I Paid The HDB A Visit

Last Friday, I found the time to go to the HDB office to ask them a couple of questions I couldn't get answers for when I visited the CPF office. (See I Paid The CPF A Visit). I guess this is a part two.

Maybe because it was a Friday afternoon I didn't have to wait anytime at all to get served. The nice lady asked me how she could help and off I went/ranted.

1. Can someone pay off his HDB loan partially or in full? Yes! The HDB calls this redemption and it is possible without any issue.

2. What happens in the case of a partial redemption? The home owner can choose to reduce the loan tenure or reduce the amount to pay monthly. In either case the prevailing interest rate applies.

3. Can a HDB flat be passed on as inheritance? This is a little complicated and a few scenarios apply:

3a. If the flat is co-owned let's say between husband and wife (joint tenancy), and one of them passes away, then ownership defaults completely to the other co-owner.

3b. If there is one owner, and he/she passes away, then ownership of the HDB flat is subject to the presence of a will. If there is a will, then the stipulations in the will have to respected. Otherwise the flat goes into government mandated estate management. What this means is that the government will figure who the eligible next-of-kin are to inherit the deceased estate - "estate" here means possessions and monies.

3c. If the deceased has children who are all under 21 years of age, then the flat goes into a trust managed by an executor till one of the kids turns 21. The kids will be allowed to stay in the flat of course.

3d. If the kids are over 21 and do not own property, then the flat ownership goes to them with equal shares. They do not need to pay anything extra.

3e. If one of the children is over 21 and owns a HDB flat on his own, he cannot also receive the deceased's flat because no one can own more than one HDB flat. In all likelihood it would be simpler to sell off the deceased's flat and split the proceeds among all children. I think of one of kids is over 21 and doesn't own property, he can be a recipient of the flat if the other siblings agree or he can buy over their share of the property at prevailing prices.

3f. If a flat is held in a tenancy-in-common scenario where let's say owner A can hold 70% share and owner B has 30% share and owner A passes away, the 70% share could go to his next-of-kin or anyone other person according to a will or under estate management. In any case, any major shareholder still needs the permission of the other shareholders to sell or make changes to the flat.

4. What a single person buy? Under the Singles scheme, eligible participants must less than $5000 a month and be over 35. An applicant can seek  a BTO 2-room flat, or get a flat of any size from the resale market.

5. What can old friends buy? Under the Joint Singles scheme, up to 4 individuals over 35 years of age can buy a resale flat of any size, even a mansionette. No BTO flat. They can also get a HDB loan if they buy a 5-rm or smaller flat. Sounds like the making of a permanent party hub to me.

The HDB lady was extremely knowledgeable and I thanked her for that.