reporter2
15-11-21, 10:02
CPF rules, being close to family among reasons for upgrading to condos
https://i.imgur.com/0PFBbho.jpg
Madam Nabisah Abdul Kadir's new Twin VEW condo unit on the 21st floor will give her a sea view and even let her see her mother's flat in Pandan Gardens.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Grace Leong
Senior Business Correspondent
15 November, 2021
SINGAPORE - School support staff member Nabisah Abdul Kadir decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to a new condo just one year before she hits 55, an age when additional restrictions on Central Provident Fund (CPF) withdrawals kick in.
Madam Nabisah, 54, who has a daughter, sold her 43-year-old four-room HDB flat in Pandan Gardens for $410,000 in September and took out a loan to buy a $1.5 million three-bedder at the nearby 520-unit Twin VEW condo. She collects her keys in January.
"This is the best time to sell my flat because I'll be 55 next year and I won't be able to access my CPF savings in full for housing payments for a new property," she said.
When eligible Singaporeans reach 55, their CPF Retirement Account is created with savings from their Special and Ordinary Accounts to meet their applicable retirement sum. They will also be automatically included in the CPF Life scheme, which provides members with a monthly payout for life if they meet the criteria.
Any funds left in their Ordinary Account can then be used for mortgage repayments.
Another push factor for Madam Nabisah is the decaying of leases on older HDB flats. "For legacy planning purposes, private property offers better prospects in terms of value retention compared with my flat," she said.
Given the buoyant HDB resale market, Madam Nabisah, a technical science executive with an international school, found three potential buyers within a month of putting up her fourth-storey, 90 sq m flat for sale.
"The starting offer was around $370,000, but we managed to get the price up to $410,000," she said.
Her new condo unit on the 21st floor will give her a sea view and even allow her to see her mother's flat in Pandan Gardens.
"I bought the Twin VEW condo as it is very near my mum's place. We are separated just by Pandan River," she added.
The desire to be close to family is also a reason behind primary school teacher Mariam Ibrahim's decision to sell her 15-year-old four-room flat in Toa Payoh and buy a new one-bedder at Treasure at Tampines.
But her upgrading ambitions were thwarted for a year due to difficulties selling her flat because the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) limits for her ethnic group had been reached for her block.
Introduced in 1989, the EIP sets racial quotas on flat ownership within each HDB block and neighbourhood to promote racial integration and harmony. When the EIP limits are reached for an ethnic group, sellers from other ethnic groups are unable to sell to buyers of that group.
https://i.imgur.com/NChAxl1.jpg
Madam Nabisah Abdul Kadir took out a loan to buy a $1.5 million three-bedder at Twin VEW condo. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
The reduced pool of eligible buyers meant Ms Mariam, 47, was forced to lower her asking price after her 86 sq m flat sat on the market for a year.
"The worst part is I had a lot of Chinese and Indian buyers who offered $580,000 and $590,000 for my flat. But because the ethnic quota limits were reached, I could not accept these offers," she noted.
"So my flat was on the market for about a year, until I lowered my price to $560,000 and found a buyer in March this year.
She had considered getting a three-room resale flat but decided she did not want to be saddled with a massive renovation job and the bill that would come with it.
She instead opted for a one-bedder condo on the ninth floor for $790,000.
Ms Mariam, who is single with no children, is happy to move to a smaller condo as it means less work for her to maintain her home.
"I am willing to sacrifice space as long as I don't have to do a massive renovation and have to service both a mortgage loan and a renovation loan," she said.
https://i.imgur.com/0PFBbho.jpg
Madam Nabisah Abdul Kadir's new Twin VEW condo unit on the 21st floor will give her a sea view and even let her see her mother's flat in Pandan Gardens.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Grace Leong
Senior Business Correspondent
15 November, 2021
SINGAPORE - School support staff member Nabisah Abdul Kadir decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to a new condo just one year before she hits 55, an age when additional restrictions on Central Provident Fund (CPF) withdrawals kick in.
Madam Nabisah, 54, who has a daughter, sold her 43-year-old four-room HDB flat in Pandan Gardens for $410,000 in September and took out a loan to buy a $1.5 million three-bedder at the nearby 520-unit Twin VEW condo. She collects her keys in January.
"This is the best time to sell my flat because I'll be 55 next year and I won't be able to access my CPF savings in full for housing payments for a new property," she said.
When eligible Singaporeans reach 55, their CPF Retirement Account is created with savings from their Special and Ordinary Accounts to meet their applicable retirement sum. They will also be automatically included in the CPF Life scheme, which provides members with a monthly payout for life if they meet the criteria.
Any funds left in their Ordinary Account can then be used for mortgage repayments.
Another push factor for Madam Nabisah is the decaying of leases on older HDB flats. "For legacy planning purposes, private property offers better prospects in terms of value retention compared with my flat," she said.
Given the buoyant HDB resale market, Madam Nabisah, a technical science executive with an international school, found three potential buyers within a month of putting up her fourth-storey, 90 sq m flat for sale.
"The starting offer was around $370,000, but we managed to get the price up to $410,000," she said.
Her new condo unit on the 21st floor will give her a sea view and even allow her to see her mother's flat in Pandan Gardens.
"I bought the Twin VEW condo as it is very near my mum's place. We are separated just by Pandan River," she added.
The desire to be close to family is also a reason behind primary school teacher Mariam Ibrahim's decision to sell her 15-year-old four-room flat in Toa Payoh and buy a new one-bedder at Treasure at Tampines.
But her upgrading ambitions were thwarted for a year due to difficulties selling her flat because the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) limits for her ethnic group had been reached for her block.
Introduced in 1989, the EIP sets racial quotas on flat ownership within each HDB block and neighbourhood to promote racial integration and harmony. When the EIP limits are reached for an ethnic group, sellers from other ethnic groups are unable to sell to buyers of that group.
https://i.imgur.com/NChAxl1.jpg
Madam Nabisah Abdul Kadir took out a loan to buy a $1.5 million three-bedder at Twin VEW condo. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
The reduced pool of eligible buyers meant Ms Mariam, 47, was forced to lower her asking price after her 86 sq m flat sat on the market for a year.
"The worst part is I had a lot of Chinese and Indian buyers who offered $580,000 and $590,000 for my flat. But because the ethnic quota limits were reached, I could not accept these offers," she noted.
"So my flat was on the market for about a year, until I lowered my price to $560,000 and found a buyer in March this year.
She had considered getting a three-room resale flat but decided she did not want to be saddled with a massive renovation job and the bill that would come with it.
She instead opted for a one-bedder condo on the ninth floor for $790,000.
Ms Mariam, who is single with no children, is happy to move to a smaller condo as it means less work for her to maintain her home.
"I am willing to sacrifice space as long as I don't have to do a massive renovation and have to service both a mortgage loan and a renovation loan," she said.