Property & Mortgages: buy a home and manage the loan

Choose between BTO, resale and private, work out stamp duty and the most you can borrow, then pick a loan and manage it until you sell.

For most people here, a home is the largest thing they will ever buy. Many buyers learn the rules from a property agent and a banker, and both are paid when the deal closes. The rules are public, and HDB, IRAS and MAS publish them. They are spread over many pages, they change over time, and they depend on each other. Your eligibility sets your grants, your income sets your loan, and your loan sets what you can afford. This course takes the rules in the order you will meet them. It starts with choosing BTO, resale or private and ends when your lock-in finishes and you decide whether to refinance. Each module ends with a number or a decision based on your own figures.

What you'll be able to do

• Compare BTO, resale and private homes on cost, waiting time, restrictions and resale value over ten years
• Check your HDB eligibility, and the CPF housing grants you qualify for, against HDB's current rules
• Calculate the BSD, ABSD and any Seller's Stamp Duty on your purchase at current IRAS rates
• Work out the most you can borrow under the LTV limit, MSR and TDSR before you speak to a bank
• Compare an HDB loan with three bank packages on the total interest paid over the lock-in
• Draw up a dated purchase timeline that shows what you pay in cash and what you pay from CPF
• Decide when to reprice, refinance, sell or upgrade, with the break-even written down

Syllabus

Module 1: Choose the path: BTO, resale, EC or private

You compare the four ways to buy a home in Singapore on price, waiting time, restrictions and resale. Then you decide whether to buy now or rent a while longer.

• 1.1 What a BTO really costs you in time and freedom
• 1.2 Resale flats: market price, but you move in sooner
• 1.3 Executive condos and private homes: who can buy and what changes
• 1.4 Rent longer or buy now: compare them honestly
• 1.5 Compare two homes over ten years

Module 2: Check your eligibility and the grants you can claim

Use HDB's own tools to find out which homes you can buy, which CPF housing grants you qualify for, and which rules apply to you after you buy.

• 2.1 HDB eligibility: citizenship, family and income
• 2.2 CPF housing grants: who qualifies and where the money goes
• 2.3 Rules that follow you after you buy
• 2.4 Get your HDB Flat Eligibility letter and read it

Module 3: Work out the stamp duties before you commit

Work out Buyer's Stamp Duty, Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty and Seller's Stamp Duty from the current IRAS rates, and know when ABSD can be refunded.

• 3.1 BSD: tiered rates that work like tax bands
• 3.2 ABSD: who pays it and when it comes back
• 3.3 Seller's Stamp Duty if you sell too soon
• 3.4 Build a stamp duty calculator

Module 4: Know your loan limit before a banker tells you

Work out how much you can borrow under three limits: the loan-to-value limit, the Mortgage Servicing Ratio and the Total Debt Servicing Ratio. You will use MAS and HDB rules and the stress-test rate.

• 4.1 LTV limits and the cash you must put in
• 4.2 MSR: the cap on instalments for HDB flats and ECs
• 4.3 TDSR and the stress-test interest rate
• 4.4 Variable income, other debts and guarantors shrink your limit
• 4.5 Work out your own maximum loan

Module 5: Choose the loan: HDB or bank, fixed or floating

Weigh an HDB concessionary loan against bank packages, learn how fixed, floating and SORA-pegged rates and lock-ins work, and settle on a tenure and whether to pay from cash or CPF.

• 5.1 HDB loan or bank loan
• 5.2 Fixed, floating and SORA-pegged packages
• 5.3 Lock-ins, clawbacks and the real cost of a package
• 5.4 Loan tenure, and paying from cash or CPF
• 5.5 Compare an HDB loan and three bank packages

Module 6: Get through the purchase step by step

Follow a resale, BTO and private purchase step by step from option to keys. Learn how valuation and cash over valuation work, and build a dated timeline of every payment.

• 6.1 The resale purchase, from option to keys
• 6.2 Valuation and cash over valuation
• 6.3 BTO and new launches: progressive payments
• 6.4 Lawyers, insurance and the paperwork at completion
• 6.5 Build your purchase timeline

Module 7: Own it well: yearly costs, lease and renting out

Add up what a home costs you each year, see how a shorter lease affects its value and the loans buyers can get, and learn the rules for renting out a room or the whole home.

• 7.1 Property tax, fees and upkeep
• 7.2 Lease decay: what a shrinking lease does
• 7.3 Renting out a room or the whole home
• 7.4 Build your annual cost of ownership

Module 8: Reprice, refinance, sell or upgrade

Decide what to do when your lock-in ends, work out the break-even on switching, and plan a sale or upgrade with the stamp duty, CPF refund and timing in mind.

• 8.1 Reprice or refinance when the lock-in ends
• 8.2 Work out the break-even on switching
• 8.3 Selling: proceeds, the CPF refund and the timing
• 8.4 Upgrading or right-sizing in the right order
• 8.5 Build your home plan and five-year watchlist

Frequently asked questions

How long does the course take?

It takes about nine hours, including lessons and exercises. The exercises use your own income and a real home you are looking at, so keep recent payslips and a few listings to hand.

How is this different from Big goals: wedding, home, car and kids?

Big goals treats saving for a downpayment as one goal among several. This course covers the rules of buying: eligibility, grants, stamp duty, loan limits, choosing a loan, the purchase steps and managing the loan afterwards.

Will the rules go out of date?

Yes, often. Stamp duty rates, loan limits, grants and income ceilings change with government policy. The course explains how each rule works and points you to HDB, IRAS, MAS and the CPF Board for current figures, so your sheets use this year's numbers.

Is this financial advice?

No. The course is education and does not replace financial advice. It explains how the rules work and how to make a decision, and it never tells you which home or loan to choose. Check current rules with HDB, IRAS, MAS and the CPF Board, and talk to a licensed adviser or lawyer about your own case.

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