Monday, 25 December 2006

Thursday, 21 December 2006

We'll not be collecting our keys on 03Jan07, juz in case hubby's CPF funds are not back yet. We've changed the collection date to 8.10am on 29Jan07 (Davien's B=day) to be on the safe side.

Really looking forward to this date!!!!

Sunday, 17 December 2006

juz now was trying my luck to see if the HDB e-Service website has the appointment date for my collection of keys anot. was not expecting to hit jackpot until i saw the below-mentioned msg.

"Your appointment to sign the Agreement for Lease and Take Possession of the new flat is on 03 Jan 2007 at 9:10 AM."

was ecstatic when i saw the msg and immediately call hubby to tell him the good news. but there are actually applicants in my cluster of blks collecting their keys next week liao. i tink my appointment is scheduled on 03Jan'07 coz hubby's ownership transfer will take effect oni on 01Jan'07. we are also pending CPF Board's letter on whether they approved MIL's appeal on waiving the interest of hubby's $6k interest for the flat so that she no need to pay $10k cash to HDB for re-financing her mortgage loan. hopefully we can get a reply soon... otherwise, we'll need to change our appointment date for keys collection liao :(

dat time hubby said MIL might be sponsoring us a fridge but was not confirmed. though it's not a confirm thingy, hubby n mi still went to Harvey Norman, Best Denki & Courts to look at the refridgerators. both of us had already decided which brand n model (Samsung Refridgerator RT52EAMT) of refridgerator we wanted if MIL really wan to sponsor us. i've put it down in my earlier post on wishlist.

Monday, 11 December 2006

juz received letter fm HDB today to inform us they are processing our loan application. yeah!!! we are one step nearer to getting our keys!!!!

Saturday, 2 December 2006

since booking our lovenest, i've started looking at furniture, kitchenware, household appliances, etc.

6. Bellari RoyalFit Double-Bowl Sink <--- Kitchen

i found some facts and info about Sengkang on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. tot i should post it up here.

The names of Sengkang in different languge, interested rite???
English - Sengkang
Chinese - 盛港 (Pinyin: Shèng Gǎng)
Malay - Sengkang
Tamil - செங்காங


Etymology and history
Meaning "prosperous harbour" in Chinese, Sengkang was derived from a small road called Lorong Sengkang, off Lorong Buangkok. Prior to this, the area was also known as Kangkar (Gang Jiao 港脚) or "foot of the port" as there was once a fishing port located along Sungei Serangoon. Fishing villages and rubber and pepper plantations flourished in the area in the old days.

Before the Sengkang New Town was built, vegetable and pig farms were located in the area, dominated by tropical rainforest. The only public housing estate then was the Punggol Rural Centre, comprising a few low-rise residential blocks, located along Punggol Road. These blocks at the rural centre have since been demolished in 2005, to make way for future high-rise residential apartment blocks.


Sengkang New Town
The North East MRT Line (NEL) at Sengkang MRT Station connects Sengkang New Town to the downtown area. The Sengkang LRT Line intersects with the Sengkang MRT Station at the Sengkang Town Centre, providing residents with convenient public transport within Sengkang New Town itself and other parts of the island.

Amenities in this new town include primary and secondary schools, three shopping malls, a public library, a polyclinic and community centres. Compass Point Shopping Centre, a shopping mall attached to the bus interchange and MRT station, is a popular place for Sengkang residents to hang out and congregate. Other shopping malls include Rivervale Mall and Rivervale Plaza which houses a wet market.


The neighbourhoods of Sengkang

1.0) Anchorvale
(English - Anchorvale / Chinese - 安谷 (Pinyin: āngǔ))
Anchorvale is between Punggol River and Compassvale. The house numbers of the public apartment blocks in Anchorvale begin with the number '3' (3xx). These housing estates were fully completed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in 2001.

The Anchorvale neighbourhood is linked to Sengkang Bus Interchange at the town centre via the SBS Transit feeder bus service 372, and to the Sengkang MRT Station via the LRT stations along the Sengkang LRT Line. There are also trunk services to Yishun, Changi, Pasir Ris, Woodlands, Hougang and other parts of Singapore serving the area.

1.1) Public Estates in Anchorvale
- Anchorvale Court (安谷阁) - Block nos. 301-304C
- Anchorvale Place (安谷坊) - Block nos. 305-308C
- Anchorvale Vista (安谷维斯达) - Block nos. 309A-312B
- Anchorvale Gardens (安谷园) - Block nos. 313-318D
- Anchorvale Grove (安谷林) - Block nos. 319-325C

2.0) Compassvale
(English - Compassvale / Chinese - 康埔桦 (Pinyin: kāngpǔhuà))
Compassvale is located between Rivervale and Anchorvale. The house numbers of the public apartment blocks in Compassvale begin with the number '2' (2xx). Compassvale encompasses the Sengkang Town Centre and Buangkok.

The existing housing estates nearer the Sengkang Town Centre were completed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in 1999 and 2000, while those in Buangkok, many of which are under Build To Order (BTO), are being developed or nearing completion.

1.2) Public Estates in Compassvale
- Compassvale South Gate (康埔桦南门) - Block nos. 200-204D
- Compassvale Place/Villa (康埔桦坊) - Block nos. 205A-206
- Compassvale Lane (康埔桦巷) - Block nos. 207A-207D
- Compassvale Vista (康埔桦景) - Block nos. 223A-226D
- Compassvale Court (康埔桦阁) - Block nos. 227A-230
- Compassvale Plains (康埔桦平原) - Block nos. 231A-241A
- Compassvale Haven (康埔桦港) - Block nos. 245-256A
- Compassvale Gardens (康埔桦园) - Block nos. 257-259C
- Compassvale North Gate (康埔桦北门) - Block nos. 260-263
- Compassvale Lodge (康埔桦苑) - Block nos. 290-296C
- Compassvale Green (康埔桦林) - Block nos. 297-299D <--- my nest!!
- Pilot BTO, Compassvale Link - Block nos. 267A-B, 268A-D & 269A-D
- Aspella, Compassvale Link - Block nos. 275A-D & 277A-D
- Atrina, Compassvale Link - Block nos. 272A-D & 273A-D
- Coris 1 & 2, Compassvale Bow & Compassvale Link - Block nos. 264A-F, 265A-E & 266A-C
- Tivela, Sengkang Central - Block nos. 270A & 271A-C

2.2) Private Estates in Compassvale
- Beauty Garden
- Compass Heights (堪宝岭) at Compasspoint.

3.0) Fernvale
(English - Fernvale / Chinese - 芬维尔 (Pinyin: fēnwéi'ěr))
Fernvale is located between Punggol River and Jalan Kayu. The house numbers of the public apartment blocks in Fernvale begin with the number '4' (4xx). Fernvale is the newest neighbourhood in Sengkang New Town to be completed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

3.1) Public Estates in Fernvale
- Coral Spring (N4C1) - Blk nos. 412A-B & 413A-B
- Coral Vale (N4C2) - Blk nos. 408A-C & 409A-B
- Fern Spring (N4C5) - Blk nos. 403A-D, 404A-B & 405A-C
- Fern View (N4C6) - Blk nos. 406A-C & 407A-B
- Fernvale Grove (N4C14) - Blk nos. 436A-D
- Fernvale Court (N4C15) - Blk nos. 438A-B & 439A-C
- Fernvale Vista (N4C7) - Blk nos. 441A-D

3.2) Private Estates in Fernvale
- Jalan Kayu Private Estates
- Morning Dew
- Green Springs
- Seletar Springs
- Summer Villas

4.0) Rivervale
(English - Rivervale / Chinese - 河谷 (Pinyin: hégǔ))
Rivervale is located between Serangoon River and Compassvale. The house numbers of the public apartment blocks in Rivervale begin with the number '1' (1xx). Rivervale is the first neighbourhood of Sengkang New Town to be built, and many of the existing housing estates in Rivervale were completed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in as early as 1997.

4.1) Public Estates in Rivervale
- Rivervale Court (河谷阁) - Block nos. 101-115
- Rivervale Edge (河谷边缘) - Block nos. 116A-117D
- Rivervale Gardens (河谷园) - Block nos. 119A-119D
- Rivervale Bank (河谷堤) - Block nos. 120-122F
- Rivervale Grove (河谷林) - Block nos. 123A-124D
- Rivervale Plains (河谷平原) - Block nos. 125-141
- Rivervale Place (河谷坊) - Block nos. 142-149
- Rivervale View (河谷景) - Block nos. 157A-161
- Rivervale Gateway (河谷新门) - Block nos. 183A-192C
- Rivervale Haven (河谷港) - Block nos. 193-197
- Pilot BTO - Block nos. 150-156

4.2) Private Estates in Rivervale
- Park Green
- Rivervale Crest
- St Anne's Wood
- The Rivervale


** all above info were taken from Wikipedia

i juz called up my HDB officer in charge to ask when i can get the keys since it's almost a mth since we booked the EA, was told that maybe in another 2-3mths. WAT!!! den she proceed to tell mi dat the keys are not ready, loan application not processed. In fact, the case has not even been passed to her yet!!!

Furthermore, hubby's ownership transfer application has juz been submitted last week thru post. Darn! it will take 2-3mths to process also coz it's considered a legal matter.

i'm nt going to wait 2-3mths lor. so i told her "could u expedite the keys collection coz my wedding is in oct'07" when the truth is dec'07. telling her dat i got many things to do like, planning for wedding, find ID, apply reno loan, study. if the keys are released late, wait everything clashed together. so she promised mi to expedite my case. THANK U Ms. Ong!! but the transfer application she can't do anything coz it's handled by their branch offer. *cross my fingers* dat it will be expedited also.

also checked with her how com got the reno permit outside my unit earlier on, she said it's probably some rectification been done coz the flat empty for too long liao. b4 ending the call, she advised mi to call back at the end of the mth to check on the status of keys collection.

i can say dat she was very patiently explaining the situation to mi, beri helpful officer in charge dat i have. shall spare her fm my constant harassment n call her on 29dec.

Friday, 1 December 2006

time past real fast and it was the selection day. i went down alone as hubby couldn't get the day off. i took replacement off 1/2 day. the appt time was 2.45pm which means i had time to haf a quick lunchie at Mac. i purposely chose to sit near a couple who were also there for their appt. coz they had a laptop with them checking the availability of the flats. heard them mentioned dat all the completed 4-rms BTO were taken or has no more chinese quota. heng ar, i was aiming at EA.

finished my lunch at 2.15pm, went for a toilet break and off i went to take my queue no. the room for WIS appt was at the far left of the HDB office, very near to the WIS queue counter. on the electronic board, the no. was still showing 168. long way to go liao, coz sure need time to tok to HDB officer, sign documents etc.

i sat rite in front of the board, next to a middle-age lady who was filling up the application form. she told mi her queue no. was 2000++ OMG!!! den continue to tell mi tis is her 2nd WIS application, having cancelled the 1st one (i forgot the reason liao) in between complaining dat the cost difference between one floor is a few thousands $$ (for higher floor units). well, for lower floor.. the cost difference is between $500-$1000. den she went off to submit her application.

next came an old auntie, tink ard her 50s-60s. also chit-chat with her awhile. she told mi she was together with her sis who wants to enquire if she can apply a flat with her son. asked mi where i wan to book, told her compassvale st. and she was there trying to convince mi to choose fernvale, saying how nice it is. how she give up the unit at compassvale street coz it's next to expressway. hello, who she tink she is, my MIL. i buy where i like and deem fit is best!!! end up her sis can't buy a flat coz the son who's working overseas earned more den $8k/mth. go n buy private property lah...

nt long after, abt 3pm (nt bad, oni 15mins later den my appt time) i saw my queue no., quickly went in the room. all these while, my hearbeat bcom faster fm the excitement. wow, the table (the so called 'room') was rite at the end. an officer greeted mi and ask mi which type of unit i wanted to book. i told him i wanted book an EA and he said it was good choice as the price was lower as compared to when it was first completed (sad to say but not cheaper den last yr WIS lor).

as expected, we got our first choice. in fact, we were the first to booked an EA in the cluster of 10 blks. i submitted the required documents, signed watever the officer asked mi to sign or bring back for hubby to sign and send back. it was all over in 20mins, with the officer telling mi to go 3rd floor and pay the option fee of $2k (hard earned blood-sweat $$) before i can collect the HDB invitation letter to excise my option of buying the flat. this ends my flat searching and begins my long wait (3-4mths) for the release of keys.

As mentioned in the earlier post, we have decided to book our EA at compassvale street. almost all the units offered in these cluster of 10 blks were EA except for one 5-rm high floor unit which was re-purchased. of coz, the blks nearer to the LRT station offered lesser units. but i was surprised dat it was the units further in dat were more expensive. huh???

looking at the flat list, any units above the 5th floor cost more den $300k. since we both do not have any preference on high or low floor. we decided to stick within the 2nd-5th floor. otherwise, the monthly loan payment will sure set us back by more den $1k. though my hubby n i had abt $100k in our CPF, we'd decided to park abt $20k in CPF investments juz in case of rainy days (touch wood!!). if every single cent were to be left in our CPF OA (ordinary account), it will be wiped out once we collected the keys and sign the lease agreement.

since our appointment date was on the first day of selection, it also meant dat we oni haf two nites (06-07nov) to look around SK and decide on our choice unit. on both nites, we left my place ard 9pm n return home oni aft midnite.

the 1st nite, we oni went to the first 3 blks near the front. roughly noting down which units were better. our criteria was dat the corridor muz nt be too messy, neighbours nt owing $$ to loansharks (saw 2 units dat has been splashed with paint, one even removed it's unit no.) & one more secret criteria.

the 2nd nite, we went around the first 3 blks plus another 4 blks. did not want to check our the remaining 3 blks rite at the back.

reason no. 1 - i dun like the layout of the units.
reason no. 2 - oni two top floor EA units were taken. fm downstairs look-up abit scary to mi.

end of our rounds, we've shortlisted 10units in the 4 blks nearer to the LRT and expressway. 2 units were on the 7th & 8th floor though i mentioned earlier dat no units above 5th floor. of coz, it was the last two choices/ i told hubby confirm will get our first choice unit coz most ppl sure aimed at the 4-rms & 5-rms.

one thing i find veri cool abt the kitchens of these EAs was dat it has two entrances. some ppl said its bad FS but it really into this, so i'm find with dat/ can play hide-n-seek liao. haha. also, it has both service yard & balcony which is very rare in the new flats nowadays.

i had mentioned in my earlier posts that we have shortlisted three areas, compassvale st., rivervale crescent & anchorvale link. of the three, i personally prefer compassvale st.

a) Compassvale St.
- completed since 2001
- next to the Compassvale LRT
- 2 bus-stops around the cluster of flats <--- got direct bus back to mum & sis place
- within walking distance to SK MRT/Compasspoint (abt 10mins)
- within walking distance to Rumbia LRT and Rivervale Mall (abt 10mins)
- 2 MSCP (multi storey carpark) for 10 blks of flat
- next to Compassvale Sec Sch
- has tuition centre, clinic & I-Econ minimart.
- diagonally across is Compassvale Pri Sch & CHIJ St. Joseph Convent

b) Rivervale Crescent
- completed since 2005
- high floor unit but repurchased flat <--- no no for hubby
- too quiet (behind is sungei serangoon) <--- dangerous for a woman to go home alone late at nite
- blk faces temples <--- bad FS
- within walking distance to Rumbia LRT and Rivervale Mall (less than 5mins)

c) Anchorvale Lane
- completed since 2003 (t.b.c)
- too quiet as it's the last cluster of flats off Sengkang East Rd <--- dangerous for a woman to go home alone late at nite
- near construction sites of other BTO projects <--- dusty n noisy
- no nearby LRT or bus-stop

after going to all three areas, we have decided dat we'll booked the EA at compassvale street. it is the most convenient and best location of all three.

since the current WIS doesn't haf any flats suitable for us, we patiently wait n wait (i tink my neck are abit longer liao) until sian. dunno when the HDB wan to release new WIS. my mum asked her fren's hubby who worked in HDB, his mouth damn tight leh, oni said ard dec. i predicted it to be in oct coz last was also ard the same time, alas i was wrong. there was a thread discussing abt the WIS in SingaporeBrides.com, and someone said it'll be released most prob on 07nov coz most WIS were released on a tuesday. well, she almost striked BINGO coz the WIS was released on 06nov which was a day earlier.

it was a normal mon morning. i woked hubby up (he was staying over) at 7am, was drifting back to sleep when i heard on radio dat the WIS has been released. so LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY dat we left the radio on throughout the nite (mi n hubby muz listen radio den can sleep one). usually when my mum sleeps with mi, she'll off it one lor. again i tot i heard wrongly coz earlier the radio was toking abt the Sri Geylang Serai BTO (build-to-order), tot radio siao siao went to repeat again. but i remember i heard hougang, sengkang & punggol in the background. OMG, muz be the WIS. i immediately jumped up fm the bed and on my pc to check the HDB online.

"huang tian bu fu you xin ren", once i saw the many units of flats available online, i was sure i didn't hear wrongly. commanded hubby to take urgent leave coz i wan to go HDB n queue liao, otherwise how to get good units n locations. i oni managed to get 1/2day coz i've a report to finish. i quickly bathe and off we went to HDB in TPY (toa payoh). reached there ard 8.10am, our queue no. 185 and our appointment to book flat will be on the first day of selection 08nov itself, but in the aftn. considered good liao though i still nt satisfied. the queue no. for those who queued at 11am was 800++ and by noon was 1000++.

went Mac for b'fast and some discussions with hubby b4 heading down to SK (sengkang) to view the EA showflats. we agreed dat we'll get a 5-rm flat but after seeing dat most of the 5-rm flats were either re-purchased (with minor reno done) or no chinese quota, we decided to get EA instead. our plan was to get premium flats coz the flooring were done up and piping are concealed. this will save us thousands $$ off the reno bill. best will be get showflats coz the reno cost is included in the sales price mah. we shortlisted three areas, compassvale st., rivervale crescent & anchorvale lane as hougang has oni re-purchased flats and punggol is too inconvenient.

we reached the 1st EA showflat ard 12.15pm. the ID created a chinois looked for the whole place except the kitchen. the wall of the MBR (master bedroom) door has been hacked to make it big enough to fit a 2-door and the toilet hidden in the wardrobe. i loved the look but nt hubby, simple too cheena for him liao and the study room wall has been hacked off to make a cosy corner. let mi explain, hacking of wall is a no no for hubby coz it means the value of the flat goes down. lol. furthermore, the price of this showflat is a hefty $368k!!! the 2nd showflat has a modern look. like the 1st showflat, the study room wall has been hacked and the MBR toilet is also hidden in the wardrobe. one bad thing is dat one of the wardrobe mirror faces the bed directly, which is bad FS (fengshui). i loved the many cabinets dat the ID was put up, also the pebbled-wash floor of the dinning area & balcony. hubby was more keen on getting this place unit but he tinks the workmanship of the carpentry done doesn't justify the sales price of $330k. ok, so now showflats for us.

it was going to 1pm and i need report for work liao, so we decided to view the shortlisted areas later in the nite.

to be continued...

my 1st post here. mi n hubby haf juz booked our little nest, an EA (executive apartment) on 08-nov. our initial plan was to stay with my MIL (fyi: mum-in-law) after our customary in dec07. i did not really like the idea of staying together with MIL coz i wanted to avoid the chance of having any conflict with her or my BILs (fyi: bro-in-law). as the chinese saying "xiang jian rong yi, tong zhu nan", it is easy to meet, but difficult to together. but hubby doesn't want to buy a new place unless mi n MIL really can't get along (if really wait till then, i sure suffer lor) as the current flat is under both MIL & his name. so i bo pian have to agree to move in instead.

GOD must have heard my thoughts or MIL & hubby simply changed their minds. on 23sept, i was wif my frens at cartel serangoon gardens celebrating jazree's b-day when hubby called. he suddenly told mi we should go HDB apply for our place (sound like in the olden days proposal, guy ask gal to apply HDB flat, means asking her to marry him). i was ecstatic though i tot my hearing got problem or i muz have heard the wrong question. so i asked hubby whether he was sure anot, i dunno him to make mi happy den make mi disappoint later when he say dun wan to buy. he replied he had been tinking abt this for some time already and MIL also tink we should get our own place.

reason being... the current flat is only a 4-rm and there are 5ppl staying there, my MIL, hubby, 2 BIL and their maid. if i move in next dec will be 6ppl and if we were to have a baby will be 7ppl liao. simply two squeezy lor. hey, i told tis reason to hubby last year when we were abt to ROM lor and he still can tell mi sure got space one. isn't dat slapping his own face. ooppps.

BUT hor... since getting our own place wasn't in our wedding plans. it also means dat we didn't save up for our own place, only for our wedding. SHIT!!!! moreover only left a little more than a year till our customary liao. so many things to do, but so little time and not enough monies.

the plan was to sell the 4-rm flat, MIL will buy re-sale flat with BIL whereas mi n hubby get a new place. both of us went into a frenzy searching the HDB online for the flats available for sale at dat time. DARN, all the good locations were either taken or the chinese quota full. those available are the lousy areas. got one EA in woodlands has the unit no# 04-444, no chinese will buy one lor (it was sold eventually but i confirm the buy sure fm other ethnic group). who koes hubby dropped mi a bombshell a few days later, MIL dun wan to sell the flat liao coz a re-sale flat is too expensive. MIL n hubby is worried dat BIL can't afford the monthly loan payments. she told hubby dat we can get our place after we get married. com on lah, wats the difference. i even offer dat my hubby's whole family move over with us if they sell their flat. hubby said MIL dun wan to stay with us (or izit me???). i was so upset dat i scolded hubby dat they were playing a fool with mi and slammed his phone. all this while crying in the cab.

in the end, i won the battle. hubby said we'll still get our own place. he'll juz transfer his ownership of the 4-rm flat to BIL. so the tears of a woman really works after all. we called HDB and ask when is the next WIS (walk-in-selection) and where the locations will be. was delighted dat to hear the WIS will be during 4th quarter (oct-dec) and the locations were hougang, sengkang & punggol. yipee, this means i can be near my mum n sis. more convenient for mi coz my mum will take care of my future kids.

Site-mistress

Name: Mrs. Kow aka Bluberi
Age: Going on 26
Horoscope: can be Taurus or Gemini
Email: blu_pinkuberi@yahoo.com.sg
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My Loves

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My Wishlist

* Reno common & MBR toilets
* Change balcony sliding door
* Re-do MBR wardrobe doors
* Get a dryer
* New vacumn cleaner
* Re-do HHS feature wall
* New set of curtains
* New bedsheet + quilt cover set

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