Approved!

Yesterday at about 11.40am, the phone rang.

It was the bank officer, and she broke the news to us: your bank loan is approved!

 

To complete the process, we needed to meet up with her to sign the loan offer,

and a stack of other papers. The timing was set, and in the afternoon, we went

to the Yishun branch of Hong Leong Finance grp. An hour or so, and we were done.

 

She explained about the terms and conditions, the interest rate, the tenure, etc., etc.

And when all that she needed to explain has been explained, she asked us if we have

questions or clarifications, or comments, and when there is none, we completed the

signing of the forms, which they will complete, and she presented us with a gift,

which is only valid for 2 months (Oct, Nov). It was a small, lightweight DVD player,

something which we were planning to buy for quite sometime now. And also,

they covered $800 in one of the fees; both of these as a token of their gratitude

for us selecting them and their services. But, hey, isn’t God really a good god?

Having spared us from spending on a DVD player, we also got a small bonus

from the amount paid off by the finance group. What can I say? Praise God!

 

Right after coming out of the bank, I informed our agent, that we already have

Signed and completed the Bank Loan Offer, and I have his copy. Earlier in the day,

we’ve arranged for a 2^nd visit to the house, so we can make the final downpayment

with the owner. We listed once again the required documents, checked through the list,

and found that some we don’t have copies. So I went out quickly to have them copied,

and also passed by the quick chow stall, grabbed some quick-food-on-stick, and went back.

We then had our dinner together.

 

Afterwards, we made preparations for the night’s business. After consolidating the papers,

and the amount for the balance downpayment, we set forth. And since one particular bus

from Yishun interchange goes straight to that new place, we were there in about 10 mins.

The bus stop is just across the road, so we crossed over, and walked past the MSCP, and voila!

More troublesome it would be to take the lift, since it is just on the 2^nd storey, so we took to

the stairs, which is just right at the doorstep of the house.

 

They were waiting, so we greeted them, went inside, and completed the transactions, while

having a short tour, 2^nd and 3^rd look, and chats with the owner in between. Few things I learned:

her husband passed away early this year, who, on his way to work, had a stroke, fell down,

and never woke up from his coma. I can tell that she was teary-eyed telling the story.

And may also be the reason why she is moving out, in order to begin anew. And, she is also

trading in the upright piano, because she is getting a new grand piano for her daughter.

I am guessing that the young lady is already in her higher-level of piano playing, so a

grand piano and nothing less suits her skills. Lastly, as we have “joked” during the first meeting,

that what she wanted to throw away, she can just give to us, we were told that anything that

she is not bringing to their new house in Yishun (so we changed places!), she would leave

inside the house. That’s a fair arrangement, since if she throw away outside, then we’d have

to bring it inside (again). She has saved us a lot of trouble.

 

I felt a bit sad, as I understood that she is really giving up a house that they, as a family,

have selected to live in. It was a dream that was shattered, a chapter in their life that was

cut short by the sudden passing away of the husband, after 20 years of happy marriage.

 

May God guide her and her daughter in their new life in Yishun, as they give up their rights

and privileges, and dreams; and as they leave their memories in Sembawang, may they

have many, joyous events that will lift them up from their misery and fill their lives once again

with joy an laughter, for them to remember, for always.