Because of procrastination I do have to extend my tenancy one more time, though I asked for a short term extension to give myself a bit of urgency on this front. The end result is a rental hike of $50 - even though retrospectively I think this is the best I could have asked for considering that the next tenant that came in after me paid a whopping $2100. Yeah I know rental market is thriving but really? The conditions aren’t fantastic leh. But who am I to complain about it. 

Fast forward to moving out - the only contractual obligations I had was aircon cleaning and curtain cleaning. But I am also supposed to clean it and return it in good condition la, even if it wasn’t stated contractually - just in case my security deposit was withheld or something. Agent tried to con me into hiring a professional cleaner, I refused and told them I’ll clean myself. And after the experience with Helpling for my new place I’d rather do this myself, seeing that the surface area to be cleaned really isn’t much (and frankly, I wondered what’s the point of it in the end because the week after I handed over, agent arranged for painting of the whole house which would have messed up everything? But oh well). 

Shifting out, I’d covered in the other post. Cleaning took one whole afternoon (and more) during which I uncovered quite a number of random secrets I never knew, for instance there’s another power point hidden behind my bed, behind my shoe rack and so on. But I did take longer than I expected too because I was quite thorough knowing exactly which are the spots which I had put up with for a long time (unlike the Helpling guys). Even spent extra to take care of the bedroom aircon which had been haunting me for a while. So I am quite pleased with the result, I think I’d thank myself if I were the new tenant too. 

Handing over - agent asked me if I would want to hand over earlier which I was actually ok with considering I’d moved into my new place by then, and I asked for a partial refund of the rent. Apparently landlady turned down saying I had a choice to NOT handover early to begin with. Alright then, I shall fully exercise this choice - which meant I only handed over on 31 Dec as per my tenancy contract. And eventually agent said they were held up and couldn’t come over on 31st, so it happened on 1st Jan instead. 

I did plan to go for a dip in the swimming pool which, throughout my entire tenancy, I never did - skin issues and the very fact that I couldn’t swim to begin with being the reasons - but I forgot to bring a change of clothes so oh well. 

Handed over, went through the inventory checklist (and I made sure I had everything on the list), everything in good order (I mean, if they were to be very strict they’d find that the TV’s pixel issues had resurfaced). I did come clean about the split seams at the sofa, but the agents decided not to do anything about it too so *shrugs*. And that concluded the stay. 

Honestly speaking I really liked this place. It's the first place in which I get to live on my own, and it checked a lot of boxes, especially for introverted singles like myself. The size is more than comfortable, it’s in a quiet locale, and not too far from office. The appliances that came with the condo is actually quite decent (especially after I contrast it with my current set). Neighbours are mostly tenants and mind their own business. It’s a small condo so there’s not much competition for the facilities such as gym (for the most part anyway). Amenities nearby may be a bit lacking but in the earlier parts of my stay I don’t do groceries all that often anyway. In the later parts of my stay when WFH kicked I find myself enjoying traveling to nearby neighbourhoods like Clementi and JE for my weekly necessities. And speaking of WFH, having a place like this is a godsend - I cannot imagine otherwise. 

There are cons of course, but relatively minor ones I’d say. The condition of the place worsened as it goes though it’s nothing a minor spruce up cannot fix. The lack of storage space too, though I fashioned out a storage room or sorts at the designated “study area”. The kitchenette is not designed for major cooking since it’s not enclosed and the exhaust isn’t the best (it feeds right back into the kitchenette itself) so whatever you cook lingers around for a bit - in the early days if I ever pan fry fish the smell lingered around for days I kid you not. Eventually it’s anything with garlic which stayed for a day - relatively better. Workaround for fish is to use my air fryer in the balcony lol. But I’d say I did quite well for limitations of the kitchenette. 

I guess the big issue with the place is the fact that it’s not mine. As with my previous place I faced the possibility of being evicted when my tenancy agreement is up, perhaps an increase in rental, and so on. Buying property is always on my radar, but I told myself this wouldn’t be “the one” for me even though it’s a good price for a freehold property and I could more than afford this place - financially and also in terms of longer term planning it wouldn’t have made much sense. Hence the hunt, and the whole multi part series. 

Farewell, Nottinghill! Has been a good 4 years and 7 months.

Fast forward to today the space is obviously no longer that, compact. But for memories sake I shall keep that title, haha.

Circumstances forced me to act on the idea of moving out by myself and I decided not to be too fixated about the location - anywhere near an MRT station is fine. Obviously not too far like Jurong or Pasir Ris, decided to be guided by budget instead. 

Quite a number of units in Serangoon/Kovan area, none that are within good walking distance to an MRT actually, and some at Beauty World caught my eye. Since Downtown Line opened this area has became really accessible and it's a direct line to work, and some viable options too though it isn't exactly the usual residential neighborhood I have grown accustomed to. Ended up only viewing three units too, coz, for whatever reason I felt obliged to give a quick answer. All in Beauty World area.

First one is the cheapest of the lot, though I kind of don't like that it is on low floor and balcony opens out to the main road, and facilities are really half-assed, though proximity to station is a plus. Second unit had the feel - although quite a bit of walk from station. Third one was in the same building, different floor, unfurnished and facing another residential development, quite close to it also so there's a bit of privacy issue.

Wanted to arrange for more actually but agent #2 was kind of persistent and called me the next day to ask if she could start negotiating with owner - I asked previously if price can be lowered and she agreed to help talk to the owner only if there's more certainty from my end. And somehow I agreed and literally within an hour she replied and told me owner has agreed. Thinking back it could be a tactic of hers coz for all i know, owner may have already told her this is the range she can accept. Oh well. 

And went down and signed the Letter of Intent the next day. I guess part of me also wanted this settled as soon as possible. Even though there are a few things I didn't see during the viewing and realized that I may not entirely be satisfied with, e.g. no overhead fan, and the bigger problem of no store room. Decided to just live with it considering that these are not entirely unsolvable issues. 

Signed the agreement a week later, even then I had to be the one that initiated it because agent don't seem all that interested now that 鱼上钩了 zzzz. Same thing happened for handing over. I didn't even see my new landlady - everything is to be handled by the agent. Well at least I am happy about the place. 

Throughout the entire one month plus the current landlady asked me nothing about my plans - when am I gonna move out, where am I gonna move to. Everything was perfectly normal - which is just what I wanted, actually. 

Idea was not to engage mover but instead I would rely on my trusty Tribecar to shift on my own. Tenancy starts on 1st June and I took leave and booked an MPV for 5 hours. Apparently, though, 28 May is a good date for shifting in so I ended up booking another 4 hours on Sunday too. Shifted majority of my stuff over on Sunday and did the house shifting rituals, rolling in pineapple and boiling a pot of water to signify that I have moved in (even though I am not exactly spending my nights there yet.

4 years of living in the same place somehow meant that I have gained a lot in terms of possession and I left with significantly more boxes than when I moved in. 1st June came, and I returned the room to landlady in the same state as when I moved in - same set of bedsheets though the only difference is that the walls looked to be in a worse state than when I moved in - I never really cleaned them and they never appeared to be very dirty until I emptied my room, somehow. She asked me to visit often, frankly speaking I only planned to visit during CNY. And reiterated that she didn't want to let me go but circumstances forced her to so she apologized again - and I didn't bothered clarifying that I meant to move out anyway. So that marks an end to my 3 years 11 month stay in Toa Payoh.

Things I like so far:

• Travelling time to work hasn't increased all that much. Just yesterday morning I clocked 30minutes from door to desk, which is pretty similar to what I used to be doing. Although admittedly I had the help of obike which turns out to be my latest obsession.
• Security guards are friendly and already recognize me 
• Quite a number of cafes to explore
• Gym looks promising coz it's quiet which means I won't embarrass myself (when I finally drag my sorry ass there)
• Neighborhood is quiet. 
• Pretty close to three big neighborhoods in Clementi, Jurong East and Bukit Batok, first two I am pretty familiar with. Though nothing compared to what I used to do i.e a short walk to HDB Hub.
• Fairprice Finest at Bukit Timah Plaza is a joy to shop in.