Go Direct
For Your Reno.
Cut the Middleman.
Save the $30,000.

Going direct means engaging renovation contractors yourself instead of hiring an interior designer to manage them for you. You brief the trades, choose materials and approve pricing directly. You keep the design and management fee and the 20 to 40% markup an ID would otherwise add, typically $20,000 to $40,000 on a 4-room HDB.

Yes. Homeowners can engage renovation contractors directly without an ID. For HDB flats the contractor must be HDB-registered to carry out permit works and submit the permit. Home Expo Asia is a direct contractor with 12 in-house trades, tiling, carpentry, kitchen, bathroom, flooring, plumbing, electrical and more, so you deal with one team, not a middleman.

Going direct typically saves $20,000 to $40,000 on a full 4-room HDB renovation. An ID route often runs around $55,000 once you add the design and management fee ($8,000 to $15,000), a 20 to 40% contractor markup, variation orders and 9% GST. Going direct removes those. Home Expo Asia quotes at 0% GST with no VO charges.

Usually yes. You avoid the ID design and management fee and the markup IDs add on contractor work. The trade-off is that you brief contractors and make material and layout decisions yourself. For homeowners who already know what they want, the savings of $20,000 to $40,000 are significant.

Yes. Permits are about the works, not who manages the project. Hacking walls, replacing floor finishes and plumbing or electrical changes all require an HDB renovation permit, and only an HDB-registered contractor can submit it. Painting, wallpapering and installing furniture don’t. Going direct doesn’t remove permit requirements, it removes the ID markup.

An interior designer provides design direction and manages contractors on your behalf, charging a fee plus a markup on the works. A direct contractor carries out the actual trade works, tiling, carpentry, plumbing and so on. Going direct means you take on the coordination and decisions yourself and pay the contractor without the ID layer in between.

It is reliable if you use an established, registered team. You take on coordination an ID would otherwise handle, so reduce risk by getting an itemised quote up front, confirming the contractor is HDB-registered, and agreeing scope in writing. Home Expo Asia provides itemised quotes, in-house trades and a full inspection before handover.

Going direct suits homeowners who know the look they want, are comfortable choosing materials and want to save $20,000 to $40,000. An interior designer suits people who want a hands-off, design-first project with one person managing everything end to end and are comfortable paying for that service.