Tag Archives: HDB

HDB: Divorcee should be able to get loan

Posted on 8 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on HDB: Divorcee should be able to get loan

We refer to the letter from Ms Norliah Abu, ‘Divorced and can’t afford a flat’ (Oct11).

We have looked into Ms Norliah’s circumstances. She has enjoyed housing subsidies in the form of a Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grant and HDB concessionary loan. She transferred her executive flat to her ex-husband in December 2007.

Based on her CPF savings and her monthly salary, she should be able to obtain a bank loan to purchase a flat.

Ms Norliah and her two children are currently living with her brother. She has applied for a four-room flat in Jurong West under our Sale of Balance Flats exercise.

The average purchase price of a four-room flat in Jurong West is about $260,500.

Based on the Housing Board’s preliminary assessment, she will need a bank loan of about $140,000 for the intended flat purchase. She can pay her monthly instalments solely using her monthly CPF contributions. Continue reading →

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Singapore Property : Upgrade lifts in ineligible blocks too

Posted on 8 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Singapore Property : Upgrade lifts in ineligible blocks too

I refer to last Sunday’s article, ‘Sorry, no lift for your floor’, which reported Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu as saying that 200 out of about 5,300 blocks built before 1990 are ineligible for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP).

The reason these blocks – including the Lorong Ah Soo maisonette block (right) mentioned in the article – are ineligible is that upgrading them would severely bust the cost cap of $30,000 for each unit.

As the $5.5 billion lift upgrading scheme is a nationwide exercise to provide lifts which stop on every floor for Housing Board residents, it should be carried out with impartiality in all wards and for all blocks.

Moreover, $5.5 billion is a large sum and if it is spent wisely, it should be able to cover the costs of lift upgrading for these 200 blocks.

Also, with so many HDB blocks within each ward or constituency, installing or upgrading the lifts can be done at a much lower cost.

The LUP should be viewed from a macro, rather than a micro, perspective, as at least 85 per cent of our population live in HDB flats.

Another issue I wish to raise is the extravagant finishes of some of the upgraded lift lobbies and interiors.

Some of these are comparable to, or even better than, those in private condominiums. Continue reading →

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