If i want different tiles for my new BTO, is it more affordable to opt in for OCS and overlay new tiles or go without OCS and start from scratch?

Hi Kimberly!

I'm still waiting to collect keys for my house so I really can't comment on the finishing of a bare unit.

However from what I have researched then (3-4 years ago),
1) Opt out flooring if you intend to have your own flooring so you do not pay almost double for the same component of your house.
2) I THINK you cannot overlay tiles over tiles. In any case, if you can overlay, your floor will be elevated. This means that your contractor may have to shave a few cm from the bottom of the door so the door may still close easily.
3) Tilers will do the leveling of the floor before tiling.
4) You may inherently spend more on flooring if eventually you don't like how it looks or feels under your feet, or if it doesn't fit into your home's overall theme, if you opt in.

I am a bit OCD so if you tell me about shaving my door, means my door won't be centralized! And I'm not sure if the attaching point could be shifted haha.

Personally, go have a look and feel of the flooring for your unit once available. I would have opted in if my unit's tiles look relatively OK to me but you'd need to remember about interest accrued on your OCS if you intending to shift house eventually. So actually when I think about accrued interest, I feel starting from scratch makes more sense but opting in would have left me with the Bo bian feeling of living with it even if I don't like it. Can't bear to "waste" money if you know what I mean :)

Hi Kimberly,

It would be better to opt in for OCS, as there will be at least a better finishing quality to your BTO flat. Some of the fittings done are decent, and you might be able to incorporate it into your subsequent redesign of your house.

I have heard of cases where couples did not opt for OCS, and ended up spending more on renovation due to a bad finishing to the BTO.

At the end of the day, you will have a rough idea on what you might be able to use for your fittings, and how the overall quality feels like. You can reference this source to have a better understanding on the designs available before. This is with relation to the recent August 2020 launch.

Hope i was able to shed some insight!​​​