Many wrote in to share similar experiences, and some had helpful tips and advice for homeowners who are currently looking to avoid such a scenario.
As such, today I’ll be attempting to uncover just how the renovation industry in Singapore is structured, and maybe from here, you’d be able to have a better idea and ask the right questions when it comes to picking your ID.There are several tiers to this:While most naturally assume architects to be expensive and only do landed homes, well, you’re not wrong.
For many, the proliferation of interior designers in Singapore due to the lack of professional certification just means this would be the most common encounter.There are a few ways this works: You hire a smaller ID firm, where the designer is the project manager as well. If you manage to find an experienced ID, this would be beneficial as there’s no loss of communication that may happen with two separate parties.
First, you can either DIY the design phase, or work with a contractor to finish the rest of the project. To reiterate further, your best bet is to look for a main contractor . These guys have certification and insurance, which is something many people often overlook should anything go wrong with the project.
As such, while being hands-on and cutting out the middleman here can be cheaper, when things go wrong there is often no recourse and you will have to deal with picking up the pieces.1. Hidden markups It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and these companies will support the ID mainly because of the volume of work that they can bring in.
When an unassuming, first-time homeowner receives a contract, they often don’t know enough about the clauses, and obviously, when the contract is provided by the ID, this will be written in their interest. This is why you see many different variations of percentages of down payments being collected by IDs.
This makes it clear to both sides of the deliverables, and as such, the rest of the payment being fulfilled will only come about once each milestone has been delivered. Of course, such a system does mean that there is a cost involved in creating and maintaining it. And it definitely should be a cost that has to be borne by the customer.This is probably the biggest issue of this whole industry that has taken way too long for something to be done.
Last but not least, the introduction of interior design platforms has had an unintended consequence to the issues that plague the industry right now. They definitely are useful for consumers, having all the design inspiration and ID firms in one place make it very easy to reach out and enquire.But because it’s so easy for customers to contact, now ID firms have to fight tooth and nail to acquire customers. The expectation is now to provide a quote before moving forward.
One, customers now have unrealistic expectations of prices of renovation, which causes prices to be pressed down.In order to meet the price set out, these ID firms will cut corners where they can to maintain their margins. There are lots of ways to cost-cut, and the result is always an unhappy experience for homeowners once they move in. It could be uneven paint finishes, side skirting being cheaply installed, or floor tiles dislodging with not much effort at all.