Top 10 struggles as a new homeowner in Singapore — Part 1
Being a homeowner is a milestone that most Singaporeans aspire to reach as more than 90% of the entire population owns one or is living in one that their parents own. However, when one finally owns it, what would they be expecting as a home owner?
No one understands better other than speaking to their parents or someone who actually owns one themselves, and I recently moved into a 4-room apartment that owned by the government under the Housing Development Board (“HDB”).
Apart from managing renovation for my new place, there are many things that I have never experienced before for the first half of my life (assuming if I managed to live for a long time) which can daunting for first-time home owners, and I hope this article is helpful for those who are waiting for their built-to-order (“BTO”) public housing or any types of private homes in the coming years.
1. Getting to know your neighborhood
Although some would not have gotten their place at their preferred choice of neighborhood, this will still be applicable for all. This is pretty much the same as knowing your peers in school as it is also important to know what your neighborhood has to offer.
Some neighborhoods are in a choicer locations where a variety of facilities are made accessible within 1 to 2 km, comprising food choices, shops, and shopping malls with supermarkets and movie theatres.
While not all are fortunate to be staying near many amenities, knowing your way to get your daily necessities can be helpful when time in need.
Locating the grocery stalls (i.e. supermarkets, wet markets, mom and pop shops) nearest to your place is going to ease the hassle for you and that can allow you to enjoy your cooking experience when knowing the availability of ingredients to make a simple meal for your lunch or dinner.
At the start, it is always good to visit hardware shops in your neighborhood to get some household items such as basic cooking utensils, bathroom washing tools, and handy repair tools.
This was something I struggled a lot because I was too used to having the comfort of my parents’ place without putting my hands into dirt and resulted in me not knowing anything about maintaining a household. And it is common for you to not know what to buy when you are barely in the kitchen or at home.
Importantly, it is good to travel around to locate the nearest police station for emergency use. Though Singapore is a safe country with low crime rate, it may still be helpful for you to reach out to the authorities for reporting other issues in need.
2. Knowing your lifestyle before making purchases
As excited as it may be for new home owners, there are bound to be times where you are spoilt for choices when it comes to shopping for your household necessities.
From cooking utensils to condiments, there are just too many for you to choose which brings out your inner “auntie” who always strives to save as much as possible for your daily purchases.
However, trying to splurge on things that you think “may” need can be a little dangerous because you could end up chucking them aside when the impulse wears down.
Having the thought of buying a waffles machine seems exciting, but the utility rate might not be as high as a high quality frying pan for your favorite fried rice or scrambled eggs.
Therefore, it is important to prioritize your lifestyle before making purchases, which makes space planning and budgeting more fuss-free.
3. Balancing house chores between couples can be challenging
Other than curating your space, balancing your time between work, family, and house chores can be challenging at the start. Cooking is highly regarded as one of the main reasons of owning your own place, which can be exciting yet tiring.
Anything from food preparation, cooking of rice, or defrosting your frozen meats, it requires the couple to maintain an adequate level of food hygiene, in which we are referring to cleaning of dishes and the kitchen itself. Avoiding dish piles could easily be solved by having a dishwasher but the kitchen is not going to be cleaned by itself.
Roughing out the house chores such as having to vacuum the floor, cleaning of washrooms, and perhaps one of the most hated chores that most couples deemed it, would be doing of laundry.
Like it or not, every home owner has to go through the notion of maintaining their place, which the luckier ones would hire a part-time cleaner to salvage it.
4. Maintaining the house — Cleanliness, speaking to ID/engaging vendors for repair works
Apart from upkeeping its cleanliness, knowing some basic tips and tricks to maintain your place can be useful and friendly for your wallet.
By learning basic repairing and troubleshooting of electrical appliances can save you the hassle of hiring a handyman/electrician and avoiding the risk of overpaying one for their underservice.
While there is a market rate of almost every service you could find online, some might still charge a premium for you to believe that they are actually overqualified for the job. You can only witness their workmanship when they are performing the work on-site, which is then an opportunity cost if you know how to repair it.
Unless it requires a higher level of intricate repair or a specialist/tools to complete it, it is always meaningful to learn basic handy skills. This can help you better understand your needs and wants, learning to avoid purchasing appliances that are likely to be difficult to repair.
Another tip is to speak to your vendors (i.e. electricians, tilers, handy men) and learn from their experiences during your renovation process as they are more likely and willing to teach you over a free meal/drink.
Having their contacts is definitely a bonus for any emergency but it is more valuable to have the knowledge of maintaining/upkeeping your appliances and furniture.
5. Getting to know how to maintain your own inventory (repair — sewing, handyman works, cooking, washing of toilets)
Keeping count of your home inventory is like knowing how much you can spend in order to not hit your monthly credit card limit. Being a new homeowner gives you a blank canvas to plan your place and an unlimited headspace to let your imagination run wild to finding out that you fill it too hastily with things.
Being too excessive about stocking up cheap deals can be damaging to your wallet, and at the same time, running out of precious space for more bulky items at home. Knowing that it can be difficult to work around with limited space, especially with living in newer HDB BTOs, having storage within your livable space is essentially treated as a commodity.
Managing your inventory at home can help you make better purchasing decisions, and it eventually helps in easing the stress of planning monthly budget, which can be helpful for those who are in the process of family planning.
To be continued in my next article…
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About The Author:
Vince Law is a former Accountancy graduate from Singapore Management University, who recently transitioned from being an auditor from one of the Big 4 accounting firms to becoming a software engineer, focusing on payments and investments in the banking industry.
He also works as a freelance writer who loves challenging mainstream views on current affairs and is a strong advocate of mental health and personal development.
For business queries, please feel free to reach out to me at lawyinkai@gmail.com.
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