their children mattresses.

Other than that, i’m really fine with anything.

In November, we applied for a BTO Flat in Yishun, just in case we dont get the flat in Bukit Panjang.

Its called Yishun Greenwalk I love the flat in Yishun but it will take us another 4 years before we get it. (That’s IF we get it. lol)

Results will out end December and i pray that we get a good number.
We really, really need a house. Help!