buying 30 years or older HDB flat

[maychitkhaing]

I am having difficulity in deciding whether to buy 30 years old HDB flat or a newer 10 years old HDB flat in Bedok.

30 years old flat is bigger and nicer and walking distance to MRT and Bus Interchange while 10 years old flat is far from both and with smaller rooms.

But if I sell my flat back in 10 years from now, my 30 years old flat will be 40 years by then. Will the price depreciate?

And I understand that Banks has a limit on lone tenure in such a way that the flat must have at least 45 years lease left when the lone mature. Therefore I can only get 25 years loan for my 30 years old flat.

By the time I sell the flat, (10 yrs later), the buyer can only have loan tenure of only 15 years. This will reslult in less potential buyers.

On the other hand younger flat is far from MRT and it is very expensive.
Any rooms are smaller that I don't feel comfortable.

What is the prospects of buying a 30 years old flat in good location? Any idea?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Depending on where the flat is located and the general age of the newtown, you might find yourself in for a windfall if you buy an older flat if the government decides to completely rebuild the estate. They (the HDB) usually will pay a premium and offer you prime new flats when that happens. Only you know how attached you will get to a property and only you know how much "space" is worth to you. So you will have to look at more than dollars & sense!

[ksl]

You should be looking at how happy you will be, rather than the $ it brings in the future!

Bigger is better for me, space and more space, the $ isn't happiness!

[sundaymorningstaple]

Which is why I bought on the Serangoon Nth side on YCK road and not the Hougang side. 104sq/m vrs 121sg/m for a 5I room flat. And places like Punggol have 5 room flats with only 94sg/m. BS that is! My flat was 11 years old when I bought it & it's currently 21 years old. I reckon it will be around 25-27 years old when I sell it.

[maychitkhaing]

Thanks....I also like old flat.... but HDB prices are high and it is my hard earned money also, therefore I also don't prefer my biggest asset to be depreciating.

When I settled my loan, the house will be 60 years already.....

[sundaymorningstaple]

Believe me, unless you are different than most, you will upgrade as soon as your flat is 5 years old. (I believe that's the minimum now - it used to be 10 years old then upgrade). I won't cause when I sell it's going to be cause I've retired and am going back to the farm.

[sierra2469alpha]

Hi SMS Just a question - when you say most people upgrade after 5 years, is that the "norm" here? How does it work given your other wise postings about HDB? Say for example you wanted to move to a different area (eg. your comments about the ethnic mix). I'm just interested, not having a go or anything, it's just something I don't understand

Cheers, P

[sundaymorningstaple]

Mr. P,

Don't worry, I know your not.

It used to be that you had to own an HDB (assuming you got your flat new direct from the HDB) for a minimum of 10 year before you could sell it (and upgrade to a new flat and take advantage of the 2nd/last housing grant (in it's myriad forms - too much for here). A few years back it was reduced to 5 years before you could sell it without being penalized.

As far as the racial quotas are concerned, they still apply. So anywhere you want to go, whether you will be allowed to go there or not depends on the quotas, The same thing goes for trying to sell your existing flat. You cannot just sell it to anybody. Although at times you can. Look in the newpapers for HDB sales. Quite often you will see ads with "Indian Elgible" or open to all races. Depending of the existing quota's in the estate/block where your flat is. With the HDB is doesn't matter how much money you have, if your skin is the wrong colour or your are of the wrong religion, you might not be able to buy that flat you want. Or you might not be able to sell your flat because nobody of the right race has made a offer. Sometimes it sucks! It generally only affects the minorities as you can well imagine. We were lucky when I bought mine on the resale market as my wife is a 7%'r and I'm a 2%'r. I guess we were in the right place at the right time. As I bought the flat from the original Chinese owner.

Generally the upgrade between 5 & 10 years. They buy their first flat as soon as they get married (usually they are 35 or so already!) and have a kid. They will buy a 3 or 4 room flat initially, and depending on family growth, income growth whatever, they will opt for a 5 room or maisonette or now, possibly a low end condo what with the two starting to merge quality wise. I think we'll see something different during/after this economic mess has settled. I reckon HDB prices, will dropping slightly, won't drop all that much. What we are seeing though is a shakeout of the Condo Market. A lot of upgraders will go directly from their first flats to low end condos I've got a feeling. This will probably depress the larger 5 room and maisonette prices (like mine) unless there are those people who like larger flats and developed infrastructures (town centre and related knock-on facilities). Something the newer towns don't have yet.

I guess only time will tell now, as we are all in uncharted territory.....