Ah Boys To Men Star Charlie Goh Spent S$120K Renovating His Childhood Home, Which He Rents From His Parents

Local actor and realtor, Charlie Goh, 37, still lives in his childhood home — a spacious three-bedroom condominium spanning 1,260 sq ft. But things around here aren't quite like how they were during his growing years, and we're not just talking about the $120K renovation to the home. 

"I didn't buy this place, this is actually my parents' place. I just renovated the whole thing and rented it from them," reveals Charlie, whose parents do not live in the apartment. Yes, this is a rental and his landlords are his parents.

"[But] of course [the rent is] at son's price lah, you know," he adds with a chuckle. 

It's just Charlie and his wife who live in the freshly overhauled home, which he shows to Kaypoh Room Tours host Hazelle Teo. 

The couple moved in from their previous HDB flat, and since Charlie had already purchased another property for investment, decided to rent the familiar space instead of buying another property. 

Charlie reconfigured the layout of the home with an interior designer to better suit his and his wife's lifestyles. Since it's an old condo unit, he spent "around S$120,000", excluding the cost of furniture, to redo the house. 

Charlie laughs as he reveals the house is done up in a Japandi style, though he did not play a part in providing his input on the design as his suggestions were "all rejected".

Still, he loves how the space turned out, showing off his roomy living room that houses a two-seater reclining sofa — a non-negotiable for him — so he can now have movie nights without straining his neck from being in a half-lying position for too long.

When it comes to decor tips, Charlie has an impressive one, with credits to his interior designer for coming up with the idea: hiding the rubbish chute in plain sight. 

At first glance, there's a sizeable painting that hangs on their kitchen wall. However, it swings open and behind it is the rubbish chute. 

"Generally for rubbish chutes, no matter how you decorate it, it's going to look bad so you might as well cover it up. My initial concern was that I was scared cockroaches would come out during fumigation 'cos I'm not on a high floor, so I wanted something to block it," explains Charlie.

Charlie home's has a spare bedroom, which currently only houses a automatic mahjong table and a few chairs. 

He explains that the room doesn't have a bed as they're planning to use the space as a kids' room should they welcome children in the future.

The second bedroom is his wife's walk-in wardrobe, with Charlie revealing that he doesn't set foot into the space unless he wants to use the massage chair in there. 

Charlie does not compromise on comfort when it comes to his master bedroom. Like their sofa, the couple's bed also comes with a reclining function, which Charlie makes good use of "every night, without fail". 

The couple has a projector which they use to project shows on the wall opposite their bed, and true to the theme of comfort and, well, spinal health, Charlie is able to get into optimal position to watch shows and videos on his phone before he rests for the night.

He swears by the bed's added function, revealing it was another non-negotiable when he moved into this space from his previous HDB flat. 

While chatting with Hazelle about his career in real estate, Charlie says: "I had a little bit of interest about property in Singapore. Since young, I have always heard about real estate, but I didn't know how it works. So in 2017, when I was still filming a long-form drama, I wanted to take the course and get the license, but because I was still filming and [in a comfortable place], I took the course and didn't go for the exams."

After wrapping up filming for the long-form drama (he was likely referring to KIN, the Channel 5 show which aired from 2018-2022), Charlie decided to give real estate a proper try, and passed his exams. 

He candidly admits that the main reason for his venture into real estate was "the income", though interest played a part as well. 

"The income of course helps to supplement the acting side. Acting will always be my passion, a hobby. So now, acting is like a holiday to me — real estate is my full-time job, and if I want to do acting I will select my jobs and take a five to ten day break," he says, adding that though he wishes to juggle both gigs, his current priority is his role as a real estate agent.

Photos: Mediacorp

You can watch the full episode of Kaypoh Room Tours on mewatch, or catch it below.