as the title suggest, i just want to share some of my personal experience when i was looking for a flat... i believed i have mentioned in several of my posts that i have been looking for a flat for the passed 1 year + & i am still looking for one =( i have probably viewed over 50units in the west area but so far we still have no luck in finding our "dream" home... i believed i am being picky with my choice but why shouldnt you exercise some stringency when you have the chance.... so today i want to share some of my experience with you guys about my flat hunting journey....
1. BTO
ok, i believed like most young couples, we all wanted to try BTO first cause it's much cheaper than resales flats in the market....
benefits: definitely the price.... most BTO cost about $100,000 cheaper than the resale flats in the same area, that's a good deal especially if you managed to get a unit in the matured estates..... downpayment is only 5% of the unit price, followed by another 5% during key collection compared to straight 10% deposit for a resales, so most people can pay off that amount easily with their CPF.... & i believed most people will opt for HDB loan so that they can borrow up to 90% of the unit price compared to 80% loan from the bank (meaning you have to pay straight 20% deposit)....
cons: the down side is that you have to compensate the cheap cost with long waiting time (approximately 4 years) & some risks in your flats since you only imagine how the final products will be like..... my parents gotten their BTO last year & there was lots of defects in the units.... i believed you guys would have read many posts about the units defects so i think this is something that you cant escape & probably have to accept them or rectify them engaging your own contractors.... another not so attractive things about BTO is the location... most of the time the project will be built in the "not so convenient" place, eg: quite a distance from MRT... of cause everywhere in SG has the potential to develop into a bustling place but personally i am quite particular about convenience so i am quite skeptical about choosing those locations..... another thing is luck cause you need to ballot for your unit.... i guess we have been quite unlucky since our ballot numbers were quite out of the range, so either we were left with low floors units to choose from or no units at all.... we tried for like 4 times but still no luck so i completely gave up on the whole BTO idea....
conclusion: i would say BTO is mainly about the balance between cost & location.... of cause time too, so if you are not urgent for a home then i guess is a good deal....
2. resale
since we have no luck with our BTO balloting, for the passed year, my focus has been on resale.... since both hubby & i work in the west so we preferred to stay in the west...
benefits: technically you have the whole island of flats to choose from unless you have a particular area in mind, so you will have more choices compared to a specific estate to ballot for in BTO.... since it's an open market, there is no need to ballot but more of first come first serve.... you can choose the area that you like, specific blocks, unit levels & unit facing, basically you have the power to choose.... of cause there is a much shorter waiting time, a normal resale handover completion takes about 4 months... that's a much shorter time compared to 4 years in BTO
cons: the price for resale will generally be much higher than BTO so cost is definitely a major factor.... you have to pay at least 10% deposit & not to mention COV (cash over value) price.... currently the resale market is still picking up so COV price has dropped compared to last time but i think a safe bet will be to prepare about $10,000 cash for COV if you looking for a unit in good location.....
conclusion: if you can afford, i think resale is better than BTO cause you can choose what you want... if you are lucky, the resale unit is in good condition then you can save quite abit on renovation too
3. DBSS
honestly DBSS has never been inside my choice until recently because my jiejie gotten a DBSS couple of years ago & we didnt really like the layout.... so DBSS has this atas look compared to normal HDB, is somewhat an in between HDB & condo..... the main problem we have with the layout is the excessive number of balconies in the flat.... i think is nice to have a balcony in the living room but not when you have it in every single room!!!! as a result, the rooms are much smaller & you hardly have space to put furniture.... another thing is the tiny kitchen, we could barely fit 2 person inside... this is quite a problem for us since we tend to cook quite often..... nonetheless, DBSS still has its merits
benefits: the design is definitely more appealing than normal HDB... since it's still under HDB so the price is much more reasonable compared to condo but of cause you wont have fancy amenities...
cons: the cost.... although both DBSS & BTO are under HDB projects, their prices are very different... comparing in general, for the same unit size, DBSS cost at least $200,000 more than BTO... the payment method is also different from normal flats... you have to pay 5% option fee in CASH!!! for both BTO & resale, you can pay the down payment using CPF but DBSS you must pay hard CASH!!!! the subsequent deposit will vary between 5 - 15% depending on the type of loan you getting.... if you total household income is more than $8000, you must opt for bank loan, meaning you have to fork out 20% deposit yourself since bank loan is up to 80% of the unit price.... if you imagine a $500,000 unit, 20% will be $100,000!!! of cause the remaining 15% (excluding 5% option fee in CASH), you can pay with CPF but that's still $75,000!!! we certainly dont have so much $ inside our CPF, at least for now......
let me share my recent experience about DBSS... just couple of weeks ago, i stumble upon trivelis advertisement on propertyguru... it states that there are two 4-room units available at $635,000 onwards.... the price is of cause insanely high for a 4-room flat but since we have no luck with resale so we decided to just go down & take a look..... the agent first showed us the 3room show flat & i was quite surprise by its small size.... cause a normal 3room flat size is about 70sqm but trivelis 3 room size is 60sqm including 3sqm aircon ledge!!! next, she showed us the 4-room unit... another shock, the size of the living room is even smaller than a normal 3-room flat living room, of cause same goes for the bedrooms = tiny.... the floor size is 80sqm with 6sqm balcony & 3sqm aircon ledge, that's a usable area of 70sqm compared to 90sqm in normal 4-room flat.... we were really shocked by the sizes of the units & of cause recently there were posts online about residents complaining the horrible construction of trivelis (1,2)..... despite all these down sides, the estate still has its merits.... the location of the project is good, pretty near clementi mrt, within 10min walk.... the area is windy cause the plot of land is on elevated ground so you can get some good breeze if you staying on high floors.... similarly if you stay on high floors, the view is not too bad since the older blocks are maximum 13floors... at first we were also considering to get the tiny 4-room then sell it off after 5years, treat it as an investment... but after all the big commotion, we will have to give trivelis a miss....
conclusion: DBSS still has its merits but price is definitely a major cost.... especially with the upcoming complains about the sloppy work from developers (not only trivelis), i guess is best to think twice
that has been quite a long & wordy post but i hope it's informative for those of you who are searching for a house at the moment.... set your priority before deciding on which kinds of flats you should go for =)
Showing posts with label resale flats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resale flats. Show all posts
Thursday, 14 May 2015
Thursday, 20 March 2014
some views on buying resale flats
i have been searching online for potential HDB flats for quite awhile but only commenced on physically checking out the units recently due to some stupid law issue which didnt apply to us but we were mislead by the bloody XXX staff who know shit about anything.... argh!!! anyway... long story to short, currently i am actively searching for resale flats & want to share with you guys some of the tips/important points that i experienced
1. punctuality... this is very important esp for the property agent... i mean 5-10min late is acceptable but dont freaking MIA... thats super rude especially when i could be your potential customer.... i must really share this incident which happened 2wks ago... i arranged an appt with the property agent to view the flat at 3.15pm... i arrived earlier & messaged the agent but no reply after 10min so i called him & then he told me that he isnt around... & make it worst... flat owner also not around... i was like OMFG!!! the owner supposed to have open house from 3-4pm & you are not around!??!?! was so damn pissed so i just ignore the bloody agent & go for next appt.... for this kind of people, no matter how nice & wonderful the flat is, dont bother doing business with them.... you wont know when they will play u out
2. grants.... for people who purchase the first HDB flat, the couples are entitled to $40k grant if the flat is near parents or $30k if not near parents.... the income ceiling is $10k.... i think this amount of $ is important especially for young couples as the $ can be used to pay for the flat 10% down payment
3. locations.... personally i think convenience is very important cause traveling from one place to another takes quite a long time even for a small place like SG.... of cause staying near town area will be nice but those flats prices are insanely expensive!!! so i think the next best alternative will be to stay near mrt/bus interchange.... currently, my parents' flat is 3 bus stops from mrt.... the bus journey is about 5min but waiting time could be 30min.... so even just 1 bus stop will waste a lot of time... so i have decided must buy flat that is within walking distant from mrt....
4. flat age..... one problem with resale flat is the age issue.... normally flats near mrt will tend to be more than 10yrs.... so convenience may have to compensate with old flats..... the facade aside, the main problem with old flats is the piping.... due to age, majority of the piping will rust, resulting in "dirty" water..... my mama actually suggest us to purchase a resale flat which is less than 10yrs such that if we stay in that flat for say another 20yrs, when we sell off the flat, it is still 30yrs = not super old flat.... but of cause, if you purchase an old flat, the chance of having en-bloc will be much higher....
5. view & directions.... these points are very subjective & based on personal preference.... normally you wont want to get a flat which faced south cause the afternoon sun is really grilling hot..... my mama also suggest us to avoid staying near schools, temples, church & mosques cause those are more eerie places so it may bring bad luck... but this is more of a superstitious view.....
6. prices & loans.... this is very important because buying a flat will spend ALOT of $ & one must be sure they can afford the flat before making the purchase.... currently, the resale flats prices have gone down quite abit but the star buy will still cost quite a fair bit.... so it is time for bargaining skill to come in when negotiating the price... personally i feel that if the family can get $500k loan... then try to get a flat within/around that budget... dont try to keng & appeal for more loan to buy a $700k flat... or borrow $ to pay for the difference.... cause you will end up paying like hell for the loan.... dont try to be too ambitious especially for the first flat....
7. renovation..... it will be great if the resale flat comes with nice renovation so that you can save an amount on that... however, there are pros & cons for renovated flats.... pro is of cause you can save $ on renovation.... but if you dont like the renovation, you will have to spend extra $ to tear down the place & rebuilt it... & the renovation will become a con....
8. floor level..... of cause in general higher flats are preferred, not only because of the view & wind.... staying at low floor makes me feel lack of privacy as passer by can peep into your flat.... i think above 8th floor will be acceptably nice....
9. corridor vs corner unit..... normally people will prefer corner unit due to privacy.... but nowadays due to the building structures, many flats are located along the corridor...... one superstitious point by mama is that avoid staying in flat which face a flight of stairs that goes down... cause it will mean $ flowing out = lose $....
10. neighbours.... this is very hard to control.... i find it very irritating when i pass by a corridor with people hanging out their laundry... i mean one or two pieces of rags of cause is fine... but i have seen people like opening a laundry store along the corridor... that's ridiculous... same goes for plants... the corridor isnt your own garden lea... dont need to open a green house outside your flat lo.... those are really inconsiderate people cause it will block off majority of the walkway which is common property... selfish shit!!! so if during house viewing... your potential neighbours are selfish shit... try to avoid the house... cause next time will sure get into a quarrel.... UNLESS you intend to go down to hdb/town council to complain about the selfish neighbours everyday....
above are some of the points that i feel are important or useful to take note when purchasing a flat... of cause those are just personal views.... but just want to share some insights that could potentially benefit others =)
1. punctuality... this is very important esp for the property agent... i mean 5-10min late is acceptable but dont freaking MIA... thats super rude especially when i could be your potential customer.... i must really share this incident which happened 2wks ago... i arranged an appt with the property agent to view the flat at 3.15pm... i arrived earlier & messaged the agent but no reply after 10min so i called him & then he told me that he isnt around... & make it worst... flat owner also not around... i was like OMFG!!! the owner supposed to have open house from 3-4pm & you are not around!??!?! was so damn pissed so i just ignore the bloody agent & go for next appt.... for this kind of people, no matter how nice & wonderful the flat is, dont bother doing business with them.... you wont know when they will play u out
2. grants.... for people who purchase the first HDB flat, the couples are entitled to $40k grant if the flat is near parents or $30k if not near parents.... the income ceiling is $10k.... i think this amount of $ is important especially for young couples as the $ can be used to pay for the flat 10% down payment
3. locations.... personally i think convenience is very important cause traveling from one place to another takes quite a long time even for a small place like SG.... of cause staying near town area will be nice but those flats prices are insanely expensive!!! so i think the next best alternative will be to stay near mrt/bus interchange.... currently, my parents' flat is 3 bus stops from mrt.... the bus journey is about 5min but waiting time could be 30min.... so even just 1 bus stop will waste a lot of time... so i have decided must buy flat that is within walking distant from mrt....
4. flat age..... one problem with resale flat is the age issue.... normally flats near mrt will tend to be more than 10yrs.... so convenience may have to compensate with old flats..... the facade aside, the main problem with old flats is the piping.... due to age, majority of the piping will rust, resulting in "dirty" water..... my mama actually suggest us to purchase a resale flat which is less than 10yrs such that if we stay in that flat for say another 20yrs, when we sell off the flat, it is still 30yrs = not super old flat.... but of cause, if you purchase an old flat, the chance of having en-bloc will be much higher....
5. view & directions.... these points are very subjective & based on personal preference.... normally you wont want to get a flat which faced south cause the afternoon sun is really grilling hot..... my mama also suggest us to avoid staying near schools, temples, church & mosques cause those are more eerie places so it may bring bad luck... but this is more of a superstitious view.....
6. prices & loans.... this is very important because buying a flat will spend ALOT of $ & one must be sure they can afford the flat before making the purchase.... currently, the resale flats prices have gone down quite abit but the star buy will still cost quite a fair bit.... so it is time for bargaining skill to come in when negotiating the price... personally i feel that if the family can get $500k loan... then try to get a flat within/around that budget... dont try to keng & appeal for more loan to buy a $700k flat... or borrow $ to pay for the difference.... cause you will end up paying like hell for the loan.... dont try to be too ambitious especially for the first flat....
7. renovation..... it will be great if the resale flat comes with nice renovation so that you can save an amount on that... however, there are pros & cons for renovated flats.... pro is of cause you can save $ on renovation.... but if you dont like the renovation, you will have to spend extra $ to tear down the place & rebuilt it... & the renovation will become a con....
8. floor level..... of cause in general higher flats are preferred, not only because of the view & wind.... staying at low floor makes me feel lack of privacy as passer by can peep into your flat.... i think above 8th floor will be acceptably nice....
9. corridor vs corner unit..... normally people will prefer corner unit due to privacy.... but nowadays due to the building structures, many flats are located along the corridor...... one superstitious point by mama is that avoid staying in flat which face a flight of stairs that goes down... cause it will mean $ flowing out = lose $....
10. neighbours.... this is very hard to control.... i find it very irritating when i pass by a corridor with people hanging out their laundry... i mean one or two pieces of rags of cause is fine... but i have seen people like opening a laundry store along the corridor... that's ridiculous... same goes for plants... the corridor isnt your own garden lea... dont need to open a green house outside your flat lo.... those are really inconsiderate people cause it will block off majority of the walkway which is common property... selfish shit!!! so if during house viewing... your potential neighbours are selfish shit... try to avoid the house... cause next time will sure get into a quarrel.... UNLESS you intend to go down to hdb/town council to complain about the selfish neighbours everyday....
above are some of the points that i feel are important or useful to take note when purchasing a flat... of cause those are just personal views.... but just want to share some insights that could potentially benefit others =)
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