Is it a good timing to buy resale flat now?

[stonefish35]

Looks like I'm the one of those who got lucky. Managed to get a q#23x at BTO on my first try. Book level 5 (252k) cos higher floors were taken ard. The unit is 2min walk from bus stop and next to fairprice and plaza. In between two MRT stations. Approximately 15min walk from either stations. There's a nearby pcf, primary and secondary school which is perfect for my kids. But estimated occupancy is at Jan 2015. Should be enough time to fork up for renovation cost.

Can anyone advise what is the condition of BTO flats?
Are the floor tiles, toilet seat, sinks , electrical outlet, sockets, faucets, etc installed?
How much renovation should be done and how would it cost for a 4-room renovation?

You mean you booked a BTO unit without knowing what you are paying for ?
BTO units comes with toilet seat, sinks , electrical outlet, sockets, faucets. For the flooring and internal doors, you get to choose if you want ( and pay extras to HDB ) or get your own n ask ur contractor to intall.

 

[jeremyW]

i dont know, but I think HDB lost their chief objective- to provide low cost / good quality housing for Singaporeans. This is your share of the land, a piece of Singapore that you will fight (and even die for). With the ridiculous prices now, young couples are going to be in a life long debt. They will literally die for their homes, slogging to a dim sunset with no money in their CPF and a few cents in their pockets. With such a debt, who in the right mind will have children? And in our pragmatic world, it even encourages for migration OUT of Singapore. Cash pout your flat and CPF, laugh at the stupid suckers clawing for a piece of your soddy pie, and high-tail to land rich Australia or New Zealand.

 

[stonefish35]

New BTO released today

http://www101.hdb.gov.sg/hdbvsf/eam..._page/$file/10JULBTOBP_about1.htm?open&ft=bto


What puzzled me is that, 20th Floor Corporation 4-rm flat will cost $325k while a 34th Floor Bukit Panjang 4-rm flat will cost only 306k, difference being a balcony of around 3sqm. And Corporation BTO being in a lousier location, compared to Bukit Panjang where it will be within 15mins to the new Downtown Line stage 2.

And the website to apply online shld be www.HDB.com.sg instead of www.HDB.gov.sg. :bsmilie:
since .com.sg is for profit maximising entity :bsmilie:

 

[stonefish35]

i dont know, but I think HDB lost their chief objective- to provide low cost / good quality housing for Singaporeans. This is your share of the land, a piece of Singapore that you will fight (and even die for). With the ridiculous prices now, young couples are going to be in a life long debt. They will literally die for their homes, slogging to a dim sunset with no money in their CPF and a few cents in their pockets. With such a debt, who in the right mind will have children? And in our pragmatic world, it even encourages for migration OUT of Singapore. Cash pout your flat and CPF, laugh at the stupid suckers clawing for a piece of your soddy pie, and high-tail to land rich Australia or New Zealand.

:bsmilie: Without any housing mortgage, I am already slogging till 2 or 3am on a regular basis in my previous jobs. With financial debts, .... Haha...

The idea is to make Sporeans stay n fight the war since all your $$ is tied down in the HDB. As they know that the PRs & new citizens are most likely going to take flight . My ex colleagues told me this. And my friends are raising their kids across the causeway. Once they hit their target, they will just sell off everything here and make a tidy profit and pull back to their hometown. I envy them. Where can we pull back to ? Lim chu kang or Ama Keng ?

 

[lichtleiter]

You mean you booked a BTO unit without knowing what you are paying for ?
BTO units comes with toilet seat, sinks , electrical outlet, sockets, faucets. For the flooring and internal doors, you get to choose if you want ( and pay extras to HDB ) or get your own n ask ur contractor to intall.

I opted for the internal doors at 1.8k additional.
What I need to know now how is much did previous owners spend extra for a 4-room renovation based on their experience.

 

[stonefish35]

I opted for the internal doors at 1.8k additional.
What I need to know now how is much did previous owners spend extra for a 4-room renovation based on their experience.

I see.. You took up the [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Treegrove@Woodlands BTO ?[/FONT][/FONT]



The toilet sinks are provided and installed. Kitchen sink need to be bought and installed by owner. Reno costs depends on what design and theme you want. My sis did a basic reno for her 5 room. She bought all the lights, stove, kitchen sink , heater, shower heads etc and ask the contractor to install. And build the shoe cabinet, kitchen cabinet, wardrode etc for abt 7k, back in 2000. I painted her house for her. Actually there's no design,

A buddy spent 30 k on his 5-room, nothing much was done, a simple theme, with a TV console feature for his 50" tv, a bit of pattern here and there.

I think average 20k will suffice for a average reno with a simple theme for a 4-rm new flat...

 

[lichtleiter]

I see.. You took up the [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Treegrove@Woodlands BTO ?[/FONT][/FONT]



The toilet sinks are provided and installed. Kitchen sink need to be bought and installed by owner. Reno costs depends on what design and theme you want. My sis did a basic reno for her 5 room. She bought all the lights, stove, kitchen sink , heater, shower heads etc and ask the contractor to install. And build the shoe cabinet, kitchen cabinet, wardrode etc for abt 7k, back in 2000. I painted her house for her. Actually there's no design,

A buddy spent 30 k on his 5-room, nothing much was done, a simple theme, with a TV console feature for his 50" tv, a bit of pattern here and there.

I think average 20k will suffice for a average reno with a simple theme for a 4-rm new flat...

Yes, its the Treegrove. thanks for the info

 

[Muckafutha]

i dont know, but I think HDB lost their chief objective- to provide low cost / good quality housing for Singaporeans. This is your share of the land, a piece of Singapore that you will fight (and even die for). With the ridiculous prices now, young couples are going to be in a life long debt. They will literally die for their homes, slogging to a dim sunset with no money in their CPF and a few cents in their pockets. With such a debt, who in the right mind will have children? And in our pragmatic world, it even encourages for migration OUT of Singapore. Cash pout your flat and CPF, laugh at the stupid suckers clawing for a piece of your soddy pie, and high-tail to land rich Australia or New Zealand.

low cost is relative. you can always choose to buy private at 3x the price. a lot of people are pretty happy right now that they are sitting on a gold mine.

It's every man for himself in Singapore. Don't have to blame the lack of loyalty on rising HDB prices. Ask anyone selling will they give up the high COV in order to help the country ensure new buyers get cheaper flats and thus not migrate?

 

[ninelives]

I see.. You took up the [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Treegrove@Woodlands BTO ?[/FONT][/FONT]



A buddy spent 30 k on his 5-room, nothing much was done, a simple theme, with a TV console feature for his 50" tv, a bit of pattern here and there.

)

30k for renovation of 5 rooms is very cheap. is it new flat or old flat? cannot get these price nowadays.

 

[stonefish35]

BTO flat. in 2007.

 

[Haze]

i was thinking of getting BTO at Sengkang or Punggol.
Anyone know when will HDB launch this area again?
Next month is Yishun.

Btw, DBSS worth to buy? Heard that DBSS Bedok and DBSS upper serangoon coming soon.
what is the different between BTO and DBSS?

 

[stonefish35]

i was thinking of getting BTO at Sengkang or Punggol.
Anyone know when will HDB launch this area again?
Next month is Yishun.

Btw, DBSS worth to buy? Heard that DBSS Bedok and DBSS upper serangoon coming soon.
what is the different between BTO and DBSS?

Sengkang & Punggol , thats where most of the BTOs are located. Probably after Yishun ?
From my observation of BTOs in Yishun, it seems like 1 of the worse location. Not anywhere within walking distance to the MRT or direct bus to town or anywhere. Need to take a feeder bus to interchange before can connect to town.

DBSS are basically condos designed and built by private developers, hence the name DBss, but minus the facilities and managed by HDB. Applicants can finance the DBSS flat with HDB loan too, provided they meet the criteria. DBSS flats tend to be in "better" location, like near town, near MRT etc, in order to justify for the condo like costs.

To give a scale of the cost,late 2008 prices, a BTO in the west, high floor ( in excess of 25th floor ) ard $270k. DBSS ,early 2009 prices, high floor, ard $540k .

Determine your needs and what you want to pay for and decide if you want to go for DBSS.

I do not want to slog my life away just to service my mortgage loan for my flat, hence I dun bother to go for DBSS.

 

[hazmee]

I applied for the recent BTO in Taman Jurong. Corporation Tiara... wtf name but let's see what's the outcome for this one. Veteran first timer applicant here.

 

[jeremyW]

low cost is relative. you can always choose to buy private at 3x the price. a lot of people are pretty happy right now that they are sitting on a gold mine.

It's every man for himself in Singapore. Don't have to blame the lack of loyalty on rising HDB prices. Ask anyone selling will they give up the high COV in order to help the country ensure new buyers get cheaper flats and thus not migrate?

Thanks mate. You got it right there.

 

[stonefish35]

I applied for the recent BTO in Taman Jurong. Corporation Tiara... wtf name but let's see what's the outcome for this one. Veteran first timer applicant here.

\

Bro, good luck to you. Since you are Veteran, go talk to your MP, especially if your ward is not a GRC and had been contested in the previous GE. :bsmilie:

Even if its a walkover ward, go see your MP . Heard it helps.

 

[hazmee]

\

Bro, good luck to you. Since you are Veteran, go talk to your MP, especially if your ward is not a GRC and had been contested in the previous GE. :bsmilie:

Even if its a walkover ward, go see your MP . Heard it helps.

Thanks man. There's already a long waiting list of people waiting to talk to my MP (S. Iswaran btw) and are in the same boat as I am. If I don't get this one, I probably would just give up applying altogether.

 

[hanqiang1011]

get asap, coz it will keep going up.

yes, nowadays cov very high. i recently bought mine and have to pay 25 k for cov, that was sep 2009.

those agents spoil the market, the higher the cov or valuation, the higher commission they get.

that's why i never like agents, be it insurance/financial type or property type.

I think we got to give credits to these agents when it deems fit. They are helping us to get things done by providing professional services which most of us dont know.

But well, if commission is too high then it turns me off too.

 

[ninelives]

I think we got to give credits to these agents when it deems fit. They are helping us to get things done by providing professional services which most of us dont know.

But well, if commission is too high then it turns me off too.

actually it wasn't that hard, HDB website got step by step guide on how to do the buying or selling yourself.

but yes, due to our busy schedule, we got no choice but let agent do it.

 

[flowerpot]

I think we got to give credits to these agents when it deems fit. They are helping us to get things done by providing professional services which most of us dont know.

But well, if commission is too high then it turns me off too.

seriously, buying a house is not rocket science... if u ever buy a 2nd flat b4, whatever paper work/documents, its between u and the seller, the agent is totally not needed... their job is just to show u the flats thats all... a good ones will really help u find base on ur requirements and they are very patient with u, and the really good ones even help u check the defects.... thats why i never choose to pay 1% to them... its not worth the money for their services....

 

[Haze]

Govt announce that waiting time for BTO will be 2.5yrs instead of 4 yrs..

Can't wait for the next BTO to launch at Punggol and sengkang