i am so annoyed with HDB now. this is like the FOURTH time they're asking me for the same documents, the same damned documents, when i have told them each time they send their stupid request that i DO NOT have the documents they are requesting for!!
it's really damn annoying!!
ok, chope.
let me give you some background to the situation, cos i don't believe i have spoken about this here yet. heh. well, we had wanted to keep this hush hush till everything is firm and concrete. well, our flat is pretty much built, firmed and concrete, so i suppose it's okay to talk about it now, heh!
yes! our flat!
noel and i have applied for our HDB flat last year in October actually. the $2000 option fee has been paid, documents have been signed, and our unit has been booked. yey!
but far from this being a happy and exciting journey, this is actually becoming a totally annoying and exasperating experience! for me, at least!
even from the beginning, this is proving to be a complete hurdle for us. firstly, the unit we have successfully applied for is in AMK. we had actually wanted a resale flat in AMK Ave 10 - very near Auntie D and Gramma Gerry! - and was looking forward to moving out to our own place in a matter of three months. i just wanted our own place as quick as possible.
but alas, when it came to our turn in january this year (our balloting number was 247, which was very promising as we were told by fellow house-buying-experienced friends), all the resale units were snapped up, so we were left with no other choices, but to opt for a new flat that will be completed in august 2012. TWO YEARS!!
the pro to this is that we will get a totally "clean" and new apartment, with no need to fear about previous owner issues, or having to deal with massive renovations. the only downside is having to wait for nearly two years till we can eventually move out. but oh well. we had a back-up plan, which is to perhaps rent a place, till we get the keys to our new place. (still searching by the way!)
okay, so the reason why we opted for a place in AMK is, because we were under the correct impression, that if we get a place within 2km radius of any of our folks, under the Married Child Priority Scheme, we'd get that "proximity grant" of about $30K. right? noel's folks stay in upp thomson, which is just at the junction of AMK Ave 1, and our new flat is along AMK Ave 1, facing Bishan Park 2. definitely within or at least just skirting the 2km radius.
so imagine our dismay, when during our first appointment in january, we learned that we are not entitled to any housing grants! not even the first timer grant! and why? because according to HDB (or at least, the staff that attended to us), the flat we are opting to purchase is from the Sale of Balance Flats Exercise, and is (quote) already considered cheap (unquote), therefore no grants will be extended to us.
like, hello???? $367 THOUSAND for a 4-room 87m2 pigeon hole of a flat is hardly CHEAP!! if we had known this fact before we submitted our application, we would have opted for a flat in Punggol or Sengkang!! screw the 2km proximity! i would have been happier, we would have a smaller hole in our pockets, and be a lot less stressful!!
but wait, it gets WORSE. because noel and i are both over 30years of age, instead of having to pay 5% downpayment, we are required to put up the full 10%! this is, like, nearly FORTY-THREE GRAND, after adding in the stamp and conveyancing fees. ok so, nevermind, we can't change our minds already, because that would mean forfeiting our application and our turn, so we paid the $2000 option fee, booked our flat, and went ahead with it.
so now we're in the process of sorting out our HLE - and it is getting more and more frustrating by the month. today we received another letter from HDB, asking yet again, for my Notice of Assessment for the Year 2008 and 2009.
sigh.
i have told them FOUR times already, i do not have my NOA for these two years. since i left Bar None in 07, i have been unemployed. i was pregnant, and just starting to build stubbornsnails. more importantly, i was NOT required to file. when i logged into myTaxPortal, a big fat statement that read "You are not required to file" was plastered on the home screen. i have even printed a screenshot of this to provide as proof!
i have written to them THREE times, told the HDB staff during our first appointment at least TWO times, that i was unemployed technically till June '09 cos that was when i registered my company. i have given them all possible necessary documents, declared all that is possible to declare, so i am getting quite annoyed that there is no form of ability to record it in their system, that i do not have my NOAs for the two damned years they keep requesting! argh!
all this is delaying the approval of our HLE application, and consequently the signing of our Agreement for Lease! hey, not that i can't wait to part with 43grand, but i just want to feel secure that we will get our place as estimated in 2012 (maybe in late 2011 if all goes well), and not have our option fee forfeited for whatever case.
it's just...i want noel and i to have our own place so badly, because drayden needs his own space and room to keep his toys, and i just think it's a nice and warm feeling to come home to a house that is truly our own, with just the three of us. everytime we drive by AMK 1, i get incredibly excited just staring at the heap of on-going construction!
soon-to-be ours! *fingers crossed!*
hopefully, noel and i will be proud house-owners come 2012! =)
it's really damn annoying!!
ok, chope.
let me give you some background to the situation, cos i don't believe i have spoken about this here yet. heh. well, we had wanted to keep this hush hush till everything is firm and concrete. well, our flat is pretty much built, firmed and concrete, so i suppose it's okay to talk about it now, heh!
yes! our flat!
noel and i have applied for our HDB flat last year in October actually. the $2000 option fee has been paid, documents have been signed, and our unit has been booked. yey!
but far from this being a happy and exciting journey, this is actually becoming a totally annoying and exasperating experience! for me, at least!
even from the beginning, this is proving to be a complete hurdle for us. firstly, the unit we have successfully applied for is in AMK. we had actually wanted a resale flat in AMK Ave 10 - very near Auntie D and Gramma Gerry! - and was looking forward to moving out to our own place in a matter of three months. i just wanted our own place as quick as possible.
but alas, when it came to our turn in january this year (our balloting number was 247, which was very promising as we were told by fellow house-buying-experienced friends), all the resale units were snapped up, so we were left with no other choices, but to opt for a new flat that will be completed in august 2012. TWO YEARS!!
the pro to this is that we will get a totally "clean" and new apartment, with no need to fear about previous owner issues, or having to deal with massive renovations. the only downside is having to wait for nearly two years till we can eventually move out. but oh well. we had a back-up plan, which is to perhaps rent a place, till we get the keys to our new place. (still searching by the way!)
okay, so the reason why we opted for a place in AMK is, because we were under the correct impression, that if we get a place within 2km radius of any of our folks, under the Married Child Priority Scheme, we'd get that "proximity grant" of about $30K. right? noel's folks stay in upp thomson, which is just at the junction of AMK Ave 1, and our new flat is along AMK Ave 1, facing Bishan Park 2. definitely within or at least just skirting the 2km radius.
so imagine our dismay, when during our first appointment in january, we learned that we are not entitled to any housing grants! not even the first timer grant! and why? because according to HDB (or at least, the staff that attended to us), the flat we are opting to purchase is from the Sale of Balance Flats Exercise, and is (quote) already considered cheap (unquote), therefore no grants will be extended to us.
like, hello???? $367 THOUSAND for a 4-room 87m2 pigeon hole of a flat is hardly CHEAP!! if we had known this fact before we submitted our application, we would have opted for a flat in Punggol or Sengkang!! screw the 2km proximity! i would have been happier, we would have a smaller hole in our pockets, and be a lot less stressful!!
but wait, it gets WORSE. because noel and i are both over 30years of age, instead of having to pay 5% downpayment, we are required to put up the full 10%! this is, like, nearly FORTY-THREE GRAND, after adding in the stamp and conveyancing fees. ok so, nevermind, we can't change our minds already, because that would mean forfeiting our application and our turn, so we paid the $2000 option fee, booked our flat, and went ahead with it.
so now we're in the process of sorting out our HLE - and it is getting more and more frustrating by the month. today we received another letter from HDB, asking yet again, for my Notice of Assessment for the Year 2008 and 2009.
sigh.
i have told them FOUR times already, i do not have my NOA for these two years. since i left Bar None in 07, i have been unemployed. i was pregnant, and just starting to build stubbornsnails. more importantly, i was NOT required to file. when i logged into myTaxPortal, a big fat statement that read "You are not required to file" was plastered on the home screen. i have even printed a screenshot of this to provide as proof!
i have written to them THREE times, told the HDB staff during our first appointment at least TWO times, that i was unemployed technically till June '09 cos that was when i registered my company. i have given them all possible necessary documents, declared all that is possible to declare, so i am getting quite annoyed that there is no form of ability to record it in their system, that i do not have my NOAs for the two damned years they keep requesting! argh!
all this is delaying the approval of our HLE application, and consequently the signing of our Agreement for Lease! hey, not that i can't wait to part with 43grand, but i just want to feel secure that we will get our place as estimated in 2012 (maybe in late 2011 if all goes well), and not have our option fee forfeited for whatever case.
it's just...i want noel and i to have our own place so badly, because drayden needs his own space and room to keep his toys, and i just think it's a nice and warm feeling to come home to a house that is truly our own, with just the three of us. everytime we drive by AMK 1, i get incredibly excited just staring at the heap of on-going construction!
soon-to-be ours! *fingers crossed!*
hopefully, noel and i will be proud house-owners come 2012! =)
10 readers penned their thoughts:
This is why I can't hunker down and research how to purchase a SG flat from here in the US, even with my parents' experience. It's so freakin' confusing!
hang in there. We took a full year to find our place - one year of looking for flats every weekend.It will be worth it when you get your own place to call home! Actually, depends on whom you get at HDB, some of the people are super blur -we got a really nice lady who moved things along v.fast for us. Maybe you can ask to speak to someone else?
Ann and Judith, are there HDB flat-buying experts who are similar to consultants that you can engage to represent your interest and find the best deals for you?
I know it sounds alot like a real estate agent but more neutral in that they receive a fee for their consultation services with no commission regardles of whether you end up with a flat or not after weighing all the pros and cons.
Grace:
i'm just as inexperienced, so i'm the wrong person to ask! lol!
i would think a housing agent would be the person to go to.
but hey, jude and gee's aunt (mima shab) is an agent so maybe you could ask her? i'm gonna go to her too for help with looking for a place to rent till 2011.
Judith:
i think you're right, we should ask to speak to a "better" officer. the problem with our case now is that i think it's being passed around the officers, that's why i get three different officers asking for the same thing three times. i don't know why they don't have a systems where all previous correspondences are recorded, so they don't have to ask the same thing over and over again, each time a new officer takes on the case.
noel and i are gonna pay a visit to HDB this friday or maybe next week and settle this income tax issue once and for all.
Ann - the only downside is that you might get labelled as a difficult customer. Frustrating I know. It was easier for us, when I made an appointment, went down and spoke to the person directly.Less miscommunication that way. If you are being passed around, suggest you immediately ask to speak to a supervisor and get an explanation as to why your case is being handled by 3 different people, and why they can't keep track of the correspondances with you.
Grace - unfortunately, no. We don't have such a sophisticated system in SG. In fact, we tried to bypass agents and do the transaction ourselves, but the agents who were acting for the sellers REFUSED to show us the flat! They felt we were cheating them or some other agent out of a commision. We did find an excellent agent in the end ( her name is Grace too!:D) She was really wonderful, and interested in finding us a home, not just selling a flat. She even told us not to pay the COV, that she could bargain it to below valuation for us, and she did!
yes go ask mima shab, she will be happy to help you. i don't remember the process to be so difficult but then again, i only saw what my mum and jude went through. i have no idea up to this day how to go about and the million and one rules in singapore. so glad it's straight forward here.
hi Ann...I really hope u get your own place soon....hang in there sweetie.... u never noe the future...
Hey Babe,
I go through the same issues as you. It was pretty tough. The only thing you can do is go down to IRAS and they will issue you a offical letter to state that you have not been working the last two years. IRAS does a good job in settling these matters.
Congrats on the new up coming home...I think you maight even get to move in earlier. Mine is ready in 6 month's time.
Rachel's mum
we just visited the HDB earlier today.
the lady who attended to us was very motherly, and she gave us lots of great advice. i must say the whole process is a lot clearer now!
now we've just got to wait for the:
- letter to tell us how much Additional Housing Grant we get (yes! apparently, we DO get a grant! stupid first officer gave us wrong info! grrrr)
- and the Agreement of Lease for us to sign.
i can't wait!!! =)
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