Free Space Intent

All the accolades you have read of FSI, I can personally vouch they truly deserve. At risk of repeating what others have already said many times over, I would however like to share what makes FSI really stand out in this crowded industry for me: ⭐️Frank, sensible & practical advice/approach (that does not shy away from hard truths, even before you engage them) ~ Credit must go to The Boss ie. Raymond Seow; while other IDs whom I met gave me quotations based on my indicative budget, Raymond was the only one who questioned the feasibility of doing so without having gone through the design details. ~ Other IDs expected a 10% down payment upfront based on their quotation (which can come up to tens of thousands for a big project) but FSI’s approach is to charge a design fee first & then come up with more accurate costing once the design is more or less done. Their take is that if their costing is not acceptable to you eventually, you are welcomed to take their designs/drawings and engage your own contractor to implement them. This gives you an opportunity to assess how well you can work with the ID and a ‘Get-Out-of-Jail-Free’ card (since you are not locked in by the hefty 10% down payment) if things don’t work out between you and the ID ultimately (which thankfully, I didn’t have to use). ~ While my renovation budget tended to be more design-centric, Raymond never failed to give cost-saving advice. Normally, based on what I know of others’ experience, it is the ID’s over-indulgent flights of fancy which the client must rein in so as to manage the budget. Whereas it is rare for an ID to counsel the client to save money. Being that rare ID, Raymond has demonstrated that his heart is in the right place when it comes to his clients’ interests. ⭐️Superb service (before, during & after) ~ Prior to engaging FSI, I’d met up with several IDs at my place and shared specific requirements for my renovation which included revising the layout of certain areas. Amongst the first proposals that were presented to me thereafter, FSI was the only one that faithfully “stuck to the script” – the rest presented versions that seemed ‘tone-deaf’ or perhaps, were aimed at helpfully expanding my design imagination (which did not help me since I was a client who knew exactly what I wanted). Raymond never tried to impose his design preferences on me but did his best to put himself in my shoes & see things from my perspective. ~FSI was also the only one to come down to my place at the very first meet-up with a team who went straightaway to work in doing measurements and taking photos. This commitment of resources even before there was any talk of potentially engaging them for the project, reflected their dedication to serving their clients. ~ For my project, Raymond had another ID (Carlos Sim) and a Project Manager (Perlinda Too) to assist him. Carlos was the Project’s CPU, meticulously handling the technical details on dimensions and drawings while Perlinda did the heavy lifting to make sure the ‘output’ could/would be in line with the ‘input’. Together, the 3 of them made up my ‘Dream Team’ who would bend over backwards (to the extent of even somersaulting, I reckon) in order to fulfil the many wishes I had for my renovations. They were never fazed when my plans/decisions changed mid-way through the renovation works but always tried their best to accommodate my requirements. They were also game to try out some of my ‘radical’ ideas (like my TV Console) and do things they had never done before (like my ceiling-hung kitchen cabinets). In particular, thanks to Carlos’ brilliant idea and Perlinda’s ingenious execution of works, I managed to get a virtually dust-proof display case. ~ While things did not work out as planned/intended all the time and issues did crop up along the way (which was understandable, given the incredible number of details that an ID has to juggle & my design-as-you-go changes they had to cope with), the FSI Dream Team never failed to swing into action. They were more than willing to re-work the construction in order to right any wrongs or solve problems. A test of great service is not how an ID responds to issues/problems during the renovation but their response after handover and when all payments have already been made. FSI is truly the Gold Standard as they are still going the last mile and extra mile in settling move-in teething issues for my project as well as entertaining my add-on requests. ⭐️Integrity & generosity ~ Right from the start, FSI has always been very open and transparent about their pricing strategy. An ex-ID friend once told me that Variation Orders (VO) are like ‘blood’ to an ID as it brings out the ‘Shark’ in them – that is where they would take advantage of your (by then) helpless situation (since you’ve already put your hands & feet in the water) and extract as much financial compensation as possible for the changes. If such is common in the industry, I must be lucky as I’ve had countless VOs during the construction phase but never encountered any shark at FSI. On the contrary, I even had the benefit of some charges waived for my change requests. Mine was a very extensive renovation journey involving literally gutting and re-building the insides of my 35+ year old apartment, spanning more than 1.5 years from design phase & including the Circuit Breaker hiatus. It has truly been a roller-coaster ride – fun but adrenaline-pumping with its fair share of ups & downs, twists & turns as well as thrills & spills. However, I could not be more fortunate than to have Raymond, Carlos & Perlinda as my Companions on this ride. Even though I do have some regrets on some aspects of the renovation, I can safely say I have absolutely no regrets getting FSI onboard for my project. From Raymond, I have gained wisdom (in seeing things ‘half glass full’); from Carlos, insights (into a whole new world of the renovation industry) and from Perlinda, the most useful knowledge (that Lighter Fluid is an amazing cleaning agent!). Theirs was clearly a labour of love, blood, sweat & tears to transform my apartment into what I wanted and for that, I will forever be in their debt.