Thanksgiving for our Home

Was talking to hubby 2 days back about our Holland Ave home. He suggested that I ought to blog about giving thanks for our flat...so here goes!!

The Beginning...
We begun our house hunt as early as Feb 05, where we starting looking out for flats that HDB are releasing under their WIS or Balloting scheme. We registered for the first time for the new Toa Payoh flat. Together with hubby's ex-colleague, we went to take a look at the sample unit and hubby and I decided that we didn't want that series of flats cos the flat, especially the kitchen was simply too small!

The Hunting Journey...
After the Toa Payoh Balloting exercise, we sort of kick started our house hunting. Our first choice when we first started looking at resale flats was Holland Village area. We were encouraged by a friend's testimony that her sister got a unit there at a very good price because the seller was in a hurry to sell the flat as the family was going overseas. So we hoped that we would be 'lucky' enough to meet a buyer like that!

We looked up a few property agencies and called up to enquired on a few ads, but found that resale units at Holland area were just beyond our reach financially!! Then we started to look at other areas like Clementi, Jurong and Bukit Batok. They were relatively cheaper. We wanted to try to get the new units at Bukit Batok which are right next to West Mall, but they were not for sale yet as they were not five years old yet.

From Feb 05 to the end of the year, we kept looking in our free time, but not really investing alot of time and attention on it. Then we got engaged on 12th May 06, and that's when we started to look at flats more seriously.

The first set-back...
After our engagement, somewhere in August 06, the balloting exercise for the Redhill new units were on. We were really excited as it seems like an ideal location! Not too far from my folks and it's also convenient for Hun's parents to come by car. We went for the balloting under the blessings of both sets of parents. And we placed alot of hopes on the balloting exercise as at that time we were sure that we were gonna get a unit there.

Everyday when I passed by Redhill in the MRT, I would whisper a prayer thanking God for blessing us with a unit there in advance. It was a long and torturous wait from August to October when they released the results. And the verdict.....we were not successful!! That was a really bitter pill to swallow!!

We were really disappointed for a day or two but quickly moved on back to looking at resale flats.

The search continues...
By October, after knowing that we failed the balloting, we decided to just concentrate on resale flats as it was unlikely that any more new flats in the regions that we wanted would be up for balloting or WIS. We started looking at newspaper ads more seriously and urgently. We were thinking that we need to get a unit by end of the year or early '07 as our wedding date was set on 5th May 07!

After viewing a few units on our own, we decided to engage my uncle to be our housing agent to help us look for units. We viewed quite a number of units in the Bukit Batok and Clementi area...and went through lots of rounds of considering and re-considering if we wanted the flats. There were a few that we liked, but the price was too unaffordable. And for those we couldn't afford, it wasn't perfect for us.

At that time, we didn't even consider Holland area anymore as we knew that the cash over value is going to be too much for us to afford. Towards Christmas and the New Year, we still have not yet managed to find a suitable unit and by then we wer already considering bunking in with our parents until our flat was ready!

The Breakthrough...
We took a short break from viewing units in end January due to the Chinese New Year season, and planned to continue in February.

On 31 Jan, I received a call from my aunt to tell me that there was likely to be a WIS exercise and its likely to be in mature estates as there was already a long queue formed outside HDB Hub. I asked her if she new what the queue was for exactly, but she was not sure. But she was called back to office the next day to report early for work. It was then that she would know what the exercise was for. I told her that I wouldn't go to queue overnight because I was not willing to spend my night there queueing for something which I don't know about!

Early next day, my aunt called me early in the morning to tell me that the news is out! It was confirmed that it was the WIS exercise for mature estates which included the area that we wanted!! Redhill and Clementi! She told me to get there quick because the exercise was going to start at 8am.

I called hubby immediately and we both rushed down and and reached at 8am. I reached about 5mins before Hun and queued to get the WIS queue number. I got my Q number at about 8am and to my horror, it was 496!! And there were only 500+ units for sale in total which consisted of areas all over Singapore.

We looked at the booklet provided and saw a few units that we were keen on in the Redhill area, the same place that we failed in our balloting in August 06! Our appointment for selection was on the 4th day of the exercise at 8:30am in the morning. After we got the package and our appointment date, we sat down at the lobby area and started to short-list the units that we were keen on.

Over the next few days, Hun's dad drove us around to look at the physical units of the estates we've selected. By looking at them, we were able to further short-list which units we wanted exactly.

Then come monday, 5 Feb 07, while in office, I kept logged on to the HDB InfoWeb and tracked the progress of the selected units. By the end of the first day, we were very discourage, as most of the flats we have selected were already taken, or had the ethnic quota filled. More units that we wanted were taken on the second and third day. By the end of the third day, we were down to only 5 units...out of which, we really only wanted the Holland Ave one, and it was our first choice out of what was left!

The final hurdle!
So it was finally 8 Feb 07, our date of selection of the unit. Although our appointment was quite early in the morning, we were aware that now that all the Redhill units have been snapped up, Holland was also quite a popular choice. Finally the red light flashing our Q number lighted and we proceeded excitedly into the sales office. When we sat down, the officer in charge took all our documents and started registration. We told her our choice unit. And she said that the previous Q number has not selected yet so we had to wait for them. They were also selecting the Holland unit!! Our hearts thumped really fast!! After a minute or so, the officer told us that the previous buyer decided against the unit the last minute upon hearing that it was an old unit.

WE GOT THE FLAT!! Praise the Lord!! After signing all the documents, we left the place feeling so surreal...after so many months of search, we finally got our flat! And it was where we had originally wanted when we started looking 1 year ago. GOD IS GOOD!!

After we successfully booked the unit, we saw that another officer attending to another couple not too far behind us saying,"The unit taken already ah?" The other couple also wanted the unit...that was how HOT it was after all the Redhill ones were gone!

More blessings to come...
After we got the unit, we were allowed to look at the interior and then decide whether we really want it or just forfeit the booking fee. When we stepped inside, we were pleasantly surprised that the unit was nice renovated by the previous owner. The cornices were nicely done up, the rooms were parquet flooring, the entire kitchen along with it's bathroom and toilet had just been upgraded by HDB. All we had to do was really minimal renovations!

All in all, we spent about $17,000 on renovations. And our home was given a brand new look! Also, we learned that the circle line was to be up by 2010, and the interchange for circle and EW line was to be at Buona Vista station, just 5mins away from our home!!

A testimony of God's provision and grace...
After we got our flat, all that we knew, friends and relatives were amazed at how blessed we were. Firstly to have managed to get a Holland unit, secondly to get it at such a cheap price because we didn't need to pay any cash over value (that instantly saved us as much as $30,000!), and thirdly at how little renovation work we did!

2 years before we even got our home, we prayed that God will bless us with a home that we will love, our parents will love and everyone will see His power and glory at work. And He will also give us the financial resources to own it and maintain it.

And we know this home is really a gift from God because He has answered every detail of the prayer we made 2 years ago. Now after living in it for 4 months, Hubby and I can truly say that this is the best unit for us...we love the convenience, we love the neighbourhood, we love the location, and we really couldn't imagine anything better!

To God be the glory!!