Sol Acres Executive Condominium

Hey guys! So Jenson and I went ahead and bought Sol Acres with ID package this Sunday, after 12 days of being official =P Just wanted to share some information right here for other couples who may be researching.

Pre Script: I know this may seem super fast to a lot of my friends, and knowing how impulsive I can be, a lot of you may be worried for me.. Just wanted to put it out there that this was very calculated and we have made contingencies just in case the relationship doesn't work out.

Unlike most couples going for BTO/EC, our main driver of getting an apartment is the income ceiling of applying for a public flat. We thought: since it will be impossible for us to BTO next year, why don't we try it (for fun) this year? Our POV was that of an investment- and if it solidifies our relationship, why not? After shopping around and being more serious we decided to go for an EC, expecting rental income yield of ~4-9% (after 5 years of MOP) and 6-10% p.a. capital gains after privatization (5+5 years)

The main reason of me writing this post is because I realized that there isn't much material online covering the ID package - 15k top up for an (almost) ready made house. We did a bit of calculation before going for the package and since the work is already done I thought I'd share it with everyone who's keen. ^^

I won't be touching on the condominium itself but if you'd like to know more, you can click here for the official site and here, here, or here for some reviews on Sol Acres. ++ just for fun, here's  a very dutiful fengshui master's review of the EC. BTW at the time of writing, there are only 10 units left..


Here are our valuation of the freebies that came with the apartment:

Sn	Item	Conservative	Best Estimate	Optimistic
1	Washer/Dryer	$800	$1,200	$2,000
2	Built in Oven	$700	$1,000	$2,000
3	Induction Cooker	$200	$700	$1,000
4	Fridge (Fisher & Paykel)	$1,000	$1,200	$2,000
5	Air Conditioner (Mitsubishi)	$1,500	$2,000	$3,000
6	Built in Wardrobe	$1,500	$2,000	$3,000
	Grand Total	$5,700	$8,100	$13,000

That's not bad considering it's a good 2% of what we're paying for the house! Ofc, there are more stuff that came with the house like cooking hobs, cabinets, sinks etc but I don't really know the market value so I'm not including them in here.

For the 15k packaged ID, these are what we'll be receiving:

	Item	Personal Valuation	Conservative	Best Estimate	Optimistic
1	Shoe Cabinet	$100	$10	$100	$200
2	PegBoard wall feature	$500	$350	$500	$700
3	Organiser	$100	$50	$100	$150
4	Mirror Wall	$2,500	$1,000	$2,000	$3,000
5	Hanging shelves	$200	$150	$200	$300
6	Sofa	$600	$200	$600	$900
7	Sliding table + Chair	$300	$200	$300	$400
8	Rugs	$50	$40	$300	$800
9	TV Console	$200	$100	$200	$500
10	Fan + light	$150	$150	$250	$450
11	Balcony Table + Chairs	$150	$100	$150	$200
12	Balcony Outdoor Blinds	$1,000	$3,000	$5,000	$8,000
13	Queen Size Bed	$500	$425	$800	$1,200
14	Bedroom wall feature	$200	$150	$200	$300
15	Bedside Table	$100	$40	$100	$400
16	Bedside lamp	$20	$10	$60	$200
17	Bedroom Mirror	$50	$50	$100	$200
18	Wallpaper	$50	$50	$100	$500
19	Paint	$200	$200	$300	$400
20	Lightings	$1,000	$1,000	$2,000	$4,000
21	Curtains	$300	$150	$300	$500
22	Blinds	$100	$50	$100	$150
	Total	$8,370	$7,475	$13,760	$23,450
23	Installation = 10%	$837	$748	$1,376	$2,345
	Grand Total	$9,207	$8,223	$15,136	$25,795

Personal Valuation = how much the both of us value each item: for example, Bedside lamp ~ $20 even though it'll cost much more than that bc we both don't quite need it. In essence, we were willing to pay ~6k for the convenience of not having to shop for the above 23 items!

The 3 estimates are gathered by painstaking searches on google. XP TBH, the best estimates are in fact an under estimates because the google searches often brought me to Alibaba/Ikea when I'm sure that MCL Land is unlikely to bulk purchase from such sources..

What we really liked:

1) Mirror wall

The TV you see and the "double curtain"? It's actually a huge mirror covering the entire of the wall (which starts right behind the sofa). As we bought a 1 bedder, this helps to increase the spaciousness of the place! I'm also intending to use the hanging shelve (behind the man's head) as a make up table :D

2) Automated blinds

As seen behind the potted plant. As the living room is pretty small, these blinds will allow us to have a bigger living area to entertain guests/get away from each other!

3) Lightings 

You can see it from the previous 2 pictures and they are kinda adjustable spotlights! I think it's a cool switch from the traditional bulbs in the middle of the room. Not sure if it'll get too hot though!

4) Peg Board Wall

This will allow us to get organised the way we want to! Hanging things or putting up shelves. I can't find a market price for it since google mostly directed me to pinterest-esque sites. I do wish they came in a better fitting color though.. :( 

Here are some other pictures from "The Smart Local"

Featuring items 13-21!

Featuring the oven and fridge (wow I can't believe a fridge costs 1k btw, I'm so used to the 100 dollar bids for the fridges in hall :P) & the shelves that will come with the home (without the 15k ID package).

All in all, we  took the ID package for 2 main reasons:

1) Fuss free

Since TOP will be Q1 18 and I will still be studying for my papers in Apr18 (CP3 and ST9), we thought it's best that we don't spend too much time worrying about the furnishing of the house.

What we have to buy after: Mattress, Bedsheets, TV

2) Investment

Since we will be reselling/renting out the apartment in 5-10 years, it's good that the interior came with fixings that are "acceptable" and "uniform" for the condominium. We're hoping that this uniformity can be valued by our buyers (mainly expats) who will be willing to pay a premium of > 15k for it! Also, we did hear that it costs more than 15k for the developer to provide this package so if we were to tear it down into its component and sell it part by part on carousell, we will be able to break even =P though the opp cost of time probably won't be worth it -__-

Okay, it's 3am now and I guess that's all I have to share. Hopefully this makes your decision to get (or not) the ID package easier. Every one has different valuation and my Estimates may be wrong. Feel free to correct me with the market prices- I didn't spend too much time onto those that are hard to find e.g. mirror and lights!

Also, feel free to leave a comment if you bought a unit alr! Excited to make new friends (& there are 1300 potential nhouses of friends to make! ^^)!

Post Script: I think I'm typing this post to calm my tits and rationalise the purchase. Writing does help very much :)