Buying a resale flat, step by step

Buying a resale flat follows a fixed sequence of steps. This guide goes through each one, from the eligibility letter to collecting the keys, with what it costs and how long it takes.

Each step has its own paperwork and time limit, and they have to be done in order. Three fixed time periods set the overall pace:

From applying for your eligibility letter to collecting the keys, allow roughly three to four months. The steps, in order:

1. Get your HFE letterup to ~21 working days

   Apply for the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter through the HDB Flat Portal. It tells you whether you can buy, which CPF housing grants you qualify for, and how much HDB loan you can take. If you plan to use an HDB loan, a seller cannot grant you an option until your HFE letter is valid. If you are using a bank loan, get an In-Principle Approval from the bank at the same time. You can check the grants you may get while you wait.

2. Work out your real budgetdo it now, not later

   Once you know your loan and grant amounts, decide on the most you can pay, and what the purchase will cost on top of the price. The affordability calculator helps with the first, and what a resale flat really costs to buy covers the fees and the parts that must be paid in cash.

3. Find a flat and check the priceas long as it takes

   Shortlist, view and compare flats. This step takes as long as it takes. Before making an offer, check the asking price against what similar flats have sold for, using recent medians by town and flat type and the approach in how to tell if an asking price is fair.

4. Get the Option to Purchasevalid 21 days

   When you agree a price, the seller grants you the Option to Purchase (OTP). You pay an option fee of up to $1,000 in cash. The OTP is valid for 21 calendar days, during which you decide whether to go ahead.

5. Request the valuation$120 fee

   With the OTP in hand, submit a Request for Value to HDB if you are using CPF or a loan. The fee is $120. If the valuation comes back below the agreed price, the difference is cash over valuation and has to be paid in cash, so find out before you exercise the option.

6. Exercise the OTPwithin the 21 days

   To go ahead, you exercise the option: sign it and top up the option fee to a deposit of up to $5,000 in total, paid in cash. You are then committed to the purchase.

7. Submit the resale applicationboth parties

   You and the seller each submit your parts of the resale application on the HDB Flat Portal, with supporting documents and a fee of about $40 to $80 depending on flat size. Buyer's Stamp Duty is due within 14 days of exercising the option. Plan to pay it in cash and claim it back from CPF afterwards. The stamp duty calculator works out the amount.

8. The 8-week wait and completion~8 weeks

   Once HDB accepts the resale application, completion takes about 8 weeks. During that time you endorse the documents HDB prepares and pay the remaining fees online through the portal. After approval there is a completion appointment, where the balance is settled and you collect the keys.

Payments, in the order they are due

The costs come at different stages, and the early ones have to be paid in cash:

Before you view any flats, run your income, savings and CPF through the affordability calculator so your first offer is already inside your budget.