Timeline For Buying An HDB Resale Flat In 2022: HDB Resale Procedure

So you’ve decided to buy a resale HDB flat but don’t know where to start. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about buying resale HDB flats right here. While the purchase process may seem daunting, first-time buyers will be pleased to know that everything can be done online via the HDB Resale Portal.

Play your cards right, and you might find yourself stepping into your new home in 12 to 15 weeks.

Overview of resale HDB buyer guide

*Time will vary greatly depending on your comfort level with paperwork, how cooperative your seller is and whether you have a good property agent to guide you.

1. Check your eligibility

Hopeful buyers must meet ALL of the following criteria to be eligible for resale HDB flat purchase:

In addition, you must also take the Ethnic Integration Policy and Singapore Permanent Resident quota (EIP and SPR quota) into account when selecting a flat for purchase.

While there are no income ceilings for HDB resale flat purchase, your annual income will determine whether or not you qualify for the HDB Housing Loan and CPF Housing Grants.

In most cases, an annual income exceeding $14,000 will put you out of range for most subsidies.

Time spent thus far: 1 day. This is by far the simplest step, so don’t procrastinate!

2. Check your finances

Buying an HDB resale flat is a significant financial commitment. The property itself can cost anywhere between $350,000 for three-room flats to $700,000 for upper-end five-room flats. This can be spread out with mortgage payments, but you’ll be required to put down a downpayment of at least 10%.

*Percentage payable by CPF OA represents the maximum percentage, which can be reduced and made up for with cash.

This does not include the miscellaneous payments such as the Resale Application Fee ($40-$80) and processing fee for Request for Value ($120), as well as HDB conveyance fees (aka legal fees).

And unless you’re willing to risk watching all your assets go up in flames, you’ll want to add home insurance to your monthly expenses moving forward.

For a full breakdown of your HDB resale payment options, check out this guide.

If all this talk about money hasn’t got you gripping your piggy bank, then you’re ready to move onto the first real step of HDB purchase.

Time spent thus far: 2 + 7 = 9 days. Like most of us, you’re probably too tired on weekdays to make stressful financial calculations.

3. Registering Intent to Buy – AKA: Informing HDB

Before embarking on your purchase, you’ll have to inform HDB of your Intent to Buy by registering it via the HDB Resale Portal. The Intent to Buy is valid for a period of 12 months, and you can only exercise it after waiting out a 7-day cooling period.

Also, your resale flat seller must also possess a valid Intent to Sell (which can be obtained from the same portal) before you can move onto the next step.

Time spent thus far: 2 + 7 + 7 = 16 days. IF both you and your seller have valid Intents by the end of the cooling period.

4. Get the Option to Purchase (OTP) from your seller

Once you’ve found a willing seller (which you can easily do via the Ohmyhome app, by the way), they will grant you an OTP. By issuing the OTP, your seller essentially promises not to offer their home to anyone else but you.

In return for their commitment, you’ll be forking over an Option Fee deposit ranging from anywhere between $1 and $1,000. The deposit amount is to be decided between you and your seller, and will be forfeited if you end up deciding not to exercise the OTP.

You have up to 4pm on the 21st day of receiving your OTP to exercise it. From now until then, you’ll have to get a valuation for your new home and prepare several documents such as the Letter of Offer for bank loans.

5. Request for flat valuation

Your flat’s value is NOT the selling price offered by your sellers, and will be determined by an HDB approved valuer. Request for Value can be requested via the HDB Resale Portal, and the final value will determine how much of your CPF and loans you can use to service your flat.

Home valuation results will be released within five to seven working days of your application, and what a nerve-wracking five to seven days that will be.

Should your selling price be above the final valuation, you will be required to pay Cash Over Valuation (COV). For example, if you agreed to a selling price of $500,000 but HDB determines that your flat is only worth $450,000, you’ll be paying a COV of $50,000!

On the flipside, if your valuation is higher than the selling price (which is rare), your sellers will be the ones biting the bullet instead. They will have to make up for the shortfall between their initial purchase and HDB’s valuation with the CPF refund of principal and accrued interest in cash. We’re just telling you this as an FYI, so that you’re not too confused when your sellers aren’t as cheery as usual after valuations have been announced.

6. Wrapping up the paperwork (OTP, Resale Application, Resale Application Fee, Endorsement)

Once you have your finance ducks lined up, you’re ready to exercise the OTP. Signing the OTP will require you to hand over a second deposit which, when combined with your Option Fee, must not amount to more than $5,000. This amount should be mutually agreed upon between you and your seller, and will be forfeited should you decide not to follow through with the purchase, before the keys are handed over to you.

The OTP must be submitted together with any other resale application documents. These documents include the OTP contract and applicants’ personal particulars. This is the point when you find out if there are any sabotagers amongst you, because you and your seller must submit these documents within seven days of one another. Miss this date, and you’ll have to redo the OTP process all over again. And yes, that includes paying another reapplication fee of $40 or $80.

Time spent thus far: 2 + 7 + 7 + 21 = 37 days. This period can be dragged out for much longer if you miss out on submitting your OTP documents. We can’t stress enough how important it is to communicate with your buyer properly.

7. Receiving the keys and stepping into your new flat

HDB will process your documents and notify you via SMS if your application is successful. Your notification will come along with the date and time of the Resale Completion Appointment. Typically, resale completion will occur approximately eight weeks after successful application.

Any balance of the purchase price must be paid off before the resale can be completed, and both sellers and buyers (plus their legal representatives) must physically attend the Resale Completion Appointment.

Should you be overseas on the date of the Resale Completion Appointment, you may request to be represented via the Power of Attorney.

For a smooth and painless Resale Completion, don’t forget to bring (and sign) the following documents along with you:

• Original Option to Purchase document
• Final cash payment receipt
• Mortgage Fire Insurance Policy (for HDB housing loan)

Unless your seller has requested for a temporary extension of stay (which can last for up to two months), you should be receiving the keys on-site. Happy moving!

Time spent thus far: 2 + 7 + 7 + 21 + 56 = 93 days or roughly 13 weeks.

Looking to buy a resale HDB flat? Let us speed up your home search!

Let Ohmyhome’s smart data-matching technology MATCH you with the right home, according to your specific needs. Submit your preferences to us and our algorithm will filter all our available listings based on those, and we’ll WhatsApp them to you once we find a match. We’ll also send you relevant content that you can use for your research and inform your home buying decision, so you no longer have to spend hours searching online for the information that you need.

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