Clover By The Park, Bishan

[pros and cons]

Everyone is different! If you stay near to town, you would probably not drive since it made no sense paying ERP for short distance. In Singapore, every major expressway will be jammed during peak hour. That is a fact.
So, if you want near/good traffic, then pay more.

What's wrong with squeezing in feeder bus with teenagers? You mean that cause you shame? I wonder what's wrong with the mindset of Singaporeans these days....
If you go to other developed countries like in London, everyone takes the train or bus whether their old, young, managers, etc. There is no shame in all that, it only shows your level of thinking is pretty short-sighted.

I think swimming pools are not a big issue. You can go to alot of hotels and find full occupancy of 700 rooms yet the pool is hardly used.
What's this about gatecrashers? You mean HDB dwellers would sneak in to use the pool ? Have you heard of security? Or have we not evolved and resort to such petty crimes....
There is a difference between exclusive projects with less than 100 units and mass market projects above 500. Different markets for different buyers.
Clover, maintenance only $165, where else can you get lower?

we are experiencing inflation where raw materials has gone up and would be impossible to come down. Look at all the new HDB launches, they arent priced low, but according to market. I believe future launches will be more expensive. We know for sure that Clover is not overpriced. Yesterday papers had old AMK HDB 5rm flat going for $628k in the market. The new ones by UE are priced around 600-700k. So, clearly the trend is up. You have all this govt mass market projects underpinning the market. Also, if you check Rafflesia which is 99LH, their resale prices has been steady throughout hitting average of 800psft. Bishan8 is also in the range of 700-800psft.
Will it ever hit 500psft? I think you wait long long.

AMK DBSS @ $700k for 1200sqft (5rm flat) works out to be $583psft
The new DBSS at Bishan will probably hit $600psft.
Clover being private with facilities and same HDB maintenance currently sells at average $750psft. Downside is very limited.

[Nearby]

2008 transacted prices


BISHAN 8 958,000 1,163sqft $824 May-08
BISHAN 8 1,200,000 1,528sqft $785 May-08
BISHAN 8 930,000 1,163sqft $800 May-08
BISHAN 8 970,000 1,195sqft $812 May-08
BISHAN 8 1,000,000 1,163sqft $860 Apr-08
BISHAN 8 790,000 980sqft $807 Apr-08
BISHAN 8 1,008,888 1,163sqft $868 Jan-08
BISHAN 8 945,000 1,163sqft $813 Jan-08
BISHAN 8 975,000 1,163sqft $839 Jan-08
BISHAN 8 970,000 1,163sqft $834 Jan-08

RAFFLESIA CONDO 800,000 915sqft $874 May-08
RAFFLESIA CONDO 1,080,712 1,302sqft $830 Apr-08
RAFFLESIA CONDO 1,080,000 1,302sqft $829 Apr-08
RAFFLESIA CONDO 1,150,000 1,324sqft $869 Apr-08
RAFFLESIA CONDO 810,000 915sqft $885 Mar-08
RAFFLESIA CONDO 1,006,000 1,216sqft $827 Mar-08
RAFFLESIA CONDO 788,000 915sqft $861 Feb-08
RAFFLESIA CONDO 728,000 915sqft $796 Jan-08

[cloverians]

Follow the heart, you only live once.
Cloverians we have become!

1. Where are my neighbours? Shall we gather together to keep the progress and update each other here or elsewhere?
2. How about some discussions on the likes and dislikes about the development as a potential resident?

1. (let me start on point 1) Just been down to site over the weekend, foundation seems to be doing well and according to schedule for blk 6. Foundation laid and ready for casting soon. The crane had also been erected and seems like this week, should be some major disturbance to the neighbourhood. Apologies to Bishan-rians.

Blk 2 is also moving, abeit slower than blk 6 in terms of foundation. So, my personal guess is that Blk 6 may TOP earlier if the developer is going for phased TOP.

2. Still very unclear about the parking in this development. Looks like it will not be a basement, but more of a sub-basement, meaning building at grade and thus lending another 2 floors to the 2 blocks. As correctly pointed out by some here, the first floor is almost equal to third in the HDB blk beside.

By the looks of the site now, there is no basement to be constructed.

Shall we have more positive discussion than grumbling about other projects?

[clover]

Follow the heart, you only live once.
Cloverians we have become!

1. Where are my neighbours? Shall we gather together to keep the progress and update each other here or elsewhere?
2. How about some discussions on the likes and dislikes about the development as a potential resident?

1. (let me start on point 1) Just been down to site over the weekend, foundation seems to be doing well and according to schedule for blk 6. Foundation laid and ready for casting soon. The crane had also been erected and seems like this week, should be some major disturbance to the neighbourhood. Apologies to Bishan-rians.

Blk 2 is also moving, abeit slower than blk 6 in terms of foundation. So, my personal guess is that Blk 6 may TOP earlier if the developer is going for phased TOP.

2. Still very unclear about the parking in this development. Looks like it will not be a basement, but more of a sub-basement, meaning building at grade and thus lending another 2 floors to the 2 blocks. As correctly pointed out by some here, the first floor is almost equal to third in the HDB blk beside.

By the looks of the site now, there is no basement to be constructed.

Shall we have more positive discussion than grumbling about other projects?

Yes..yes...we cloverians should be united and get together and leave those ppl that wanna say other things to go somewhere else....cheers

I hope blk 2 will not take long...miss out on blk 6....hence got a unit on stack 5...any comments on stack 5. From what i see on the model, blk 2 & 6 are position in a way that both blk will have park view as well and stack 5 although is abt 80m away from blk 6...but that better than facing the HDB right? And Stack 5 can have pool view In fact, my 1st choice is stack 16 but fully sold very fast

Cheers to all Cloverians

[Cloverians]

Yes..yes...we cloverians should be united and get together and leave those ppl that wanna say other things to go somewhere else....cheers

I hope blk 2 will not take long...miss out on blk 6....hence got a unit on stack 5...any comments on stack 5. From what i see on the model, blk 2 & 6 are position in a way that both blk will have park view as well and stack 5 although is abt 80m away from blk 6...but that better than facing the HDB right? And Stack 5 can have pool view In fact, my 1st choice is stack 16 but fully sold very fast

Cheers to all Cloverians

Clover,
Thanks for the support. We should gather some strength and positives from here instead! smile.

Blk 2 should not be that long either, just that the site is on a slope and they need to start somewhere somehow first. Depends on the weather, at most a month's difference, and if so, it will not be phased TOP as its an additional cost again to developers.

Stack 5 is equally interesting if you like pool view. The big plus here is that your facing will not be directly at HDB - you can still go naked walking in your apartment. smile. Another one is that you can watch over the facilities and can do last minute tennis, basketball, swimming etc if it is unoccupied or empty, something I can't do since I'm in stack 15.

While I was getting stack 15, tons of confirmation was on-going when I am working out the details. Stack 15 and 16 was like hot cakes. within the first few hours, all mid floors gone, in fact, I was very very early already and by then, 6-12 was gone, and by end of day, stack 15 and 16 is very limited. I was even surprised by the response even though it is not the cheapest then. Now, with all the new launches, this is indeed not over priced at all. smile.
Don't blame yourself for not getting 16, come to think of it as a blessing, 5 is slightly futher and has a buffer between the HDB blks, that means you can still bathe without drawing the curtains...and even so if you got a high floor (more than 12).

Enjoy the scene.

[CloverKaki]

Clover,
Thanks for the support. We should gather some strength and positives from here instead! smile.

Blk 2 should not be that long either, just that the site is on a slope and they need to start somewhere somehow first. Depends on the weather, at most a month's difference, and if so, it will not be phased TOP as its an additional cost again to developers.

Stack 5 is equally interesting if you like pool view. The big plus here is that your facing will not be directly at HDB - you can still go naked walking in your apartment. smile. Another one is that you can watch over the facilities and can do last minute tennis, basketball, swimming etc if it is unoccupied or empty, something I can't do since I'm in stack 15.

While I was getting stack 15, tons of confirmation was on-going when I am working out the details. Stack 15 and 16 was like hot cakes. within the first few hours, all mid floors gone, in fact, I was very very early already and by then, 6-12 was gone, and by end of day, stack 15 and 16 is very limited. I was even surprised by the response even though it is not the cheapest then. Now, with all the new launches, this is indeed not over priced at all. smile.
Don't blame yourself for not getting 16, come to think of it as a blessing, 5 is slightly futher and has a buffer between the HDB blks, that means you can still bathe without drawing the curtains...and even so if you got a high floor (more than 12).

Enjoy the scene.

Mine at stack 14. First view on the Fri before official launch. Went with a cheque on Saturday morning at 9:30am. The unit I am interested is gone. Finally settle one floor lower.
Great for the updates. Would be good if anyone of you visit the site and snap pictures on the progress. It will be become a loving memory in times to come.

[Cloverian-ToBe]

Going down with my parents later on to "most likely" book a unit at 05 or 09 unit.
Hope to be able to share the joy with the cloverians soon.

[i luv clover]

Yes..yes...we cloverians should be united and get together and leave those ppl that wanna say other things to go somewhere else....cheers

I hope blk 2 will not take long...miss out on blk 6....hence got a unit on stack 5...any comments on stack 5. From what i see on the model, blk 2 & 6 are position in a way that both blk will have park view as well and stack 5 although is abt 80m away from blk 6...but that better than facing the HDB right? And Stack 5 can have pool view In fact, my 1st choice is stack 16 but fully sold very fast

Cheers to all Cloverians

me too on stack 5...4 bedder..pool view, no worry on afternoon sun and still have a good view to the park, also closer proximity to the bishan north mall thru' the side gate. Good privacy too as it is quite far away from the HDB besides (from master bathroom). I would say it'll be a good chioce if you not really into direct park view. My 1st choice was stack 9 (actually signed the OTP) but changed to stack 5 next day during the 1st day launch on blk 2.

[cloverian#5]

me too on stack 5...4 bedder..pool view, no worry on afternoon sun and still have a good view to the park, also closer proximity to the bishan north mall thru' the side gate. Good privacy too as it is quite far away from the HDB besides (from master bathroom). I would say it'll be a good chioce if you not really into direct park view. My 1st choice was stack 9 (actually signed the OTP) but changed to stack 5 next day during the 1st day launch on blk 2.

Hihi,

we also on stack 5 (4 bedders) Prefer this stack because it is away from the main road and afternoon sun, also shorter walking distance to the bus stop. The toilet will kena some morning sun but i guess it is ok. Moreover, sunlight can act as disinfectant to the toilet mah http://forums.condosingapore.com/ima...ons/icon10.gif

A few of things we don't like about clover are the planter boxes, bay window and long corridors.
The planter box - we are not into gardening and we don't foresee we will have the time to do it... I think we may end up breeding mosquitoes (warning signal to NEA) if we attempt to grow plants there. Anyone has good idea how what else can we do to it?

bay windows and long and narrow corridors - also another waste of space but instead of complaining, perhaps can also gather some feedback on how to make use of the space effectively?

[cloverians]

Mine at stack 14. First view on the Fri before official launch. Went with a cheque on Saturday morning at 9:30am. The unit I am interested is gone. Finally settle one floor lower.
Great for the updates. Would be good if anyone of you visit the site and snap pictures on the progress. It will be become a loving memory in times to come.

I went for the viewing on Wed afternoon and confirmed by thursday... by then most floor are gone and limited.

Good that you went for the stack 14, we share similar view. If we happen to be on the same floor, we can even do a distance talk in our yard while doing laundry! smile.

I forgot my cam during last weekend site visit. I will try to do so if I find some time this weekend armed with my cam, and post here. Er... I have a problem though, how to post pictures here?
I will do site updates as much as I can, but I do hope fellow cloverians do as much updates as well. smile.

[OTP]

me too on stack 5...4 bedder..pool view, no worry on afternoon sun and still have a good view to the park, also closer proximity to the bishan north mall thru' the side gate. Good privacy too as it is quite far away from the HDB besides (from master bathroom). I would say it'll be a good chioce if you not really into direct park view. My 1st choice was stack 9 (actually signed the OTP) but changed to stack 5 next day during the 1st day launch on blk 2.

was there a penalty to change after signing the OTP?

[cloverian]

Going down with my parents later on to "most likely" book a unit at 05 or 09 unit.
Hope to be able to share the joy with the cloverians soon.

We wish you the very best (within budget and choice unit)and welcome to the nice hospitality of the development - starting not from physical developments, but the intangibles of the nice neighbours we are gathering here. smile.

keep us updated.

[cloverians]

Hihi,

we also on stack 5 (4 bedders) Prefer this stack because it is away from the main road and afternoon sun, also shorter walking distance to the bus stop. The toilet will kena some morning sun but i guess it is ok. Moreover, sunlight can act as disinfectant to the toilet mah http://forums.condosingapore.com/ima...ons/icon10.gif

A few of things we don't like about clover are the planter boxes, bay window and long corridors.
The planter box - we are not into gardening and we don't foresee we will have the time to do it... I think we may end up breeding mosquitoes (warning signal to NEA) if we attempt to grow plants there. Anyone has good idea how what else can we do to it?

bay windows and long and narrow corridors - also another waste of space but instead of complaining, perhaps can also gather some feedback on how to make use of the space effectively?

Seems like stack 5 is a hot stack in this forum. Where are the 13, 14,15 and 16s? All missing or never knew about this forum? smile.

Planter box has quite a few uses including,
(1)fish pond = buy a fibreglass tank with the right measurements and rear some fishes in there. Instead of looking like a hole in your balcony, it seems like a custom build pond in your condo, and moreover with a decent roof on top (unlike some planter without roof). I have not seen another development that allows us to do so - custom build pond in balcony!

(2) with some clever detailing, you can deck the planter over at a small cost (DIY possible and still look pro)- although it is "technically" illegal. I shall not say too much here but we can surely explore.

(3) planter box - plants and a eco garden. You may combine the planter with both plants and fishes. similar to point 1, except that you include plants in it and allow space for growth. This is good for family with kids that are able to touch and see plants growing in their balcony with minimal fuss as the planters are below ground.

(4) All of the above. Thats what I am going to do. Stack 15 has a pretty huge planter at balcony, so I will plant some plants, with a simple deck over and the fishes swimming underneath with some lights. Heaven, at least to me, with the breeze and views.

Hope these pointers helps.

For bay windows, it is really subjective, some like it, some don't. Put it that way, most direct use of it - a chair, resting place. During the walk with our parents, the first thing they go into the showflat, they put their backside right there and start chatting and looking at the greens - as if we had already moved in. smile.

The corridors that you mentioned, I guess were the 2 ends ones. while I do not have that in stack 15, I had a few ideas that may or may not work. My 2 cents idea = (1) convert into spice garden and start planting some ingredients for cooking, its that near to kitchen. (2) a Koi pond, a suitable place for its length and do give that "landed" property feel to the entrance. (3) may be illegal = storage space, it could covert into some storage with proper decking (not exactly sure how though), must explore.

Thats all for now, but I guess we have a few years to come out with better usage.

Smile.

[i luv clover]

Hihi,

we also on stack 5 (4 bedders) Prefer this stack because it is away from the main road and afternoon sun, also shorter walking distance to the bus stop. The toilet will kena some morning sun but i guess it is ok. Moreover, sunlight can act as disinfectant to the toilet mah http://forums.condosingapore.com/ima...ons/icon10.gif

A few of things we don't like about clover are the planter boxes, bay window and long corridors.
The planter box - we are not into gardening and we don't foresee we will have the time to do it... I think we may end up breeding mosquitoes (warning signal to NEA) if we attempt to grow plants there. Anyone has good idea how what else can we do to it?

bay windows and long and narrow corridors - also another waste of space but instead of complaining, perhaps can also gather some feedback on how to make use of the space effectively?

good choice on stack 5! opined that this is the best stack in blk 2, not facing HDB and still have limited park view.....my friend (stayed in other condo) told me that the planter can be covered using wooded planks...but must get concurrence from condo MC. Bay windows can be concealed by ID or putting cushions on top. Narror corridor a bit out of hands...can only think of shoe cabinet, mini fish pond in the planter, bicycle park....etc. A good designer should be able to advise u...don't worry....

[Elden]

Hihi vertical neighbours!

Stack 5 family here as well! We actually choose stack 5 because yeah we wanted a nearer walking distance to the marketplace and the bus stops. 4 bedder unit as well.

I like the discussion on the planter boxes also. Me and my wife are also puzzling our brains on what to do with it. We are thinking of maybe turning it into a water feature too.

Dunno if it will be electrical intensive though. Since it looks like it will be quite big.

Another thing we are having a bit of a headache on is where to put the dining table. The one we saw in the showroom was a round one. But ours is oblong! And we are wondering if it will jut out if we put it in the same place.

That plus what to do with that immediate area after you walk in through the passageway (with the balcony). There is this recess area before the dining area which we are wondering what we should do with.

[Elden]

i assume this picture is not the updated one, no construction on the site leh? But pretty impress withe the picture. Also notice a swimming pool on the top right of the pucture. well done!

Wah, I just realised that for stack #05, from a high enough floor that looks over the nearby HDB flats, you could look out of your bathroom and see the park too!

[Cloverian-Confirmed]

We wish you the very best (within budget and choice unit)and welcome to the nice hospitality of the development - starting not from physical developments, but the intangibles of the nice neighbours we are gathering here. smile.

keep us updated.

Went down there at 2:30pm, agent told me #02-09 was taken, only left #02-05 and #04-09. Brought my parents to tour the show flat, they all like the 4 room floorplan (I'm getting the 3 room type, similar floorplan but only do not have the master junior room).

After some thought, I finally took #02-05, last unit available in stack 5.
Now I can share the joy with you guys ... hahaha ....

[cloverians]

Hihi vertical neighbours!

Stack 5 family here as well! We actually choose stack 5 because yeah we wanted a nearer walking distance to the marketplace and the bus stops. 4 bedder unit as well.

I like the discussion on the planter boxes also. Me and my wife are also puzzling our brains on what to do with it. We are thinking of maybe turning it into a water feature too.

Dunno if it will be electrical intensive though. Since it looks like it will be quite big.

Another thing we are having a bit of a headache on is where to put the dining table. The one we saw in the showroom was a round one. But ours is oblong! And we are wondering if it will jut out if we put it in the same place.

That plus what to do with that immediate area after you walk in through the passageway (with the balcony). There is this recess area before the dining area which we are wondering what we should do with.

Don't leave me alone stack 5 neighbours! I have a 5 too, abeit 15. smile.
Yet another headcount in stack 5, that should be the fifth or sixth here? Where are my vertical neighbours! smile.

The long corridor does indeed need some thinking, we shall see if anyone here can come out with something.

[cloverians]

Went down there at 2:30pm, agent told me #02-09 was taken, only left #02-05 and #04-09. Brought my parents to tour the show flat, they all like the 4 room floorplan (I'm getting the 3 room type, similar floorplan but only do not have the master junior room).

After some thought, I finally took #02-05, last unit available in stack 5.
Now I can share the joy with you guys ... hahaha ....

Welcome to the big family. Join in for fun and laughter in this new development! smile.

From what you say, looks like stack 5 have now join in the sold out stack. That means, stack 5,13,14,15,16 and soon 9 is all OUT.

Now now, this is surely more than 50% sold?

[Cloverian #02-05]

I suggest that we put a post-fix to our nick so that we know where we stay.

Heard from the agent that parking is in the basement, there will be B2 on the other half of the project away from the 50m lap pool.

[cl0ver]

i'm in stack 13 !

My ideas on renovation

1) Entrance balcony. Very big. The planter will be converted into a small pond, where the side wall next to the main wooden door will have a fountain running down into the pond. Elsewhere, the space will have a bench and some shoe cabinets. Also park some bicycles (adults and kids!) To block the rain, will install some blinds which can clip onto the railings.

2) Entering the maindoor, the immediate corner will be a bar.

3) Balcony, will have a "papasan" lazy chair or perhaps a small breakfast table. Planter here is small, so will either put some plants or cover the whole balcony with wood panels. I heard its only illegal if you totall cover it with cement. Install blinds as well for some privacy.

4) Big yard behind kitchen. Probably grill the whole place and put some blinds.
May build a square top for food preparation / dry wet kitchen.

5) Master bedroom. For those 3 bedder corner stacks (meaning under 14 floors), you will noticed that the door is further out meaning you will have a longer walk in and a bay window next to your main closet. This can be turned into a closet itself! where you can put clothes on the bay and cover it with sliding frosted doors so you still get the light from outside!

[Cloverian #02-05]

About payment package, did you guys took up the package from Clover?

[CloverUOB]

About payment package, did you guys took up the package from Clover?

I took mine from UOB SOR + 0.7% until conversion. Flexibility in early redemption.

[cl0ver]

I prefer SIBOR to SOR because SIBOR is lower, so took HSBC SIBOR+0.7 thoughout lifetime of loan.

[cloverian#5]

I went for the viewing on Wed afternoon and confirmed by thursday... by then most floor are gone and limited.

Good that you went for the stack 14, we share similar view. If we happen to be on the same floor, we can even do a distance talk in our yard while doing laundry! smile.

I forgot my cam during last weekend site visit. I will try to do so if I find some time this weekend armed with my cam, and post here. Er... I have a problem though, how to post pictures here?
I will do site updates as much as I can, but I do hope fellow cloverians do as much updates as well. smile.

perhaps we can set up a yahoo or whatever group for clover owners. I think it might be easier to upload photos there

[Lucky Cloverian]

Seems like stack 5 is a hot stack in this forum. Where are the 13, 14,15 and 16s? All missing or never knew about this forum? smile.

Planter box has quite a few uses including,
(1)fish pond = buy a fibreglass tank with the right measurements and rear some fishes in there. Instead of looking like a hole in your balcony, it seems like a custom build pond in your condo, and moreover with a decent roof on top (unlike some planter without roof). I have not seen another development that allows us to do so - custom build pond in balcony!

(2) with some clever detailing, you can deck the planter over at a small cost (DIY possible and still look pro)- although it is "technically" illegal. I shall not say too much here but we can surely explore.

(3) planter box - plants and a eco garden. You may combine the planter with both plants and fishes. similar to point 1, except that you include plants in it and allow space for growth. This is good for family with kids that are able to touch and see plants growing in their balcony with minimal fuss as the planters are below ground.

(4) All of the above. Thats what I am going to do. Stack 15 has a pretty huge planter at balcony, so I will plant some plants, with a simple deck over and the fishes swimming underneath with some lights. Heaven, at least to me, with the breeze and views.

Hope these pointers helps.

For bay windows, it is really subjective, some like it, some don't. Put it that way, most direct use of it - a chair, resting place. During the walk with our parents, the first thing they go into the showflat, they put their backside right there and start chatting and looking at the greens - as if we had already moved in. smile.

The corridors that you mentioned, I guess were the 2 ends ones. while I do not have that in stack 15, I had a few ideas that may or may not work. My 2 cents idea = (1) convert into spice garden and start planting some ingredients for cooking, its that near to kitchen. (2) a Koi pond, a suitable place for its length and do give that "landed" property feel to the entrance. (3) may be illegal = storage space, it could covert into some storage with proper decking (not exactly sure how though), must explore.

Thats all for now, but I guess we have a few years to come out with better usage.

Smile.

Here I am ... #14..... watching like a hawk. Thanks everyone for the ideas, informantions and "Agent Koh" ...The "tao yan gui". Had a good laugh.

[cloverian #15]

perhaps we can set up a yahoo or whatever group for clover owners. I think it might be easier to upload photos there

I hope someone could do that and we all can start something, that will be great and at least we do not have another agent ghosting around. Opps, its seventh month soon. smile.

Sadly, I'm a nerd in this and can't really start something, but I sure have information, pictures to start sharing. May I call this neighbourhood bonding sessions?

[cloverian #15]

Here I am ... #14..... watching like a hawk. Thanks everyone for the ideas, informantions and "Agent Koh" ...The "tao yan gui". Had a good laugh.

Yippee. I have new found neighbours sharing the same lift core and stairs.

Have more information, sightings and ideas flowing.

[Lucky Cloverian]

Yippee. I have new found neighbours sharing the same lift core and stairs.

Have more information, sightings and ideas flowing.

Looks like friendly neighbours are around the corner. 3 years... long wait.

[Elden]

Yay! so many stack #05 friendly vertical neighbours!

I must go and change my name.