Indeed, we're quite amazed by ourselves at the rate we're moving, towards everything... Right from deciding on renting the current place to getting hitched (ie. all the big+small issues that come with it), then purchasing our home... all less than half a year. It's rather scary actually!
Really happy to have a few of such great friends as I can feel their genuine concern & support... They were there for me when I needed cheers most & am sure they'll still by my side no matter what happens. Just wanna tell her not to worry about us.
Ok, our initial priorities were as follows: 1. a 3-bedroom unit within our budget, 2. near MRT station, 3. near amenities, 4. relatively new. Gotta admit that our very initial thought (b4 we started the search) was very naive... thought the current market price was $300k - $400k... Ha!
We then went online to look at some developments. We saw that the newer the property, the higher the price & the lower our hearts sank. On average, the price for a brand new 3-bedrm unit ranges from $550k upwards.. including those at further areas & not near train station. To be practical we raised the amount we're willing to pay to $450k+. We know that with the stringent budget, we have to compromise some of our requirements. It would not be useful if we were to hold on to all the things we want & not be realistic.
After looking at several places, I realised that I particularly fussed over the interior layout, the property age & facilities. Based on our experience in looking for this 1 on rental, we believe in the 1st instinct when entering an apartment. I didn't have that feel until we visited the 1 we're buying... We liked the surrounding & the interior the moment we stepped in. Perhaps it's still quite new (2.5 y.o) but we also like the size & shape of the living room & all the other areas incl bedrms, kitchen & backyard. After communicating with my beloved fiance, we discovered we have the same preferences. We are both willing to give up the distance to/from the station for a place like that. Also, besides having a coffee shop directly opp, other basic amenities are less than 10 mins away, so it's not that far though not as near as our present place. But there's a bus-stop just in front of the side gate which is 3 stops away from the station. Anyway, if everything goes on well, we should also be getting a car in 1 - 2 years' time.
We negotiated on the price... from the initial $520k+ to less than $500k for this pool-view, 3-bedrm unit. So we think with our limitations, that's a very good deal. So far Centrepoint has been nice & also accepted our request of giving a new coat of paint to the whole unit.
Oh yes, another big draw is the $25k interior design package... meaning we use their appointed interior designer to renovate/furnish our home with no cost as long as it's within $25k. Therefore in a way, we're only paying around $460k for this unit! Hehe...
This one of the 3 themes ...
Sometimes we may find that we're in a dilemma in making decisions. We see something we like but don't wanna commit 1st coz we may see other better units. What if we don't? This 1 will not wait for us as if we see it good, some other viewers tend to like it too. So we feel that as long as we really like it & it's within our budget (hey, not that ez to c somewhere I like with this amount of $$ leh..), guess we have to be a lil bold. Not saying we'll make the best decision but again, our same rule applies: we'll not regret after making the step as we know we've chosen the best that we can have for ourselves at this point of time. Well, no1 can guarantee the trend of property prices, it's just like share prices.. even if it drops further 1 or 2 months later, what if I can't find elsewhere that we like? And by then this 1 already been taken up? But looking at the past transactions, we think the price we're getting is already the lowest among all in the same development.
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