Hi Daisylove,
Does your hubby's aunt need the $ soon? When u borrow from her, make sure that u state up front that u cannot just repay the whole lump sum when she wants it cos u dun have so much cash. Will be good to agree on a repayment amt all three parties are comfortable with, and stick to that. Money matters can make or break ties and it's sad when the unfortunate happens. Stating expectations clearly up front is beta, since she is neither yours or hubby's mum.
I borrowed from my dad $25K and promise to service $600 per month and repay in 3.5 years max time. I also agreed with hubby to repay a few hundred more every bonus...
I support the decision not to take a bank loan. Thou interest rates are now depressed and banks are lending at prime + 1-2%, always bear in mind that prime rate changes with ecy and may rise in future. If u borrow from aunt, u will just take appox 4yrs and 2 mths to repay her $20K, which can be shorten if u repay more during bonus periods. Comparing to paying $400/mth for 5 years, thats an additional payment of $4K interest! Not worth it at all!!
My personal take on this is that bank borrowing is the last resort, try parents and parents-in-law and then relatives who dotes on u or hubby. Make sure these $ extended are spare cash which they will not need urgently and u can repay over 3-4 years.. The future is uncertain and now the greatest worry for alot of us is job security. Sld one of u get retrenched, u can stall payment or make less repayments to the aunt, but banks are not so easy when it comes to re-negotiate terms. They will charge interest on payment in arrears... Then u are paying interest on interest... which is how the banks make money...
I recall u mentioned that u will always forget what qns u wanna ask your gynae and would write them down... this is why i suggested u to consider keeping paper cuttings too. Furthermore, a picture says a thousand words and the ID will also have a sense of what concept and feel u want for your home.
I would say i believe in fengshui but I am not stunch (how to spell??) abt it. I have heard stories of people's home looking weird to following fengshui masters advise and these people dare not defy the advise as sub-consiciously they are afraid that bad things will befall on them...
Oh yes, the iron grills! My mum drove me nuts over it!!
My mum, like your MIL (& my MIL too btw) also wanted ALL WINDOWS to have grills!!! I relented by putting grills for all room and kitchen windows but No No for my floor-to-ceiling windows! No way am I going to do that! It feels like being in jail looking out of my living room windows thru those grills!
When it comes to diff in how the house is to be renovated, communication and compromise is the key. U give in some and trade it for some things your way. Parents advise becos they care for us, else they wun bother to. Thou sometimes not welcome, try to contain the unhappiness by bearing in mind that they have good intentions.
I will send u the template tmr morning... Hope u will find it useful. Will send u my floorplan too... Dun fret over the terms, the IDs will be more than willing to explain and those reno books will give u insight too. Lastly u will have me, who is the 'jiang Hu' ID that went thru the ordeal! Haha..
Hacking of walls are not expensive, its wat u use to patch it up that determines the price. Hacking half my bedroom wall to build the walk-in wardrobe into the adjoining room cost me $280 but putting that dumb 'gypsumboard' cost me $650!!! I was told that hacking a wall and replacing with glass rather than the gypsumboard i mentioned will cost almost 2x the price!!! So the glass concept is super expensive!
Just tell the ID what u want and quote them your budget. Let them tell u what they can offer u with the budget u have. They are paid for doing that, so leave it to the experts. Remember we are advised not to stress ourselves out, so lets pay the IDs to worry for us!
Remember that accessories like lights (bedroom, kitchen, bathroom etc etc), bathroom accessories (towel, cup, toilet paper holders and shampoo racks, sink and mirror), aircon, heaters and electricity wirings are all not considered in the reno budget. Eventually u will need another say $3K to cover all these out-of-pocket expenses. When I finally buy all these items, i will let u know how much i spend for each to assist u in your budgeting... I already have my furniture + electrical appliances budget. Can share with u if u want to, any variances I am not liable hor...
Kekeke... Btw, between me and hubby, I am the finance minister...
Wah i write so much!! Aiyoh pai-seh to be so 'li ti' from endometrosis!!
Think u and me should set up a separate tread on reno sharing!