How much of the budget went to hidden defects?

About RM38k of the final RM196k — almost entirely wiring (RM14k), waterproofing redo (RM9k), kitchen sub-floor repairs (RM8k), and aircon piping replacement (RM7k). All of it was invisible at the original viewing. For reference, BINA+'s Standard package (from RM135k) assumes none of these surprises — a sub-sale property like this one would price closer to their Full Rebuild tier.

Was the price worth it?

On a per-square-foot basis, yes — total all-in cost (purchase + renovation) was still 18% below comparable new launches in the same neighbourhood, with twice the land area and a mature street.

Who was the contractor?

BINA+ Design & Build, based in Shah Alam. We picked them because their carpentry is in-house (Setia Alam is 12 minutes from their workshop), they gave us an itemised quote on the second site visit, and the same project lead (Najiha) ran the job from sketch to handover. Their published renovation packages are at /packages/.

The Setia Alam Sub-Sale That Cost RM180k to Bring Back to Life

This is an illustrative case study of a Setia Alam sub-sale renovation, built from real Klang Valley quote data. The property details and homeowner are composites — the numbers, scope decisions, and contractor evaluation reflect actual quotes and projects in the area. Contractor: BINA+ Design & Build, Shah Alam. Stock photography throughout; not the actual property.

The property

12-year-old double-storey terrace
2,200 sqft built-up
Original developer finishes throughout
Asking price: RM920k. Negotiated to RM875k after inspection findings.

Empty Malaysian terrace house interior, original developer tiles, late afternoon light — Illustration — typical sub-sale interior at inspection stage. Not the actual property. Numbers in this article are drawn from real Klang Valley quotes; property details are composites. Photo — Unsplash

Why we picked BINA+ for this one

We got three quotes. One came in at RM142k (suspiciously low — no allowance for the wiring). One at RM215k (a Bangsar studio with a Bangsar markup). BINA+ came in at RM178k itemised, with a written RM20k contingency line for the things you can’t see until you open the walls. They were the only ones who insisted on a second site visit before quoting.

Three things tipped it for us:

Their carpentry workshop is in Section 17 Shah Alam — 12 minutes from the unit. The cabinets were built by people we could go visit.
Najiha (their project lead) was on every site visit. Not a salesperson. Not a rotating supervisor. The same WhatsApp thread for 18 weeks.
The contract was 14 pages with the variation-order template appended. The cheapest quote was three pages.

What the inspection found

Consumer unit: original 15A+15A, well below modern load
All three bathrooms: original waterproofing, signs of seepage in master en-suite
Kitchen sub-floor: localised swelling under original cabinets (humidity ingress)
Aircon piping: copper degraded, two units already underperforming
Roof: tiles intact, gutter slope poor, minor ponding visible
Wiring: aluminium runs in some sockets (replaced under renovation)

The renovation scope

Full rewire including new TPN consumer unit
All three bathrooms gutted and re-waterproofed
Kitchen demolition and rebuild with full overhead + floor cabinets (BINA+ in-house workshop)
New flooring throughout (large-format porcelain)
Repaint inside and out
Built-in TV console + master walk-in wardrobe
New aircon piping throughout, three new units
Plaster ceiling refresh in all wet-area zones

The numbers

Line item	Cost
Wet works (demolition, plumbing, wiring, plaster)	RM62,000
Flooring (large-format porcelain, full house)	RM28,000
Kitchen (carpentry + appliances rough-in)	RM34,000
Bathrooms (3 × full redo)	RM21,000
Built-in carpentry (TV + wardrobe)	RM18,000
Painting (interior + exterior)	RM9,000
Aircon (4 units + piping)	RM12,000
Contingency consumed	RM12,000
Total	RM196,000 (under final budget of RM200k)

Note: BINA+‘s original quote was RM178k. Defect-driven scope creep added RM18k. The remaining RM2k of the contingency line came back to us at handover.

Three things we’d do differently

Pay for a more thorough inspection. RM800 inspection missed the wiring issues. A RM2,500 PE-stamped inspection would have caught them and given us more leverage in negotiation.
Lock the design before key collection. We started design after VP, which delayed wet works by 3 weeks. BINA+ flagged this on day one; we didn’t listen.
Order long-lead-time items earlier. Custom carpentry and stone counters added 2 weeks because we approved samples too late — our fault, not theirs.

Final timeline

SPA signed: Day 0
Inspection: Day 14
Renegotiated price: Day 21
VP / key handover: Day 88
Demolition start: Day 95
Handover from contractor: Day 219 (about 18 weeks — BINA+ quoted 18–20 weeks for a Full Rebuild)
Move-in: Day 225

A faster project was possible — but only if we’d compressed the design lock-in.

Would we use them again?

Yes. For the next house, without re-tendering. Three quotes is a useful exercise once. After you’ve watched a contractor handle a sub-sale’s worth of surprises without losing the plot, you don’t need to do it again.