May 11, 2021
Stackedhomes
From the long wait for Permanent Resident (PR) status, to the process of house hunting, finding an HDB flat can be a challenge.
But this week we spoke to A, who recently managed to find a new home with a foreign (now PR) wife. Here’s the process of shortlisting properties and wide-scale house-hunting, and how they eventually ended up with a new flat at the famed SkyTerrace@Dawson :
An urgent need for their own home
A and his wife had lived with their parents a significant length of time, and his wife was eager to find a place of their own:
Restrictions on size for BTO
New ECs only accessible via JSS
Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR)
1. Citizenship
Singles can buy an HDB flat under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme (SSCS) or Joint Singles Scheme (JSS). The latter allows up to four unrelated singles to co-own a flat.
However, both schemes require you to be a Singapore citizen.
2. Age requirement
To buy an HDB flat as a single, you have to be at least 35 years old (the other usual restrictions, such as ethnic quotas and being a Singaporean or Permanent Resident, also apply).
If you’re unmarried or divorced, and have legal custody of a child, you and your child can form a family nucleus. This allows you to buy flats under the public scheme from the age of 21, subject to the usual eligibility requirements.
TOP:
3Q 2025
One-North Eden is a much anticipated launch for investors and homeowners alike as it marks the first residential development at one-north in 14 years, with the last launch being The Rochester Residences, which TOP-ed in 2011.
The one-north (yes, the small letters are deliberate) precinct spans 200-hectares and is meant to be an icon of Singapore’s knowledge economy.
Let me explain – it was first conceptualised in 1991 before masterplanned in 2001 by the renowned Zaha Hadid Architects, whose other Singapore projects include the iconic D’Leedon and The Interlace. JTC Corporation is the developer of this mammoth business park and envisions this precinct as a community of its own.
3. Property agent commission fees
Your property agent has done the job of marketing and closing the deal on your behalf. Naturally, they’ll have to be paid for their services. Typically, the market rate for an agent would set you back one per cent to two per cent of the transaction price.
4. Legal fees
By appointing HDB to act for you in the legal process, this will ensure that your legal fees remain extremely affordable. For instance, if you’re looking to sell your four-room HDB flat for $500,000, HDB’s Legal Fees Enquiry Facility computed that your total legal fees payable will add up to $290.
It has been an intriguing first few months of 2021 so far.
From the introduction of the massive Normanton Park , to the uniquely positioned The Reef at King’s Dock – you could say that home buyers have had quite a good spread to choose from so far (adding on to the already flourishing list of new launches).
Now just a week after, Irwell Hill Residences makes its introduction.
What I find really interesting here is the juxtaposition between the two recent launches.
Midtown Modern had a focus on bringing a liveability perspective to the dense and crowded Bugis precinct, with its efficient unit layouts and blanket of greenery. And by and large, I would say they have succeeded on that front.