Is it wise to buy a 35 yr old HDB flat?

Hi,

I would like some opinions about buying a 35 yr old flat in a place like woodlands or nearby there.

As some of you know, I have been looking for a HDB flat for the longest time as a 1st home.

I was looking at the flats in woodlands that are 30 - 35 yrs old and the price quoted for are higher than 100 - 150,000 than what it was 3 - 4 years ago.

But they are still within my affordability range than those younger flats which are beyond my affordability range....

However, I am not sure what are the risk of buying a 30 - 35 yr flat at this point of time?

Also, what are the risk, issues, things I have to consider before buying .

Appreciate if you could help me understand these so that I can make a wise decision .

Thank You.

Besides the standard considerations, location, pricing, condition... I could just think of a number of other factors for an older flat.

How long do you plan to stay in the place? I believe there are housing loan restrictions for a 50 years old and above flat... and that will severely limit the number of buyers who can afford to buy your place. But there's a general belief that gahmen will buy everything back sooner or later.

Wear and tear. Electrical cabling in the house for instance may have worn out... you might want to check if the owners replaced them during their last renovation.

Age group of the residents. Some people love to hear sounds of kids running around... personally prefer the peace and quiet of an aging estate.

Lift upgrades. Though less applicable to Singaporeans because it's 95% subsidized. But you may consider the possibility of further upgrades to your flat that may not add any value i.e redundant floor space.

are you qualified for BTOs? if yes, why not wait for Khaw to put up more BTOs flats?

i) With all that new supplys being pump out by HDB since 2010,
chances are COVs and Resale prices to drop, esp when all those being newbuilds start to TOPs from 2013 onwards....

it's your judgement call - if can, maybe you want to wait...


ii) Always buy direct from HDB & take up HDB concessionary loans - if you can qualify,
for old folks (age 55+), there is now a new category call "Studio Apt" that can be consider - pls study the details first, coz there are other limitation (eg. only 30yrs lease, cannot sublet, meant for 2 persons, but its brandnew, and come with lots of oldfolk friendly stuffs eg. non-slip floorings, handgrabs in toilet/bathroom, special alarm etc.)
so pls study the details first, over here


iii) if still must consider old resale flat, you may want to "consider only" those that had already undergone MUP (main upgrading program),

reasons :
a 35-yrs old flat - means constructed around 1970 - TOP around 1976.
your major concerns is not just spalling concrete... but leakages from sewage/water pipes from upstair.... worse are those not physically visible, but old pipe already cracks within the concerete flooring separating you from your upstair units... and no amount of repair (re-plaster, re-cement, inject chemicals) can make the problem go away... becoz fluid will always find a way downwards....

and if after buying, your block lucky enough to get selected for MUP !!
though the actual work inside your unit will only be for around 2-4 weeks, for the entire block, it's around 3 years of noise/dusts, and gondolas hanging outside your windows all the time, ofcourse a fair share of power/internet disruption too !!
if got space-adding items, means they blow a hole in your kitchen wall, you may end have flooding whenever it rains for a couple of months only lah....

to me the only beneficial aspect of MUP - was the fresh column of pipes - under MUP, they will "blow" a hole thru the entire column (from groundfloor unit to rooftop) and replace entire sewage/drainage pipes with new ones, they also redo waterproofing for all toilet/bathrooms... but not the kitchen flooring - so spailling concretre from kitchen's ceiling wun go away....

ofcoz those freshly MUP flats - will cost more

actually, alot also depend on whether you intend for own stay only, intend to sublet room for some income, some baby boomers are selling their 3-5 rooms, to downgrade to Studio - unlock cash & also brandnew=less problem, small=easier to clean/maintain than a larger flat.
ofcourse unlock cash just purely to spend the $$ is bad idea !


p/s: years back,
i blow away over $4k, first to do various chemical injections, finally redo both toilets floorings for upstair units - problem still dun go away !!!, finally HDB engineer go to insert a "T- joint" from upstair unit all the way down to mine - finally problem solved.... but not after $4k poorer and around 4 rounds of re-plastering+repainting my toilets/kitchen ceilings over a one year period !!.... and then barely a year later - they wreck MUP !!.... another 3 yrs of nighmare !!
today, i'm no longer staying in that once, torturous unit !!!

Thanks Vseeker for sharing! Learnt something new from your post!

Yes, toilet leakages can be quite a hassle. It's every contractor's nightmare, but to be fair it doesn't occur in all aged HDBs. So it'd be wise to inspect the house for leakages, not just in toilets but in kitchens, sinks etc. It is the responsibility of the unit above you to prevent leakages, as in they are to pay for whatever flooring that needs to be replaced to prevent the leakages... but you can imagine the hassle of involved.

So unlike the usual flat, you'll need to inspect everything for wear and tear, cables, piping etc. If you don't plan to renovate, you'd even need to look at tiles as with time they might chip and drop off. Overall an older estate does have its benefits, more developed amenities, public transport, public services (covered bridges, pedestrian crossings etc etc.) And of course less crowd because they tend to be less dense (lesser floors per block/lesser no. of households)

(25-06-2011, 09:53 PM)Vseeker Wrote: i) With all that new supplys being pump out by HDB since 2010,
chances are COVs and Resale prices to drop, esp when all those being newbuilds start to TOPs from 2013 onwards....

Thanx Vseeker for that enlightening post. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

I learned quite a bit from the post.

Thank You again. =)

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Thanx Piggo and Bratzz for your comments.

Appreciate your inputs and views. =)

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(25-06-2011, 09:15 PM)brattzz Wrote: are you qualified for BTOs? if yes, why not wait for Khaw to put up more BTOs flats?

Hi Brattzz,

I am qualified and have applied for BTO for a couple of times, but have not been lucky as I usually get no's in range of 1700 plus.

Also the waiting period is like 3 years and I'm going to have new addition to my family...so I am trying to be very prudent and at the same time thinking what is the best choice.

I would only be able to stay where I am for another few months then I would have to vacate ( personal reasons) and if I rent , the rent is pretty high at this point in time.....so I am pretty stuck ..... that is why I am pondering of getting a resale flat the old ones....

same here flinger, i have balloted 3 times and still trying, meantime i'm staying in with my mum in her 35 yrs old 3 rm flat, and my wife+myself are hoping to have a kid this year or next.. we cannot afford the resale+cov.. so we will want to get BTO...

Hopefully, we should see more chances end of this year or next, by the time the flats are completed, think my kid will be 4 to 5 yrs old liao..

better late then never.. i can only blame it on the LATE MARBO TAN for wasting the last 5 yrs of my life.. :O

Hi Guys,

Just keep balloting lorr..

I managed to get mine after 7 try...
And My Q no. is like twice of supply but there is still a few low level units left so I just took them...

Resale price is crazy now..

U may also like to consider choosing a flat near parents or parents-in-law, or even a choiced primary school, if you are intending to have children. Some ppl say if you have $, you can employ a maid, but you can't use $ to buy - ah kong/ah ma, or ye ye/nai nai.

There is also a certain premium you have to pay in buying a resale flat in a matured estate - a flat of your choice mah, and also save alot of inconvenience, like everday transportation expenses and time saved = $ saved.

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(26-06-2011, 08:08 PM)brattzz Wrote: better late then never.. i can only blame it on the LATE MARBO TAN for wasting the last 5 yrs of my life.. :O

Something is very wrong in our housing policies nowadays!
The garment don't tackle the citizens problems as a whole.
Each ministry is very profit-orientated.
They don't help to solve the basic problems of housing, and it has aggravated to today's situation which is even more difficult to tackle.
On one hand they said the birth rate has gone down, and they want more babies, but they are not helping the young couples out with basic housing needs.
With no house of your own, how to start a family?
HDB rental flat is also not available to house these young couples temporarily; they choose to tear down those flats that are still suitable for living.
I really feel sorry for these affected people! It's so tough to live a simple life today!