Update: In view of the comments posted here by readers, please allow me to clarify a few issues which readers have brought up. Please see below.
Andrew Loh / Deputy Editor
A couple with 4 children and an elderly mother appeals to the HDB for a concessionary loan to purchase a flat. The appeal process has lasted almost a year – with no success.
What happens if you are unable to service your HDB mortgage loans and are forced to sell your flat? Will you be able to apply for a new HDB loan to purchase a new one?
More importantly, is means-testing being quietly implemented by the HDB?
Mr and Mrs Yap (not their real names) are in such a situation. Having owed the HDB arrears of more than $25,000, including $4,000 in late payment charges, they were forced to sell their 4-room flat in Bukit Merah in September this year.
The couple had hoped that they would be able to successfully apply for a HDB concessionary loan and purchase a new flat after they had settled the arrears.
As it turned out, however, their loan application has been a frustrating affair and they do not understand why the HDB is refusing to grant them one which is sufficient enough for a new house.
The Online Citizen met up with Mrs Yap over coffee.
When the couple had their second child in 2002, Mrs Yap, 33 and who was working as an operations manager in a pub, quit her job in order to care for the infant. Her husband was then working in dispatch. Their 4-room flat in Bukit Merah then was home to six persons – including their two children and Mr Yap’s parents, who had moved in with them in 1999. (They later had two more children – in 2005 and 2008).
Their woes started in 2007, when they defaulted on the monthly mortgage loans. It eventually accumulated to $25,611 and they were forced to sell their flat in September this year (2008) in order to settle the arrears. But even before the completion of the sale, the couple had already started to apply to the HDB to grant them a loan to buy a resale 4-room flat.
Application rejected
In December last year, HDB rejected the application, saying that Mr Yap’s salary of $1,200 was not enough to service the loan which they would need to purchase a resale flat. HDB advised them to “use the CPF refund and cash proceeds from the sale of your current 4-room flat to buy a smaller flat, without taking a loan.”
“I can’t buy a smaller flat,” Mrs Yap told TOC. “Where will my children sleep? What about my mother-in-law?” More importantly, the couple feels that since this would be their second HDB loan and hence the last one they would be granted, they want to purchase a 4-room flat to live in for the long term.
Disappointed with HDB’s rejection, the couple approached their Member of Parliament, Mr Baey Yam Keng, who appealed to the HDB on their behalf. In his letter in May 2008, Mr Baey informed the HDB that Mr Yap’s income had recently increased to $1,450. He also noted that they are unable to obtain any loans from the banks as they had a record of owing some credit card debts.
Appeal
In its reply on the 6th of June, HDB again rejected the application, citing the couple’s difficulty to service the loan based on Mr Yap’s income. “I need a flat so that my mother-in-law can live with us. She is being abused by her husband. Also, she is not allowed to rent a flat either,” Mrs Yap told us. The HDB said her mother will have to either find someone to jointly it with or to pick a name from HDB’s rental flat waiting list and live with that person, a prospect which Mrs Yap frowns upon. “If she lives with us, she can help me look after my children and I can go to work to supplement the family’s income,” says Mrs Yap. She feels that even if she worked part-time, she would be able to add another $500 to $600 to her husband’s $1,450 salary and thus be able to help service the HDB loan.
In July, after Mr Baey made a second appeal on their behalf, the HDB finally relented and agreed to grant them a loan which is “100 per cent of the selling price or market, whichever is lower”, according to Mrs Yap. The HDB later offered them $67,000 to purchase a 4-room flat – provided the new flat was below $250,000. However, the loan amount was not enough for the couple to buy a 4-room flat in Teck Whye, which is one of the cheapest areas in Singapore, Mrs Yap told TOC. She said they are asking for a loan of “about $90,000 to $100,000” from the HDB.
“Our proceeds from the sale of our previous 4-room flat is $126,000, which is put back into our CPF,” she told TOC. The cash portion from the sale was $57,200. “But we only get $49,604 after deducting the $5,000 of deposit & appears to HDB & TC,” she explained.
HDB insisted that a loan of $67,000 would be enough for the new flat. But Mrs Yap disputes the figure. “Our CPF refund was $120,000 but $6,000 was credited into our special account,” she said. More was used to pay their S&C charges to the town council and their housing agent. They would also need to do some simple works on their new home – such as painting, re-wiring and pay the “cash over valuation” on the resale flat purchase.
“That means we can only buy a 3-room flat if we’re very lucky because the prices of flats keep increasing,” she said in her email reply to HDB. She checked the HDB website several times for the latest resale prices of 3-room flats in Teck Whye and they ranged from $201,000 to $230,000.
Frustration
After more than 6 months of appealing to the HDB, she feels frustrated as during the period, prices of flats have escalated and has made it harder for them to purchase a new home. Prices of 4-room flats in Teck Whye have risen to as high as $240,000 and $305,000 – figures which Mrs Yap took from the HDB website and included in her email to the HDB.
In September, after numerous appeals spanning almost one year, a glimmer of hope surfaced. HDB informed them that it is “reviewing [their] re-appeal for a higher HDB loan”. That glimmer turned to frustration again one week later when the HDB informed them that it is “unable to accede” to their request for a higher loan.
In her desperation, she fired off an email to the Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, last month. In it, she told the PM that “it is not that we do not work hard for our future [but even when we do] we can’t even secure a … home for our children.” She went on, “We’ve been writing in for a year, fighting for a loan to purchase a flat and not asking for [a free ride].”
On 25th September, having had enough of the frustration of not being able to secure the loan, she told the HDB to “cancel the approved loan of $67,000 for now”, as there’s no point for them to buy a 3-room flat. “I’ll still be unable to work as nobody can look after my children,” she said.
Mrs Yap is extremely disappointed that HDB would consider her husband’s salary too low to service a mortgage loan.
“[The} Government encouraged us to have more children. But after having more children, we can’t provide them a proper home, my husband can’t provide his mother a place to stay, because his salary was [considered] too low to service a HDB loan.”
Read Leong Sze Hian’s article, “HDB means-testing?”
—————–
Update: Andrew Loh’s comment on certain issues brought up by readers.
The Yaps are not asking for a free handout.
What they are asking for is to be given a loan (an additional $33,000 to the $67,000 which HDB has already offered) in order to buy a 4-room flat.
Why a 4-room flat?
In a word, space. The four kids which they have (the youngest is just two months old) will grow up and the couple’s intention is to have a flat big enough for them. It’s a long-term thing. Also, a 4-room will enable Mr Yap’s mother to live with them, which in turn will allow Mrs Yap to go out to work, which will enable her to supplement her husband’s income and help service the $100,000 loan.
Second and last loan.
HDB only allows Singaporeans to apply for two concessionary loans. As they have already received one such loan, this second loan will be their last from the HDB. Thus, they hope to secure a loan which will be enough to buy a 4-room so that they can live in it for the long term, without having to loan from the banks, which for the time being they cannot as they owe credit card bills.
Means-testing
The bigger issue here is why HDB is implementing, effectively, means-testing for public housing without any official announcement or statements from the National Development Minister? Are there many cases of people defaulting on their mortgage loans? Further, what are the criterias or salary ceilings for applying for loans to buy a 3-room, 4-room or 5-room flat? What are the cut-off points for these?
Why have 4 kids?
I think this is a personal issue which the family decides. Financial ability to provide for the children is of course important but not all couples put that as the main consideration. Some have religious beliefs (I’m not saying the Yaps do). But whatever it is, however many kids the couple has, the point is that they are not asking for a handout. Mrs Yap wants to go back to work so that she can help supplement her husband’s income in order to help service the loan and be able to purchase a 4-room flat in order to give her children better living conditions and also to provide security – and safety – for Mr Yap;s mother who’s been abused.
Living within one’s means
It is said by some that the couple should live within their means. While this would be generally encouraged, situations are not all the same. The difference here is that Mr and Mrs Yap are working hard to provide for their children. Mrs Yap wants to go out to work.
Providing public housing
HDB’s policy, inadvertently, is discouraging the average Singaporean from having more children, it would seem, which is contrary to what the Government is trying to do. HDB is supposed to be an agency or Government department which provides public housing at affordable rates for the average Singaporean. Has HDB lost sight of its original purpose?
Again, the biggest question is: Why is HDB in the business of means-testing and what are the criterias? Why no public announcements about this?
Perhaps the HDB should provide Singaporeans with the statistic of those who have defaulted on their loans, who are unable to purchase flats because of their income level and give us the reasons why.
In a word, transparency.
Why is Mr Yap’s $1,450 salary not enough to qualify for a sufficient loan? Should Mr Yap work a second job?
——–
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sorry, what was the exact proceed, gross sale, of their prime hdb unit( bukit merah estate) ? what’s their total family wealth or savings plus other assets? what’s their living standard prior to the current financial situation?
thank you
to add to neibor’s query, what are their credit card woes like.? why did the banks refuse them a bank loan.? any detrimental financial records of the family member/s?
“From the story above, they have abt 50k cash from the sale of their house and 115k in their CPF. A 67k loan would put the total available to them at 180k. I agree its not alot, but more than enough for a 3-room”.
fully agree with your calculation and yes, it is enough to buy a 3-room – but really, if it is you, tell me, how would you arrange to house:
i. a husband and wife
ii. a mother-in-law
iii. four children (likely to include both male & female siblings)
into a 3-room flat?
while they strive to get their lives & finances in order, the children will soon grow into teenagers and they will be fighting for spaces of their own etc. and then what?
i believe this is why the yaps thought it best to get a 4-room flat for the long term benefit, and being now wiser, i believe they will be more careful with their sums . . .
all they needed was for someone to give them a chance, a hand – and this why hdb would do well to review their case favourably under these circumstances and not by the $$$ factor it has stated, and to show some compassion and help them out.
one year and repeated appeals is a long time and one would have easily given up if the help they seek in not genuine.
the is a bigger issue here: why are we even fighting for our basic needs? our basic needs like housing and education should not become a burden. this will allow us to contribute to nation building without having to worry about where our next meal will come from. it is sad that we have grown so accustomed to having to fend for ourselves – even for the most basic of necessities – that we dare not now ask for what we should rightly ask for.
some may say this is unrealistic, naive, wishful thinking and well… plain stupidity. i agree…but if you don’t dream, you will not achieve.
Maslow Theorised that humans need to satisfy their basic needs before they can start to accomplish things for themselves and society.
Physiological (eg. food ) and Safety (shelter) needs must be satisfied else people can become a burden to society as they cannot accomplish good things.
National Development should include helping the less fortunate have BASIC shelter and food. else, it does society no good as these people could not contribute more to societ and become a burden to all tax payers.
Ngiam Tong Dow is the chief of HDB right?
I wonder what has he got to say ?
There are so many EXCELLENT ADVICE given here. I humbly suggest that a caring team of ordinary people be formed to help the Yap family – a team consisting of a social worker, a financial consultant, a family that has gone through a financial crisis and a husband-wife team [who has four children]. Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed – Proverbs 15:22. Assess the situation, get the correct facts, proceed with gentleness [strength under control], apply practical wisdom and respect the family honor of the Yap family.
“caring team of ordinary people be formed to help the Yap family”
This team should consists of a pastor too: to pray for Yap family and give them encouragement.
now we are talking. this is how human beings should think, act and help one another. bravo to maslow, pastor and daniel.
I have a freind who was caught into a loan tussle because of an ill-advised housing agent. My friend aged 55 is a self-employed man and was looking forward to reap a cool 168K from the sale proceed of his 4 room flat. He then bought a 5 room flat in Hougang for 400K+ plus guided by his HSR agent> based on the financial plan drawn by his agent, he had sufficient funds in his CPF to make the minimum 20% downpayment and rest 80% loan from the bank was easy. He made 5K downpayment for his 5 room flat and lwas only too happy having sufficient funds to expand his business.
To his dismay, the loan back fired..based on his age and income ceiling, the bank approved only 150K,,not one cent more. He was caught in a dilemma. His efforts to break off from the purchase failed. He also felt it was not fair to his sellers who had already placed downpayment for purchase of another flat. He decided to go thru the sale – NOT only did he have to put the profit of 168K made from the sale of his 4room flat, CPF funds of 100K, he had to borrow another 50K from friends, kith and kins. He is in debt of 50K at the age of 55! What frustrates him though is the bank’s failure to give at least a 50% loan based on the valuation for a HDB property! If the bank did so, he need not have to borrow and would have some cash left in his hand for renovation of his newly bought flat. All the AGENT could say was “SORRY” citing new policy by the banks – which was of course a whole bag of garbage. All the agent wanted was to make a cook $10,200 agency commission from both the sale and purchase of flats!!! He is awaiting keys to his new home by which he has already lost the jest and happiness, not mentioning getting wrath from family members for acting so hastily! His agent will laugh his way to the bank!!!
Pastor Pritam Singh should take the lead. Please advise on contact details, time and place to meet for this team.
Mr and Mrs Yap (not their real names) are in such a situation. Having owed the HDB arrears of more than $25,000, including $4,000 in late payment charges, they were forced to sell their 4-room flat in Bukit Merah in September this year.
When the couple had their second child in 2002, Mrs Yap, 33 and who was working as an operations manager in a pub, quit her job in order to care for the infant. Her husband was then working in dispatch. Their 4-room flat in Bukit Merah then was home to six persons – including their two children and Mr Yap’s parents, who had moved in with them in 1999. (They later had two more children – in 2005 and 2008).
After more than 6 months of appealing to the HDB, she feels frustrated as during the period, prices of flats have escalated and has made it harder for them to purchase a new home. Prices of 4-room flats in Teck Whye have risen to as high as $240,000 and $305,000 – figures which Mrs Yap took from the HDB website and included in her email to the HDB.
Pastor Pritam Singh should take the lead. Please advise on contact details, time and place to meet for this team!
Pastor Pritam Singh should take the lead. Please advise on contact details, time and place to meet for this team.!
Mrs Yap is extremely disappointed that HDB would consider her husband’s salary too low to service a mortgage loan.
After more than 6 months of appealing to the HDB, she feels frustrated as during the period, prices of flats have escalated and has made it harder for them to purchase a new home. Prices of 4-room flats in Teck Whye have risen to as high as $240,000 and $305,000 – figures which Mrs Yap took from the HDB website and included in her email to the HDB.
In September, after numerous appeals spanning almost one year, a glimmer of hope surfaced. HDB informed them that it is “reviewing [their] re-appeal for a higher HDB loan”. That glimmer turned to frustration again one week later when the HDB informed them that it is “unable to accede” to their request for a higher loan.
Singapore officially in RECESSION!!!!!
>>Singapore officially in RECESSION!!!!!
Yup…expect to see more such families…sigh
Two things everyone needs to understand:
Prime concern for HDB as organisation: Generate profits, avoid risky creditors such as the Yaps (not to say that they don’t deserve the loan, but one can see that they are stretching Mr Yap’s income pretty tight here)
Prime concern for HDB staff: Protect ricebowl.
there you go!
the pastor above should take heed. you belong to a fold that espoused salvation under the same doctrinal banner as those who pocket $50k a month as service to your god and his flocks. how many of your flocks get paid that kind of salary? and the church seems to be more concern of its own ‘growth’, correlating growth with ‘salvation’ ( false?)and the justification of bigger and grander premises and forgetting their master clear instruction to:
1john 3: 17
but whoso hat this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels[ of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
v18
my little children,let us not love in word, nether in tongue( abundance of useless sermons); but in DEED and in TRUTH.
perhaps, the pastor and all his well paid ministers( similar to our political ministers) will pay heed to their master voice less we( flocks and the world) brand them hypocrites?
1john 3: 17
but whoso HATH this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels[ of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
sorry for the typo above and others…
Andrew, Your update on the comments by readers still did not addressed the underlying issue of FINANCIAL PRUDENCE AND PLANNING.
Again, I have to re-emphasize, even if you give them a loan to buy a 4rm hdb, they will still find it hard to service the loan and they will still find it hard to feed the kids and everyone.
The whole issue here is that they have to admit that they have not been financially prudent, they did not plan for an enlarged family (with 4 kids?).
So, now that they are at this stage, they still want to live in a 4room so that everyone has a room??
Can they make do with a 3room flat. Let the YAPs parents and parent-in-low stay in one room each. The YAP and their 4 kids can sleep in the living room.
IT WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM THAT THE YAPS ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT. Mrs YAP can go and find a job..
THEY CAN SAVE AND SAVE.. and when Both jobs are stable, they can upgrade!
HARLOW Andrew… you want to justify your case against means-testing but obviously, this case does not hold water as it is really a case of financial prudence…
*SIC*
Oh.. by the way.. During my poly days.. I have a classmate who was poor.
The family consist of my friend, his 4 siblings (total 5) and parents and grandparents.
THEY WERE LIVING IN A 3 ROOM FLAT.
The SIBLINGS all slept in the LIVING ROOM.
NO CHOICE…. Luckily for the parents, the kids are all good kids and they all finished school and work and contribute to the household and gradually. … THEY UPGRADED TO A 5 room … (but 2 of the siblings moved out as they were married).
SO… please… Don’t wait for the handout…
why should they compromise when there is much abundance around except that, the cream of the crop has creamed off all the icing, setting up impossible rules,demands and expectations without considering the human factor etc?
maybe we should wait till more run over by highly profitable trains?
Qoute. Mr and Mrs Yap (not their real names) are in such a situation. Having owed the HDB arrears of more than $25,000, including $4,000 in late payment charges, they were forced to sell their 4-room flat in Bukit Merah in September this year. Unquote.
1) Could their real names be Mr & Mrs Yatim?
2) Arrears of $25,000 over a period of 21 mths = $1190.48 per mth. How much do they think they can afford to pay for the new instalments if the HDB were to approve a new loan.
3) Do Singapore owe them the right to have a 4 room flat and a big family and when they get into financial trouble, concessions should be extended to them?
4) For those who feel that the HDB is being heartless, why don’t you all chip in to help them financially. Perhaps Pastor Singh could get his congregation to start the ball rolling.
Just for the record, My wife and I are struggling to raise two kids with the resources of a single income. And I moved from a 3 room to another 3 room so as not to over extend myself. I love children and I wanted more but realised that I would be depriving them of a better quality of life.
The reality of life is that, at the end of the day, it’s up to you, and you alone to face
adversity and the consequences of wrong decisions made.
For people looking for sympathy, they can find it in the dictionary. It’s there somewhere between Shit and Syphilis.
“70) isa on October 10th, 2008 3.25 pm
The whole issue here is that they have to admit that they have not been financially prudent, they did not plan for an enlarged family (with 4 kids?).”
Yah la. You are so clever hoh. When someone is down financially, it is not too difficult to find reasons of what he did was wrong.
May I ask you then. With the global financial turmoil now and with so big banks getting in deep troubles, why did not those bankers who may be holding phd, master, string of other superduper financial qualifications plan properly in the first place.
isa,
For salary of $1450, they should have a monthly contribution of at least $300 in OA, monthly instalment of $100,000 loan is $401 (30 years repayment), http://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BB29MTHLY/BB29PInstalEnq.jsp
much more cheaper then renting a flat, most important, this will be the last loan at concessionary rate, I don’t see anything wrong with their request of wanting to get a 4 room flat for long term & I didn’t find anything they say about “the children is hard to feed”, what’s wrong with the four kids anyway? There’s even people with six kids which I know from other forum.
And what kind of ‘stage’ they’re in now? As I read I understand that they’ve paid all the arrears to HDB & TC & they still get back some cash proceeds, maybe you should read the whole story again to get the real message, HDB is not charity, of course, they’re asking for a loan with interest, isn’t it?
isa, financial prudence and planning is one of the underlying factor – not THE factor. if the Yaps were phophetically gifted, they probably would have planned ahead and avoided these pitfalls like some of our dear friends have been canvassing here.
the yaps probably understands this albeit a little late – let us not make it sound as if there is no cure except to face the ilness as it is.
they probably know they could live in a 3-room flat but what is wrong to now see ahead and think further down the line. the second loan from hdb is all they could cling on to what with the banks having already blacklisted them. the last thing they need in their time of need is for hdb to blacklist them as well.
why must we have to have a “so and so have live through it so should you” kind of mentality?
can’t we seek to change a system that is utterly self-serving and totally wrong because it has somehow shifted from its original purpose in providing housing for all Singaporeans – regardless.
i think it is clear they are not asking for a handout. they are asking if someone could give them a chance to, if you like, correct a mistake they had made.
you still want to have the last words don’t you? who the fuk you think you guys are? the new government?
get off your high horses!
now put back up those legitimate posts. if you want to delete anyone of those LEGITIMATE POSTS, give a fuking reason why you are deleting it!
let courtesy be our way of life . . . . . let’s build a gracious society . . . . . let’s take the next lap to help our fellow Singaporeans who are lagging behind . . . . . let’s have more good years . . . . . wow! . . . we are here at last ! ! !
why can’t I reply?
‘let courtesy be our way of life’ . . . . ‘let’s build a gracious society’ . . . . . ‘let’s have more good years’ . . . . . ‘let’s run the next lap TOGETHER’ . . . . . wow! . . . . we have arrived, haven’t we?
fukofff , lzy.
I hardly think that “post censorship” is done intentionally, it is more to do with the spam system they used. I have some posts that take some time to appear or just never appear.
I will have preferred ONline Citizen used simple captcha system instead of automated spam system.
Daniel,
I thot you were asking me to f*off *LOL*
I posted earlier but not sure what happened it just didn’t appear.
thanks, daniel. i was wondering what happened to my posts too. luckily i chose to be a little wee bit patient . . .
“76) fukoff on October 10th, 2008 4.06 pm
you still want to have the last words don’t you? who the fuk you think you guys are? the new government?”
Help us lah. Tell this also to our dear MSM lah. At least, here you are still able to announce to all of us here your unique name and show us another side of your emotion. Long live the internet.
isa,
where you read “hard to feed the children” from? I’ve read again & again I didn’t find anything they complain about the children.
“now that they are at this stage” may I know what kind of stage you mean? I thot they’ve cleared all the arrears to HDB & TC, get some cash proceed, I didn’t read anything that they’re complaining “poor”.
At this stage means they want to buy a 4rm but cannot get a loan for it.
But they still insist on living in a 4rm and used all sorts of excuse to justify why they need a loan.
I’m sorry but there is an alternative for them. DOWNGRADE. Get a 3rm please.
We are not talking about someone who is living in a 1 rm rental flat and an odd job labourer who will be evicted from his flat ‘coz he can’t pay the rent. I believe in this case, you should help ‘coz the person has no alternative. 1 rm rental flat is the lowest form of housing available for the person.
For our Mr Yap, there is an alternative of 3rm.
The “hard to feed kids” part is what I forsee when they buy a 4rm flat they cannot afford and to service the loan means taking up bulk of their disposable income.
I know you guys want to sympathize with the victim and some will linked it to “oh..they have to lived in misery when our govt lived in luxury”.
But, this 2 are separate issues that need to be tackled separately.
If you linked the two.. there is no end. “Oh, Transport fare increased but the govt lived in luxury and drive cars and they will not be affected.”
Again, this 2 are separate issues..
#75) gemami on October 10th, 2008 3.58 pm
They can think further..sure… why not a think further, a 5room?
The issue is here and now. They cannot afford it. So, they have to downgrade. Plain and Simple.
Why not plan ahead ? Give themselves a goal.
Ok, I settle for 3 room. We will work hard and saved more money for that 4room we want to get next time.
I’m not telling you so and so lived thru and so everyone must experienced that. I’m saying he has a choice and the choice is simple. He refused to accept responsibility for that. My friend’s parents accepted that they cannot afford a 4rm, they have to settle for a 3rm and bring up their kids.
People take responsibility and care of themselves. These are people who will get out of the poverty cycle.
Referring to Post Number 58 from Tanning . . . . . Pastor Pritam Singh should take the lead. Please advise on contact details, time and place to meet for this team! . . . . can I suggest a date on a Saturday afternoon to meet the Yap family and a caring team of ordinary volunteers.
What I understand from Andrew’s update, they don’t intent to get a 3 rooms flat because they doesn’t want to waste the 2nd time of their concessionary loans & they actually asked for cancellation of the approved loan & not pressuring HDB to loan them the amount they want.
Right or wrong, I think it’s unfair for us, the outsiders to judge.
If the Yap family die die cannot do without the 4-room flat, may I suggest the following:
- Opt for a 4-room at Jurong West or Marsiling/Woodlands. They cost $180k to $200k.
If they die die must get a flat in Teck Whye, may I suggest
- Mr Yap get a part-time job at night.
- Mrs Yap start on the part-time job that she said she wanted to get.
- Let her mother move in to take care of the kids even if it means sleeping in the living room for a while only. After the income of the family has increased, they can get the 4-room they wanted and then everyone will have their own rooms.
#87
If it’s unfair for outsiders to judge, then why is an outsider, ANdrew, writing an article with an opinion/view on it? He is judging it right?
UnreadMan,
Are you sure 4-room at Jurong West or Marsiling/Woodlands cost $180k to $200k?
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/bb33/ispm051p.nsf/Search?OpenForm&Seq=1
UnreadMan,
Are you sure 4-room at Jurong West or Marsiling/Woodlands cost $180k to $200k?
[url]http://www.hdb.gov.sg/bb33/ispm051p.nsf/Search?OpenForm&Seq=1[/url]
UnreadMan,
Are you sure 4-room at Jurong West or Marsiling/Woodlands cost $180k to $200k?
I think you should check the transcation, FYI, my relatives who stay at JW told me that her 4room flat (#3) worth coming $300k.
isa,
I don’t see Andrew is saying right or wrong about the Yaps, why are you so pissed? It’s just a discussion afterall.
Easy to find out liao. Cheapest median price for 4 rm is $235k.
Actual prices can be found here:
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/bb33/ispm051p.nsf/Search
Median prices can be found here.
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10201p.nsf/WPDis/Buying%20A%20Resale%20FlatStatistics%20-%20Median%20Resale%20Prices%20by%20Town%20and%20Flat%20Type?OpenDocument
Yishun is the overall cheapest place to get a 4rm in Singapore. Ironic since Yishun isn’t as far as Sembawang, not as old as Toa Payoh and not as little facilities as Seng Kang.
3rm is woodlands.
Referring to Post Number 69 from Ghandhis, thank you for your response to me. I have just pioneered a new independent church in Singapore and have a heart of passion and compassion for people. I am an ordinary Singaporean and my wife and I do not own a car, live in a HDB home, travel by public transport and live simple but purpose-driven lives. I do not, as you wrongly presume, make such salaries. In fact, I have not paid tax for the last few years because my annual income falls below the base minimum. But, boy do I work hard at many things that just don’t pay! Contrary to the Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, we believe in sacrifice, servant leadership, significance and service to God, country and man as our highest meaning in life. And contrary to many opinion, money is not the end all and be all for a holistic solution. There are root issues to be dealth with. Ghandhis, thank you once again. You are in my prayers. I have to quickly take the bus for a Friday cell group, consisting of blue collar workers, a lady who is a PC [plate collector - at your friendly foodcourt!], a driver, a maid, a secretary and some students.