Is Parking an Issue in the neighbourhood?

Many readers have written to ask about parking issues and we have overheard a potential buyer asking about the parking issues here in the estate, so I'm addressing some of them here.

Ma'mor Residents

- Most of the Jalan Ma'mor Residents are fortunate to have a little open air carpark to call their own (see BR22 above). Some of them have a lot (half a lot, or a quarter of a lot) outside their homes, see orange stretch (including space outside Blk 64) along Jalan Ma'mor. A quarter of a lot is because there are 2 rows of terrace houses sharing 1 single row of parking lots and a particular lot might potentially fall in between 4 units. Good thing is, your vehicle never leave your sight.

Bahagia Residents

- Bahagia Residents have a bit more options to choose where they want to do their parking.
- BR21 (the infamous Open air carpark) which gets crowded at times
- BRM1 at Blk 112A (the 11 decks of multi-storey carpark) Of course, this carpark has the advantage of having your vehicle sheltered from the rain and sun (or birdshit). Bad thing is, be prepared to drive up 4 -5 decks for a space when you're home in the wee hours.

FAQ:

(1) Do the summon pple come all the time?
Yes they do. Even when you leave your car at the loading/unloading bays (see red circle above) at Blk 110 Whampoa Rd, they will stick around until your 30 minutes time is up. Always advise your guests to display their coupons.

(2) I stay at the perimeter of the estate. Are there any alternatives?
Yes. For Blk 42 or 43 residents, you may want to try BR12, an open air carpark which is just at the doorstep. For Blk 52 or 53 residents, you may want to park together with Jalan Rajah neighbours at RC3.

(3) I'm a resident of Blk 39 and both the open air carpark BR21 and the multi-storey carpark BRM1 are of similar walking distance. Where should I park my vehicle?
If you have pregnant mothers or toddlers, it might be safer to walk on more even ground to get to the open air carpark. The multi-storey carpark is full of steps and ramps. It also gets quiet at times so it might be safer to get yourself into the open. On the other hand, this carpark has the advantage of having your vehicle sheltered from the rain and sun (or birdshit!).

(4) How do I get season parking?
For BR21 you may need to wait for available season lots or do some sort of appeal to HDB as this carpark is already FULL. I have no idea for BR22 but if any Ma'mor resident can enlighten about the season parking application over there, please do. For the rest, you can just apply online at the HDB website> e-Services> Home Owners> Parking - Application for Season Parking Ticket (New Application). Or make a trip down to the nearest HDB Branch Office at Whampoa Community Centre just across the road. For your information, BRM1 has the capacity to accomodate ALL the residents around the estate.

Stirling Road vs Bahagia Terrace Houses. What are the differences?

There are also HDB terraces at Queenstown Stirling Road. Stirling Road houses and Jalan Bahagia houses were both built in the times of the SIT (Singapore Improvement Trust) days. So, what essentially are the differences between the HDB terraces in Stirling Road Queenstown and Jalan Bahagia Whampoa?

Above: Terrace houses in Stirling Road

#1 Age and Type

The terraces at Stirling Road were built in the 1960's. Terraces in Jalan Bahagia

Bahagia / Mamor Residents - please fall in at Facebook

We met our new neighbours who will be moving in to the unit diagonally behind us! They came by and wanted to ask our next door neighbour if the "left-over" structure in their backyard belongs to them; and if it does - whether they should ask their contractor to remove it. Coincidentally I've blogged about this structure some time back!

Welcome to the neighbourhood!

Someone suggested starting a Bahagia Mam'or facebook group but I haven't got time to do it then. Now I've created it but we have no contents yet - can anyone contribute? Photos, writings on wall, videos, events. Share your renovation woes, organize a BBQ and be house proud!

Facebook Group link here http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70932533575
Invitees: Chuck, Joe & Rose, Jeanario, Lin & SY, Mona & Ezal, Daisy, Pamela, Steven & Joanne. For those I've missed out, you can drop me a note with your email or just join the group by clicking on the above link.

All ex-neighbours and future neighbours are also welcome. See you on Facebook!


PS I've put up a picture of my sofa *not shy* - but if you have an appropriate picture of the neighbourhood, please send to me for replacement!

Unusual Landed Homes in Whampoa and Stirling

There are also a few areas with unusual landed homes costing way below $1million.

The Housing Board itself has 285 leasehold landed flats in Whampoa and along Stirling Road in Queenstown. These 99-year units were built in the 1970s by the Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor of the HDB.

Relatively small houses sitting on varying plots from just under 1,000sqft, can go for around $500,000 to $700,000, said MrCheng.

Such mid-terrace units are rather narrow, considering a typical mid-terrace unit sits on at least 1,600sqft of land, he said.

Then, there are houses with extremely short leases. Banks are not keen to offer loans for such properties, so buyers have to pay cash.

Click here to read the article - Land a house for under $1 million http://luxuryasiahome.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/land-a-house-for-under-1-million/

Source : Sunday Times - 29 Mar 2009

English Country in HDB (Terrace)

Seen the Life section of the Straits Times on 10th January? On page E13, you see my neighbour's English Country in HDB.

Bachelor Ian Fong's home is a cosy, twostorey abode that would not look out of place in the English countryside. It is, however, located in a residential estate in Whampoa.

It also looks like a terrace home when it is actually HDB property: It is one of 285 such landed flats that were built in the 1970s by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), the predecessor of the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

Besides Whampoa, there are similar two-storey flats along Stirling Road in Queenstown.

Mr Fong, managing director of public relations and design firm Sirius Art, bought the 1,300 sq ft property for $418,000 and moved in last April. It is considered a three-room flat because it has two bedrooms on the second floor and a living room and kitchen on the first.





Ian took inspiration from the colonial charm of Raffles Hotel when he did up his HDB terrace house. The structure of the 35-year-old property bears a slight resemblance to an English cottage—“I wanted the interior and exterior of the place to be in sync,” says Ian of the British-style look.





“In British homes, every room is a surprise,” Ian explains. He envisaged this for his own home as well, which is a pleasant mix of modern English eclecticism, Indian and Oriental accessories.

Oriental twist in the bedroom

His bedroom is filled with Oriental furniture that is painted white. It is less boring this way and gives the furniture an alternative look, he says. Dominating the space is an Oriental shelf filled with photos, toys and figurines, all adding to the eclectic look.



The other room, which is for guests, is decorated simply with light green wallpaper and a beige sofa bed.

For a touch of luxury, he lined the walls in his living room and kitchen with wallpaper, but only the upper half, 'to give the room more dimension and make the ceiling look higher'.

Explaining his choice of the mostly brown wallpaper design, Mr Fong says: 'Florals would make it too girly. I wanted something more masculine.'

Because he is an avid cook who enjoys entertaining, his favourite part of the home is his all-white kitchen, which immediately gets a wipe-down whenever he spots any stains.

'All my guests prefer hanging around the island in the kitchen, rather than in the living room,' he says with a chuckle.

He describes his home, where he lives alone, as one that is modern, eclectic and English 'but also with bits of Orientalism, because I'm very Chinese at heart'.

Eclecticism can be a challenge, he adds, because 'everything has to look different, yet still match'. On the bright side, it gives him 'more leeway as I can buy anything without worrying about it not fitting in'.

He also has no qualms about mixing expensive and affordable pieces for his home. For example, his living room has a $6,000 Natuzzi leather sofa and vases from Ikea that cost less than $20 each.



Left: I simply love his backyard, it's neat and pretty. What's cool is, you don't really need a big space to do this up! And that reminds me our backyard is scheduled for Phase 2 Renovations.

'It was the price that attracted me,' says the 40-year-old, who considered buying landed property in other areas. With this flat, he gets to live in a landed home at a fraction of the price. It has 65 years left on its 99-year lease.

He worked with his company's designer and spent about $150,000 on renovations, which included installing a bathroom on the second storey and extending the living room area by about 1m into the front garden.




Some of the newspaper images:

Story & Images Source:
#1 H&D Homes : Genteel touch | Home & Decor - Stylish Living Made Easy
READ MORE ABOUT THIS AND OTHER H&D HOMES IN THE AUGUST 08 ISSUE OF HOME & DECOR.

#2 Sirius Art Pte Ltd - Architectural & Interior Product Design (Ian's website)

Jaime Teo & Daniel Ong - Their HDB house

Celebrities living in the neighbourhood - check them out in 8 Days, Home and Decor and even on Lian He Zao Bao!

Just married Daniel Ong and Jaime Teo are so in love. Jealous?

Wait till you see their newly renovated three-room HDB house. There are only 285 HDB houses. So if you find one, like DJ Daniel Ong did, you've as good as found your pot of gold.

2 Storey HDB Terrace for sale

To notify keen buyers of available HDB terrace units for sale / rent here, I try to keep this space updated by trawling the Saturday Classifieds in the Straits Times and do random Google searches. I appreciate all valuable feedback that have been made to help buyers make informed decisions.

In view of my busy schedule (and sometimes difficulties in getting more information about available units), you may also like to check out our Bahagia Mamor Residents Facebook thread for Buy and Sell Postings. See you there!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70932533575

Disclaimer: I am not a property agent and am not doing marketing for any agents. Opinions expressed in comments (other than my own) do not represent my views. :)

Blk 39 Jalan Bahagia HDB Inter Terrace unit [Sold but another neighbouring unit available]

Updated 28 June 09






Valuation: 545K

Upgrading from Town Council

Here they are - the scaffoldings.
THey also created a passage way at around the roof so that the workers can get easy access.


Excited to see the new roof but just don't damage my insulation! I heard they are also going to add in a new layer of insulation - that means I've double insulation! Won't hear raindrops as loud and.. bring down the air con electricity cost.


Night view - facade covered with green netting (if you can see)

We went to the Jalan Bahagia Police Post to change the address but their printer was down!

For now, I love hanging out at my new home at night after work. Even if it means no furniture :) Breezy breeze at the patio.

Route to the Nearest MRT

As I'm going to come to an end of the series "The Building of X", I'm starting another new series for exploring the neighbourhood. To start off, I'd write about driving directions to the nearest MRT - Novena.


Basically there are about 3 to 4 routes to take from Kim Keat Road. Haven't really experimented the routes but here's my research.

Green route - The longest route and it takes the longest time. Travel along Balestier Road westward and south on Thomsom Road. During peak hours, the heavy traffic can drive you crazy.

Purple route - A bit shorter than the green route, go west from Moulmein and take a left on Sinaram Dr. Not sure where is the exact drop off point at the MRT though.

Blue route - As we've been traveling up and down Balestier Road many times, I noticed there are some small inroads which we could actually cut across to reach the MRT. Hence the next time I'm going to try Mandalay Road, Bassein Road, Jalan Tan Tock Seng. I think we can also turn left into Shan Rd, then onto Irrawaddy Road and straight down north (btw the north of Irrawaddy Road should be a one-way and is not reflected on the map).

Blue route also passes by TTS hospital. In case of any emergency it's very near - CHOI! Touch wood!

X-Building in Bahagia #37 - One day in Tang Chu Kang's Life

I followed TCK around today.


The air con man arrived early in the morning and fixed up our System 4 Fujitsu aircon. The compressor is really really huge and is now at the back of the 2nd bedroom.

X-Building in Bahagia #34 - Shopping for Chuck's Bamboo

Today, other than the usual routing of shopping for lights and furniture, we did our first plants shopping. Went to Thomson area (well-known for housing nurseries) and drove from one nursery to another nursery - looking for bamboo plants!

Chuck has finally fulfilled his bamboo dreams today. After visiting about 5 nurseries, we went back to Ji Mei and bought 4 bamboo plants for $300+ including delivery, planting charges and soil; and after discount from my Auntie's corporate member account. That was quite reasonable as we were quoted $600 at another nursery - but of course their stone bamboos there were a little bit nicer.

The plants are going to be delivered on Thursday, so I'll put up some photos then.

I found this website on bamboo care and maintenance as we're both noobs to this. Tropical Bamboo Nursery

The bamboo is a symbol of long life, strength and versatility for many cultures of the world. Unraveling its mysteries is a continuing source of enjoyment. When you know how to grow bamboo, you’ll find that your love for the plant grows as fast as your bamboo does!

I feel so excited about the bamboo. I'm growing bamboos!

X-Building in Bahagia #12 - Hacking to start

Temporary Notice of Renovation Works pasted on the glass window. The renovation can officially begin from 14th April to 16th April (3 days). We will start on 15th Tuesday and have a move-in ceremony (动土仪式) before that.

X-Building in Bahagia #11 - Peek at Bathroom Stuff

The selection of bathroom sanitary wares and fixtures are supposed to be done at a later stage. But we're deciding on the layout of both of the bathrooms now so we thought of visiting 1 distributor (contact again given by Christina) last Sunday at 50 Kallang Pudding Road.

Not a wide selection here but the guy who served us was super friendly after we told him we're introduced by Christina. He even offered us drinks and told us if we're looking for any fixtures that aren't displayed we could ask them to get it for us. Have surveyed around also, that a similar Hansgrohe shower head here cost lesser than another established bathroom ware distributor. Will look more into the prices soon.

They have package sets, all fixtures & accessories included in. About $1600+.

X-Building in Bahagia #10 - Selection of Tiles for Level 1 and Both Bathrooms

Christina has given us some tile shops contacts along Balestier Road. Last Sunday, we went to LSH and Hafary (2 shops at the extreme ends of 1 block). The first shop we went to, we were super inexperienced but the lady was nice and patient enough to attend to us (even though the afternoon looks really hectic).

We've decided to replace our expensive chengai wood deck (we were quoted 3k+!) at the patio with these wood-looking tiles. But the tiles at LSH are 15 x 60, which make it a bit short to replicate the strips.

They're cheap though, $3.30 psf. And the walnut oak grains are beautiful.