They viewed 16 apartments in 3 days, and finally bought their dream home for $371,000. It wasn't even on their initial list.
Amanda Goh/Insider
- Soh Jun Hao and Grace Lim bought their public housing apartment in Singapore right before the pandemic.
- The millennial couple paid 505,000 Singapore dollars, or about $371,000, for the five-room property.
- They viewed 16 apartments in 3 days and came across their forever home by chance.
In the two years since Soh Jun Hao and Grace Lim moved into their five-room apartment in Tampines, a neighborhood in the eastern region of Singapore, they've transformed it into a cozy space filled with their favorite mementos.
In Singapore, 80% of the resident population lives in public housing built by the Housing Development Board, or HDB. These apartments are known as HDB flats.
The couple's 1,302-square-foot apartment is their first home together.
HaosofGrace
It took them 16 apartment viewings to find their dream home, which wasn't even on their initial list.
The couple cleared the viewings in three days — a feat they managed to achieve because it only took them a few minutes in each space to decide whether or not they liked it.
"If you don't feel comfortable within the first five minutes, it's a telltale sign really, even though you logically cannot pinpoint what's wrong with it," Lim, a 36-year-old tech recruiter, told Insider.
The couple already knew they wanted to live in the eastern part of Singapore because it was near her husband Soh's parents.
Google Maps Street View
On top of that, they wanted a corner unit with an unblocked view, and they were also only considering four-room apartments because those were more affordable.
After scheduling back-to-back viewings to no avail, a listing agent of one of the units they viewed suggested the couple head over to their current place to take a look — even though it was a five-room unit.
The moment the couple stepped out of the lift and turned the corner, their unit came into view — and they realized they had unexpectedly found their forever home.
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The couple closed on the apartment for $505,000 in January 2020, right before the pandemic.
By the time renovations were supposed to start, COVID-19 had hit and sent the entire country into lockdown. A whole year passed before the couple was finally able to move in.
"During the pandemic, we were trying to renovate our home, and we were also trying to get married," Lim said. "Everything was delayed."
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The renovations took about eight months in the end, and the process wasn't smooth at all. While they designed the place on their own, they worked with a contractor to bring their vision to life.
"It was a bit of a nightmare, mostly because of the workmanship," Soh, a 39-year-old designer, told Insider. The couple had to closely manage the entire renovation despite working full-time.
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"It was really hard. It came to a point where on a weekly basis, I would create a checklist of what needed to be done, paste it on the box that held our fridge, and I'd only check it once it was done," Lim said.
The couple describes their home as an eclectic mix of everything they love.
Instead of having a fixed theme, the couple wanted every area of their home to have a different vibe that showcased different parts of their personality, Soh said.
"We knew we wanted lots of wood, and we knew the kind of colors we wanted, so then it was trying to find the different pieces that would fit into what we visualized," Lim added.
Amanda Goh/Insider
The "lived-in" look was also something that the two of them wanted to achieve, she continued: "I didn't want it to look like a showroom."
In addition, many of the house's furnishings and tile choices intentionally evoke a nostalgic, "old Singapore" feel, Soh said. And that's because they were inspired by Lim's grandmother's house.
In particular, the couple had a wooden shelf that looked like something her grandmother had, Lim said.
"But of course, instead of putting toys, she displayed all her children's trophies," Lim said. "I thought that was symbolic of what love meant to me, so that was something that I wanted in my house."
Amanda Goh/Insider
Lim said that using loose furniture meant that she could move things around the house whenever she felt like it.
There were even times after they first moved in that her husband Soh felt he was coming back to a new house every day after work, she added.
"For me, I like stability," Soh said. "But for her, she likes to move things around according to the vibe. But it's nice too, it's nice to come home to something new too."
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The couple's apartment faces a park, and the view from their living room is hard to beat.
Lim said it feels nice to come home to some greenery as both work downtown. "You really feel like you're not in the city anymore."
The couple shares photos of their space on an Instagram account dedicated to their home.
Amanda Goh/Insider
They were inspired to create the social media account after following a few other similar creators on the platform.
"When we created the house account, it was just for fun," Soh said.
The couple had no intention of becoming influencers, and they still feel the same way, he said: "We are not so active as compared to some of the other home accounts and influencers."
Amanda Goh/Insider
That said, their Instagram account has allowed the couple to become friends with others with similar home and living accounts as well.
"We even went to each others' houses and had brunch," Soh added.
They have a piece of advice for couples renovating homes: Make sure you are on the same page.
"As a unit, you need to be very certain about what your negotiables and non-negotiables are," Lim said. "That way, regardless of whatever decision you need to make after, it would be a lot easier."
Amanda Goh/Insider
Decision-making becomes challenging when both parties have no strong opinion and are just "OK" with anything, she said.
Moreover, it's also important to have fun together, Lim continued.
"The very first piece of furniture we bought was the corner wine cabinet. Nobody does that but we did it, so at least we agreed on this nonsensical part together," she added.
Insider verified the amount the couple paid for the house with property transaction records found online.
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