Buying Guide
Once
you have found a property you want to buy, this document explains the
steps to actually complete the purchase. Note that at this point you
may want to appoint a solicitor to act for you - but please consult
your agent about this first. You will need a solicitor in these phases
of the purchase process: to act in purchase, to act in mortgage (if you
are taking a loan from the bank), and to act in withdrawal of funds
from the CPF Board (if you are using CPF Funds). Typically, one
solicitor can do all of this, so there is no need to appoint multiple
solicitors.
Before you sign any contracts, make sure you can
actually get the money to purchase the property. Any deposits paid for
reserving the property will be forfeited if you cannot go through with
the transaction - unless the cancellation is due to conditions stated
in the contract.
Financing the Property
Most people will finance their property using a bank loan (mortgage). The
amount you can borrow will depend on your own personal financial
circumstances plus the bank's valuation of the property or the actual
transaction price (whichever is lower). Singaporeans can usually borrow
up to 80% of the value and foreigners usually up to 70%. The bank will
take into account your capacity to pay the monthly instalments - for
this they will evaluate your income, assets, employment history and
your age, and they will also check your credit history for any previous
payment problems.
For the deposit you can use your Central
Provident Fund (CPF) savings, if you have an account, and the rest has
to be in cash. A Singaporean with good CPF savings might not need much
cash to pay for a property, but foreigners should expect to have at
least 20% in cash (+ fees) at hand to purchase a property.
If you
are buying a HDB apartment, you should check the eligibility to get a
concession loan from HDB. If you are not entitled to get the loan from
HDB, you need to finance it with a normal commercial mortgage.
You
should meet with your banker or mortgage broker before you sign any
contracts to see whether you can actually secure the financing when you
need it. Agents can also refer you to a bank or mortgage broker if you
do not already know one.
Necessary Documents
The
contractual part is typically a simple two step process. First you will
sign an ‘Option to Purchase’ agreement with a good faith deposit.
Following this, you have 14 days to decide whether to go ahead or not
with the purchase. Alternatively, you can just give the seller the full
deposit on ‘Offer to Purchase’ and bypass the ‘Option to Purchase’.
After this, you will sign the ‘Sales and Purchase Agreement’ with the
seller to complete the sale.
Option to Purchase
Once
you have decided to purchase the property and agreed the price with the
seller, you should ask for an ‘Option to Purchase’ agreement. The
‘Option to Purchase’ agreement is typically prepared by the seller’s
agent or solicitor, and you should therefore go through it with your
agent or solicitor before signing. However, any amendments need to be
agreed by the seller. Typically 1% of the purchase price is given to
the seller in exchange for the option as a good faith deposit.
‘Option to Purchase’
usually gives you a 14-day exclusivity period to decide whether to
purchase the property or not. The seller is not allowed to offer the
property to another buyer during this period. If you decide to exercise
the option by signing it, you will send it back to the seller (or
his/her solicitor) with another 4% or 9% of the purchase price
(whichever was agreed in the option).
If you do not exercise the
Option within the stated period, the Option will expire and the seller
is entitled to keep the 1% option money and sell the property to any
other buyer.
Offer to Purchase
If you do not wish to have
the grace period given by the option, you can always make a binding
offer directly – ‘Offer to Purchase’. This should be prepared by your
solicitor or agent, and would state the price, completion date and
other conditions that you may have.
If the seller accepts the
offer by signing the ‘Offer to Purchase’, you can directly proceed to
the Sales and Purchase Agreement. At this point a deposit of 5% or 10%
of the purchase price is typically given to the seller.
Sales and Purchase Agreement
After
the ‘Option to Purchase’ or ‘Offer to Purchase’ has been signed, your
solicitor will do the necessary steps to complete the sale – lodge a
caveat on the property, coordinate with the bank/CPF board for the
mortgage, and prepare the contracts. This process will typically take
up to 10 weeks to complete.
Inspection before Taking over Property
The
‘Option to Purchase’ should clearly state a permission to inspect the
property before completion of the sale. The buyer should check
everything that the seller has agreed to sell with the property –
especially all the fixtures and fittings, e.g. air conditioning,
kitchen appliances, etc. If there are any problems, you can ask the
seller to fix them before you sign the Sales and Purchase Agreement.
If
you are buying an HDB apartment, the Housing Development Boad will do
the inspection on your behalf. They will check for any unauthorised
renovation. The seller will need to reinstate the flat into the
condition allowed by the HDB before it will approve the sale.
Fees and Commission
There
are various fees that come on top of the purchase price when the sale
is completed, and you should therefore reserve money to pay for them.
Fortunately, some of them are borne by the seller. These are summarised
below:
Agent's Commission - For private property, the
agent's commission is paid by the seller - unless you have specifically
appointed an agent as a representative. The seller typically pays 2%
commission on the sale. For HDB apartment, the buyer pays typically 1%
commission.
Solicitor's Fee - For the buyer, the
solicitor’s fees are typically 0.3-0.6% of the transaction value. In
addition, there are extra legal fees if CPF is used to pay for the
apartment. The seller pays typically 0.15% of the transaction value to
his/her solicitor.
Mortgage Fee - The banks typically
charge an administration fee and valuation fee for the mortgage. These
together are somewhere between S$200-300. In addition, you need to take
out on insurance on the property for the bank to give out the mortgage.
Stamp Fee - The stamp fee will be payable to Inland
Revenue Authority of Singapore within 14 days upon exercising the
Option to Purchase (or signing the Sales and Purchase Agreement when
you buy from a property developer). For properties above S$300,000,
stamp fee payable will be 3% of the purchase price minus S$5,400. The
mortgage stamp fee is up to S$500, which is the amount payable for most
mortgages.