When you finally grow up and are thrown into the world of adulting all of a sudden, getting your own flat, either alone or with your partner, can be a daunting thing to do.
You would probably go searching for the best tips and tricks in getting a flat that best fits your options through extensive Google research and begging your experienced older relatives to help you.
Sometimes, you may even chance upon websites that claim to help you – but there may be more than meets the eye.
Open Booking For BTO Flats
If you still consider yourself to be a noob in the property buying field, don’t worry.
As you may have known, the Housing Development Board (HDB) occasionally releases new launches of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats. Young couples and singles above 35 are the ones typically applying for these flats that have yet to be constructed fully.
After the BTO exercises where these flats will be sold, there will still be some leftover flats that have yet to be purchased. There may also be flats during that period of time that become available as they were given up by homeowners or repossessed by the HDB.
So all these flats will be sold under the Sale of Balanced Flats (SBF) or the Re-Offer of Balanced Flats (ROF) exercise.
HDB introduced an Open Booking system, where people can book leftover flats from the SBF through HDB’s portal – and it goes on all year.
Only when HDB needs to prepare for the launch of a fresh supply of flats does the Open Booking temporarily pause.
Instead of a ballot to see who gets dibs on choosing their flats, the Open Booking is on a first-come-first-served basis, which essentially means that getting a lower queue number would be the most beneficial.
There’s A Service Helping People To Get Good Queue Numbers
Singaporeans are really getting more creative and innovative with their money-making methods nowadays – there’s a paid service that helps you with just about anything.
Online site SGOBF claims to be a service that will help clients get “ahead in your race to land a home” especially if you had been unsuccessful all this while.
Offering highly customised services for a “very limited number of clients”, the site purports that they can secure the desired queue number through a risk-free method.
It may all sound very tempting, right?
However, the SGOBF explained in response to media queries that they merely assist customers in filling out their applications, leveraging on their “experience and expertise”.
Most of their work is manual and does not involve automation to auto-fill details.
Clients are also charged as much as they feel the service is “worthy” as the service does not have any fixed price.
Since “good” is subjective, SGOBF admitted that they would not be able to guarantee good queue numbers but are confident that they can help clients who aren’t as particular about unit choices.
They also said that their service is no different than helping people who are “computer-illiterate” or who do not have Internet access to book.
HDB Aware Of Site; Not Endorsed By Them
HDB has also spoken up about the service to the media, saying that they are “aware of the website” which is not endorsed by HDB.
The public should carefully consider the risks before engaging and paying for such services, they advised. Possible risks include the probability that the service will be able to get a good queue number again following the success of one occasion.
HDB said that since the application process is relatively simple, there is “no need to engage such a service.”
Applicants are thus encouraged to submit their applications through the HDB Flat Portal instead, a convenient platform for both buyers and sellers to gain information on purchasing and selling a flat on one integrated platform.
If you’re still confused, you may find out more about the application procedure here.
Well, if all’s fair in love and war, then engaging in housing wars to live with your loved ones should be too.
Feature Image: Google Map
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