The HDB scam: Are we owners or tenants of these 99 year properties ?

[sheryllim]

Are Singaporeans really owners of their HDB flats or are they mere tenants of the government ?

While it is true that over 80% of Singaporeans live in HDB flats, we are less certain of the percentage who actually “own” their flats.

Strictly speaking, one only owns the place they live in if they have fully paid up for their home without any outstanding loans to the banks and the property belongs to them for life.

As a large percentage of HDB flat “owners” are still paying for their leasehold HDB flats from their CPFs or savings, they are merely tenants paying the government for the right to reside in their flats which will be repossessed by HDB or the bank should they fail to keep up with the monthly mortage installments.

Being a 99 year leasehold property, HDB “owners” have no right to pass on their property to their descendents beyond the stipulated period. More than often, the government can repossess the flat at any time for redevelopment purposes. For example, when hundred of old flats in Toa Payoh and Queenstown estates were demolished, the residents are not paid a market rate for their flats and instead was simply given preferential allocation for the new flats built in their place at hugely discounted prices.

Read rest of article here:

http://wayangparty.com/2009/01/15/t...s-real-owners-or-mere-tenants-of-their-flats/

 

[High Command]

Nothing more than lease holders at the mercy of Govt policies. End of discussion.

 

[PJ Boy]

Are Singaporeans really owners of their HDB flats or are they mere tenants of the government ?

Of course you are owners because you pay property taxes & must pay for the maintenance of your HDB flats. Whoever have heard of tenants paying property taxes and maintenance of their flats?

 

[Leongsam]

Thank your lucky stars the lease for your home is 99 years. The lease for your privilege of "owning" a car lasts only 10.

 

[0939]

You got one life, count yourself lucky if you can live in a pigeon hole. After all our lifespan is only around 75 to 80 years lah. When we die we all go to hell.

 

[congo9]

Yes , we are tenants paying property tax ........ and best of all , we cant pass the flat down to my children!

So what do you think ?

 

[tonychat]

You got one life, count yourself lucky if you can live in a pigeon hole. After all our lifespan is only around 75 to 80 years lah. When we die we all go to hell.

I dun see anything lucky living in a pigeon hole. You mean sinkies really feel lucky living in that?

I always thought that it is lucky to live in a house and not an apartment.

 

[JinGanKor]

# Rooroo Says:
January 15, 2009 at 11:23 am

Subsidy is base on market price and no longer base on building cost which is the main reason of why the price of Direct HDB flats rise rapidly during the 1990s.

With more and more Foreign Workers and PR coming in to buy resale flats or rent them, prices of resale flats are going up like crazy.

Since the pricing of new flats are based on market price + a little subsidy, the rise of new flats are following right behind the resale.

Private developers building those build and design flats also pushing up prices to new height. Which gives people the impression like hey a build and design 5 room cost $700k, so it is fine to pay an ordinary 5 room for maybe $500k.

And all these increase while the building cost has not change much, maybe still around the range of 50k - 70k.

They claim that they are not making money and they are selling as cheap as they can, to me that’s half true. Since other then building cost there is also land cost, it is SLA to decide the price of land. If HDB is not making money, then where did the money go? SLA? Aren’t they having the same “final” boss, belongs to the country and also serving the people?


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# Rooroo Says:
January 15, 2009 at 11:35 am

this is like a shop selling a packet of rice at 5 times more the usual price, but he claims that he is not making money, because the distributor is charging them at “market rate” and 95% of the money went to the distributor.

He did not lie that even though he charge 5 times more yet he is not making money, only thing he did not mention is that the distributor which is another company belongs to him. So his shop is not making money but his distributing company is reaping huge profits.

So why did the people still buy from him? Simple, his shop is the only shop that has the license to sell rice, and his distributing company is the only company with license to import rice. And the department that issue him the license so happen to be also run by him. And the law that state that only 1 license can be issue is also decide by him who happens to be a top politician.

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# GetOutNow Says:
January 15, 2009 at 11:46 am

The result of such high price are people paying alot more for a home which is “affordable”.

Yes affordable, but maybe with their whole life of slogging.

People are taking up higher loans, paying higher interest rates and stretching the loan period longer.

And during this period of servicing the loan which can be as long as 30+ years, there must not be any retrenchment or accident, the income must be constant.

And most loans push to private banks which has all the rights to repossess the unit if you are unable to service the loan. “Adjustment” of interest rate can also be base on “market”.

And after all these, you still don’t own the house, you are just a lessee or tenant.

The burdens are heavy, resulting in lower quality of life and unable to risk for entrepreneurship.

And all these talking about promoting entrepreneurship and swiss quality of living by “SOMEBODY” is actually a joke.----------------------------------------------------------------

we don't have much choice here, but the sad thing is a lot of people are actually happy with their pigeon hole or even proud of it.

 

[hockbeng]

That's why they need a ppty bubble like this one below. To keep all sporeans distracted.

Buyers, sellers at impasse
Owners still asking for sky-high prices while bank valuations fall

Thursday • January 15, 2009


Loh Chee Kong


[email protected]



A DOWNTURN is usually the time for bargain-hunters to snap up properties on the cheap. But for now at least, the reality could not be more different, as prospective buyers discover.

Said Ms K Chan, a HDB dweller looking to upgrade to a condo: “I thought this would be a good time to pick up a good bargain. But owners are still asking for sky-high prices.”

According to industry players, the volume of transactions in the last month or so has dropped to a level only witnessed during the Sars outbreak when the market was practically frozen.

The reason? A growing gap between falling bank valuations — which determine how large a bank loan buyers can take — and high asking prices by highly-geared sellers needing to pay off their outstanding loans.

A random check by Today on 15 homes for sale — condos and various landed property types spread across the island — found stark differences between what owners are asking for and preliminary valuations by independent professionals.

While it is normal for initial asking prices to be higher than the conservative value banks attach to a property, in six cases that Today found, the valuations were less than two-thirds of the asking price.

For instance, while an owner of a four-storey bungalow in Holland Grove Drive was asking for $ 7.2 million, his property was valued at just $3.3m. Likewise, a Caribbean at Keppel Bay unit valued at about $700,000 was being touted for sale for $1.1m.



SUBHD: ‘Better for sellers to cut losses now’

Property agent Michael Leong lamented: “It’s very difficult to negotiate deals these days. Both sellers and buyers would hesitate for really long and in the end, they still cannot agree on the price.”

Chesterton Suntec International director Colin Tan said the property bull-run of yesteryear – which pushed prices to record levels – has resulted in once-overly-bullish investors held hostage by the large loans they undertook.

HSR Property Group executive director Eric Cheng thinks this is especially so in the luxury segment, where “people are more likely to be highly geared and own more than one property”.

For sellers unwilling to budge on their asking price, the latest Citigroup report on the property market makes for grim reading.

The bank forecasts mid-tier to high-end residential property prices here to fall another 35 per cent, bringing “prices back to 1998 levels”. For prices of luxury properties such as Ardmore Park, the fall would be even steeper – up to 60 per cent from their peaks two years ago, Citi estimates.

Noting the current general scarcity of cash, Mr Tan said: “For sellers, maybe it’s better for them to cut losses now, rather than take a bigger loss later on. But sometimes you have geared up so much, the situation is out of your hands – you are stuck.”



SUBHD: ‘Buyers can wait’

Before buying a property, buyers can request from banks a preliminary valuation – determined by an independent professional – which estimates a property’s open market value.

Such a valuation takes into account, among other factors, recent transactions and property launches in the vicinity. The banks would then carry out a final valuation onsite before granting a loan, capped at 90 per cent of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower.

According to Mr Cheng, the final valuations usually do not veer much from the preliminary ones. In rare cases, banks may increase their valuation – by up to 20 per cent – to match the asking price, provided they are convinced of the buyers’ ability to finance the loan, he said.

Still, the lack of activity in the property market, to some extent, means valuers are groping in the dark when setting the property value. “A lot of it is based on gut-feel,” said Mr Cheng.

But Mr Dennis Ng, spokesman for mortgage consultancy portal www.housingloansg.com, believes that valuations accurately reflect current dire sentiments. He predicts the impasse will be broken in the second half of the year – when it becomes a buyers’ market. “Ultimately one party will give way,” said Mr Ng.

For now, Chesterton Suntec International’s Mr Tan has this advice for prospective buyers: “You can afford to wait. Only go (into a transaction) when it is a property you really like and it is within your affordability

 

[DerekLeung]

Permanent tenants !

Your children and all !

Permanent tenants !

Your children and all !

 

[Papsmearer]

Of course you are owners because you pay property taxes & must pay for the maintenance of your HDB flats. Whoever have heard of tenants paying property taxes and maintenance of their flats?

Christ, u are dumber than shit. Everyone is a tenant. GET IT? Look at the HDB contract u sign when u buy. The HDB is the landlord. By "buying" the flat, u are just prepaying your rent for 99 years. The Govt. is the only landlord, thru HDB, so they can make any rules they want. They want u to pay property tax, u have to, as it stipulates so in your contract. Don't want to pay, don't buy than. If u truly own the flat, than u should be able to pass it down to your kids for many generations. But no, u have to give it back within 99 years or less. Its dumb fucks like u that keep voting in the PAP.

 

[R4g3]

Of course you are owners because you pay property taxes & must pay for the maintenance of your HDB flats. Whoever have heard of tenants paying property taxes and maintenance of their flats?

that's the best thing about our gahmen. they give u the impression that you are the owner, you buy the house and it is only right that you have to pay for the property tax for YOUR house and also the maintenance.

Yet legally you are just a tenant or lessee.

They have the best of both worlds while we get the shit of both worlds.

 

[JinGanKor]

that's the best thing about our gahmen. they give u the impression that you are the owner, you buy the house and it is only right that you have to pay for the property tax for YOUR house and also the maintenance.

Yet legally you are just a tenant or lessee.

They have the best of both worlds while we get the shit of both worlds.

Actually no one BUY a flat or BUY a car here. These are just the wrong impression given to the people and make them more willing to pay with their hard earn money which can be as long as 30-40 years.

When people tell me they bought a car for $60k, I always have to correct them that they are actually renting a car at the price of $60k for 10 years.

 

[shelltox]

If you a christian you also dont own your body and your soul, your life depends on the Almighty God. When it is time for you to go , you have to go even if you are a new born.
If you cant control your own lifespan why is there a need to worry whether it is 99 lease hold or free hold. You cant even bring it with you.

 

[ahleebabasingaporethief]

HOW do you think Town Councils have more than $4b?

HDB is the greatest con. Upgrading is an even Bigger con.

 

[Frankiestine]

In Singapore is there really such a thing as owing your land even if it is freehold? Once the scums covet your land, they can just use the Land Acquisition Act and "buy" over your land...

 

[JohnTT]

Rent of course. Owned means you can possess it infinitely.

 

[lubehsong]

so many singkies have been fucked for so long and most of them dont even realise it.

 

[silverspoon]

we are just like farm animials..staying in these HDB flats.....we are being farmed for our CPF and monies

when the term finished...they will just take it back and put new batch of animials inside..

 

[annexa]

Aiyah, they con you. What they do is actually change the word to "own" a flat, but in legal contract is still leasee. But this way, they up your monthly rental more than 100 times!