Thank God That We Finally Bought Our House!

This post is the final series of my property articles.  

After four months, we finally bought our new house. I reckon it is a relatively short time, considering that most of my friends took one year or more to find their dream home!  

Not knowingly, it is somewhat overdose for us in the past months, as we indulged so much of our time and effort into the “property topic”. But guess it is inevitable, as “home” is after all a place that we will live in. 

At times, it can be very mentally stressed too. 

Putting your house on sale with many strangers scrutinising your house is not the most enjoyable. Having your house sold first, and then are left without a house also give us a weird feeling. On the other hand, viewings on other people’s house exudes slightly better feeling. But this is NOT before you were told by the agent of the ridiculously high pricing that the Seller is insisting on selling, even when the condition is not at all on par. 

Browsing through ad listings can be frustrating too. 

Frequently, you can be really disgusted by the listings asking exorbitant pricing without even understanding the market price. Then, you can see the same house listings over and over again, and rarely a reduction of price despite being there for donkey years. The new listings are also getting more and more expensive. And when you discover a decent listing, agent will inform that it was already sold. 

VIEWINGS – “THE SPIRIT” IS IMPORTANT 

The same time when we decided to sell our house, we also did our research for our new house and make arrangements for viewings. 

It is advisable to go for decent number of viewings to have a feel of the ambience. The feel of the surrounding, the neighbours, the roads nearby, the traffic, the noise etc. is what I termed as “The Spirit”. 

In one instance, we viewed a house with their ancestors photos all over the walls of the house. It gave a very eerie feel. The same night my wife had nightmare of the house. 

We also met seller(s) who asked their household member with unfriendly tattoos, stationed at their door front, and gave us stern look during the viewings. We have no idea what is the rationale behind that, but it is definitely a turn off.  

Areas like Eunos and Macpherson have houses with decent pricing. However, “The Spirit” in that area are just not quite right for us. Perhaps it is the aura of the Mosque and Industrial, lacking the homely feeling for us. Then you have Upper Thomson, Lentor, Springleaf that are great areas with Nature Reserve. But for amenities you have to travel a little further to AMK. 

In my personal opinion, the Eastern side of Singapore is definitely one of the better locations in Singapore. So many nice food, lesser pollution, near to East Coast, and low rise buildings etc. Then again, “The Spirit” for us now is also not right. It is probably a place we will consider staying when our kids are older, as their schools are just too far, and we do not intend to change their schools. 

GOD’S CHOICE FOR US

After close to 40 viewings, including 5 second viewings, we finally optioned-purchase our house at Serangoon Gardens. 

We have the best feel in Serangoon Gardens. Every time we go there, we have a very peaceful feeling and the ambience feels right for us. 

In the morning, there is wet market and hawker that sell really tasty local food. At night you have Chomp Chomp. There are also coffee shops, and so many nice cafes and restaurants, and NTUC at MyVillage, with so many banks around the area. 

Location wise in Singapore, it is also central. Many people tell me about the horrors of jam into/out of Serangoon Gardens. I know that area very well, having drove there many times in the last decade or so, and it really depends on where in the Gardens you are located, and how well you know the area to evade traffic jams. 

The exact location of our future house is fortunately not to be located in the jam zone. It is also within close proximity to the Garden circus, as well as walk to bus-stops that is only few stops to MRT. 

We are thankful that this is definitely a house bestowed to us by God. 

First it was not a house that is always in my mind. There is this one house that has been always in my mind that I almost wanted to offer, but it just didn’t happen. Each time there will be reasons stopping us from making an offer. 

On the contrary, this house of ours, just popped out of nowhere after our disappointments with all the viewings. The deal was closed within one week, including viewings, offers, negotiations and acceptance of cheque. This is very similar to the previous houses purchased, with deals all closed within a week including the first viewing. 

So many times in my life, the things I wanted most with my own desire and using my own strength has often turned out to be NOT the best option for me. Instead, the those things that come out of nowhere when I am “down, broken or contrite” has turned out to be the most suitable for me. 

Not just that, we are also very comfortable with the agent(s), and the seller(s), of whom both parties are very friendly and reasonable in the selling and negotiations. This also explains why the deal was closed within a week. 

It is also the nicest house we have viewed so far (within our range), and in terms of price PSF, it is also definitely one of the most reasonable. 

The appearing of the house is also after we prayed fervently. Furthermore, prior to the purchase, we were involved in a righteous act of God with parties concerning to this house. This gave us a very peaceful and joyful feeling that this is the right house.  

“The Spirit” is just right! 

Thank God for helping us to choose our house.