How to find the best BTO flat?

surferpunk

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just for that title, I know I should have done more research. but i'm just gonna share mine and hope others will add on for everyone's benefit. to some, buying a bto can be intimidating. so, I hope this thread can be a one stop place for all. let me know if there's any other similar thread. I tried going back 5 pages, cannot find something similar.

anyway, my experience of buying bto is like a lucky draw. get a good queue and suddenly can pick from everything. otherwise, can spend another $10 for the next one. haha!

otherwise, by convention, buying the highest floor is always the must if you can. easy to sell, no neighbour upstairs.

if low floor, avoid those near the thrash area or even worse, coffeeshop.

avoid 2nd floor, if the area is high foot traffic, especially if in between blocks.

but i realise, top floor is only slightly higher than other floors. and i see some ground floor units have higher ceilings. I saw one even at almost 3m. :eek:

a good place to avoid is probably punggol. BTOs are popping up almost everywhere. prices are increasing because of the hype there. is there any new nice area to look at? sometimes, i wonder if the bto at tengah is worth it just because it's cheaper than most others.

what are the perks that you guys look out for in a bto? location? or balcony? or any other wow factors to look out for? surely beside the MRT is a good plus.

otherwise, please feel free to add your experiences and opinions.
 

dnsfpl

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to some near parents and or in-law is the best
whereas others wanna stay as far away as possible from them

some people prefer bigger unit whereas others are happy with their small house

near mrt better be an underground station
mrt track runs almost 24 hours, either servicing commuters or engineer servicing tracks

one man's meat is another man's poison
 

Pokémon

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There is no such thing as best, only better.

Everyone has different preferences and luck, so when they cannot get what they prefer most (due to queue), they can only settle for the next better (from the worse) choice.

Even when you get the place you really feel is the best, you might not have a good neighbour next door...

Some like a bigger space, so you must also have the $$$ to afford.
 

1982-1994

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I tried my luck for 3rm BTO in the central region without any scheme as first timer and I was damn shocked to get it

picked a sun facing corner unit since it has the most privacy. 3 units away to the thrash area/lift lobby, 4 storeys below the highest, unblocked view ECP with private properties in-between, can see fireworks, 50m away to underground MRT.
5mins walk to train platform from house, 10-20mins journey to work depending on timing

many people said it is so expensive, but can't complain much for it's prime location

still, my dream house is those old HDB units at marine parade facing the sea
 

jerichoo

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Just avoid Sengkang & Punggol.

U should be fine.

As for why, search the threads
 

pippo20

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I tried my luck for 3rm BTO in the central region without any scheme as first timer and I was damn shocked to get it

picked a sun facing corner unit since it has the most privacy. 3 units away to the thrash area/lift lobby, 4 storeys below the highest, unblocked view ECP with private properties in-between, can see fireworks, 50m away to underground MRT.
5mins walk to train platform from house, 10-20mins journey to work depending on timing

many people said it is so expensive, but can't complain much for it's prime location

still, my dream house is those old HDB units at marine parade facing the sea

Congrats on getting the dream bto😁 to ur jelly friends and relatives who said it is exp, they are just plain jealous, any one of the attributes u mention is already worth the price u paying. Imagine watching the fireworks, wow..
 

1993newbie

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Unpopular opinion: HDBs are not expensive, you are just entitled

MGOw5MN.jpg

https://www.99.co/blog/singapore/unpopular-opinion-hdbs-are-not-expensive-you-are-just-entitled/
 

surferpunk

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I tried my luck for 3rm BTO in the central region without any scheme as first timer and I was damn shocked to get it

picked a sun facing corner unit since it has the most privacy. 3 units away to the thrash area/lift lobby, 4 storeys below the highest, unblocked view ECP with private properties in-between, can see fireworks, 50m away to underground MRT.
5mins walk to train platform from house, 10-20mins journey to work depending on timing

many people said it is so expensive, but can't complain much for it's prime location

still, my dream house is those old HDB units at marine parade facing the sea

probably similar to me. bought a 3 room with nice queue number. flipped it out already for almost double the price. it's really like winning toto. purely luck! prime location sure expensive. but I think the income ceiling for 3 room really helps to push up the price. from $8k last time to $12k and now $14k. price for 3 room really got room to grow.

Just avoid Sengkang & Punggol.

U should be fine.

As for why, search the threads

haha! i'm from punggol. planning to get out and find a new place. but not sure where yet. alkaff sounds tempting though.


calculate the total cost and interest, divided by its 99 year lease and it's monthly cost is actually cheap. only reason it's expensive is that you need to pay the bulk of it earlier. want location, pay more. want high floor, pay more. if u have zero preference, bto flat is quite affordable.

otherwise, what I'm trying to say is... what's the cons of buying first floor unit for new bto? first floor high ceiling worth? or first floor in older blocks are better? buying a unit that's leftover but near the lift, okay? I mean let's share the experiences of living in different units of an estate. at least, others can weigh it out instead of choosing a "bad" unit, suck it up for 5 years and sell it at a loss later.

for sure, AVOID buying an unit with a coffeeshop below. The smell rise up and can really affect your selling price. that's something that most new buyers may not know when they buy a flat.
 

1982-1994

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Can't imagine those living above the kopitiam
Very convenient for dining but just can't imagine
 

AhBaThen

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I'm a Queenstown boy at heart💓💓💓.
Stayed at Tanglin Halt Road and now demolished old Commonwealth Drive HDB block.

In my late 20ish, stayed at new flat at Bukit Batok nearby YISS, could not cope....
Missed my Queenstown foods...beef noodles, laksa, lor mee, prawn mee, carrot cake, bak chor mee....

Eventually moved to 3rm flat at Empress Road
(before the new Farrer Road MRT was up).

Here old HDB flats in one tiny housing estate,
but facing the Good Class Bungalows area, nice view😘😘😘,
Freshy air. If you are lucky,
you can see our DPM/MoF Ah Heng🙄🙄🙄 at his landed home from my kitchen window.
Market, food centre, kopitiam, shops all downstairs niah😁😁😁
Ah...Adam Road Food Centre...nasi lemak...1.5km away..cheong arh😁😁😁

My place if got BTO....
is BEST as it is in areas like....
Holland Village(1.9km, quite afew chios all around),
Botanic Garden(4km, more chios all around),
Orchard(5km, many chios all around),
Sentosa(7km, even more chios all around),
Chinatown(7km, good foods but many lao nan),
IKEA😚😚😚(3.5km, the food and furnitures).

I WFH before I ROD in 1990 so hawkerfood🙄🙄🙄
very important to me back then...not so now.
 
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iphone1s

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just for that title, I know I should have done more research. but i'm just gonna share mine and hope others will add on for everyone's benefit. to some, buying a bto can be intimidating. so, I hope this thread can be a one stop place for all. let me know if there's any other similar thread. I tried going back 5 pages, cannot find something similar.

anyway, my experience of buying bto is like a lucky draw. get a good queue and suddenly can pick from everything. otherwise, can spend another $10 for the next one. haha!

otherwise, by convention, buying the highest floor is always the must if you can. easy to sell, no neighbour upstairs.

if low floor, avoid those near the thrash area or even worse, coffeeshop.

avoid 2nd floor, if the area is high foot traffic, especially if in between blocks.

but i realise, top floor is only slightly higher than other floors. and i see some ground floor units have higher ceilings. I saw one even at almost 3m. :eek:

a good place to avoid is probably punggol. BTOs are popping up almost everywhere. prices are increasing because of the hype there. is there any new nice area to look at? sometimes, i wonder if the bto at tengah is worth it just because it's cheaper than most others.

what are the perks that you guys look out for in a bto? location? or balcony? or any other wow factors to look out for? surely beside the MRT is a good plus.

otherwise, please feel free to add your experiences and opinions.

did you add Mandai Coloumbarium as one of your options? :D

Stupid thread and question. :s13:
 

surferpunk

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did you add Mandai Coloumbarium as one of your options? :D

Stupid thread and question. :s13:

Indeed it may sound stupid. but the problem is buying HDB has a massive implication to most Singaporeans, especially the young ones. I personally know of a couple who regret buying on the second floor, near the rubbish dump. For BTOs, we can't view the place till it's ready. We can't know how it'll be until we buy and live in it. That's why I feel it's good to share our HDB experiences so that others can make better judgement in choosing their next apartment.

I just hope the information here helps us being better informed buyers. I will surely be angry if I happen to buy a $400k flat, but everyday, the kopitiam smells into my home and there's nothing I can do about it. Unless I take the loss and sell it off at $350k. But otherwise, my apologies for the stupid thread. Me 10 years ago, would have enjoyed reading through all these so that I can avoid common pitfalls.
 

hachi

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Rubbish dump is OK, 5 mins max when the truck comes.
Facing is important. Don't get those units facing west. My current unit north south facing.
Coffee shop, pivilion, car park, avoid. High traffic, noise, smell and dirty....

Is very hard to visualize on the map provided. Take some time to look around the vicinity, and the sun moves a bit, first and second half of the year.
 

hachi

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Every bto there are 1-2 blocks facing north south unlike the old hdb. If got old hdb around just look at their facing..
 

frigatex

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BTO I feel is pretty straightforward:
1. Find one near mrt - even if you drive, this affects resale value in the future.

2. Get the highest floor possible - lots of rumors about disadvantages staying at top floor are untrue.

3. Avoid west sun - no benefits whatsoever staying in an oven
 

mousepad_88

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BTO I feel is pretty straightforward:
1. Find one near mrt - even if you drive, this affects resale value in the future.

2. Get the highest floor possible - lots of rumors about disadvantages staying at top floor are untrue.

3. Avoid west sun - no benefits whatsoever staying in an oven


highest floor possible but not the top floor for sure. I am currently staying in the top floor and it is warm as hell due to the heat from the roof top floor transferring to my unit.
 

hachi

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highest floor possible but not the top floor for sure. I am currently staying in the top floor and it is warm as hell due to the heat from the roof top floor transferring to my unit.

Old or New HDB, nwers one should be ok as there is secondary roof to protect the roof from the heat.
 

SnorlaxGorGor

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highest floor possible but not the top floor for sure. I am currently staying in the top floor and it is warm as hell due to the heat from the roof top floor transferring to my unit.

I am staying at top floor at Punggol.
I don’t have the same issue on warm as hell.
Maybe on top got water tank?

Neighbor really play a big part..
If kena those who don’t have common sense one.. then good luck..

 
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