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Everyone dreams of owning their own home. It’s one of main milestones on the path to true adulting. Not to mention the positive feelings of financial security and peace of mind that come with joining the homeowners club. So what’s stopping you from making this dream a reality, like, right now?
People in their 20’s and 30’s often feel daunted by the sheer scope of what buying a home entails. It can feel like there are too many things to analyze and tovo many factors to consider, and when you’re overwhelmed it’s can be hard to know what really matters. Location, affordability, size, mortgage considerations? It’s enough to make us crawl into our little rental bedrooms, never to emerge.
Here’s where 99.co comes in. With easy-to-figure-out tools and expert insight at your disposal, buying a home for the first time is much more achievable than you might think.
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Know what’s out there
99.co is the property portal with the largest number of home listings in all of Singapore. (Over 150,000 and counting!) That means no FOMO, guaranteed. The comprehensive inventory of listings means you know all your options and can make the most informed decision. And when it comes to buying a home, isn’t that one of the most important things?
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Manage your budget
When you’re browsing the listings on 99.co (and fantasizing about that beautifully restored shophouse *sigh*) don’t forget to check out the mortgage calculator. This handy little gadget included on every listings page lets you toggle between buying price, loan tenure, loan percentage, and interest rate to calculate your mortgage for any property.
Why is this so important? With an accurate loan amount and monthly installment plan, you will be better understand what you can get within your budget, without overextending yourself.
Play around with the numbers and see what you’re up against with that new high-rise condo on the water (*double sigh*).
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Small savings, create big opportunities
You’re already reading this article, so that means you’re at least thinking about saving up some cash. Good start! Give yourself a pat on the back as a reward. (You better enjoy it too because it’s time to say goodbye to your usual rewards like take-away meals, expensive lattes, and impulse buys.) The reality is you’re going to have to make some sacrifices. The good news is that small sacrifices add up to a lot over the years.
Understand your financial situation
Now that you’re saving money and have gone through some listings and used the mortgage calculator, it’s time to get an idea of your financial situation. Start by considering a few of everyone’s favorite acronyms: CPF, HDB and WTF. (Ok, we made up that last one.)
But seriously, folks. Consider how you could use your Central Provident Fund (CPF) to your advantage. We’re not saying you will necessarily want to use your CPF to buy a house. (In fact, you might not want to.) But it’s worth studying up on how to best utilize your CPF, and staying up to date on any changes that are made to the program.
To home loan or not to home loan? ‘Tis the eternal question. You might want to start by considering the difference between HDB and bank loans and reading up on home loan terminology.
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Start your search
We all want an amazing house in a great location, but certain factors are more important than others. Do you want to be near family? The MRT? Your favorite coffee shop? (Hey, don’t judge.) Use a detailed search engine like the one by 99.co to search by all of these factors and to get a holistic view of the price of condos, HDBs, and landed houses.
Make the most of 99.co’s search tools and compare locations depending what is most important to you. You can even draw your own search area on the map to ensure you’re only looking at listings that you really want to call home or search by travel time to a location of your choice. (Mom and dad’s house to do laundry, perhaps? We joke!)
Search by Proximity or Travel Time
Using 99.co’s proximity tool allows you to search a radius of up to 4km from a selected location. Do you want to be near your family? This is the perfect tool to ensure you benefit from the HDB housing proximity grant, which offers SG$10,000 to singles who buy a flat to live near their parents. Money for a new flat and mom’s home cooking just down the street? Where do we sign up?
Another feature allows you to search by travel time from your workplace. This is perfect if you want to be close enough to work that you can hit snooze without being late to morning meetings, but far enough away so that you have an excuse if you are running behind schedule. Yes, we’ve thought all about this.
Search by MRT
One of the most powerful factors in most people’s decision making is proximity to MRT stations—it reduces commute time, and saves money on cars and taxis for starters. Narrow your search results by filtering by MRT, then zoom in on the properties around your preferred station.
Search by School
Are you planning to start a family in the near future? If family planning is important to you and you’re going to stay at your new home for a few years, then take time to consider the primary schools in your vicinity. The “School” function allows would-be home owners to plan in advance and move to a property 1km or less from their desired primary school.
Don’t rush it.
After you’ve figured out what’s important to you when searching for your new home, 99.co’s convenient, easy-to-navigate search filters will make the entire process a walk in the park. Download the 99.co app or visit 99.co to surf properties on the go and stay up to date with new listings. And if you’re still reading up, check out articles on 99.co’s blog and tap into the wealth of knowledge that’s already available for any newbie buying a home in Singapore.
Now, are we invited to the house warming?
Do you have any more tips for would-be homeowners in Singapore? Sound off in the comments below!
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