Re: HDB, MORE SELLERS THAN BUYERS!
- From: "L" <L@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:57:30 +0800
"Ah Pek" <lauahpek@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:fn0qkb$52h$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Many desperate and jobless uncles and aunties are trying to meet ends byNew HDB flat buy-back scheme for older owners
selling their roof. They hope to pocket some money through the transaction
by making private deals through the illegal "cash back" scheme.
Advice? Cash back can land you in jail. Secondly, do not pay money bave
valuation as there is plenty of sellers.
They can now sell their flats, without having to move out for another 30
years
ELDERLY HDB dwellers have finally been offered a neat way to swop their
flats for more cash in their twilight years.
The Government is introducing a new scheme to buy back the flats of older
HDB owners, but they will be allowed to live in the same flats for another
30 years.
The scheme, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last night, involves
shortening the leases of these HDB homeowners to 30 years, and then paying
them the value of the lease foregone in cash.
It is aimed at helping HDB flat owners unlock the value of their flats. This
is important because a flat is often a Singaporean¡¯s biggest asset
post-retirement, but he is often unwilling to sell it for cash which he may
need in old age.
It will be open to people aged 62 and above who own a two-room or three-room
flat, and who have only had ¡®one bite of the cherry¡¯, or who have bought
only one flat from the HDB previously, PM Lee said.
The new scheme is a major improvement over an existing one. Currently, an
elderly HDB dweller can sell his flat and move to a studio apartment with a
30-year lease, which costs at least $60,000.
But many older flat owners are reluctant to uproot themselves and relocate
to a smaller flat in an unfamiliar estate.
In the new scheme, they will not have to move out of their current flats.
Instead, HDB will shorten the flat¡¯s lease to 30 years and buy back the
remaining lease.
PM Lee did not give details of how much HDB would pay for the tail end of
the leases that it buys, but he said the payout would be split into two
parts.
There will be a lump sum amount paid upfront, while the rest will be paid
out as monthly payments for the rest of the owner¡¯s life, like an annuity.
As for what happens if an owner lives for more than 30 years after selling
the lease back to HDB, the Ministry of National Development is studying the
issue, he said.
Some elderly HDB flat owners told The Straits Times yesterday that they were
intrigued by the idea.
¡®This is an improvement over the studio apartments because I don¡¯t have to
go to a different environment and I don¡¯t have to move to a smaller flat,¡¯
said Mr Steven Lau, 60, an estate agent who owns a three-room flat in Bedok
North. ¡®It¡¯s just me and my wife. We have nobody to pass the flat on to.¡¯
For Mr Abdul Rahman, 64, the cash that he would get for his flat under the
new scheme is a big draw. ¡®If my wife and I have financial problems, we can¡¯t ask my children to help us because they have their own problems,¡¯ he
said.
¡®This would be a good chance to get money. Anyway, after 30 years I don¡¯t
know if I¡¯m still living or not.¡¯
Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of property agency PropNex, called the
scheme an ¡®extraordinary solution to the greying population¡¯.
¡®Of all the HDB initiatives announced, this is the most unique and
interesting,¡¯ he said. ¡®It allows people without enough cash to (get money
from) their flats with dignity in their old age.¡¯
The other HDB measures included making it easier for lower-income families
to buy HDB flats. The Government upped the maximum amount of CPF Additional
Housing Grant by $10,000, and raised the income ceiling so that households
earning up to $4,000 can qualify for the grant.
Even more good news was in store for HDB dwellers yesterday, with the HDB
upgrading programmes themselves getting an upgrade.
Both the Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP) and the Main Upgrading Programme
(MUP) will be replaced by new and improved schemes, PM Lee said.
The IUP will be replaced by the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), which
will combine two or more precincts in large-scale planning decisions that
promise more and better facilities.
As for the MUP, it will be replaced by the Home Improvement Programme (HIP),
which will see more practical changes within each flat, such as new doors
and better bathrooms. The new programmes will cover nearly all estates in
Singapore.
Private estates will also benefit from improved upgrading with a revamp of
the Estate Upgrading Programme. More importantly, they will now get
Community Improvement Project Committee (CPIC) funds, just like HDB estates,
to carry out smaller scale, but regular enhancements.
Source : Straits Times - 20 Aug 2007
.
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