Elderly get more options to buy 2-room flats under Flexi Scheme. Cheap? Think Again!

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Singapore
Elderly get more options to buy 2-room flats under new Flexi Scheme

First mooted by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan at the Committee of Supply debate in March this year, the new 2-room Flexi Scheme will merge and replace the existing 2-room flat and studio apartment schemes.

• By Faris Mokhtar
• POSTED: 19 Aug 2015 15:15
• UPDATED: 19 Aug 2015 15:19

• PHOTOS

File photo of HDB flats in Yuhua estate. (Photo: HDB)






SINGAPORE: Elderly citizens will now get the flexibility of choosing the duration of their lease of their 2-room flats based on their age and preferences, under a new Flexi Scheme introduced on Wednesday (Aug 19).
First mooted by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan at the Committee of Supply debate in March this year, the new 2-room Flexi Scheme will merge and replace the existing 2-room flat and studio apartment schemes.

Under the scheme, applicants aged 55 and above can opt for shorter leases of between 15 and 45 years, in five-year increments, as long as it covers them and their spouse until they are at least 95 years old.

For example, those aged between 55 to 59 can purchase a flat with a 40-year minimum lease period, as by the time the lease expires, they will be between 95- to 99-years of age.

The new 2-room Flexi flats will come in two sizes: 36 and 45 square meters. They will be priced according to the lease tenure, and if buyers are first-timers or second-timers. This means flats with shorter leases will be cheaper, and first-time buyers who have yet to enjoy a housing subsidy will pay less for their 2-room flats.

PRICES UPON APPLICATION
On Wednesday, the HDB gave an indication of the costs of such flats, but did not provide definitive prices. For example, the base price of a 2-room flat with a 99-year lease – without taking into account housing grants and amounts payable – might cost around S$110,000. Flats with a 40-year lease might cost close to S$63,000, while those with a 15-year lease might be priced at around S$37,000.

=> 40/99 * $110k = $44.4k. 15/99 * $110k = $16.7k. Go figure!

HDB said prices of Flexi flats may differ depending on location, design features and prevailing market conditions at the time of offer. The actual prices will be spelt out when one applies for it at the Build-To-Order (BTO) launches.

This scheme will be in place from the September BTO exercise. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) said it will launch more than 70 BTO projects with such flats in the next five years.

At least 40 per cent of such flats in a BTO project - subject to a minimum of 100 units in the project - will be set aside for the elderly. Under a new Senior Priority Scheme to be introduced, half of this number will be set aside for those who apply to live near their current flat or their married children.

EXTENDING STUDIO APARTMENT LEASES

Currently, studio apartments have a 30-year lease and are meant for senior citizens aged 55 and above. But they can soon have the flexibility of extending their lease. From April next year, they can apply to top up their lease by between five and 15 years at the prevailing market value.

This option is also be extended to buyers who have yet to collect their keys to the studio apartments.

More help will also be given to elderly home buyers. Currently, second-time buyers who sold their first subsidised flat before March 3, 2006 are liable to pay a percentage resale levy with accrued interest.

But a new ruling will waive the accrued interest for those 55 and above when they right-size to a new 2-room or 3-room flat. This means that they will only have to pay the percentage levy.



- CNA/av


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