Refuse to wait 5 years for your BTO? Resale HDBs are your next option.

After spending quite a bit on your wedding, you and your other half might be feeling a little worried for HDB renovation costs. If you are on a tight budget, which part of your house should you renovate first?

Will a home renovation loan help?

Renovating your kitchen may increase the chances of reselling your HDB flat at a better price. You may not know this, but the kitchen sets the tone for your entire home. So, you want that kitchen to sparkle and to feel cosy for the new family settling into your apartment.

Hold your horses, though. Before you start picking themes and taking down walls in your head, let’s see the renovation cost.

Making a budget is essential because you’ll know whether you can remodel your entire kitchen with one loan or take multiple loans to redo it in parts. Make the best of your home renovation and money with the information below.

1. There Are Rules For HDB Renovation

The first obstacle to overcome in the quest for the perfect kitchen is HDB’s renovation rules. Some of these tackle eligible contractors, plumbing, or permissible hacking.

Let’s break these down:

• Schedule: You can only work between 9 am to 6 pm from Monday to Saturday. You can’t renovate your kitchen on Sundays and public holidays.
• Plumbing: You can only hire a plumber that’s PUB-certified (Public Utilities Board)
• Piping: You can’t hide any new pipes that you install. All the lines in your HDB flat must be external for safety purposes.
• Flooring: You have to install a waterproofing membrane between your tiles and the cement screed to stop any leakage.

2. The Issues That Influence Kitchen Renovation Cost

The main thing that will affect your renovation cost is whether you choose a partial or total makeover. Evidently, a complete kitchen renovation costs more than a partial one because you’ll have to add:

• Hacking the old tiles
• Purchasing and setting up new tiles
• Installing new cabinets
• Extra labour hours

Other factors that influence your expenses include:

• The things you’re removing. If you’re keeping many intact things instead of removing them, you’ll save some money. For example, taking down your kitchen cabinets adds hacking to the expense list.
• The things you’re adding. If you plan to install new items in your kitchen, you’ll have to include extra work hours on the list, plus the cost of materials. Plus, higher quality materials are more expensive.
• HDB has specific rules for so-called wet areas in your apartment, such as your kitchen and bathroom. As a result, the government imposed particular restrictions for waterproofing and ponding to prevent water leakage. That extra testing increases your expense budget.
• Maintenance costs. After you install new tiles in your kitchen, you’ll have to take care of additional expenses, such as haulage and acid-wash.

3. How To Estimate HDB Kitchen Renovation Cost

Five essential factors affect your kitchen renovation cost:

1. Space. If you’ve lived in that HDB apartment you’re planning to sell, you have a reasonably good idea of what it needs. You know how much space you have and what extra things to repair/install. So, your renovation cost climbs with each additional inch of the room and each different item you’re changing.

2. Layout. If you’re happy with how your kitchen looks in terms of layout, you have $0 to spend. However, you may want to hack down a wall or change the position of in-built cabinets. Double-check HDB rules to ensure you can make the changes and consider the price for each.

3. Storage type: Adding or changing storage facilities in your kitchen increases the renovation cost. You’ll have to consider the extent of those changes, the materials you need, and the extra labour involved.

4. Kitchen design. A kitchen that’s just for show demands more modern materials but fewer shelves and cabinets. On the other hand, an intensely used kitchen requires more storage capacity, sturdier materials, and many cooking-related appliances that demand dedicated spaces (e.g. oven, hood, etc.)

5. Stove type. An induction stove is more expensive than a gas one. However, a gas stove needs specific connections to the pipes that increase your renovation cost.

Now you know which factors influence your kitchen renovation cost, so put all of these on paper. Talk with your contractor and get a rough estimate of what you can expect to fork out.

For example, standard carpentry work rounds your budget at around $5,000, but a total makeover increases the price to $20,000.

4. How To Cover Your Kitchen Renovation Cost

Banks have a cap on renovation loans. The maximum amount that you can borrow is $30,000, which might be a problem.

Instead, you may want to consider other financing alternatives such as licensed moneylenders in Singapore. They are legal entities that have special home renovation plans that come with low interest rates and flexible loan tenures.

For example, Horison Credit’s renovation loan has helped more than 300 couples in Singapore build their dream home. Read our Google Reviews here.

Remember that each person has a different income, financial goals, and needs. That’s why someone else’s perfect financing option may be useless – or even damaging – for you.

The two standard alternatives to consider are:

Renovation Loan

• Maximum loan amount: $30,000 or up to 6x your monthly income (whichever is lower)
• Tenure: 1-5 years
• Money transfer: Into your contractor’s bank account
• Interest: Low
• Approval chances: Higher
• What you can use it for: Carpentry, electrical and wiring, painting, flooring, tiling, sanitary fittings and structural altercations

Apply for our low interest and easy approval renovation loan here.

Personal Loan

• Maximum loan amount: $250,000 or up to 6x your monthly income (whichever is lower)
• Tenure: 1-5 years
• Money transfer: Into your bank account, cash, or cheque
• Interest: Higher; up to 4%/ month
• Approval chances: Lower with banks, higher with licensed moneylenders:
• What you can use it for: Any expense you want, including furniture and electric appliances

5. How To Reduce Kitchen Renovation Cost

If you want to do more things in your kitchen that don’t fit into your budget, you can consider:

• Using budget materials for non-essential items in your kitchen, such as the countertop and backsplash
• Choosing a standard carpentry design instead of a complex theme
• Overlaying new tiles over the old ones instead of hacking them

However, the best way to reduce the kitchen cost without skimping on quality is to choose the right financing option for your needs. You want a loan provider who will assess these different options to help you make a good plan based on your income and goals.

You need a genuine partner, not solely an agent.

We at Horison Credit promise to offer you reliable support before choosing a loan facility and throughout your tenure. With our high Google rating, we are confident of customizing loan plans that can meet your needs.

So, if you want someone who looks at people first and paperwork second, apply below.

Get your best loan here.