House Hunt Tips for Singaporeans Looking to Purchase Property

Constantly increasing demand for HDB flats during the COVID-19 era drove up property prices and made house hunting extremely competitive.

Prime units easily had more than 20 groups of buyers on their first day of viewing. These units were often outbid on the same day, while the rest of us were left to continue our house hunts without even a chance to make our first offer.

This process can drag on for months. We need to go about our house hunts strategically as buyers, especially first-time buyers. Being clear about our objectives and requirements can make it a smooth and stress-free affair.

Here are some guidelines to follow when planning for your house hunt:

House Hunt Strategy Tips

1. Work Out the Numbers

You should get a loan assessment done with the bankers and/or apply for the HDB Loan Eligibility letter from HDB. This will give you a number to work with for a start.

The rates that bank loans and HDB loans offer are drastically different. For bank loans, there are many different bank rates to choose from based on the plans offered by local banks. Fixed rates offer you stability while floating rates can sometimes give a significantly lower interest rate.

After deciding on a loan plan, you should obtain an In-Principle Approval. With an accurate calculation of our maximum budget, we can readily and safely offer on any unit we desire without the worry of financial issues.

Lastly, we should also check our government grant eligibility. The eligible amount will be deposited into our CPF upon the purchase of an HDB flat. The government grant can be used as part of the down payment for the purchase.

2. Do Our Research Well

To be able to make a fast yet firm decision, we need to be clear about the requirements for our new home. While we may have a whole list of requirements, narrowing down and prioritising our needs can make the process a lot easier and more decisive. Take the time to discuss with your family the top three to five must-haves of your new home. Some requirements to think about are:

• Public transportation
• Carpark location
• Drop-off point for taxis or private-hire vehicles
• Schools
• Markets
• Childcare centres
• Accessibility for elderly or disabled family members

With these requirements, pick an estate you like and look at the amenities offered around the estate using a map.

Tip: Instead of using Google Maps, use Singapore Street Directory or OneMap. These maps demarcate the estates clearly and mark important amenities around the areas, such as clinics, schools, carparks and bus stops.

Using the map and the requirements you laid out, shortlist three estates of significant interest and rank them from first to third. We can then research and understand the transaction prices in the estates you have chosen to gain a clearer understanding of the justified price in the area.

3. Shortlist Unit Listings

With a good understanding of your finances and personal requirements, it is time to look for units to shortlist.

Use real-estate portals such as PropertyGuru to look for units on sale in the estates of your choice. When shortlisting units, some general features to look out for are:

• Unit layout
• Floor level
• West sun coming into the unit
• How well-furnished the unit is

We should focus on whether the unit requires major renovation. While a messy house may be off-putting, these are superficial problems that will be gone after handover.

On the other hand, a beautiful set-up picture with a good camera angle may distract you from fixtures that require money and time to alter, fix or remove. Remember that movables are unimportant.

• Surrounding amenities of the particular block

While the estate was chosen as one of our top three choices, we need to ensure that the environment around the block that this unit belongs to is acceptable to us. Is our unit facing roads with daily heavy traffic? Are we directly above or facing noisy amenities? These are some points to consider.

• Empty plots of land

For units facing empty plots of land, check if there are construction plans for the land through the URA Master Plan. Having an unblocked view can be a great reason for buying the unit; however, we may not be sure what might end up being built on the land.

4. View the House and Focus on the Details

After arranging viewings with the shortlisted units, we can finally start our home shopping. While it is easy for us to get distracted by beautiful houses and lively estates, the devil is in the details. Here are some key things to look out for:

• Check the ceilings and walls for seepage, particularly in the bathrooms and around the windows.
• For older flats, gently tap on the tiles to feel if they are hollow inside. Hollow tiles will need to be replaced, so we need to take the replacement costs into consideration.
• Although the kitchen cabinets may look beautiful and worth restoring, check if the wood below the sink is soaked from water leakage.
• Check if the kitchen stove is still using an old gas cylinder. Replacing it with new gas piping may require dismantling the whole kitchen cabinet.
• Removal of fixtures may seem costly; however, it is surprisingly one of the least costly works to be done. Hacking cement walls or buildups, or replacing carpentry work, will incur greater costs.
• Have a rough idea of why the owners want to sell their home. Talk to the adjacent neighbours, as well as those living above and below the unit. This helps ensure that you do not move into a hostile living environment.
• Corridor space and the neighbours’ usage of corridor space can also be an issue in the long run.

5. Wrap Things Up

If this unit seems perfect for you, there are likely many other buyers having the same feelings as you do. If you have already taken all the above steps, congratulations: you are now ready to offer on the unit immediately. This can be a competitive process of negotiation and compromise, so be ready for that.

Engage a Professional

Having a professional to discuss with and evaluate your ideas and decisions will improve the quality of your purchase.

While it may be tempting to save a few thousand dollars by not engaging a real estate agent, a mistake in your decision can be much costlier than the agent fee.

An experienced agent knows the common issues that a unit has. They will be able to help you make an explicit and informed decision on your purchase.

Any real estate agent worth your time will sit you down and discuss your personal ideas and worries and factor them into your house-hunting journey. You will be sure that the decision you make is the best in any given circumstance.

Conclusion

Buying a house is a big milestone in anybody’s life. Whether we’re looking to buy it as an investment or to raise a family, we cannot afford to make any major mistakes in our decision. Taking the above guidelines into serious consideration can be tiring and time-consuming, but it is necessary for us to make the right decision.