Homeowner Stories

How An Avid Baker Couple Created A Cosy HDB Home With A Dream Kitchen

Colin and his wife (@therollyjollyhome), like many couples, initially set their sights on applying for a BTO (Build-To-Order) flat. However, despite their hopes and efforts, fortune did not smile upon them, and their journey through the BTO/SBF route ended in…

• 5 Jun 2023
• 8 min read
• 0
• 132

I Stayed At Hmlet Cantonment: Here’s What My Actual Co-Living Experience Was Like (Not Great)

Is the co-living experience as pretty as this picture of the Hmlet Cantonment backyard below makes it out to be? Read on to find out! So I’m back again for the 4th and final part of this co-living series, in…

• 4 Jun 2023
• 9 min read
• 3
• 727

Inside A 52-Year-Old HDB Makeover: How A Couple Created A Stylish Parisian/Hampton Home With $48k

After a 10-year long stay in their Woodlands BTO, Kathy (*not her real name for privacy reasons), and her spouse (@maison.hv) decided it was time for a change. For their new home, it would have to be centrally located, accommodate…

• 31 May 2023
• 7 min read
• 0
• 95

My Honest Experience Booking A Co-Living Space: A Review Of Hmlet’s Booking Process

Note: this is not an advertorial for Hmlet as the stay was completely paid for by myself (not sponsored by Hmlet so you can rest assured that everything I write is wholly objective, based on my experience, and not a…

• 28 May 2023
• 9 min read
• 1
• 321

We Spend Our $3k Rent Budget (While Waiting For Our BTO) On Travelling The World Instead: Here’s How We Do It

Given the wait times for a BTO flat in Singapore, many Singaporeans have to look for alternative accommodation in the meantime. This usually comes in the form of having to stay at their parent’s/in-law’s place or having to rent for…

• 24 May 2023
• 6 min read
• 1
• 1.3k

We Live In A Top Floor Penthouse: Here Are The Pros And Cons About High Floor Living

Great views, fresher air, a (theoretically) pest-free environment… it’s no wonder the higher you go, the pricier your home gets. But what’s it really like living at the literal top? Rather than just trust the sales pitch, we spoke to…

• 23 May 2023
• 6 min read
• 0
• 1.1k

We Spent $45k Renovating Our Second Home: How We Saved On Costs By Using Our Existing Furniture

Are you someone who would rather start entirely fresh if you are moving into your second home? Or would you prefer to save on costs as much as possible (and maybe for sentimental reasons), by bringing over as much of…

• 22 May 2023
• 8 min read
• 0
• 61

How I Picked My Co-Living Apartment: My Experience Booking Hmlet, Figment, & Coliwoo

Hello again! Last week, in the first unvarnished and objective article documenting the experience of co-living/moving out in Singapore, I compared renting and co-living and found that co-living made more financial sense for me. This week, we’re looking at the…

• 21 May 2023
• 7 min read
• 1
• 814

“I Regret Buying 2 Walk-Up Apartments” 4 Biggest Property Investment Regrets And What You Can Learn

Property investments don’t always go smoothly, but it’s often the success stories you hear about. In reality, not everyone manages to sell for a record gain after five years and upgrade; and not every rental property ends up being worth…

• 16 May 2023
• 7 min read
• 2
• 624

How This Korean/Singaporean Couple Created A Stylish Mid-Century Modern Home With $45k

There’s definitely a lot to love about living near Orchard, but then again, it’s not for everybody. “Orchard was not on our list of neighbourhoods we were considering for our first home,” Y and A (@myjibcode) shared. She said they…

• 15 May 2023
• 11 min read
• 0
• 209

My Search For The Perfect Co-Living Company In Singapore: A Non-Sponsored Overview On Hmlet, Figment & Coliwoo

A few years ago, I moved back from the UK to Singapore. As all Singaporean Singles know, getting your own place when you’re unmarried is prohibitively expensive, due to the many BTO restrictions singles face. Since I’ve covered this in…

• 14 May 2023
• 9 min read
• 2
• 959

I Moved From A 9,000 Sqft Landed Home In Bukit Timah To An HDB Flat: Here’s What It Was Like

What’s the biggest home you’ve ever seen? If you’re like most Singaporeans, it’s probably no more than 2,000 to 3,000 sq. ft. But this week, we talked to someone who grew up in a massive 9,000+ sq. ft. home but…

• 11 May 2023
• 6 min read
• 0
• 1.2k

My Aunt Cheated Us Out Of Our Property: An Expensive Lesson Learned On “Trusting” Family Members

There are many reasons for putting your property assets under another person’s name. In some cases, this is a transfer of the property so you can avoid Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) on another home; in others, it might be…

• 9 May 2023
• 5 min read
• 0
• 409

A 20-Year-Old Tampines Condo Gets A British-Inspired Transformation Into A Cosy Home

With a strong sentimental value behind their stay in London, it’s only natural that Peishan and James decided to bring along the ambience to their home renovation. “I’m from Singapore and James is from the UK. We met in London…

• 8 May 2023
• 8 min read
• 0
• 14

“I Lost My $10K Deposit And A 300% Property Appreciation” 4 Readers Share Their Missed Property Opportunities

Hindsight is 20/20, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it. From near-misses of bad investments to lost opportunities, we’ve asked people about their top “what if” investments. Here are some stories from investors who could have, or luckily…

• 5 May 2023
• 5 min read
• 4
• 1.3k

I’ve Lived in A Landed Home In Orchard For 5 Years: Here’s An Insider View On What It’s Like

For most Singaporeans, living right in the middle of our legendary shopping belt is a dream. However, there are downsides we may not have considered; and with ongoing decentralisation, some may even say Orchard is losing a bit of its…

• 1 May 2023
• 6 min read
• 0
• 644

I Bought A 4-Bedroom Condo In Cash (And Paid ABSD) But Still Live In An HDB: Here’s Why

For many Singaporeans, moving from a flat to a condo is a big step up in life; and a four-bedder condo of 1,400+ sq. ft. is probably an even bigger dream. This week, however, we spoke to someone who –…

• 21 Apr 2023
• 6 min read
• 0
• 945

I’ve Been A Landlord For 18 Years: Here’s Why I Don’t Rent To Singles And Only Families

Co-living has been a roaring trend since last year, with many landlords adding rooms to get as many tenants as possible. There’s always one or two contrarians, however, such as SK, who absolutely refuse to follow the crowd. A landlord…

• 16 Apr 2023
• 6 min read
• 0
• 1.4k