When I arrived in Singapore, I lived with the uncle of the family for a little less than a year. Of course we were not at our home 100% , but it was costing us $500 a month for two, a real gift for Singapore. My bank account had never been so well stocked . But after a while , it was time to find our own roof. We first looked for a place to rent . Renting apartments is expensive over $2000 per month , not much service and monthly parking passes from $100 to pay for.
For a cheaper price, you can get a room in one of his HDB (public room) or a condominium for about $500 to $1500 depending on the location and quality of the indoor and outdoor environment. So we stopped our choice of a condominium in a corner of the most look like country side named Dairy Farm. It offers a good quality of life closer to the bungalow accommodation in resort hotels you can found in Bali for example. Swimming pool, sauna , security guard, small gym and a function room available for rental . All this has a price in Singapore is a lucrative market at astronomical cost. One of the world’s most expensive real estate markets with Monaco and Hong Kong. $ 2900 per month was the price demanded by the agent, but even before collecting keys must also be given 2 months security deposit plus first month’s rent . So if you do not have at least $ 6,000 to provide the agent signing the contract you can forget the option of renting apartment.
Every day, we get a ton of glossy color advertising telling us a new condominium project with all names to dream as Ecosanctuary, Hllview, Olympia, Ocean Side, and so on . There are more chic advertising condo for sale as fast food and shampoo television. Basically nothing special a tiny condominium made of concrete with a flower box .
It was nice to live in this condominium, but this type of rental housing when you do not have a job with subsidized housing that can seriously hamper your budget. The strategy that I had with my wife was recommended to rent during the two years of the lease and find an option to purchase an apartment or condominium after it.
For buying property in Singapore the choice is thin and the bill is salty. The choice is even more limited if you ‘re not Singaporean .
The « HDB » Singapore
The HDB apartments are flats built and maintained by the Housing Development Board (HDB ). Over 80% of Singaporeans live in HDB estates . The HDB towns are generally small autonomous districts with clinics, schools, supermarkets , popular restaurants , as well as sports and recreational facilities. To buy such an apartment , you must be a citizen of Singapore and include another Singapore citizen or permanent resident of Singapore to form a family nucleus . For more information, visit the official website: www.hdb.gov.sg/
The BTO
One option often given to young Singaporean couple married less than 30 years. This is the apartment blocks built and financed by the government for candidates who meet the eligibility requirements.
The Resale Flat or resale of public apartment
Singaporeans can sell public property after having lived for a minimum of 5 years. They are often quite normal, old, young, or in need of renovation. To buy an apartment in the resale market, you must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident . Include at least one occupant who is a permanent resident or citizen of Singapore.
Resale of Balance Flat ou les appartements saisis
‘ Reposess Flat’ apartments are seized by the government for non-payment of BTO which have not been selected or that the suitors have not met all the conditions of purchase. The government is preparing a list and sometimes a year it makes the sale of apartments on the site. Those interested can apply by choosing one of the city available. After they receive a response from the draw between the chosen people eligible territory.
Condomium
In Singapore, » Condo » or » Condominium » are terms used for a subdivision that includes a collection of apartments with exclusive features like security guards , swimming pools and a gym. The Singapore Condominiums come in the form of studio units, penthouses, or individual homes/multi-unit pieces.
The landed property
Properties with a parcel of land in Singapore are worth much more than condominiums, as they require a certificate of ownership of the land . This is a very valuable commodity in the country. Many homeowners looking to purchase real estate assets to provide long-term economic downturn. Forget everything on this option, if you ‘re not Singaporean and do not have a few million or more to put on the table.
Restrictions for foreign buyers in Singapore
While a native of Singapore resident can buy a home quite easily, there are restrictions in place for foreign investors . A foreigner who wants to buy a housing property must meet a strict set of rules that have been established by the approval of the Field Operations Unit .
Foreigners (including individuals , foreign companies and companies ) are restricted from purchasing :
▪ Vacancies
▪ Residential property with land, bungalows, terraced houses , semi-detached
▪ Residential property in a building of less than 6 levels
▪ A local business owned by HDB
▪ A HDB flat bought directly from the Government
▪ The resale HDB flat where HDB has consented to the sale
▪ Executive Condominium purchased under the Program Act for the Executive Condominium Housing 1996
The portrait of the real estate in Singapore
Here is my experience.
Knowing his facts we decided to look to buy a » resale flat » or a public apartment relisted after at least five years of occupation. Our research was a bit complicated. The residential market is mainly in the hands of real estate agent. Some big company like st property , Era displays their offers on sites like propertyguru.com . The demand is so great that many of the apartments are very expensive sale and we are shown the dark or just pictures of buildings and accessor cage. We actually tried it.
hdb_resale
We visited a few offers to give us an idea of what was available . The apartments were very common in ordinary neighborhoods , but the bill was high. Agents always said if you make an offer with 30,000 VOC (cost over valuation/cost over evaluation) In fact, there has never improved. It’s just because the market is saturated and that everyone is trying to make a fortune. $ 30,000 in cash more than the average of 400 000 for a three bedroom lying. It’s a good package to lie on the table. We do not count the renovations because the majority of its apartments deserved a shock treatment, which amounted to say with 20% of money for the mortgage, plus $30,000 overvaluation excluding renovations we were already over 100,000.
A child is born and thank you, my lord, it’s Singaporean
We forgot the project we did not have enough cash to cover this crazy adventure more than being a foreigner I do not pension funds CPF . Thereafter we had our beautiful little girl named Li -Ann. You’ve already read it, I hope the summary to have a child in Singapore. Otherwise visited this link . With the arrival of a new baby girl in the family so we added a Singaporean new options available to us as applying for a ‘ reposses flat’ . On my salary account for minimum and maximum assets of the family, but not for the rest . We made a choice in the list of areas where the offer seems more numerous , the most reasonable prices and where there will be old apartments because they are larger and the neighborhood environment is more dynamic and airy.
The response we received was the 20th pick of 29. we are given the paper list and you can get more information on the website . There are pictures if it is an existing flat, a floor plan and a map of the surrounding neighborhood. For the rest, you have to go out there and go see what the area has air never set foot there . There are sometimes, if we’re lucky pictures, sparse and not very revealing , and certainly not scripted to sell us a 5 star hotel. The news is scarce, we have to wait until the last minute for the final rendezvous. Finally, we should look to choose. We toured the list included 3 or 4 choices, which seemed good . At this time, we were at the beginning of February .
You should see the building of HDB and the Ministry of public housing in Singapore. This is not the most quaint building in the city . It is modern, there are models of current developments , popular restaurants like Subway , local cafes, numerical tables that display the waiting numbers and classic furnishings and tasteful . Here it runs public housing is a good way to keep the economy in favor of the state and its people in most situations everyone is happy and removes good benefits of such a system. Helping the world housing, make money, provide funding coated owners can resell for a profit after several years.
Finally, we said our first choice . The head tells us that unfortunately it we are not eligible because we are an Indian and other family and the ratio of race for this building is already outdated .
« What? We are not Indians , my wife and family are Chinese. I do not know anyone here . » Unfortunately, this is how it works . I can not help it . Well, OK we’ll take that one. OK take this is going to pay the deposit on the second floor . We’ll be back with the bill and they tell us that everything is fine and we should have the keys within three months. It gives us a number where you can call a responsible HDB that with an appointment will open up the apartment to see what it air .
It receives the keys to our new apartment
Some weeks later, the appointment arrives. The place is OK everything is like new what a relief . Buy without seeing is not always successful. We just got twenty minutes. We took some pictures and he must leave. That’s all we can do at the moment. May we start to get nervous . It’s coming , they call they tell us that it’s coming . The next day the site claims we appointment. It arises. We will pay the fewer our first deposit. A very reasonable amount , because my wife was able to use 18 miles of CPF are pension funds . It gives us a huge door key leather business style . Here they really do not sleep with gas public housing. We are given a leave of mortgage pepper until July to help us we develop. Following my article will be the renovation and relocation I hope this little article will help you understand the specific situation of the real estate in Singapore
I have lived in France and London. Many of the private housings there are in such poor state of conditions that in no way they are comparable to a HDB.
Furthermore the quality of HDB are solid, cemented and you don’t hear neighbours. But in Europe even North America, in many of the housing, the walls are of wood and you can hear neighbours clearly.
im totally agree, overall is not bad…the HDB sytem help citizen to own a place to stay at ok price if this program was not exist many people can afford to buy anything. including me !!