Does anyone face difficulties buying a flat now???

[rainmaker]

i've been looking for a flat for the longest time. N i find that it's even more difficult now with the increase in valuation and overall asking price.

What makes it worse are the attitudes of the sellers' agents.... i've come acrossed many who are very arrogant.

i really can't stand their unprofessionalism:
1)asked me for the viewing time and yet said busy the whole day.
2)keep saying seller looking at $6xxk but i guessed it's themselves that they are asking at that price
3)before viewing the flat, they are already asking u to pay 1% excluding gst should the transaction go through

i dun think i can get any flat now.......dun think market will go down these 2 years.....haiz

 

[trixter]

me too.

i've been searching since early 2007...
i had browsed thru papers/internet to find the units i am interested in. many times, the units are posted by co-brokers and they asked for higher than the actual COV that the owner/agent is asking for.

they are rarely honest.

sometimes i felt it is the agents who caused this COV craze. Maybe the owners are expecting only $20k but the agent will up to $30-35k, wanting to pocket the difference. Something like that. I hope I am wrong.

 

[skywolf]

Hi Trix,

I doubt the extra $ goes to the agts. In my resale application, the total selling amt (+ cov) is stated on the form and in the electronic application under "My HDB" page. The total selling price will affect the commission they earn coz you have to pay 1% as buyers.

1% from 20k is 2k. 1% from 35k is 3.5k. A difference of 1.5k!

 

[sparkless]

we are having problem getting a flat too. wanted to buy direct from HDB but all the balloting exercises are simply crazy. application numbers exceeded the supply units by thousands.

we are a little anxious now cos we are hovering the 8k combined income cap. and will be worse if we are forced to buy EC when we are not really ready for such commitments.

and getting resale now needs plenty of cash on hands. is like we pay for the COV and need to get a loan for renovation, that's simply not worth all the interest. also, does anyone know off-hand if there is a cap for buying resale?

 

[trixter]

hi skywolf

you're proabbly right... and hey you a flat already!!! envious envious envious!!

actually what i mean was:
owner ask for 20k COV
so, if the agent managed to fetch abv the target, the diff is the agent's if they had such an agreement.

The agent who wanted to sell my current flat, offered something like that to me....ask me how much COV i am looking for. My asking price is excluding his commission. So, he has to add in his own commission above my expectation...

i am not sure if the above is "legal"...but that was what the agent proposed to me... his assurance is, i do not need to pay him for the commission, he will factor in his commission from the COV, but will can meet my target COV...

hope i didnt confuse you...hehe..

 

[rainmaker]

Trix, i have been also looking at classifieds and property websites.

The thing now is that people (sellers/agents) are asking no longer $20k or $30k above valuation.

For my case, they are all asking at least 50k and above.

In fact, recently the unit i fancy was sold at $65k above value, hitting almost $600k for a surburb executive unit.

Starry,
like u, our combined income are in the range of $8k/9k. Should we buy & renovate the flat, all our savings will be drained. and we can't afford private yet....cos my job is not stable.

by the way, i dun think there's any cap for resale price.

Goodness...... when can we find a house that is reasonably priced? I m so tired of the searching...

 

[sparkless]

hey rainmaker,

actually after i posted here, i went to search HDB website. Actually, there is a cap of not more than 8k if you going to take the housing grant.

another piece of bad news for me to digest....

 

[trixter]

hi rainmaker,

which area are you loooking at? gosh..pretty expensive at 50k COV! must be a good area!!

i am looking at tampines. the most expensive COV i came across is a 4rm unit at $40k which was fully renovated recently...nice deco, clean and tidy. worth the price consider the unit is barely 10yr old and 6 floor. but too bad, my hubby prefer a 5rm.

he loves a 5A unit at abt $30k COV...super big and high floor. good layout, 135sqm, love the location, and everything abt this unit, but need to do 50% renovation. Felt $30k is fair enough. this blk is quite a popular choice honestly. but the valuation is $380k. i didnt want us to commit to such a high purchase...

i also came across another 5rm unit at 15K COV only thing is low floor, and another 5A unit at 25K [i luv tis one but hubby dun like the layout].

So i guess i am luckier than you ba..the COV i got are between 20k-40k so far.....hope it doesnt go up any further!!

 

[rainmaker]

Trix,
i m also looking at tampines or pasir ris. but prefer tampines cos nearer to my parents as my bb is taken care by them.

the one i mentioned at $65k above valuation is an executive in tampines - i love its location, size and layout and of cos its facing, but need to do quite a fair bit of renovation.

somemore, we also looking at mid to high flr. So far, the low cash are always the low floors which is definitely out...

Rite now, thinking of exploring the 5 rm option for a lower price but seems that they are asking pretty high cash too. We prefer the 800 series area....On the other hand,my hubby wanted me to look at 4 rm to save more money but i dun wish to as it defeated our main reason of selling our 4 rm to move into a bigger flat.

Starry
sorry i think i interpreted wrongly abt your cap. Tot u are referring the price of flats. Ya, the income ceiling cap for HDB flats are $8k and for executive condo i think is $10K.

Well, guess we have to work hard to find our dream house by viewing more units...

 

[smellypeanut]

Recession coming, recession coming! I think the US side is still calculating the losses for the subprime market. Very likely singapore would be affected, housing price might fall.. weeee! Most probably the resale houses i guess. Not too sure, let's monitor.

 

[trixter]

hey rain

i'm a tampines resident too!!

the areas i looked at were 300 & 400 series.. mostly 5A units with 4 bedrooms.

hey, actually i feel a exec & a 5A unit looks almost the same..and i was surprised too. My uncle used to have a exec unit at 300plus and i luv that house. very good layout and huge spaces. then recently i came across a 5A unit, with almost the same layout, but the living/dining area smaller by maybe 10sqm..

maybe u can try checking out the 5rooms...hopefully the COV will be closer to 30-40k..

good luck to us!!

honestly i can't believe tis is happennig to me - got stuck in this property "craze". god, i wished i had started looking earlier.. i was onyl a few months late and then the market jus started going up and up..

i'm not sure if i am imagining things...but i find that more and more young couples are getting married early.

if i'm not wrong, back then, most of the "married couples" are near +/- 30yrs old.. but now i see more and more couples who got married by 21-24yrs old! gosh....

so many people getting married now...no wonder there is a shortage of flats!!

arrgghhhh....

 

[rainmaker]

hI Trix

at least u are less demanding than me. i only like 800 series so u got more choices than me... =) hee..

i dun mind 5 room so long its layout, facing and location is what i need. My geomancer was telling me that if i can find a south facing house, it will be beneficial for my whole family. So in that aspect, its another difficult criteria to meet as not many units r south facing. Unblocked view will be a bonus i think...

Hee, anyway "Price" is still the biggest obstacle of all in this market. Hopefully like what butterfingers said, the market will soften down soon..... and no more enbloc sellers will come in and pay high cash and compete with us for HDB Flats.... **cross our fingers**

Guess even with the govt's plan to build more housing in mature estates like bedok,simei, it will still take quite a few years to complete. So i dun think the shortage of flats will be solved anytime in the near future.

Well, i sure will keep u guys posted if i can finally find a house with a low COV.... Cheers!

 

[edwin_jing]

Im looking at tampines houses too, some arrogant agent sms me saying COV is definitely 50K above, if not ready to pay, no need to view also. Looking for 4rm... all the best for everyone!

 

[rainmaker]

All these agents are really too much.... must report them to their companies or the govt dept which is in charge of the property agents (dunno which one though).... there should be random check on the professionalism of these agents to ensure the quality of service provided...

They are the ones spoiling the property market misleading everyone....

 

[trixter]

rainmarker > hehe...ya, i am less demanding but my hubby is the picky one..LOLx... honestly 800plus is a very convenient and pretty convenient area...no wonder so high COV...

jing > 50k COV?? faint..

did you guys check out the recent balloting excercise?? gosh.......the prices are amazing!

 

[snowflo]

i m also looking for a resale flat n i hv come to a rude awakening that hdb's effort to promote DIY in buying hdb flat in the open mkt is almost impossible. at least during this period, coz as soon as i mentioned my intention to do my own buying without having an agent to represent me, the agents will quote me some high high COV or tell me the units r all on low flr or that it's under nego.

 

[tckrto]

Bery simple to counter those agent wat... Just tell them money not a problem. But must view first after view liao don buy they oso LLST

 

[thursday]

After reading these posts, I am even more discouraged..

Been hoping to get a good flat near ILs but looks like we need to plan again..

Sigh!

 

[blueblue]

try searching the flats through website. I myself hv put up my flat for sale at some website including the one u can find at HDB. Had my buyer surf the net, he would hv save himself agent fee. His agent juz surt the website and contacted me.

 

[thursday]

Hey Kimberly,

Where's your flat? Please advise.

Thanks,
MK

 

[nelle]

Sometimes, you have to lower your expectations.

Popular towns, locations near train station/bus interchange/market/school, high floors and mature estates are often priced very high. This is the same everywhere globally. When I was working in London, I paid about S$5k in cash per mth just for rental (not owning the place!) of 2 bedroom apartment, this is just so that I need only to travel 1 hour to the work location! When I was in Hong Kong, I paid about S$3k.
I was not paid an expat salary at that time so you can figure that rental takes away about 30% of my salary.
Here at least I can use CPF to pay for my very own HDB flat without touching my disposable income.

In the end, my partner & I chose a tiny 3rm flat unit (location with high en-bloc potential and currently building a circleline station) that is about 40 years old, so the price is low. The 40k grant helps, we didn't exactly stay near parents, in fact we are 2.3km apart.

 

[jc1234]

Hi, I am selling my 4A at Blk 629 Pasir Ris. Very high floor/ nicely renovated. Owner selling so no comm involved. Pls pm me Thanks

 

[weekuan7]

Hi,

You ppl think that the prices will start to decrease?
From trend, it seems that it has been rising and it's worrying.
I wanted to get a house that key's available but it's not easy.
HDB offer BTO and that will be a long wait.
Almost all my friends got the same problem.
HDB just cannot realise that males graduating at 26, work for 2 years, apply BTO will end up marring only early thirties and yet governement keep promoting birth of children. Kinda of contradicting...
They are just not helping us at all...
What's more, valuation for resale is so much higher than those from HDB and not to mention the COV that the owners are asking for...

 

[smileguy]

Hi jing

Tampines COV is around 30-50k but depend on the location .i once come across a 4 room flat which has a ridiculous COV 60k..its jus near to the mrt..but Cov in tampines is quite standard..30-50..anything more than that i find it stupid..but the fact is tampines is having another shopping more near the mrt ...i guess the price will be higher if the mall is up..my frd is selling a his 400series flat in tampines too..now he is still looking for buyer lo...


currently price of COV i think is better in control unlike the price of the past.now is the buyers market..so if u guys intend to buy a house wif low COV now is the time..but normally COV is depend on the area..they got a standard COV range within the specific area.

 

[limis]

to add to all postings above, cov is not the only cash upfront we have to come up with. we have to pay stamp duty in cash if our CPF is insufficient, we have to pay more cash now that banks are lending only up to 80%, any amt higher will fetch higher interests!! so instead of forking out 5% cpf and 5% cash like before, now we have to fork out 15% cpf and 5% cash, likewise, if cpf is insufficient to cover, we have to pay out in cash.....so say, purchase price is ard 460k....with cpf of 70k, approximately we have to come up with 40k cash if cov is 15k.....money money money @o@

 

[nexusangel]

I'm just wondering, how does everyone manage to cough up the money for COV especially first time buyers?
Fiance and I have combined salary of below $4000 only, we can't even afford the COV for most 3rm flats.

Any tips?

 

[sweetestfaith]

normally those resale flats that are renovated has higher valuations and asking higher COV...

if u dun mind, look for those super old flats or even vacant units (as long as when u go in u dun feel eerie or uncomfortable)... usually these flats are cheap, at valuation or even below... normally a 3room flat with complete reno makeover, flooring, kitchen cabinets, wall plastering, lightings, etc will look better than a resale flat that is already renovated but has been used for 5years or 10 years... so no point getting a nicely renovated flat and pay for higher COV if u can get a empty unit and pay 10k++ for ur own design n complete renovations, but of course u must find a cheap n good contractor to do it so u must spend more time to source for a reliable one... from what i knw, kitchens in older flats r big, so during reno, just dun do up whole stretch of the kitchen cabinets to 'fill up' the space and it will cost even lesser for the whole reno, coz fully-fitted kitchen cabinets can cost a lot, and also don't need to do the top kitchen cabinets if u dun need so much storage or just for 'nicer' look, not necessary must have top kitchen cabinets then it is called nice, just play around with colors n combinations will do...


another thing is not get the resale flat that has all amenities nearby like in central locations with lots of coffeeshops, shopping, 24hour minimarts, etc... coz these places are popular, if u think of it in another way, new BTO are in places like punggol bukit panjang etc also dun have all the amenities n people r also living there, so it won't really make much difference if u buy a resale flat that is more 'ulu' also... of course there will be people saying buy resale of course must choose more central locations with amenities but it certainly comes with higher COV also

so long as expectations n criterias are adjusted, sure can find the dream house to build the lovely home!!

everyone good luck!!

 

[thursday]

Hi nexusangel,

My husband and I have been hunting for a flat since last July. Back then, folks were asking for COV of between 20-30K. That was an incredible amount and something that we are both unwilling to spend on. We then decided to wait a bit and reassess the situation. And it was a good thing we did, cos with the Lehman and financial meltdown, Singapore has entered into a recession. Not that we want a recession, but a recession adjusts folks' expectations, esp. sellers who think they can make a quick buck from selling their flats. As it is, currently, sellers are asking for less COV, and this trend might look set to continue.

From what I know, 3 room flats may be quite popular during this recession as most downgraders will look for a smaller flats. You might therefore find yourself competing with alot more folks. Alternatively, you might want to consider applying for the quarterly sales from the govt:
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10201p.nsf/WPDis/Buying%20A%20New%20HDB%20Flat%20(e-Sales)Flats%20On%20Offer?OpenDocument

One last advice: If you are using a housing agent, look for one who's decent and who will help you sincerely. I have met agents who are not at all sincere, and they kept pressuring us to buy a flat that is over and beyond our budget, or if they find that we don't have the COV amount, they refused to service us. Hopefully you will meet a nice one. I am currently liaising with this lady who has not given us any pressure and in fact, who advised us to wait when I explained the situation to her.

I wish you the best!

Cheers,
N

 

[limis]

New update....my fiance and i tried getting loan from a local bank and got only 70%!!!!

goodness, now first buyers better apply a few loans at one time just to make sure....SO NOW WE HAVE TO FORK OUT ANOTHER 10% OURSELVES!!

 

[pasir_ris_beach]

Wow... I and my hubby signed the OTP for a 3A unit last night. Now undecided which to take only $70K loan for the unit... so is bank loan or HDB loan better?? Need help seriously cos I am the third timer but yet my hubby is bankrupted. So our situation is a bit tricky.

 

[hello88]

bank loan usually min. 100k. Do check with bankers. How come agent never advised u to apply for HLE or bank offer letter first? U gotta work fast now since u intend to get only 70k.

 

[pasir_ris_beach]

100k isnt that we need this moment.. we only need 78k loan.. so how to obtain..
Hubby is bankrupt and i m third timer, so the chance of getting loan from hdb is almost zero and bank loan can but i dun want 100k.. need advice...

 

[hello88]

think u'll have to speak to the bankers and do it fast as u already OTP for the 3room. I understand u only need 70k but most of the banks that I approached recently for my bank loan has a cap on the min loan to be granted. Most are 100k and I was told some even min. 150k. If u have problems getting the bank loan from the banks, approach www.moneymind.com.sg. Quick, dun delay further as banks need time to access your documents and u need to exercise the otp in 14 days.

 

[pasir_ris_beach]

The problem is i never done the bank loan before.. i am lost and some more, i hv to borrow in my name solely. SO anyone here can recommend which banks to approach for the lowest min i.e. 50k and above. dun want the min of 150k or what..
Yup, signed the OTP last saturday(re-do after the valuation report out on last sat) and we heard from the seller that the seller wanted to sell the unit faster. My hubby asked the agent abt the seller's ex wife inside the house IF WE complete the housing transaction ard july roughly. then how?? (heard that the ex wife is very violent).

 

[darlest88]

I just one flat @ sengkang thru a very nice agent. she very patient towards us coz our expectation is quite high. & we finally managed to buy a house within our budget & requirement. she from dennis wee group. Buy she manjor in senkang & punggol area. i can give u the contact if u are interested.

 

[perfect_moment]

Hi, I am looking for EM in Tampines Blk 4XX and Bedok Reservoir Blk 1XX .

Want to deal directly with seller to save on commission

Seller, please email to [email protected]

 

[derlee]

Hi,

I am looking for 3 room corner in Kg Arang Rd (level 6 & above).Please email [email protected]. No agent pls.

 

[thommy]

nexusangel: what my wife and I did was to open a joint savings account and we saved a fixed sum every month. We did that for abt 1yr+ so as to generate funds to buy our lovenest. What we DIDN'T expect was it was used to pay our COV in the end instead of reno. After paying off the COV, we are barely left with anything for reno...

I guess you just have to save, save and save to get a flat...no choice. What faith said above is very true, get an old old flat either at valuation or below, then spend $$$ to do the whole place up again. It will be cheaper than paying high COV for fairly/well-renovated ones. I kinda regretted getting mine which was basically in move-in condition BUT we still had to fork out $$$ for minor reno. Some contractors/IDs refused to quote us for our reno cos its small job and they dun earn much. So getting ppl to do our house was a major headache as well. Furthermore, reno was not straightforward for our house as we had to factor in dismantling/tearing down costs as well to replace some of the items. Some items once torn down, u will need to replace other parts which are still in good condition...so do think carefully first.

Good luck to all who are house hunting now!

 

[lingzicy]

Last year I also looking for a flat for few months.. have gone several viewings but either is cov too ex or environment not really like.. after few months, finally found 1 that feel comfortable... cov $18k but after negotiation, its $13k.. still have to reno whole hse.. around 30k using bank loan... its really alot of money loo.. including furniture...