Call ME Today! +65 9-10-60-300|Ray@squarefootproperty.com
FacebookYouTubeInstagramEmail

ray

Home/ray

About ray

A professional equities trader with a Hedgefund for 7 years before becoming a Real Estate Consultant.

Revised HDB Resale Procedure

Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for National Development has announced today in Parliament changes in some processes in the sale and purchase of HDB resale flats. HDB has also issued a press release to provide the details.   To improve the long term stability of the HDB resale market, the following changes have been made with effect from 10 Mar 2014, 5.00 pm: · HDB will publish daily prices of resale transactions as soon as they are registered (instead of fortnightly after the resale transactions are approved). This will allow flat buyers and sellers to negotiate based on recent transaction prices and reduce the focus on cash-over-valuation (COV) in negotiation. · To encourage buyers and sellers to focus on the sum total of flat price, HDB will only accept valuation requests from resale flat buyers (or their appointed salesperson), after the buyers have been granted an Option to Purchase (OTP) by flat sellers.  · To help buyers and sellers in this transition, HDB will continue to honour OTPs and valuation reports which were granted before the implementation date and have not expired. Under the new rules, buyers who are granted OTP will also have 21 calendar days, instead of 14 calendar days to exercise the OTP, to adjust to the new procedure. Will the new procedure introduce a new problem? Only time will tell.. Right now, buyers are afraid to put in $1000 for the OTP, they might just try their "luck" for a $1 OTP in case the valuation turns out to be lower than the agreed price. There might be many buyers backing out of the deals once valuation is out.. is this a healthy sign where your COV depends on the valuer?

By |2014-08-31T11:52:25+08:00March 10th, 2014|blog|0 Comments
Read More

What is De-coupling?

Decoupling is a part purchase where there are multiple owners to a property and one of the owners buy over the share of the other owner(s) Decoupling is where there is a husband-wife relationship between the two owners of the property, hence "de-couple-ing" Decoupling is essentially a specific form of part purchase Things to note: STAMP DUTY in Decoupling Stamp duty : Payable in a part purchase (decoupling). The stamp duty (including Buyer's Stamp duty, Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) and Seller's stamp duty) is determined by 1) Valuation price 2) Share in the property transferred Stamp duty is also payable even for transfers by way of gift PROCEDURES : Encumbrances CPF Monies If CPF monies were used in the purchase, it needs to be refunded to the CPF account of the seller/transferor Existing mortgage As banks usually require notice of 3 months for redemption, interest in lieu of notice usually needs to be paid To decide completion date carefully as there may be pre-payment penalties involved What is needed? Drafting of Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P), requires: NRICs/Passports of all parties Address of the property Valuation report Completion: If bank loan and/or CPF funds are required to buy over the share: 8 to 12 weeks If no bank loan and no CPF funds are required to buy over the share : 2 weeks (the purchaser must have the funds to pay for 95% of the share) Other things to take note Deposits : Usually 5% of the purchase price & May be paid directly to the seller without going through the lawyers When can Seller purchase another property (for purposes of avoiding ABSD)? Date of the S&P is the date that the seller is [...]

By |2014-08-31T11:39:29+08:00February 14th, 2014|blog|2 Comments
Read More

New Non-Citizen quota on subletting of HDB flats (From HDB)

NEW NON-CITIZEN QUOTA ON SUBLETTING OF HDB FLATS TO PREVENT FOREIGNER ENCLAVES IN HDB ESTATES From today, HDB will introduce a quota on the subletting of whole HDB flats to non-citizen (NC) subtenants. This is to prevent the formation of foreigner enclaves in HDB estates, and maintain the Singaporean character of our HDB heartlands. NC Subletting Quota Framework 2. Today, only Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents can buy HDB flats. But foreigners can rent rooms or entire flats. Currently, there is no cap on the number of flats sublet to such foreign tenants in HDB blocks. Less than 4% of HDB flats are sublet to foreigners, excluding Malaysians. However, the proportion could go up to 9% in some areas, or even 18% in some blocks. 3. To prevent the formation of foreigner enclaves, HDB will implement a quota to cap the number of flats that can be wholly sublet to NCs in each neighbourhood and block. The quota will be set at 8% at the neighbourhood level, and 11% at the block level. It will apply to subtenants who are Singapore Permanent Residents and foreigners, but will not apply to Malaysians who can better integrate into our estates due to their cultural and historical similarities with Singaporeans. 4. The quota will also not apply to subletting of rooms, to reduce the impact on those who rely on subletting for additional income, especially the elderly and low-income households. 5. This aims to maintain the Singapore character of our HDB heartlands while balancing the housing and subletting needs of citizens and foreigners in Singapore. Implementation Details 6. The new policy will apply to all flat subletting applications received by HDB with immediate effect. All flat owners who [...]

By |2014-08-06T00:24:52+08:00January 20th, 2014|blog|1 Comment
Read More

Private Property Home Price Trend

Source : Barclays Research : Trend of private property chart.. It seems like we are heading for a soft landing after 5 years of strong bull run of property prices.. Do you think it will correct up to 20% from the peak? My humble opinion : Yes. There's going to be a huge supply of houses coming into the market this year 2014, 2015 and 2016. Many people are upgrading to ECs and private condos because of a strong run in HDB prices over the years. The upgraders to EC have to sell their HDB, people who bought condos have to rent it out when it's TOP (Either their condo or HDB). There will be a big supply of condos/HDB for rent, HDB for sale, and many BTOs for first timer to apply. Who is going to fill up this resale gap? The locals, PR or foreigners? Property is like trading. Whenever there's fear, everyone will try to rush out through a single door, everyone wants to get out/cut loss. But unlike stocks, property is illiquid , it's not easy to get out should market corrects.. In property prices, it will always be uptrend due to limited land in Singapore. You would need to have holding power to ride out the downs during the property cycle. Nothing goes up forever, property market needs a breather like a stock market.    

By |2014-08-31T11:48:17+08:00January 15th, 2014|blog|0 Comments
Read More

How to make your life as a Landlord easier with repairs?

I walked into a car showroom a few years back. The cars were new, I could smell the car seat fragrance. The drive was fantastic, smooth and reliable. Everything was so good and comfortable... However, after a few years, things started to go downhill.. Aircon is not cold, engine cooling system is not working, noise in the braking pad, etc etc... Breakdowns are unavoidable in the lifespan of cars. Similarly, breakdowns are also very common in rental properties. What should a Landlord do? Most of the time, I hear tenants complaining to me about things breaking down in the house. Aircon spoil, washing machine faulty, drains clogged.. the list goes on.. As a landlord, there will be a 1 month warranty for all the electrical appliances in the house to the tenant, except for damages done by the tenant. Landlord is also responsible to ensure that the appliances is in good and working condition before handing over to the tenant. Nonetheless, there are a few tips/clause that you can put in the Tenancy agreement contract that can make your life as a landlord much easier: 1. Keep the operation manual of all the appliances and leave the file there so that the tenant can look at it for easy reference. Inform the tenant to check out the operation manual for any machine malfunction/google the fault through the internet before contacting the Landlord or Landlord's agent. 2. State in the Tenancy Agreement that Tenant is responsible for all-minor repairs and routine maintenance of the premises not exceeding $100 or $150 (amount agreed betw. the Landlord and Tenant) per item per job throughout the term of the said lease If it exceeds $100 or $150, then the [...]

By |2014-08-31T11:46:26+08:00January 7th, 2014|blog|0 Comments
Read More
Go to Top