Take personal loan for renovation?

Hello, I just received the keys to my 4 room BTO and I currently have 30k cash to pay for renovations. However, the estimated reno cost + furniture is about 50k and i would need to borrow 20k. It's a bit difficult for me to borrow from family, and my salary has been quite low so even though i'm saving about 30-40% of my salary it's still not amounting to much.

I'm thinking of taking a personal loan (stanchart has a promo at 1.9%pa), and i'm looking at a 3 year tenure which means about $600 repayment every month. This is about 16% of my current take-home salary.

Due to the stanchart promo and cash gifts, the total interest i'll be repaying at the end of the 3 years would be $800. Is this an okay approach, or are there other methods that i'm missing?

Thank you!

Discussion (12)

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Mel

Edited 20h ago

Never borrow for something 'nice to have'/ consumables.

I have just bought a resale hdb 3 room early this year and did reno in 3 stages using cash savings (and not using ID):

Before moving: hacking half wall separated the living room & kitchen (to open up space & more light and air from back window) + paint the whole apartment.
After moving/Another months : reno the toilet (buy new toilet bowl and install new modern sink) paid using BuyNowPayLater (BNPL) so I can pay cash in 3 instalment. also buy new fridge and washing machine using Bnpl. Make sure you can afford to pay monthly instalment for Bnpl (3 months no interest, pay by cash if you link it to your debit card). you can also buy used laundry machine and fridge from carousel, preferably with warranty (from second hand shop at carousel not from individual). i almost buy used ones but decided to buy new one when the shop had CNY & Hari Raya big sale.
Source furniture from carousel and able to get 2 free bed frames as I have 2 bedrooms (matress is new for hygienic reason), free Tv console , and free dining set . i buy new sofa (also for hygienic reason) and new carpet (don't have to reno floor which will cost a lot more than a nice carpet) using BNPL, once above Bnpl finish. so for several months we don't have sofa, which is ok as we can use dining chair to sit. Also buy tall, medium and small size indoor plants . It makes a huge difference and nice expensive ambience without overspending.

total spending 1+2+3 above: not more than $10k.

Congrats & Happy moving to a new house

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Jean Bed

21h ago

For kitchen remodeling done right in https://www.wjsmithconstruction.com/kitchen-rem... Smith Construction. We create custom kitchen spaces that feel fresh, open, and practical—designed to match your taste and improve your home's overall value.

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Tianshu Dai

1d ago

You can ask the bank about renovation loans. Some parts don’t need to be done immediately — and some can wait till later.
At our place, we didn’t have a TV in the living room for about a year.
Honestly, it didn’t really affect anything. It’s not that important these days.

Is it for real? Renovation costs have gone up that much?
50k just a 4-room HDB? That’s insane.

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Dang

1d ago

Do the necessary, such as toilets, kitchen. Leave the 'good to haves' until you have more money. It took me almost an entire year to furnish my entire house. It's a major project, take your time.

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