Don’t Find IDs Like This

So here’s another true story for y’all.

This homeowner wanted to find an ID, guess where he go to find?

Carousell.

Watch our tiktok channel if you lazy to read.

This article was published by Mothership on 17th Dec 2025, pretty recent i’d say.

The owner found this guy - lots of good reviews, 10 years in the market and signs a deal for $40k.

You guys already know where this story is going.

Work started in March and suddenly the ID says, “Need to top up for kitchen cabinet, insufficient this, insufficient that.”

The $40k becomes $80k. And the homeowner still paid (no alarm bell meh?).

9 months later, ID disappeared. Reno, Half-done.

Why This Happens?

In reno, there’s a saying “羊毛出在羊身上” or “you get what you pay for”.

When you go Carousell hunting, its only usually for one reason: price.

But if you think about it, this intention also attracts a certain profile of “IDs”.

As a general rule of thumb, always always prioritise safety over cheap prices. Only if you are sure that the ID is safe, then you consider other factors such as design etc.

This is our baseline guiding principle also when we filter IDs & contractors.

How These IDs Cheat?

These shady fellas will start work a bit, for example hacking, then disappear.

The reason for starting, and not just disappearing entirely is - once they’ve started, it becomes a dispute, not a contract violation.

Which means legally, your recourse is much harder.

If you don’t believe us, go ask your lawyer friends, or just google.

TLDR

So end of the day, it’s not us scaring you for fun.

Please open your eyes wide when choosing an ID, because these patterns are real and they repeat.

If you are looking to shortlist reliable IDs/contractors for your reno, feel free to enquire here, or check out our blog for other important tips!!