Seeking Expertise Advise Urgently

[hippoheyhey 0]

Dear forum readers,

I am urgently seeking advise on a number of questions and would greatly appreciate your expert opinons.

First of all, a bit of background. I am a first time hdb flat buyer, not familiar at all with hdb housing policies. I sincerly seek your kind understanding if my questions sound noobish.

I am singaporean, my FW is PR and we have been together for more than 2 years. We have not gone to ROM. She is living with me in my parent's home but my family does not welcome her. It is impossible to mend the differences due to a very traditional thinking old school parents. We urgently need to move out with or without their blessings. We have been working for a number of years, are financial independent and debt free but due to the recession, I dare not say that our ricebowls are safe especially so since I am in banking, my FW is in manaufacturing and retrenchment looms on the horizon for both of us in 2009.

We do not consider renting a room due to the high cost of rent. We also do not consider resale flats as we do not have enough cash and do not think it is worthwhile to buy an old flat which might deappreciate in value? Please correct me if I am wrong.

In our first and current ballot exercise, we do not have a good queue number and the flats that we have shortlisted are all taken up. However, there is only one flat left that we are interested in, and might have a good chance of booking it.

We have been to the site of the flat once and are very disappointed with a few things. I understand it's logical that the flats left in BE come usually with very poor external factors. I seek sound advise from forum readers here on these concerns.

1) The flat is on a very low floor, very close to a school, all the living room and bedroom windows all open up facing the school, and costs half a million! In your expert opinon, is this a worthwhile investment and will the value deappreciate come 5 years down the road? Especially since all the noise and bells from the school in early hours of morning and all through the day will seriously put off anyone and half a million is a very huge investment decision for us.

2) HDB launched a BTO in december that we are also very interested in and we are aware that there is no gurantee that we will get a good queue number and most importantly, it takes 4-5 years to completion. We cannot afford to wait for so long. What will anyone do in my shoes?

Sorry for the long post but I really need a second opinon and sound advise from kind souls in this forum. Thank you in advance.

[asianms 0]

hi Hippoheyhey. Sorry to hear about your problems. I'm just saying what's on my mind, please don't take any offence. I have never bought a unit direct from HDB, because I don't want to pay $ for a unit that I am not totally comfortable with.

1) The flat is on a very low floor, very close to a school, all the living room and bedroom windows all open up facing the school, and costs half a million! - HDB wld have factored this into the pricing. The half million u pay is for better finishing etc. To some, having a school nearby is an asset if you consider sending your child there someday. It is not necc the case that there will be a lot of noise from the school all through the day. Schools are also sensitive to the needs of residents. If there is noise, it'll be in the day, when you are likely to be at work. The school term is for 40 weeks a year, 5 days a week. You get 12 weeks of peace :-)

2) Unless it is a prime location, or very well-connected by transport, I believe it would be difficult to recover your half-a-million $ in 5 years

3) It is not true that you need a lot of cash to buy resale, if you look carefully, you are patient, and you have a good agent working with you, you can find decent units selling below valuation, close to, or at valuation. These units will certainly be cheaper than the one you are looking at.

4) Buying resale does not tie you down for 5 years, unless you get a government subsidy (I'm not sure which applies, cos I've never used any of them)

My experience - I bought a 12-year old 3-room flat at Bedok Reservoir in 1995; I sold it in 1997 for a profit of almost $90K. Middle of last year, I paid almost half a million dollars for a 22-year old 4-room flat - a) it is in a good location, b) I expect its value to appreciate, c) its size is almost comparable to a new 5-room, d) the structural quality is better (walls etc are solid concrete) This amount of $ could have paid for an EA in an outer lying area.

In your shoes, I'd buy a resale unit that I can afford now. If you say you cannot wait 4-5 years, then what are your alternatives? Rent for 4-5 years first? But you also said you don't want to rent.

All the best

[applefreak 1]

my bedroom windows open out to the window and the only days i get peace is sundays

saturdays are not spared due to the ECAs

if you value peace and quiet, you wouldn't want to take the flat

also, half a million for a low floor flat is not really worth it

if i were you, i'd rather go for a resale flat

some of those that just hit 5 years are pretty good value

[donut88 1]

Dear forum readers,

I am urgently seeking advise on a number of questions and would greatly appreciate your expert opinons.

First of all, a bit of background. I am a first time hdb flat buyer, not familiar at all with hdb housing policies. I sincerly seek your kind understanding if my questions sound noobish.

I am singaporean, my FW is PR and we have been together for more than 2 years. We have not gone to ROM. She is living with me in my parent's home but my family does not welcome her. It is impossible to mend the differences due to a very traditional thinking old school parents. We urgently need to move out with or without their blessings. We have been working for a number of years, are financial independent and debt free but due to the recession, I dare not say that our ricebowls are safe especially so since I am in banking, my FW is in manaufacturing and retrenchment looms on the horizon for both of us in 2009.

We do not consider renting a room due to the high cost of rent. We also do not consider resale flats as we do not have enough cash and do not think it is worthwhile to buy an old flat which might deappreciate in value? Please correct me if I am wrong.

In our first and current ballot exercise, we do not have a good queue number and the flats that we have shortlisted are all taken up. However, there is only one flat left that we are interested in, and might have a good chance of booking it.

We have been to the site of the flat once and are very disappointed with a few things. I understand it's logical that the flats left in BE come usually with very poor external factors. I seek sound advise from forum readers here on these concerns.

1) The flat is on a very low floor, very close to a school, all the living room and bedroom windows all open up facing the school, and costs half a million! In your expert opinon, is this a worthwhile investment and will the value deappreciate come 5 years down the road? Especially since all the noise and bells from the school in early hours of morning and all through the day will seriously put off anyone and half a million is a very huge investment decision for us.

2) HDB launched a BTO in december that we are also very interested in and we are aware that there is no gurantee that we will get a good queue number and most importantly, it takes 4-5 years to completion. We cannot afford to wait for so long. What will anyone do in my shoes?

Sorry for the long post but I really need a second opinon and sound advise from kind souls in this forum. Thank you in advance.

My advise for you is to wait.... especially when retrenchments are hanging around in both of your jobs...

why take the risks of having financial problems in paying yr house loans?

Just wait and see.... at least for 2009. Then 2010, see what happens......

[Starscream 0]

My 2 cents.

The Cash Over Value (COV) component required by sellers have softened already and is likely to reduce further in 2009. Do re-look at the resale market if you haven't considered fully all its other merits other than thinking "worthwhile to buy an old flat which might deappreciate in value?"

About the prospected unit. If you didn't like the house for what it is now, I'm think you are not going to "grow" to like it any more in future. That said, I am uncertain why one would splurge up to half a million quids in such uncertain times..

Edited January 4, 2009 by Starscream

[hippoheyhey 0]

hi, a couple more questions

1) Do/ Will resale prices drop below what was initially paid for the flat? Will their prices ever deppreciate?

2) If not, why?

3) A 4 room built since 1990 resale flat, 10 mins away from mrt that costs about 400k in Tampines. Will I recover my investment shall I eventually sell it in a couple of years?

4) What hidden costs are there in resale flats? agent fees and?

4) If I do book a flat and take up gov subsidies, I cannot sell it for the next 5 years. In the meantime, if I like a BTO flat that is due for completion in 4-5 years, I cannot apply for that right?

5) If so, can my parents apply for it, and if they do get it, transfer the deed to me?

6) With the recession, is demand for rental rooms still high in sg? Generally, how much is the rent for a room within 10 mins from Tampines mrt now?

Thanks in advance.

Edited January 5, 2009 by hippoheyhey