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#215 Things I Wished I Knew Before Purchasing a Home in Singapore
Friday 11 June 2021


I bought my first home on the 6th of June 2021 and in the span of 5 days, I had to quickly learn and absorb as much as I could. The purchase was very sudden (it was the first time I officially sat down with my agent and the first/only showroom I viewed). I didn't do any homework prior, so that's a major fail on my part. Don't be like me - do your homework and view a few showrooms before making a decision. That said, I have zero regrets on my decision thus far and too many options can confuse me at times, ha-ha. 

[edit] Also, disclaimer that my agent did his due diligence to present to me the market direction etc. so this spur of the moment purchase is just because of who I am by nature and not because I was coerced or pressured into buying the place, LOL. 

For context, I'm a first time home buyer, purchasing a new condo launch (so this won't cover the process for resale/BTO - which I believe differs slightly). I am also by no means an expert in this field. These are just bits and pieces of information I've accumulated through some research but mostly through the incessant hounding of my housing agent, legal team and bank representative. 

Yellow = key terms/documents to note; Orange = additional costs to consider beyond just the price of the home.
 

THINGS TO KNOW AT THE START 

Everyone knows the basics right, but I'm going to cover it anyway. 

5% cash downpayment + 20% cash/CPF downpayment = total 25% downpayment required (when purchasing a new launch). 

First 5%: this has to be paid before the developer grants you the option to purchase (OTP) - a document you'll need for housing bank loans (you'll exercise the OTP at the law firm thereafter).
Subsequent 20%: 15% has to be paid ~8 weeks after you receive (not exercise) the OTP + first 5% of your progressive payment

Earliest Milestones
• You should receive your sales and purchase (S&P) agreement from the developer ~2weeks after your OTP is granted.
• You'll need to sign the S&P ~3weeks after, once your legal team has reviewed the document. During this time is also when you'll need to pay your legal fees (amount depends on the firm you go with and the type of housing you purchase). At this stage, you can consider issuing a cheque for the 15% downpayment, but backdate it (for another 3 weeks) to avoid multiple trips to the law firm. 
• However, it is usually advised that you go down to the law firm within a week (instead of 3 weeks) to sign the S&P if you're using CPF to finance the 15% downpayment as there is lead time required for the CPF to be disbursed.
• It's best to get a law firm that falls under both panels (CPF + the bank you're taking a loan from). Otherwise, there may be additional handling fees incurred from both CPF and the bank. You should negotiate for a flat fee that covers all of these if the law firm isn't on either or any of the panels. 
• Your buyer stamp duty is due ~2weeks after you've signed the S&P - this can be calculated by your agent/do it yourself by googling
 

Bank Loans
• Figure out which bank you want to take your housing loan from.
• There'll be a lot of new acronyms/terms to familiarise yourself with, don't be shy to ask for the bank representative to speak to you first to address all your questions (I had a lot to ask).
Things to askpartial repayment arrangement, conversion options, fire insurance waiver (only for condos), valuation fee
Fixed vs Floating: for new launches, you can only do a floating rate until the development reaches TOP. Thereafter, you can consider switching to a fixed rate if the rates are low at the time of TOP. Check with your bank for the duration of the fixed rate. 
• Once you've applied for the loan, the bank will review the application and approve it before you can receive your letter of offer, which you need to share with your lawyer. 
• The maximum loan amount is determined by your monthly gross salary (+ a bunch of other factors) so you'll need to have documentation like your last drawn salary and CPF contribution on standby
• There is also something called mortgage stamp duty to take note of (different from buyer stamp duty), this is commonly pegged with your legal fees, but it's always best to clarify.
 

Administrative Payment Details
CPF: the first lump sum deduction (for the downpayment) should be handled by your lawyer. You'll manage all subsequent deductions that goes towards your monthly mortgage. Your agent should guide you on this. I believe that there's a link for you to login to the CPF website and determine the monthly amount you'll like to deduct from your CPF contributions to finance your mortgage. 
Progressive Payment (for new launches): depending on when you make your purchase, you'll need to check which portions of the progressive payment has already been called for - the amount that has been called for will be due for payment already. Why this matters - the stage of the progressive payment determines how much your monthly mortgage is, and will continually increase until the certificate of statutory completion (CSC) - usually a year after the development TOPs. 
Monthly Mortgage: the bank should issue you a monthly email informing you of the total amount due (this fluctuates depending on the market interest rate, as long as you're still on the floating package). Depending on how much of your CPF will be used to finance your monthly mortgage, the outstanding amount (if any) will be paid off in cash. I believe that a separate account will be set up by the bank for the payment scheduling. You'll have to deposit/transfer money into that account to manage the payment.
 

Renovation
This is a tad premature considering I still have 18 months before TOP. From what I've gathered, you can start speaking to IDs 3 months before TOP. It's good to start thinking about the kind of work you want to get done (as I'm sure most people naturally would) because the extent of work will help you estimate your renovation budget (and hence help you start mapping out a savings roadmap). 

I might do a separate post on renovation, but a tip that a lot of friends shared is to live in the space first before determining if certain features are a necessity. Personally, this will be to see if an automated drying rack needs to be installed in the balcony (cause I have no yard and I'm not sure if everything can be solved by the dryer), if I want 3M window films to block out heat/UV rays, and the types of kitchenware I'll need.  

Things you might want to consider ahead of timerough layout of the space, electrical points/cable management, the kind of furniture you want (including light fixtures) and overall storage solutions (especially if you're going to live in a shoebox like myself).


TO END OFF 

I hope this has been helpful for at least one person to go through. Please know that not everything will be 100% accurate. 
You might want to speak to other people as well to get a different perspective on things. 

If you just so happen to be looking for an agent, you can consider working with mine. He did a really good job explaining the current climate and logic behind purchasing and housing prices in SG etc. I appreciated the fact that he let me come to my own decision and didn't pressure me in any way when making a purchasing decision. He's been super helpful with my millions of questions and I trust (and hope) that he'll continue to be helpful even after he collects his commission, LOL. Details below for whoever is interested. 

Name: Darren Goh : 8223 5798 

XOXO, T.

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written at 11:32 0 comments
#214 The Past 3 Years
Thursday 3 September 2020


So it's twelve past midnight and for some reason, I decided to visit my old blog (also because I'm waiting for my stamina to recharge in this mobile game that I'm playing). Not sure if it's the sense of nostalgia, or sheer boredom, but I felt inspired to pen an entry. I'll keep it short, or at least try to - I'm really nagging a lot these days (perhaps it's the age, perhaps it's the occupational hazard).

More than three years have passed since my last entry. By then, I had already started a new job for over half a year, but of course much has changed since then as well. I'm still at that job - in fact I got promoted twice *pats myself on the back* Definitely a goal I set out for myself when I first joined, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't moments when I considered leaving. Guess I'm more resilient than I give myself credit for. 

I've gained a considerable amount of weight (I don't weigh myself anymore so I can't be exact with the figures) - not that I'm overjoyed with the weight gain but I guess my physique will always be a work-in-progress . I've completed braces, with a jaw realignment surgery to boot, and got myself a rhinoplasty all the way from Seoul, Korea. I'd say I'm done with my cosmetic surgery, but who knows, I might get liposuction in the future. 

Though right now, my main focus is saving up for a place of my own once I turn 35. In the past couple of months, I've watched numerous property listing YouTube videos, consumed countless interior design content and visited PropertyGuru.com whenever I was bored. I've also started becoming more serious with my finances, looking at investment opportunities and savings plans (nothing too complex) - a little late I know, but better late than never.

All in all, 2020 has been a bad year for the world - COVID19 definitely packed a punch. Fortunately, I'm protected from the brunt of its impact for now. But the pandemic has caused life to slow down for me a lot. While blogging is no longer in style (and I don't expect anyone to be reading this), another key reason I stopped churning out entries was because I was too embroiled with keeping up with life itself. Looking back has inspired me to start documenting life's moments again, in a way that's less ephemeral than Instagram stories (though I know the highlights function exists). Looking to dust off the old camera to create blog posts (maybe even vlogs), depending on my mood. Not committing to anything, but that's just where my mind space is at for now.

Signing off to turn my attention back to my mobile game now, till the next one.

XOXO, T.

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written at 00:28 0 comments
#213 Bali Vlog
Sunday 11 June 2017

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written at 12:46 0 comments