Buying a condominium

lonelygal

New Member
May I know the procedure of buying a condominium (alone)? How much $ is needed and how to go abt buying it? I'm looking at either 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom. Pls advice. Thanx.
 


If i'm not wrong, you'll need to pay upfront cash of 5%, with the remaining 15% either cash or via CFP. These are excluding the administrative charges which needs to be in cash too.

You may also check out URA history transacted price as a guide at http://www.ura.gov.sg/realEstateWeb/realEstate/pageflow/transaction/TransactionController.jpf. You'll still need to get a professional to evaluate the actual valuation of the property as market has been changing these days.

Check out https://www.ura.gov.sg/lad/HBG/ for more info on the buying.
 
shopping is half the fun. why don't you go visit some show flats and talk to the agents there? with the economy the way it is, they will welcome you with open arms.

anyway, it is really very simple right. you should get a go-ahead from the bank (a letter that says yes we will lend you this much) and have at least 150k, half cash half cpf.
 
Hello,

With regards to your purchase of a condominium, there are several pointers you need to ponder about.

But firstly, if you gng to buy a condo, you have to set on which location you intend to buy. It plays a big part in buying and investing in properties.

As for financial matters, usually, if you are going to buy from open market through agents, once u like a unit, u will have to pay 1% of the selling price of the property. This is known as Offer to Purchase. If the owner agrees to sell to you, you will have estimated 14-21 days to get a bank loan of 80% (banks hardly gives 90% nowadays) of the selling price. the other 20% (inclusive of the payment of 1% uprfront), will be decided by you if you wanna pay 15%/5%(CPF/Cash), 10%/10%(CPF/Cash) or vice versa. Once loan is approved, there will be a lawyer firm to handle the procedures till end.

Do take note that as an advise, find out from several banks with regards to the valuation of the property u r interested in and the bank mortgage loan rates. If you buy it higher than the valuation, you have to top it up with more cash.

As for new projects on sale now, usually they will require you to pay 10%-20% of the selling price and then no further payment till TOP

the whole process will take around 2-3 months to complete.

Hope it helps
 
Hi Brokenhearted/Jas, Im actually a part time agent and if u gals need any advice, PM me.Thanks and godbless
happy.gif
 
Hi Jasmine Isabelle Lin , just read your post...I thought this thread is dead. Have u found what u are looking for already? I have not done anything yet. I have not visited any showrooms or new launches yet.

Cleo Ann: May I know how do you know abt the new launches of the new condos? How do you receive news on that?
 
Broken Hearted : I Just Happen To Browse Around Searching For Some Ideas To Start My Planning.. =)

Haven Found Anything Coz FH Looking At Some Other Properties.
 
check out ST's classifieds/developers' websites, visit show flats, put down your contact detail in the guest book (yes you will get spam texts), and talk to the agents.

it is a buyer's market out there so it can't be that hard. how do i say this nicely? get off your lazy ass if you are serious about buying. don't be lazy and don't be a baby.
 
Hi,
I am kind of stuck in deciding to get a FH and an old 99 condo.
The FH will be at a more off-road location while the 99 is at a very convenient area.
Seem that the FH in Singapore is not as vaulable as it projected. Many old FH prices had dropped alot..
 
cola, ask urself a few questions before u commit. Firstly is it for ur own use or investment purpose? When u said it an old 99LH condo how many yrs remaining r we talking abt? Do u need to finance when u buy? How long do u intend to keep this ppty?

For what I knw some banks will reject ppty with less than 60 years lease! (probably need to countcheck again in terms of the remaining lease) This will affect u later when u want to sell & narrow down ur potential buyers if they have to pay full in order to buy ur property!

There r pros & cons in buying 99LH & FH it all depends on individual's needs! But no matter what think very carefully before you commit!

Good Luck
 
yup..
you also need to know how much loan can u get from banks before u commit. understand that bank now are very strict on this .
Best to get a mortgage consultant to advise u on ur credit status and at the same time get the best package.

cheerss..
 
Hi Sufian,

Please correct me if Im wrong.

Definitely 5% must be made in CASH.

The balance 15% can be either 10% CPF/ 10% Cash or fully 15% CPF?

Am I right?
 
Don't forget to include stamp duty costs in your calculations.. it'll make up a substantial amount that has to be paid.
 
Hi,
Thank you all for your advice. I have choosen my new place, its a resale 99 yr condo. Yes, 5% must be paid in cash. U can use CPF to pay for the stamp duty
=)
 
there are plenty of 99yr condo in spore, next time u want to sell, may not fetch a good price, somemore have to compete with HDB flat for rental mkt
 
Hi powder,

You mention in some threads that you have been looking at several properties.

Has any properties caught your attention?
Any area are you targeting at?
Do you think this buying frenzy right now is sustainable?
 
haha no i'm not a pty agent, but i seem to know more than half the agents i meet... very irritating indeed, some of them dun do their homework, not even basic work... i just met some associate director for a viewing last week where - the owner wasnt reminded and Forgot the apptment, the director didn't know how big the place is, he didn't know how many rooms there are and where it's facing, nor the unit number. i didn't even get to step into the condo... it ended with me telling him the exact details of the unit. next day i flip the papers i see his face big big 'associate director' selling 3-5million dollar properties...

i met another agent who looks fresh out of school, scared of owner, scared to give my offer price which he thought was too low despite it being the owner askng for 30% abv market... so i think my offer never reached the owner. that agent was 20mins late and i ended chatting with owner instead... i pondered on calling the owner myself but decided against that pty.

so to those of u buying, or selling, pls size-up your agent. that last thing u want when u've narrowed down, is to have an idiot doing the negotiations...
 
hi Albee,

my longterm plan is 2 properties in D9 & 10, and 1 in D15. location remains of utmost impt so when i do share on my thoughts, i normally only refer to D9,10,11 & abit of 3...

Has any properties caught your attention?
- yes, several in D9 & 10, but it really depends on the profile and your Intentions of the purchase... if u're thinking Investment, then my direct answer is - forget it. the rental returns are poor (altho slightly better than interest rate) so it doesn't warrant pty investment at the moment. just flip the papers and u see the same properties repeated over 7-10 ads... the bulk of sellers were previously those holding TOP pty, but becos of the hype - those who have bought high are trying their luck at selling.

factually, i see the pties that can sell are normally Below mkt, else are new and unbuilt, then again it's mostly mid-tier and Huge developments that are abit more mass and catered to hdb-upgraders. else it's the old ones at cheap prices... obviously in spore, there will be a few kiasu ones who buy becos they think everyone else is, and there's also those who buy becos their frens did so. goto a car showroom and u see this behaviour... pple buying in groups, in the security that at most 'die together'... very sporean mentality. more common would be to see 1 illegally parked car... and more pple will illegal-park becos it becomes a 'die together' mentality.

end part 1
 
Any area are you targeting at?
D9 & D10 - 99yr or old FH properties which are at least 3-4 bedders. i think BIG is the way to go, not small... there are enough studios to go around, and each development have alot more small units than big ones so to me it's like buying a Corolla in a car resale mkt - your choice is endless so sooner or later, someone will have to give... which i believe it's likely the seller.

D3 WAS ok before april, but now it's ridiculous. few months back, u can sell your redhill 5rm at 600k, and buy Metropolitan at 8-900k, which can be bridged... now it's 1.2mil - how to bridge? and pple who bought these places are typically Not the usual savvy players, thus u can see the greed as they try to make ridiculous returns on a place which has little potential for the future. next to it is another joke - Ascentia Sky at 1200psf... no doubt the cost isn't low to begin with, but u gonna share the MRT with 100,000 pple living behind u. u can get D9 with that price, and walk to somerset MRT where MANY pple get out, and little pple get In... meaning u dun have to go thru that silly morning squeeze.

another thing to take note is the accessibility via cars... i'm predicting that 1 particular area in D3 is likely to have HUGE traffic problems. try waking up every morning to rush-hour traffic.

end part 2
 
Do you think this buying frenzy right now is sustainable?
- YES becos sporeans have herd mentality... and pple will Jio pple when they buy, pple will Jio pple to showrooms and buy together. pple will encourage... by herd i mean the general population, which are the movers... but if u look at the high networth individuals, u hardly see them taking out their chequebooks, and if they do, it's becos that 6mil condo is going for 4.5mil now, not becos their frens jio them nor everyone is buying nor becos they afraid to lose out. (there's a reason why high networth individuals ARE high networth, if the whole population is high networth, then u should join the fray and Buy).

also note that just abt every other idiot tells u that this placethat place has enbloc potential... ask the agent WHY, n u hear very low-level answers which u can figure out yourself. Dun let others cash in on a potential at Your expense... if they believe in the potential so strongly, then they should Hold, not Sell. and if they selling u the Potential, chances are - u're left with very little margin to make becos u already paid for the potential.. BUT your downside is high IF they dun enbloc the place, u're paying REAL-MONEY for HOPE, which is stupid. it's a 200k lottery ticket to strike 300k (making only 100k). u're better off buying 4D....
As for specific pty to buy, it's abit tough to divulge much, i'd rather let everyone rush for the common pties, then swop in for the less popular But with alot of potential.

end
 
Hi Powder,

I find it real difficulty to find an property with great potential.
I'm afraid I may make a wrong decision as there are so many different views on a property.

You mention before you hope to obtain finance freedom by age 40.
How are you going to achieve that?

Sorry if I seem to be asking a lot of questions. Because you seem to be very wise and I want to learn from you.
 
no problem with questions, we should always ask them... this morning forgot to put a disclaimer tat my views are based on my own views/requirements... so can be very subjective.

finding a property with great potential is easy, the problem is that u've gotta pay for it upfront, and their potential is probably not very hidden Unless u have what pple call - an acumen. so dun have to try very hard to possess something which may take years of experience to obtain, or simply genius. so u can go by process of elimination. ie 'EVERYONE' says X... and u know 'Not Everyone' has Acumen... so therefore 'Everyone' has No Acumen. so simply dun follow 'Everyone'... i made it as Mathematical as i can liao...

i'm not wise, there's actually quite alot of pple who can talk like me, particularly if they've been in the market for the last 2yrs, and convince u to buy X, or buy Y. many pple can swear their lives on their views and speak with experience... so it's really upto u to Weed out using your Own experience to form Your views... so dun take my words 100%, it HAS TO BE applicable to the district, size, function that u're specifically looking for.

if u're looking at investment, u can also look out of s'pore... recently there's quite a few launches in prime areas in oz, nz, london... so it's whether u have the stomach for it. if u're hindered by finances, then just stick to spore or dun do anything... some pple go for thai/msia - tat's also possible, but it's something i personally dun have interest in.

i think if u wanna learn more, it's best to read more... reading is not to learn from pple, but to hear pple's views and process how they think and why they make money in certain climates with certain thinking... then try to apply it in spore. it's not Very difficult to make money out of property in s'pore, u just gotta be unaffected and COLD. alot of pple are warm & emotional - they tend to screw themselves on the 1st property by trying too hard to make it their DREAM HOME. most pple's 1st property is often bought on proximity to parents, & cost... so location not ideal, reno costs makes it worse, pple STOP looking and planning for the next property. they often think it's a forever thing... UNTIL primary school - then u see pple jump for D10/11 properties. then u see wives quit jobs for 1-2yrs to volunteer at schools... All these have been happening All Along, we Already know - so we CAN plan. many pple are lazy, unbothered to think, despite it being Very crucial to their future. they save money NOW, to lose alot of it in the future becos they 'Bopian', 'no choice'.

just look at what pple say when they spend 2-3k on sofas and 50k on reno, spend loads of money making it into a HOME, and then shift in another 3yrs! i've never paid more than $700 for a sofa. cos i dun think i've found my dream home yet, everything else is An Interim.

the Law in s'pore is 'Upgrade'. everyone is always upgrading, at work, as sports, with handphones, with technology... so i dun see how we can assume we'd never upgrade. we Always do. of cos there will always be pple who HOPE the government upgrade for them...

i think for a start - it's understanding ourselves, understand the general population, and u will have an edge Over most.
 
on the financial freedom, it's a very huge topic which never ends. but the same theory applies... ie 'EVERYONE' says X... and u know 'Not Everyone' has Acumen... so therefore 'Everyone' has No Acumen. so simply dun follow 'Everyone'.

ok i admit i was abit lazy, i love this topic, but i've never really gotten much response when talking abt it becos i find that most times, pple are more interested in defending their work-up-the-ladder beliefs, than to actually believe there's more to it than what was taught in schools and inculcated by the previous generation where That attitude actually paid-off. not since the internet age has that proven to be a very sound thinking.

u go career threads, pple talk abt degrees, u go salary threads n pple talkabt degrees and upgrading. and then u see threads complaining abt bosses, pple wanting to leave but afraid to leave... All these just tell u 1 thing - our system Never taught us how to have Confidence and Self-Belief... it just tauhgt us to believe in the system and the power of Paper (not education).

but how many would agree with me Even if wat i say holds more truth in the current climate? pple will still believe in yesteryear beliefs. agreeing with me is ridiculing everything they've worked hard for... so pple will put up strong defences against wat i normally have to say. BUT then - i could be wrong... so Judge wisely.

if u wanna obtain financial freedom by 40, just believe, and find ways to do it. 70% dun believe, 20% believe and do nothing... tat's why u're left with only 10% who either make it or fail... those who fail - will eventually make-it simply becos they failed n keep trying. the 70% dun make it becos they Dun dare to fail... this fear was put in us via the system we went thru.
 
Hi Powder,

What are the steps you are planning to take to retire at 40 yr?

1. What is your occupation?
2. What are your investments?
3. What is your best investment? (monetary term)
4. What is your worst investment? (monetary term)
 
1. What is your occupation?
- Middleman/Negotiator/Dealmaker

2. What are your investments?
- mainly ME. i'm my best investment EVER! else Frens, then pty.

3. What is your best investment?
- ME. nothing gives me more returns than myself.

4. What is your worst investment? (monetary term)
- stocks, recalcitrant negative frens... they rob me of ALOT of Time & Money.
 
hmm, do pardon me but i dun really feel comfortable revealing my trades to be honest, but it's definitely legal and i pay good taxes.
anyway knowing the nature of my trades has got little value to do with financial freedom or buying property lah...
happy.gif
 
no prob Albee,

not that kind of uncomfortable, but rather, i know the answer u're seeking... just that the answer will do u no good and offer u no help.

actually there was a 2nd part to my previous post, but i thought i'd leave it til u tell me what u just told me... so i'll just copy and paste here for u...

"What's good to note is the importance of Questions... cos they are crucial to getting Answers that actually help us. there are the Right questions, and the Curious questions. i spend more time asking the right questions, than curious questions... locals Love to ask curious questions to Compare, to Identify, to Isolate.

let me elaborate... if i say deal in Gold,
-some pple will think "wah gold seems very lucrative"
-some will think "if i deal in gold, i will ALSO earn as much"
-some will think "hmm maybe i should go into gold"
-some will think "of cos lah, u dealing with gold mah!"...

the reactive thoughts in pple are such... but it's an observation we should pickup, and apply it to our lives such that we spend time more constructively..."

i'm good at what i do becos i have very good anticipation skills, and i read pple's thoughts/intentions better than they themselves might know... thus it's this very skill which i am using to make a decent living... YUP - no need paper to prove it.
 
as for which sector can make the most money... actually the answer may not serve us any use UNLESS we have the skillset required for that sector...

i see so many pple wanting to jump to banking sector before the crash... do u really think Everyone who went there made money? Again, that was ruled by the herd mentality... and What have we learnt abt the herd mentality?

i think One must First have the hunger, the will, the right mentality to be in Those particular positions that Actually earn good money. else most pple just harbour hopes and lust for the bonuses...

the Question should be - what am i good at? what are my natural talents? in which role, what scopes - would i succeed?

ps: hope i dun sound condescending, cos i dun mean to... so pls take my tone in a very discursive one...
 
Hi Powder,

Thanks for your advise.
It's true. Some of the sectors require certain skills. If you don't have it, you can't be in the industry.
 
it's personal skills lah... normally when i tell pple 'skils', they go complicate things by thinking they need to have studied this subject, have had this diploma/degree etc...

actually the skill i'm talking abt are those God-given ones... like your interpersonal skills, your ability to hold conversations, your analytical skills, your ability to link current affairs and world events, your ability to come up with simple solutions to complex problems, your exceptional common sense, your sense of Logic etc...

One good illustration is that of the toothpaste company... let's call it Kolgate. the boss announces that he wants to increase sales by 10%, and whoever comes up with the best solution will get 1% share of the sales. SO... the management team propose to hire expensive consultants, the sales team propose they aggressively push sales, the R&D propose to come up with better toothpaste formulas, the advertising propose to increase adverts, the production team propose to package of '3 at the price of 2'...

then this unknown little warehouse packer steps up and suggests to the boss to simply increase the circumference of the toothpast tube (the mouth) by 10%.... logic being that pple often squeeze out the toothpaste they use by the length, nobody takes much notice of the thickness. so going by that logic, they'd finish the tube earlier, have to buy another sooner, and this will increase the sales. the rest they say - is history...

well let's not argue if that eventually happened, but It can be THAT simple...

u pose this question to most pple and they try to give u very complex answers... whilst that is not wrong, sometimes simple/logical is easier and makes u richer.

of cos, dun tell me medical/dentistry/law lah... those obviously require more than just logic/common sense.
 
"u buy, i also buy"...
exactly, i also notice the herd mentality on property and cars that is going around recently...

anyway, i think those new condo launches could be one of the top 5 happenings in local context.....
specifically those people who have no freaking clue on their purpose of being there... well, that excludes the window shoppers.

for me, the no.1 factor for hdbs/condos is defnitely Location which has to be measurable with the Realistic budget.

i rem my relative (a property agent) tried to get me to buy somewhere in far west/north-west...
just like some of my cousins, and a vast majority of my aunties and uncles....
well, she tried to explain that it is nearer to my office, that it is more convenient for one another to keep a lookout etc..
even my parents preached to me on the same stuffs.... and to "give face".

of course i took the effort to view the new and resale flats/condos but its factors are non-considerables, in my opinion.
currently, i've never regretted my choice somewhere in Dover as i love the max. 10-mins drive to taka/paragon, the peaceful neighbourhood and the escalating value.

i am very certain that i'll not get all these factors-combined if i choose to listen to my parents/relatives.
 
Can I bunk in with you vios? Then I would be within walking distance for my night lessons Zzzz.

I learn that location is important in choosing a place. That's y I am aiming to shift to my idea estate in another 3 to 4 years time when I can exercise the option to sell
happy.gif
 
so where is ur ideal estate eh HBH??

u dun mean under the bridge do u? whahahahahahahaha...

I am listening to Powder on this.. I intend to get a hse & let it out for rent. wooohooo....
 
Hi Powder,

If I dun have the budget to buy a property from D9/D10 and would like to buy one for investment purpose, where would suggest?
happy.gif
 
hi Meagain1

keep your money in the bank and Wait first. make sure u put it where u can access easily... alot of pple are DYING to spend money... let them spend, it doesn't matter if they buy first at Today's prices.

there's no right or wrong, even if u look at the stock market the past weeks, the confidence seems to be returning and we seem to have 'recovered'... But personally, unless u can get at a decently Low price, it's best to Hold back any spending... especially property.

do u know a new condo in AMK is gonna be launched at 1150psf onwards? that's Ang Mo Kio for u... at sgd1,150 per square feet. the developers are trying to latch-on to the buying mentality... the HERD buying mentality, and there's no better place to start, than at places where pple are dying to upgrade, where the HDB prices are strong. i think this launch might turn out to be successful - becos the AMK potential upgraders want in Now!

this is my thought on upgrader-buyers... Redhill- The Metropolitan/Ascentia Sky, Strathmore/Queenstown-Alexis/Metropolitan/Ascentia Sky, Potong Pasir-Woodsville28, etc etc... so next AMK etc etc

the prices are gonna continue moving up... but this is a Bad reason to buy. just becos market is moving up, it does not mean it will Never come down. in fact there's reasons for the market to move up short term, but on the long run, it should not be moving too far away... it should stay at current levels or come off. and i think the forces to pull it back down is Stronger.

u see alot of jobs created? alot of salary increases? u see Lesser taxi drivers and temps?.... u'll have to read and pick on as much info as u can get.

personally i believe there's a reason why our gov are giving us the occasional warnings abt the economy.

so my take is Dun Buy now... just keep your head in the market...
 


Thanks Powder.

Yap, I agree with you that there are no clear signs that the economy has improved and we have been hearing from govts that recovery will be a long long one. I think the 'herd mentality' is the only explanation for the recent property boom.

Honestly, I find the recent launch prices way too high and ridiculous for area like AMK.

But I dun think it will go back to the price level in 2003-2004?
 

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