Sunday, January 10, 2010
Epiphany 9 January 2010
“We three kings of Orient are; Bearing gifts; we traverse afar. Field and fountain, Moor and mountain, Following yonder star. O, star of wonder, star of night. Star with royal beauty bright; Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light.”
The magi are led by a bright star to Bethlehem and found Jesus. With God’s guidance, we are led by an invisible star to Tai Wai and found our new home. Like the magi, we traversed afar and over a long period (about 2 years) - from Yuen Long to Tsingyi, from Quarry Bay to Clear Water Bay and from Tai Po to Tai Wai. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Wai
We are thankful for the birth of Jesus who brings peace, joy and hope to all mankind. We are thankful for a new year’s gift from God – a house which we both look forward to settling down. We are thankful to God for guiding our decision – we were close to buying one at Clear Water Bay but somehow we felt a little uneasy.
On 4 January, we signed an agreement to buy a ground floor unit of a village house 村屋in Tai Wai. When we first stepped in to view the place, our hope was dimmed by the dark living and dining room. But when we moved to the bedroom, we were delighted by the skylight and a small backyard. Both Gibson and I liked the place very much – it has almost all that we desire – reasonably size (700 sq ft), convenient location (5-10 minute walk to Tai Wai KCR), nice and quiet surrounding and bonus space for gardening and barbeque. There are 3 bedrooms and we plan to knock down one to bring the light into the living and dining area. It is a huge financial investment and we’ve to start saving hard again.
The existing owners are lovely people – Mr. Lee & family have lived there for 12 years and have planted beautiful bouganvilla, jackfruit tree and ‘yellow skin’ fruit tree at the backyard. On the day when we signed the agreement, we could see and feel how reluctant and that ‘can’t bear to part’ feeling from Mr. and Mrs. Lee. We are thankful to both of them for letting us have the place…. We will take good care and love the place well!!
We will take over the house only in May. Give us some time to settle down and we look forward to welcoming visitors to our humble abode.
A little background of village house
A typical village house has 3 stories, each of 700 sq foot. Each storey is usually owned separately, access to 2nd & 3rd floor is via a staircase by the side of the house. Space utilization rate is high (about 90% - 95%) compared to high rise apartment (about 70% - 80%) however the latter has much greater potential for capital appreciation. There are around 30,000 village houses in Hong Kong, with the greatest concentration in Yuen Long and Tai Po.
The standardized size is a product of the origin of the village house. Village houses were brought into being by the New Territories Small House Policy, which was introduced in 1972. The law gave any male heir over the age of 18 who could prove he was descended from one of Hong Kong's original villages in 1898 the right to build a small house on a plot of land, either owned by the village itself or on leased government land. Once an indigenous villager gets permission to build his house, he is normally free to sell or rent it to anyone.
The magi are led by a bright star to Bethlehem and found Jesus. With God’s guidance, we are led by an invisible star to Tai Wai and found our new home. Like the magi, we traversed afar and over a long period (about 2 years) - from Yuen Long to Tsingyi, from Quarry Bay to Clear Water Bay and from Tai Po to Tai Wai. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Wai
We are thankful for the birth of Jesus who brings peace, joy and hope to all mankind. We are thankful for a new year’s gift from God – a house which we both look forward to settling down. We are thankful to God for guiding our decision – we were close to buying one at Clear Water Bay but somehow we felt a little uneasy.
On 4 January, we signed an agreement to buy a ground floor unit of a village house 村屋in Tai Wai. When we first stepped in to view the place, our hope was dimmed by the dark living and dining room. But when we moved to the bedroom, we were delighted by the skylight and a small backyard. Both Gibson and I liked the place very much – it has almost all that we desire – reasonably size (700 sq ft), convenient location (5-10 minute walk to Tai Wai KCR), nice and quiet surrounding and bonus space for gardening and barbeque. There are 3 bedrooms and we plan to knock down one to bring the light into the living and dining area. It is a huge financial investment and we’ve to start saving hard again.
The existing owners are lovely people – Mr. Lee & family have lived there for 12 years and have planted beautiful bouganvilla, jackfruit tree and ‘yellow skin’ fruit tree at the backyard. On the day when we signed the agreement, we could see and feel how reluctant and that ‘can’t bear to part’ feeling from Mr. and Mrs. Lee. We are thankful to both of them for letting us have the place…. We will take good care and love the place well!!
We will take over the house only in May. Give us some time to settle down and we look forward to welcoming visitors to our humble abode.
A little background of village house
A typical village house has 3 stories, each of 700 sq foot. Each storey is usually owned separately, access to 2nd & 3rd floor is via a staircase by the side of the house. Space utilization rate is high (about 90% - 95%) compared to high rise apartment (about 70% - 80%) however the latter has much greater potential for capital appreciation. There are around 30,000 village houses in Hong Kong, with the greatest concentration in Yuen Long and Tai Po.
The standardized size is a product of the origin of the village house. Village houses were brought into being by the New Territories Small House Policy, which was introduced in 1972. The law gave any male heir over the age of 18 who could prove he was descended from one of Hong Kong's original villages in 1898 the right to build a small house on a plot of land, either owned by the village itself or on leased government land. Once an indigenous villager gets permission to build his house, he is normally free to sell or rent it to anyone.
