Things we wish we knew: Before buying our house (Singapore resale, 4-room HDB)

[@SimplyMeYc]

Most rational and practical video on getting a house in Singapore.. thanks for the content!

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you so much for the kind comment!☺️🙏🏻 have a great week ahead!

[@amirulsuhaimi6736]

I agree

[@ivanwong6037]

I'm so happy for this couple cos I think they have their priorities worked out and they are definitely moving in the right direction. Pave your way to a comfortable life together and build a happy family. Be wary of those who only want to benefit from you. When life starts to get challenging, always keep in perspective why u both fell in love in the first place.

[@RK-cb6xo]

Thank you for the wonderful video 1. Make buying decisions based on what you can afford 2. Think if you are buying the house for investment - if you are, location, condo/HDB, & age of the house have to be taken into consideration 3. HDB v bank loan: do your research before choosing because interest payments do add up to substantial amounts 4. CPF principal amount + Accrued interest + government subsidies: when you sell your HDB, accrued interest (the interest that is earned had you not withdrawn the $ to pay for your house from your CPF) + any government subsidy + the $ deducted from your CPF to buy the house will go back to your CPF. So some people would choose to rent out the house after the MOP instead of selling.

[@Darknighteo]

Thank you for the summary!

[@tingblubblub6106]

Hehe I enjoy the chemistry between this couple! Both finishes each others words and very much in agreement over housing matters. And if not, I’m sure the rationale side of you both is able to reason it out :) So glad y’all found a perfect match :) i mean the house (AND THE COUPLE) 😆

[@estrellaho]

Wow $285k is really amazing price even taking the location and year into consideration. Any idea how the price is prob now? I’m just wondering how much it has inflated during this period. I’m looking out for resale too but pricing feels too marked up now.

[@kiwiapple100]

Just a random comment: try to pay off your housing loan first/ asap. Following that, regardless if you’re planning to sell your hse in the future, as long as you’re financially-capable, try to put back the money (you “borrowed” from your CPF account to pay for your hse) to your CPF. Reason being, if in any case you decided to sell off your hse, you’ll have to pay back lesser accrued interest (cox you don’t have to find out how to earn the interest to put into CPF, leaving the job to Temasek holdings to earn you those interest). Also, once you put back the money into your CPF, the sum will def yield 2.6%-4% interest and all this contributes to your retirement plan (which can be a sort of passive investment). ^Just my opinion! Of course, if you’re strong in financial planning, go for what you have in mind :)

[@vivianwyx8914]

"Accrued interest is the interest that the principal amount would have earned if it was sitting in your CPF Ordinary Account (CPF OA) instead of having been taken out to pay for your house." Separate from Grants. When you sell, you have to pay back Accrued Interest AND Grants :)

[@edenchenyl]

$268,000 for a 4-room 900 sq ft and just 30-years old? You have a very good price. I would think this is impossible to get even if 3 years ago. 4-rooms in Singapore should be $400,000 + Can't imagine. A very good buy and sure to make an immediate profit even.

[@ametrinenephrite7936]

Looking at this video now. And omgosh pricing was cheap back then!

[@ji1511]

Honest and down to earth . Important to be able to your enjoy daily life n not be a slave to your home. Make capital repayment when u can.

[@pxdkitty]

Agreed 💯 we hope to not work until super stressed 🙈 thank you!!☺️🙏🏻

[@jayaramansuganthi9379]

👍👌

[@xuannlinn9543]

About the housing grant, yes you will need to pay back the housing grant with interest if you were to sell the house, BUT pay back to your CPF account and you can still use it for the purchase of your next home.

[@pxdkitty]

Agreed! Thank you for this comment!☺️ the accrued interest goes back into our cpf account, so while we don’t get as much cash on hand, it can be used for next home / for retirement 👍🏻

[@Zeek19]

But ah, if we use it for the next home (or the longer the CPF is "borrowed" from our own account for the house payment), more and more accrued interest will be accumulated and more of our hard-earned cash automatically converts to CPF. Plus, at the end of the day, it's unlikely that we live long enough to enjoy a bulk of our CPF retirement sum..

[@therojakmedia4541]

You don't have to pay back grant if you purchase another resale hdb or pte property. Consult a professional instead of spreading misinformation here

[@kncnsm]

You should find an amortization schedule/xls model that'll help you track your interest payments. There's also time value of money since $1 today is worth more tomorrow. If you can get higher returns(%) on your savings from other investments, you should not sink all your cash into the mortgage right away. You should invest cash into stocks/bonds/etc to let the money grow faster vs interest you are saving. This will help chip away your mortgage in BIGGER chunks.

[@WorshipUntoJesus]

When I got my new house with my hubby, we thought the same as you, to pay off the hdb loan asap to save the interest. It's at the point where we are finishing paying the hdb loan and thought of upgrading, we realised we don't have enough cpf for down payment for the new house, unless you have enough cash savings. So do strike a balance. But if u don't have intention to move at all, then not a problem. It's really where you see yourself at 8-10 years down the road. Just sharing experience here.

[@pxdkitty]

That’s a really good point you raised! Thank you so much for sharing this! 🙏🏻 nothing Beats experience ☺️

[@WorshipUntoJesus]

@@pxdkitty most welcome.

[@parisivana]

so cheap and worth it, 4-rooms with 900sqft only $268k..... !!!! what a great deal and good catch

[@phia8723]

Bank loan is cheaper but more risky. I choose bank loan and paid for 5 years. BTO 4 room. At first We wanted 3 years but bank rejected it due to low amount of loan too. And you are right the risk of bank loan if coi coi happened, they will chase u. That’s why i think if you want to take loan for 25 years, hdb loan is still better. Appreciate your honest sharing :)

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! ☺️🙏🏻 yeah hopefully won’t have to get to the extent of anyone chasing us for payments (Choi!) 🙈

[@sharmine1997]

Thanks for sharing about this! I really enjoy the dynamics between the two of you, and I can really tell you grew a lot more chill and happy as compared to when you were blogging (i was reading your blog since a very very long time ago XD) Its nice to hear opinions from people who want to live a chill life instead of just from those who talk about productivity/gains/how you invest your time blahblahblah 😂

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you for your kind comment & also for remembering my blog from long ago haha!! 😆 Yes I do think as we grow older we realise there’s not just one way to live.. and what other people want for their lives may not be what we want also, so it’s important for us to make our own decisions and live life the way we want (as long as no 杀人放火🙈) !

[@sharmine1997]

@@pxdkitty yessss!! I'm so happy as an influencer you're showing the world that there's various ways to live :) we don't all have to live in beautiful condos, go to expensive spin classes and eat atas desserts XD happiness can be as simple as spending time with your cats and partner in a tiny and cosy house ❤ rly hope your YT journey goes well 🙌 i love your videos!!

[@pxdkitty]

@@sharmine1997 yeah!! Really is 开心就好☺️☺️👍🏻

[@mgproperties2957]

Contact several real estate agents and ask to meet with them for a conversation about your needs before choosing one. They can also point you to adjacent areas in your desired neighborhood or other types of considerations to help you find a house. Great video. I found it very clear and concise but very informative.

[@mindful47]

I think having peace of mind is more important than anything else. Not bursting one's budget is really crucial for maintaining mental and financial health! Singaporeans like to talk about using housing for investment which I think is stupid because frankly in this land scarce country ,nothing truly belongs to you. I agree with your thinking - have more real cash on hand and treat yourself to good meals instead of going out to work and not having time to spend at home just because of the loan repayment worries. I've seen condos that look terrible & messy inside, so I'd rather u spend more on a well renovated flat and live happily!❤️

[@pxdkitty]

Yes agreed, peace of mind is so important 💯☺️ also 4 room sometimes when we are overwhelmed with work, we also feel “Wah heng our house not so big, else clean until we Toh” 🤣

[@josephedisonjunior5542]

This is excellent work! We must all this and share as much. It will only uplift society as a whole by sharing these tips. I too had to have many discussions about finances and home financing with my wife. Many thing we don’t know because we don’t have a robust financial literacy education system that starts from young. It is clear the system is designed to ensure people remain ignorant, to earn from them. To beat that, your videos are an example to be a good starting point. Well done! Keep it up! Looking forward to more. Tips of saving money on food(home cooked and buying outside), energy use at home, mental well-being tips during Covid-19 etc.

[@Quest88]

Good decision to try to pay the house up as soon as possible. It's tempting to invest with the money given the bull market in past 10 years and low interest environment, but this may not last. Peace of mind is something that is not easily bought and can help you excel further in other ways.

[@vink15]

Your videos are really very informative and helpful especially for first time buyers like me. Thanks for sharing!

[@12345wwww]

Buying a resale flat with a good location is a good start. The CPF money (including grants) will be returned to your CPF a/c when you sell your flat, with accrued interest. On whether to get HDB or private loan, HDB is more "forgiving" when it comes to restructuring it because of default. Private loans are generally cheaper but the rates are more variable, so there is a risk of it rising with inflation. Finally, on whether to quickly pay off your loan to reduce interest, it depends on alternative use of money, loan interest rate, and inflation. If inflation is high, you are paying with cheaper dollars. I hope it helps, and wish all the best.

[@beeyeantan6661]

Hello! Im here because of Qiuqiu's post. And im truly inspired by your character Rachell. :) just want you to know you are appreciated and loved by us! Like the bitter first then enjoy. And your empathy for animals. Your thrift ways and values as a person. Pls stay true to yourself! Bless you!

[@WeirdDrinkingBoy]

Well really depends on whether you are going for a family. Sometimes it's not just the cash but being near primary schools, eateries etc are factors to consider as well. For myself, I bto 9 times and couldn't get, so I went and get a 5 room that can last me for a long time at a fringe area. Looking at the current HDB resale prices, I am unmotivated to use housing as an investment vehicle at

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you for your input! It’s really nice and refreshing to hear from so many different perspectives & for us to learn from others ☺️

[@drizzt167]

Think HDB loan's interest rate as paying back your CPF interest rate. It is because if you do sell the house, the proceeds will go back to your own CPF account. This means that all these monies are you investing on your house, which appreciate as years passed. And it is fully protected against bankruptcy. Whereas bank loan are impassionate if you can't repay the loan. As I've experienced multiple retrenchment in my SG life, like economic downturn such as epidemics and whatnot, it is better if you are prepared against these frequent future disasters. Using HDB loans for repayment has help me in cushioning these impacts. It even allow you to redeem you loans early when you have excess cash in your future.

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Really appreciate it ☺️🙏🏻 What are your thoughts on paying your home with cash monthly, and then keeping the cpf untouched for the interest rates? As we saw several advocates of this from the comments (also protected against bankruptcy).

[@pxdkitty]

@UC7a0vZH4GBmN_Tzv6xSe8vg that’s definitely something we should work towards also! Thank you so much!

[@drizzt167]

@@pxdkitty remember to top up your MA to max as soon as possible. This is because, as you work, your future MA $ contribution will automatically go to SA. You can enjoy more interest rate at SA than OA. After 55, RA account is created with your SA 1st, instead of OA (if your SA still didn't reach max sum)

[@pxdkitty]

@@drizzt167 this is awesome! Thank you for the tip! Definitely wished they taught us this in school haha!😆

[@drizzt167]

@@pxdkitty in future, if you want to reduce you income tax, make CPF donation for your parents. You could use this avenue as an alternative to bank (if your parents are pass 55, they can withdraw at any time)

[@hahaharithz]

Wah so easy to digest whatever you're saying. Thank you for the advice guys!

[@Betaphats]

Congrats both of you for buying ur home :) thanks for the tips

[@iam1nerd]

268k 4 room is just wow.... How do you hunt for houses? Please share some tips with us

[@joanqueen8009]

I tot 4 room is like over 350k for sure. Where is the location.

[@timothyweikiat6340]

One of the cons of the bank loans is that there usually is a pre-payment penalty clause, i.e. if you were to pay off the principal with any spare cash that you have, they will charge an additional interest and it may not be worthwhile to pay off at an accelerated pace.

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you for highlighting this!😍 that’s a great point to consider too!

[@timothyweikiat6340]

@@pxdkitty Thank you both for sharing about your hdb resale purchase. It was informative : )

[@pxdkitty]

@@timothyweikiat6340 the pleasure is ours!☺️🙏🏻

[@Zeek19]

@timothy I believe that's not the case when your lock-in period is over. I think there's a product that even offers partial payment within the lock-in period..

[@claratan5486]

Hi Rachell, chanced upon your video. Very informative. Your house looks amazing (:

[@seanlingham5254]

Rachell. All real estate agents basically tell you that about HDB vs bank loans (about foreclosure). It's just a story that does not really matter. Foreclosure will happen regardless of your loan source. Even if it's delayed by a month or two, it makes no difference in the grand scheme of things.

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you for your comment! I think what we’re worried about is when the unexpected happens (Choy Choy). That one or two months of flexibility might be really crucial for some people though.

[@seanlingham5254]

@@pxdkitty It's not guaranteed. The only reason HDB takes longer is because there are more processes. It's not out of the goodness of the organization. If you're up top in the queue to get f*****, then you aren't getting those one or two months.

[@pxdkitty]

@@seanlingham5254 i see, this is just what we heard from our Friend, hopefully we don’t go through that. There’s a comment someone posted he got a special case by case exception from HDB though. But I Guess like you said, not guaranteed.

[@seanlingham5254]

@@pxdkitty Don't say that. I bless you that you and your husband don't have to go through such difficulty. Just stating that it's not something to keep as a consideration. Better not to have it in mind.

[@sepa3740]

Very adorable couple and journey. God bless you

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you so much!

[@jayc88636]

Thanks for sharing Rachel and Sean! Some nice insights esp. when im considering a resale

[@pxdkitty]

The pleasure is all ours! Good luck on your house hunting! May your find your dream home!

[@clemiboi]

Thanks for sharing! Keep up the great work!

[@ziyuyou5247]

Informative video!! Thanks for sharing~~ Make moreeeeeeeeee

[@pxdkitty]

Thank your for your kind comment ❤️❤️ we’ll try our best to post more ☺️🙏🏻

[@bsolutions525]

You can rent out a room in your 4rm as you do not have kids yet. Even when my child came, my wife and I decided we did not need the room as our helper can sleep with the baby. Tenant pays most of our mortgage

[@xXchidoriPOWERXx]

Agreed on understanding financials before getting a house, a lot of people hopping onto 4RM or 5RM mature BTOs without understanding how much 500-600k is and the interest that large sum would incur One question, did you consider the lease buyback scheme? Your house has about 65 years left, guessing that y'all are about 40 years to 65 (I might be wrong but that means y'all are v youthful 😅) means you might not be able to "sell back" your house to HDB for retirement $$.. was that part of your considerations?

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you for your comment! ☺️ like we mentioned in our case, we really rushed into buying our resale home without much considerations 😳 & therefore making this video so people can consider first before buying like us 🤣 I think if we don’t suddenly become super Huat, then probably we’ll just stay in this home till we’re old (hopefully we don’t outlive our home 😅) We’ll go find out more about the lease buyback scheme! Thank you for sharing with us 🙏🏻☺️

[@viralloger267]

I think they are 20s or 30s..they look so young

[@joshconsultancy]

Good sharing guys. At current moment bank loans are cheaper and the risk of interest rate spike is still relatively low. There are indeed minimum quantum size of loan and higher legal and valuation fees. HDB loans however have a lot more flexibility especially in early payments and mortgage redemption. Keep the first $20k inside CPF. It delivers 3.5%pa (with the extra 1% which goes to SA eventually). Hope it helps =)

[@eightfoldsg]

You folks seems young, definitely not your first and last house. Have you thought about your exit plan since you bought a hdb around or below 60 years lease left

[@jamesmadison3108]

i did a random search in property guru. i set amount to be between 200k to 300k and hdb 4 rooms. Nothing came up. How come u can get a resale 4 room flat for $260k+ ? Amount is after grants?

[@gilazz]

Excellent video for prospective homeowners

[@pxdkitty]

thank you for your kind comment!☺️🙏🏻

[@south5tarr]

It is no longer possible to 2x for hdb in Singapore. You made the right choice. Put your $ elsewhere. Crypto or stocks.

[@hilmanhakim3046]

268k for resale 4 room consider cheap already even though the house 30 years old+. Somemore now Covid, Bto all delay. People rushing for Resale flat, SBF and open market. I don't think can get 4 room resale for that price already. 3 room still can.

[@xt2561]

Thanks for sharing. Appreciate the advice and tips. :)

[@blegys7959]

Just asking, how did you even get a house at $268k? Was it after grants?

[@bsolutions525]

Probably very ulu location

[@Reza.El-Fatih]

love you guys. very down to earth. this helps so much. ❤

[@hhxlegacy]

$268K for a 4rf. That's considered very cheap sia. Which area?

[@pxdkitty]

Yishun! But actually woodlands we saw even cheaper, but our parents thought it was very far from their place (actually not much difference distance wise!). As long as not prime location actually the pricing becomes more affordable. If you drive, actually can just choose a bigger home at a less prime location and save $. But someone also commented about transport costs (especially if have kids going to Sch/ they commute to work etc), then in that case a conveniently located home is better ☺️

[@curiousGoyangi]

Great video to help first time buyer get over the anxieties. May I ask at what stage do you pay your cash/cheque to the seller (after deducting the CPF, etc)? Is it during completion appointment? Or after getting HDB approval letter online (I.e. approx 8 weeks) and before the completion appointment?

[@rpattnaik2000]

Share your priority ... Kudos .. lot of good info :)

[@jefflim7020]

Hi @Rachell Tan, u can consider using cash to pay for your hdb loan and transfer your cpf OA $$ to SA and earn 4% interest per annum :) Yes, cpf is more forgiving towards home loans as compared to bank loans. U can pay more monthly to ur hdb loan to pay it fast off and save interest. Eg u can pay off $1k/mth instead of $700/mth so u dun pay so much interest :)

[@pxdkitty]

Yes that’s a great suggestion! 🙏🏻 I think many people (like us) were afraid of paying cash for our home, and we only recently realised we should try to pay as much in cash as possible. For now, we’re trying to pay in lump sums first whenever possible ☺️ Thank you for your helpful comment!

[@jefflim7020]

@@pxdkitty No worries you are welcomed, hopefully you dun find me intrusive! Thanks for releasing this video to share with others your home purchase and renovation journey :) Is there anything you would do differently in your home purchase and renovation journey? :)

[@pxdkitty]

@@jefflim7020 haha actually maybe quite a few reno changes like requesting for concealing of wires for our home, maybe changing the design of the toilet, and using a toilet sink that’s less chio but easier to clean 🤣 Also maybe we shouldn’t have cleared our cpf OA for our home, but then again that time really cash tight haha so maybe we can make the changes moving forward. But I think everything happens for a reason, and is also a good learning experience, so next time hopefully we can slowly upgrade ☺️

[@jefflim7020]

@@pxdkittyThanks for your advice and sharing, will take it into account when I'm buying my own house and renovating the next time :)

[@pxdkitty]

@@jefflim7020 all the best for your future plans! 💯💯💪🏻☺️

[@stevenheng3336]

Then we sold away for $380k and moved in with my in laws.... we stayed with them for almost 14 years!!! We bought out current 4rm at Buriton Merah for $650k with full cpf excluding $20k grant.... I am 50 this year so if I am employable, whatever I have will be for withdrawal when I hit 55....

[@skyrocketchips8725]

very useful advice. keep up the good work 👍🏼

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you so much for the kind comment! It means a lot to us ☺️❤️

[@prasadrao7697]

So many essential points you guys are share. Thank you ❤️

[@stevenheng3336]

My 1st house, I got a $50k grant, I didn't pay back and again I have $20k when bought 2 years ago

[@marthajones1450]

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[@marthajones1450]

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[@marthajones1450]

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[@AndiChg]

Great informative content guys !!

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you so much for the kind comment ☺️🙏🏻

[@stevenheng3336]

I went to your restaurant before at Tanglin

[@VzuallStudio]

258K after al the subsidy?

[@joycelexin]

Hi there, mind sharing the process of doing OTP yourself ? Eg: what to take note and the process?

[@pxdkitty]

Hello! Thank you for this! Yes sure, we’ll do a video to share our experience with doing the OTP on our own ☺️

[@joycelexin]

@@pxdkitty awesome ! Looking forward to it

[@bettercallsel]

You talked about paying more interest with the 25 year hdb loan which consists of paying a lot of interest on top of the price of the flat. What about the shorter loan periods which would mean lesser accumulated interest?

[@pxdkitty]

Yes that’s correct, that works too cause the interest is by per annum ☺️

[@YokNg]

actually if you take a look at the year by year breakdown, you are actually paying most of the interest in the first 10 years of the loan and very little of the principle. So, if you wana save on interest you need a super short loan like 5 years which is tough. there isn't much of a different between a 10 year loan or a 25 year loan cos most of the Interest has already been paid so might as well extend as long as possible.

[@pxdkitty]

@@YokNg thank you for this! Time for my husband and I to do some math and see how we can lower interest without adding too much stress on ourselves 🙏🏻☺️

[@YokNg]

@@user-jd2dn5fb2g yea but the installments are gona be a killer

[@jemielim1106]

Thanks for the video! Very informative, thanks a lot!!! But I am veryyyy curious, 4 rooms resale flat only cost for $268k?

[@pxdkitty]

Ours is 30years old already, and not near central area (considered ulu) so I guess it’s around this pricing ☺️ we actually saw some further flats that are even cheaper leh haha!

[@pxdkitty]

Also like in our video we spoke to our friend who bought first hand bto, around same pricing as ours but brand new 99 years🙈

[@jemielim1106]

Yes yes I know if bto pricing around there! My bf and I also just got an open booking flat and the pricing around 290k! Anyway thanks for the reply coz when I watching your video then I told my bf, my bf said doesn’t make sense leh the pricing. So thanks for the reply now I can tell him! Very grateful for all the super informative videos! Hdb / dishwasher / wedding shoot Appreciate it! Support 💕

[@pxdkitty]

@@jemielim1106 no problem dear! Really glad that our video can help! Excited for you already! Jiayou!!

[@zuanneteow7882]

@@pxdkitty Hi!! May I asked further, for the $268k, is it after all the grants deduction? And if you don't mind to share, may I ask which district is your house located?

[@cw4086]

You guys are such an adorable couple

[@pxdkitty]

thank you!

[@davidtan260]

Thanks for the useful tips shared in the video. Will consider to take hdb loan first when buying my flat. Why didn’t you guys choose 3rm flat instead of 4rm if you do not plan for family? Btw, is yours a corridor unit? For me who has concern about privacy, I tend to incline to corner unit

[@pxdkitty]

Hello! Actually we are ok with 3rm too! But the resale homes we found, around this price range, we found this one (4rm), and other 3rm ones around the same pricing. So to us it made more sense to get 4rm since it cost the same (but location not as good). Ours is corridor unit, but you can put those 1 sided mirror film (you can look out but outside can’t look in), which also helps with blocking out uv rays.

[@chongjason1714]

now 400k+ abv, sian

[@CatandKenneth]

Debt free, live free! Clap clap clap

[@pxdkitty]

☺️☺️💪🏻💪🏻 we still have a long way to go, but will Jiayou towards it~~~

[@dakapil8398]

Singaporeans mindset, buy new bto then once MOP done go sell up to double the initial price and make fast money. Then go buy camping tent at toys r us and stay at bedok jetty

[@pxdkitty]

😆😆😆

[@dakapil8398]

@@user-jd2dn5fb2g If govt did not intervened in the 90s, now will be much more worse

[@annilam5893]

Thanks for sharing the info! Had watched your 2nd part too 😆 Alot of ur viewers are asking how did you get such a good rate for 4rm flat. Lol.. May I know which Yr did u bought the flat? I think the inflation rate for resale flat had gone up so fast esp during this covid period. 😓

[@pxdkitty]

we actually got it during aug 2019. (signed the otp). resale property price was quite low at that time and the ex owner was in the rush to sell it, so we bargained a little to seal the deal!

[@evelynnsotplug]

thanks for making this super informative video!!!

[@pxdkitty]

Thank you for your kind comment!! Really appreciate it ☺️❤️

[@liping111]

Thanks for sharing, how do your search for the current home? Via property guru? Any advice for me? 🙂

[@pxdkitty]

Hello Michelle, we actually found our home on 99.co, managed to negotiate the pricing a little with the seller and closed it at 268k. Did the OTP ourselves and 2 months later, the house belongs to us!

[@stevenheng3336]

Be happy with a shelter over us... don't follow trends and hoping to make $... where so easy... 'u see people good but behind closed doors, they thinking of next instalment and if banks are knocking on their door'

[@chopper9511]

informative, agreed with living within your own means. No pt get a big hse and worrying bout mthly instalments. I oso someone who dun know anything but wana get a hse hopefully in near future. The accured interest reali muz take a second look o.O

[@pxdkitty]

The accrued interest will ultimately go back to our CPF for retirement. So while it’s something to consider, at least the money belongs to you too! Just that cash on hand will be lesser if we pay for the accrued interest! ☺️

[@pxdkitty]

The loan interest (be it bank or hdb loan) is the one that we should worry about more 🙈

[@drizzt167]

@@user-jd2dn5fb2g hi, Though hdb interest is pegged @ 2.6%, think accured interest as you taking a loan from your (future) self. Another explanation is all the principal and interest (lum together) are you paying the exact amount full amount as the price of the apartment (at the beginning), with (this is important) benefits like lump sum repayment, readjustment of monthly loan quantum, (important) shielding from crisis (like financial, epidemic) as hdb are very lenient. bank loan have advantage of lower interest but are impassionate with crisis and will not accept certain borrowing sum. So you need to have a buffer in case of crisis. Please learn through past history on financial crisis, to see if you can survive them. (1997, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2020, those that I can remember) If you are young and not financially stable. This short term advantage (bank loan) might not be your cup of tea, if you are unable to tide over. Hdb allows you to repay early lum sum (when your future self earns enough to do so) or increasing loan repayment (I didn't used this or I don't know if hdb allows it) , banks don't like this. So in summary, accured interest are just the expected money you expect your cpf money will grow as you withdraw the amount from you OA account. If you combine hdb loan and cash lump sum repayment (do it asap), you would gain financial freedom sooner, with safety net. My advice is to use hdb loan, then quickly use cash (or, optionally, OA) to top up your MA (1st) & SA (2nd) to rush up your RA to max, then clear the remaining loan (lump sum) with cash. All these also help you reduce tax 😍. Note, this advice is for unsavvy in investment, insurance, etc. (as most ppl is). All private institution are not so friendly when crisis hits. Do remember to have cash buffer (at least 6 mths) to tide over crisis. ✌️ Please look at my other comment for more elaboration. Cheers

[@darrenkwok84]

try to pay back CPF oa accrued if possible

[@vincentchua5194]

You are wise. Your jobs will not last forever. A tiny reason will make you quit.

[@orangejoy7745]

hey u are absolutely right! many ppl commit to buying things including something as important as a house thinking that they will be forever keeping their jobs.

[@jennifer-oc6io]

Condos aren’t always money earning treasures

[@missjazzytan]

rachel! which region are u staying in?

[@bornfree3531]

Young,smart speaks well..and passively aggressive...should have gone for condo...have kittens first then have kids.... monthly payment for condo might be higher......but your income will grow with your careers...and slowly it becomes as easy as a Sunday morning.....

[@pxdkitty]

For us our jobs aren’t very stable to be honest, and my husband cafe just closed down last year during circuit breaker 😅 so we aren’t very sure if income will grow with our career in the next few years also so we didn’t want to take the chance. But if really in future we can do better, maybe then can consider upgrading ba ☺️ Thank you for your comment!

[@stevenheng3336]

I see everyday how many people couldn't pay their mortgage in my line of work

[@starshar]

How about instead of repaying the hdb loan ins 25 years and you choose to repay in 10-15 years? Will that be interest savings too?

[@bsolutions525]

Yes. I bought my flat $400k total resale in bishan few years back. Took loan $345k. Paid $70k off in advance. Repayment period dropped from 25 yrs down to 16.5 years

[@ltensail]

No offence, but I find Rachell has some resembles of Ayumi Shinoda.

[@rinainlondon8]

Ur very true

[@audreyang902]

Kitty is lovely.

[@micpanit]

Tysm~

[@johnchristie1550]

Nice

[@hanyuan8701]

HI, may I ask when you mention paying more per month for HDB loan is it by putting the money into CPF? Or by direct cash to the loan?

[@pxdkitty]

Hello! In our case we put in lump sums (whenever we can) from cash to pay off the hdb loan. This reduces the years left for us to pay back the loan, which in turn lowers the total interest we’re paying. On the HDB website, you can make a partial capital repayment of your outstanding hdb loan (can use paynow, axs and other modes of payment). This will shorten the repayment method while continuing to pay your usual monthly instalments (we still paying monthly via cpf, but many people advise paying cash as well).

[@stevenheng3336]

U need pay back grant in Cash unless you are buying a New Flat directly from Hdb...

[@MsEverAfterings]

If everyone bought their HDB flats with the mindset that they want to make a profit in the future, then these flats will never be affordable for future generation; defeating the purpose of HDB.

[@Kaplantay]

Can.If you buy smaller bto flat like 3 room and pay off within 5 to 8 years and sell off,you wiuld be earning at least 50k to 60 k profit at least.

[@MsEverAfterings]

@@Kaplantay that the problem; this means that 3 room flats are at least $50K - $60K more expensive than before. What I am saying is that those who purchased BTO or resale with the mindset that they want to flip it in future for profit are the very reason why HDB are getting so unaffordable.

[@Kaplantay]

@@MsEverAfterings That not the problem but the natural progression of supply and demand curve.Imagine if the flat are not so expensive that mean that there are no demand.What constiute to no demand ? It mean no progress.That is why the government give out grant to first timer to cushion their burden and maintaining the supply and demand curve at a healthy rate. The nature of exchanging money by selling and buying enable bank or hdb to generate profit and keep the enconomy going.Imagine all hdb flat at a flat rate of 3 room 100k 4 room 150k 5 room 200k,who will suffer?The bull whip effect is huge.No want want to sell or buy.Bank Hdb will not earn money..agent no jobs..contractors and designers no jobs...no need to buy applicances..etc.. That say ,just buy within your means and plan out your own saving as we can never stop the supply and demands

[@stevenheng3336]

Human being human... go for low interest rate but when comes to defaulting and banks going after them, every terms need conditions are unreasonable to them 😆

[@ega0117]

Won’t by a house there

[@pxdkitty]

I guess got pros and cons of living in Singapore. We’ve also considered migrating overseas before and moving out of sg, but then again many people also dream of living in sg.. the grass is greener on the other side 🙈

[@ega0117]

The dude sounds Chinese while the girl sounds Vietnamese.

[@pxdkitty]

Haha!! I guess Singaporeans’ English accent is like a mix of everything ba 😆

[@guoxingeorge8495]

Feel disappointed that there is no like and reply on my comments. I mean I felt a bit casual racism here as in fact all my friends are singaporean from NS army and seems now even when I am converted to citizen I am still being treated like people from mainland China. I really like this video and input. But u guys let me down really.

[@pxdkitty]

Hello! Sorry we didn’t get to reply because one of your comments didn’t come through fully 🙏🏻 I saw 2 comments on the notification but only 1 appeared on our video, so we didn’t get the full info on what to reply. Could I ask what’s the first comment you posted so we can get the full context?☺️

[@pxdkitty]

We thought it was a KZbin error and wanted to wait for both comments to appear so we can read and reply properly as well (it hasn’t appeared even now). We’re just here to share what we learned so that everyone who watch this can avoid the same mistakes we made and plan their purchase properly. We’re sorry you’ve met not so nice people in NS, but we hope you’ll meet more nicer people along the way! We have no negativity nor biasedness on our platform, not to worry 👍🏻

[@guoxingeorge8495]

@@pxdkitty Hi Rach, no worry. I give ppl second chance one. I just replied and I think got error again. :) Background: My one also resale 4 room HDB flat bought in May 2019 Tampines, but our flat bigger la 110平方米, total is $465K. I Also opted for HDB 25 year loan, every month I only pay $903 from CPF OA. Downpayment I used up all CPF, my saving and get financial support from my mum and mother-in-law. When my wife got pregnant, I immediately rented out both single room earning $1200 monthly. Now they went back to China, I had 8 month baby son now. They have no intention to back SG under COVID for now. 1. Wanna support u guys for this video as I feel so connected due to so much similarities: our age, HDB resale, CPF etc. 2. Do u think I pay $465K is reasonable price? I feel a little bit overpaid la. 3. My advice: stick to HDB loan. Intention must be live here until die. Cause u sell confirm make losses. Do not listen those bank refinancing all BxxxSxxx, later ask u repay back big time lol. Maybe like us, u make one single room and renting out. Why not? Generate some passive income :)

[@pxdkitty]

@@guoxingeorge8495 yeah the total sqft you mentioned sounds like almost 5 room flats. And maybe the pricing is also higher based on the location? Cause for our home maybe it’s more ulu, therefore lower price. Actually having a good location you save a lot on transport and you’re paying for the convenience (amenities are of walking distance from your home), so that’s actually a good consideration for those who’re looking to buy their new flat, especially if no plans to buy car (at the moment). Yeah I do think if we sell will make a loss, so stay here long time would be better. Renting for passive income sounds good too! One step closer to a more stress free life 😆

[@pxdkitty]

@@guoxingeorge8495 thank you for sharing your experience with us!☺️

[@davidlee3806]

The more you wait, the higher the chance you get children with special needs. The cost of handling outweighs the profit from BTO. Congratulations.

[@Elsonong908]

S'pore house loan is 'good' debt. Using good debt and extra cash to invest is a better way..... Don't fully pay up. Disclaimer: What I say is not financial advice as I am not a financial adviser but only for information sharing purposes. Lol