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<TABLE class=bodytext border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=560><TBODY><TR><TD class=bodytext height=7>>> ASIAONE / BUSINESS / MY MONEY / PROPERTY / STORY </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- start story details --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=560><TBODY><TR><TD height=7 colSpan=3>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=content_subtitle align=left>Wed, Sep 01, 2010
The New Paper </TD></TR><TR><TD height=15>
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</TD><TD vAlign=top align=right><FORM method=post name=emailToFriendForm action=emailToFriend.jsp><INPUT value=/vgn-ext-templating/asiaone/emailToFriend.jsp?vgnextoid=8b54a28d6f1ca210VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=5057d931e0b42110VgnVCM100000bd0a0a0aRCRD type=hidden name=emailToFriendPageURL> <INPUT value=http://www.asiaone.com/Business/My%2BMoney/Property/Story/A1Story20100830-234695.html type=hidden name=emailToFriendStoryLink> 
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</TD></TR><!-- Story With Image End --><TR><TD class=bodytext_10pt colSpan=3><!-- CONTENT : start -->By Zaihan Mohd Yusof
YES, I paid $100,000 in cash-over-valuation (COV) for my HDB flat. No, I did not mistakenly add an extra zero to that figure.
"Gila" (crazy in Malay), said one friend. Totally exorbitant, chided another.
<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #b5d4d8 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #b5d4d8 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #eeeeee; BORDER-TOP: #b5d4d8 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #b5d4d8 1px solid" cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FONT-SIZE: 11px" width=192>Related stories:
» They paid $130,000 COV for Yishun flat 14 years ago
» What to consider before buying an HDB flat</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>But I have only one question: How much would you pay for the home of your dreams?
I don't just mean a flat which looks impressive and sits in a prime location.
I mean a real home - one where you imagine you'll watch your children grow up in and where you'll spend your twilight years. A home for keeps.
This was why I felt it was worth paying $755,000 for the four-bedroom executive maisonette in Choa Chu Kang, even though I feel that property prices have hit ridiculously high levels.
The 12-year-old flat has 87 years left on its 99-year lease.
Resale prices for HDB flats rose for the eighth straight quarter from April to June, surging 4.1 per cent from the previous quarter.
The median COV also hit a record high of $30,000.
COV is the amount a buyer must pay the seller in cash over the HDB's valuation of the flat. It is not covered by a bank loan.
Typically, the agreed price for a resale flat includes a cash premium on top of the official valuation determined by an HDB panel of independent professional valuers.
The Business Times reported last month that the median COV for executive flats and five-roomers in hot areas, such as Bishan, was $70,500 and $52,500 respectively.
Sure, the amount I paid was more than that. But it wasn't an impulse buy.
My wife and I considered many things before choosing this flat and finally signing on the dotted line.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Firstly, we needed more space - more than our current three-bedroom condominium.
Growing family
With an infant son and plans to have another child soon, we imagined a flat with a bedroom for each of them, as well as an additional room for our elderly parents one day.
So we hit the market with only five-room flats or executive flats in mind.
Secondly, we needed a place near my parents' home as we both work full-time and my parents would be baby-sitting our children most of the day.
Finally, we needed a place near an MRT station and close to amenities such as a supermarket, food courts and schools.
So with these pre-requisites, our choices were certainly narrow.
It was during a month's worth of searching that we chanced upon what would be our new home - an executive maisonette in the north-west of Singapore.
It is large (almost twice the size of our current place) with four decent-sized bedrooms and is less than two minutes' walk to the MRT station.
My friends asked: You sure you want to pay so much?
"It's just a HDB flat. Not private some more, you know," said one with a tone of scepticism.
True. And we also have to factor in an estimated $30,000 for renovations.
Plus, we'll be paying $1,600 to the bank every month for the next 35 years.
But the minute I laid eyes on this place, I saw value in my purchase.
This is an HDB penthouse - one of only 12 units in the area.
Only five areas in Singapore - Bishan, Strathmore Avenue in Queenstown, Pasir Ris, Hougang and Choa Chu Kang - have such units.
In Strathmore Avenue, there are only four rooftop penthouses and in Bishan, there are 50 such units.
Earlier this year, a penthouse at Bishan Street 24 was sold for $900,000, making it the most expensive HDB flat to change hands in Singapore at the time.
The New Paper </TD></TR><TR><TD height=15>
</TD><TD height=15>
</FORM><SCRIPT> function openEmailA1AdminWindow(emailToFriendForm) { var emailToFriendPageURL = emailToFriendForm.emailToFriendPageURL.value; emailToFriendForm.action = emailToFriendPageURL; emailToFriendForm.target="_blank"; emailToFriendForm.submit(); } </SCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3><!-- TITLE : start -->HDB penthouse at $100k over valuation: Clever or crazy? <!-- TITLE : end--></TD><TR><TD height=15 colSpan=3>
YES, I paid $100,000 in cash-over-valuation (COV) for my HDB flat. No, I did not mistakenly add an extra zero to that figure.
"Gila" (crazy in Malay), said one friend. Totally exorbitant, chided another.
<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #b5d4d8 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #b5d4d8 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #eeeeee; BORDER-TOP: #b5d4d8 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #b5d4d8 1px solid" cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FONT-SIZE: 11px" width=192>Related stories:
» They paid $130,000 COV for Yishun flat 14 years ago
» What to consider before buying an HDB flat</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>But I have only one question: How much would you pay for the home of your dreams?
I don't just mean a flat which looks impressive and sits in a prime location.
I mean a real home - one where you imagine you'll watch your children grow up in and where you'll spend your twilight years. A home for keeps.
This was why I felt it was worth paying $755,000 for the four-bedroom executive maisonette in Choa Chu Kang, even though I feel that property prices have hit ridiculously high levels.
The 12-year-old flat has 87 years left on its 99-year lease.
Resale prices for HDB flats rose for the eighth straight quarter from April to June, surging 4.1 per cent from the previous quarter.
The median COV also hit a record high of $30,000.
COV is the amount a buyer must pay the seller in cash over the HDB's valuation of the flat. It is not covered by a bank loan.
Typically, the agreed price for a resale flat includes a cash premium on top of the official valuation determined by an HDB panel of independent professional valuers.
The Business Times reported last month that the median COV for executive flats and five-roomers in hot areas, such as Bishan, was $70,500 and $52,500 respectively.
Sure, the amount I paid was more than that. But it wasn't an impulse buy.
My wife and I considered many things before choosing this flat and finally signing on the dotted line.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Firstly, we needed more space - more than our current three-bedroom condominium.
Growing family
With an infant son and plans to have another child soon, we imagined a flat with a bedroom for each of them, as well as an additional room for our elderly parents one day.
So we hit the market with only five-room flats or executive flats in mind.
Secondly, we needed a place near my parents' home as we both work full-time and my parents would be baby-sitting our children most of the day.
Finally, we needed a place near an MRT station and close to amenities such as a supermarket, food courts and schools.
So with these pre-requisites, our choices were certainly narrow.
It was during a month's worth of searching that we chanced upon what would be our new home - an executive maisonette in the north-west of Singapore.
It is large (almost twice the size of our current place) with four decent-sized bedrooms and is less than two minutes' walk to the MRT station.
My friends asked: You sure you want to pay so much?
"It's just a HDB flat. Not private some more, you know," said one with a tone of scepticism.
True. And we also have to factor in an estimated $30,000 for renovations.
Plus, we'll be paying $1,600 to the bank every month for the next 35 years.
But the minute I laid eyes on this place, I saw value in my purchase.
This is an HDB penthouse - one of only 12 units in the area.
Only five areas in Singapore - Bishan, Strathmore Avenue in Queenstown, Pasir Ris, Hougang and Choa Chu Kang - have such units.
In Strathmore Avenue, there are only four rooftop penthouses and in Bishan, there are 50 such units.
Earlier this year, a penthouse at Bishan Street 24 was sold for $900,000, making it the most expensive HDB flat to change hands in Singapore at the time.
