SINGAPORE — Picture this: you are young and in love with your partner. You decide to commit to building a life together by buying a home.
After all, land is scarce, property prices can appreciate rapidly, and wait times for completion take years. Securing a Housing and Development Board (HDB) Build-To-Order (BTO) flat or Executive Condo (EC) unit early seems like the smart thing to do.
But not all relationships end with a "happily ever after", and in Singapore, breaking up can have serious financial consequences – especially when a joint application has been made for a public housing flat.
Such was the case for Jane Chang, who requested for her name to be changed, and her then-partner, whose break-up cost them a whopping S$50,000. The couple had been dating for 18 months before deciding to apply for an EC under the fiance/fiancee scheme. Securing a public housing unit under this scheme implies that a marriage proposal would come at some point before collecting the keys, as being legally married is a condition for eligibility.
Like many young Singaporean couples, the plan for them was to secure a flat and then get married before the completion of the unit, which was expected in four to five years. The couple also wanted to seize the opportunity to invest in what they thought was "a good, profitable buy" at the time, after considering the unit's pricing and the unit's location in Canberra.
At the time of application, Chang was 24 years old, and her ex-boyfriend was 26. Six months after signing the sales and purchase agreement, the relationship was over.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance Singapore, Chang said, "You think you know it all at that age, but actually you don't."
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/c...-after-getting-executive-condo-072639682.html
After all, land is scarce, property prices can appreciate rapidly, and wait times for completion take years. Securing a Housing and Development Board (HDB) Build-To-Order (BTO) flat or Executive Condo (EC) unit early seems like the smart thing to do.
But not all relationships end with a "happily ever after", and in Singapore, breaking up can have serious financial consequences – especially when a joint application has been made for a public housing flat.
Such was the case for Jane Chang, who requested for her name to be changed, and her then-partner, whose break-up cost them a whopping S$50,000. The couple had been dating for 18 months before deciding to apply for an EC under the fiance/fiancee scheme. Securing a public housing unit under this scheme implies that a marriage proposal would come at some point before collecting the keys, as being legally married is a condition for eligibility.
Like many young Singaporean couples, the plan for them was to secure a flat and then get married before the completion of the unit, which was expected in four to five years. The couple also wanted to seize the opportunity to invest in what they thought was "a good, profitable buy" at the time, after considering the unit's pricing and the unit's location in Canberra.
At the time of application, Chang was 24 years old, and her ex-boyfriend was 26. Six months after signing the sales and purchase agreement, the relationship was over.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance Singapore, Chang said, "You think you know it all at that age, but actually you don't."
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/c...-after-getting-executive-condo-072639682.html
