HomeHouse-Hunting: Quest for a place we can imagine building our lives in
paradisefalls.mj
Living Simply, Loving Deeply
House-Hunting: Quest for a place we can imagine building our lives in
99
- Minimalist
- HDB (Resale)
- ~1,000 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Hey everyone! In this post, we’ll share about our house-hunting journey for our 4-room HDB resale. Hope you’ll find some useful insights, whether you’re taking the same path as us or still considering if you should opt for resale! 1) Why did we opt for resale? We applied for BTO/SBF for a total of 10 times to no avail :( As we wanted to settle down as soon as possible, we decided to look towards the resale market instead. While it was frustrating having to experience rejections after rejections in the BTO/SBF market, we are thankful that the universe had other plans for us — we get to have our own space sooner! 
2) What were some criteria that we looked out for when house-hunting in the resale market? -Budget: within 600K -Potential renovation cost to be as low as possible: minimal built-ins to reduce hacking costs; ok to retain majority of existing flooring -Remaining lease: able to cover the youngest buyer’s age until 95 to qualify for the full Enhanced Housing Grant -Level of unit: mid-high floor; does not have a “claustrophobic” window view -Accessibility to public transportation: walkable to MRT but also open to those near LRT; we prefer not having to take a bus as a connecting mode of transport to the train station as bus timings tend to be more erratic, making it more challenging to predict travel duration -Amenities: supermarket, infant care & childcare (for future family planning), variety of food options, exercise facilities to be within close proximity to the estate -Vibes of the estate: whether or not we can imagine building our lives there (P.S. this became a criterion after our first few viewings because we couldn’t imagine living in those estates for various reasons :,)) 
3) What sealed the deal for us when we decided on this unit? This unit checks off most of our criteria, with some honourable mentions that we are still very thankful for till this day! -The only built-ins were the kitchen cabinets = minimum hacking costs! -Flooring that we are happy to retain (P.S. we prefer tiles to vinyl and tiles are generally more costly than vinyl, so we wanted to minimise tiling cost) -High floor with breezy service yard: perfect for laundry! -24 hours supermarket right downstairs: the convenience (both proximity & operation hours) is an absolute plus point for us! -Coffee shop right downstairs + a variety of other food options within walkable distances -A stone’s throw away from an LRT station (fully sheltered!) -Infant care, childcare, and primary school are all situated within the estate -Peaceful estate that we can imagine building our lives & starting our family in 
We’re so grateful to be able to call this little space our home! ❤️
