You’re on this page. Congratulations! You’re already leveling up in the game of life.
Having your own house or a place you can go home to is a sign of maturity — adulting, as millennials call it — especially for those who have decided to further their relationships and buy a flat together, or singles who already have day jobs while trying to hold their lives together and make sense of why mothers insist they find a partner and have children, like life becomes easier after that.
One need not elaborate on the fact that change is, indeed, very scary, especially when it affects your whole lifetime. A lot of people prefer more thorough decision-making that could take months, or years even.
With that said, here are 10 tips on what to take note of in purchasing a flat from the HDB:
First, decide on which type of HDB flat — new or resale — you want to get.
A new HDB flat, as per its name, means that you are availing for a totally new flat where no one has ever lived in. It is sold at a subsidized price, which means it’s lesser than what it’s ought to be, and will most probably be situated in non-mature estates – or estates that have been built recently. When purchasing a new HDB flat, you can just apply directly to HDB and there are also sale launches held periodically.
However, in a resale flat, the flat is older and most of them already have less than the 99-year lease.that are given to the new flats. But, the price can also be negotiated between you and the seller, and unlike new flats, these resale flats are located anywhere and can also be purchased from the open market at any time.
Now that you have a clue as to what type of HDB flat you’re getting, let’s proceed to the second tip.
Check if you, and if applicable your partner, meet the eligibility conditions for availing an HDB flat.
Getting HDB flats has a lot of eligibility conditions that one must meet so as to avail the said HDB flats. There are different eligibility conditions for new and resale flats. They have different schemes that one can avail, different set age requirement, new HDB flats require a set income ceiling while resale flats don’t have one, but there are also other things you have to take note of.
Thus, it is really important that one must know which flat they should get along with the eligibility conditions, which are explained in-depth in the HDB official website
Make sure you have a stable income and that you know the limitations of your budget well.
Let’s face it, not all of us are ‘crazy rich’, and admitting to the stereotype of Asians keeping a tight hold of their money, each of us must learn how to be thrifty. Life is very unpredictable and it is impossible for one to know if he would still have a job the following week. Thus, to prepare for these unpredictable dark times in advance, it is important for future homeowners to budget their money wisely and properly.
Know where to turn to when you’re in a financially difficult situation.
Granted, you look at your savings account and realize in despair that, no, it’s not enough. But don’t fret. There are alternatives provided by the HDB so as to give chances to such people. You can get Housing Loans from banks regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) or you can also get the loans from HDB, provided that you meet more of the set eligibility conditions.
Beware of loan sharks.
Most buyers admit that paying a certain amount every month is just plain impossible, which is why a lot of them resort to house loans, as mentioned by the previous tip. But, there is also another possibility that people would resort to borrowing from other dishonest organizations that cannot be trusted with money at all instead of asking for housing loans from banks or HDB.
There is also another downside to buying resale flats and it is closely related to this topic. Suppose the previous owner had an unpaid debt to a loan shark and had not given any heads-up yet as to where he transferred. This would result on the loanshark banging on your doors, seeking for reimbursements. Loansharks are already scary enough as they are, no need to entangle yourself with one.
Make a checklist of the requirements and more things that you would need in applying for an HDB flat.
Personally, it is very helpful to have a checklist of all the things one must do or bring or buy, etc., especially when the situation is a very important one. Nothing can go wrong with a checklist, and everything can go wrong without. It is already a strain for your brain to remember what you ate in the previous meals, let alone remember how high the set income ceiling range of a new HDB flat is. Prepare your checklists weeks before and remember to double-check, triple-check, and make sure everything in your checklist is checked.
Attend orientations, seminars, and gather more information about what HDB offers on the official website.
As what I’ve written earlier, change is a very scary thing and one thing that helps prepare buyers from such anxiety is seeing the event for what it truly is. The Housing and Development Board of Singapore actually offers orientations and seminars on the flats, grants, and loans that can be availed by different people.
Carefully consider your location.
Growing up Asian means that your family also has a fair share of superstitious beliefs which are incredibly funny if you think about it. But, if your someone who also would take these beliefs into consideration, then make sure that you consider your flat’s location that it should always face the sun and avoid the west!
Of course, location is indeed incredibly important, especially when you’re single and alone in that flat. It would be best to take into consideration the surrounding buildings and commercial shops, and also the neighborhood and transportation options. Make sure that your flat is in a safe neighborhood with lesser crime rates and has easier access to transportation, shops, and hospitals or police stations that you can go to so that you would feel safe and secure.
Remember that buying a flat is very troublesome to call off.
There are times when we have a wide-scale dream but fail to recognize the small details or long-term problems of it. At first, buying a flat may look and sound appealing and ‘reachable’ in terms of budget and eligibility conditions, but make sure that once you’ve made a contract with HDB regarding the flat and schemes you are availing, this decision has already been scrutinized in every angle possible.
Of course, if these things are inevitable, there are also ways on how to terminate the contract earlier than the agreed upon date, like submitting a cancellation of flat, which would also mean forfeiting 5% of the flat purchase price.
Know what you’re getting into.
We consider getting a house as something that is cool and a sign of maturity and adolescence because it means that you finally have the opportunity to stand up on both feet on your own. But, sometimes, a lot of us are blinded by these dreams and goals of getting your own place that we fail to see the small details or consider things on a long-term scale. Therefore, it is a must for every buyer to know how and what the buying of an HDB entails.
