Saturday 16 March 2013

EC? What's In For Me?

Executive Condominiums, EC, for short are a class of residential property right stacked in the middle tier of HDB public housing and private residential. They cater especially for young graduates and professionals who can afford more than an HDB flat but find private property to be out of their reach. The income sandwiched class.
ECs are comparable in design and facilities to private condominiums as they are developed and sold by the private developers.” Essentially, an EC has most if not all the facilities of most condos but are initially tied back to the rules and regulations of HDB.

Who is eligible to buy an EC?
I am appending all the criteria listed by HDB for your easy reference.


Age
  • You must be at least 21 years old at the time of application
  • If you are buying an Executive Condominium (EC) under the Joint Singles Scheme, you must be at least 35 years old.   

Family Nucleus
You must form a proper family nucleus under one of the following schemes:

Type of SchemeFamily Nucleus Requirement
PublicYou, the applicant and;
  • Your spouse, and children (if any)
  • Your parents, and siblings (if any)
  • Your children under your legal custody, care and control (for widowed/ divorced)
Fiancé/Fiancée Additional InformationYou, the applicant and your fiancé/fiancée
Orphan
Additional Information
You, the applicant and;
  • Your unmarried siblings, or
  • Another single unrelated orphan
Joint Singles
Additional Information
You, the applicant and another single person

You may buy a dual-key EC units offered by the developer if you form a multi-generation family as follows:
(i) Married couple with parents/grandparents
(ii) Fiancé and fiancée couple with parents/grandparents
(iii) Widowed/divorced with children and parents/grandparents


Income Ceiling
Your average gross monthly household income must not exceed $12,000.


Am I eligible for any further housing grant?
* Applicable only for first timer
EC Buyer with Average Gross Monthly Household Income up to $10,000







Type of Grant Available
Amount
SC / SC Household
SC / SPR Household
CPF Housing Grant for Family
$30,000
$20,000#
Half Housing Grant
  • If you are a first-timer citizen and your spouse has previously enjoyed a housing subsidy


$15,000
#If you are from an SC/SPR household, you can enjoy the full housing subsidy by applying for the Citizen Top-Up when your SPR family takes up Singapore Citizenship or when you have an SC child.


EC Buyer with Average Gross Monthly Household Income from $10,001 to $11,000
From 15 Aug 2011, first-timer households with monthly income between $10,001 and $11,000 may buy new ECs with a CPF Housing Grant of $20,000. This revision is only applicable to EC projects launched for public sale on or after 15 Aug 2011.
Type of Grant Available
Amount
SC / SC Household
SC / SPR Household
CPF Housing Grant for Family
$20,000
$10,000#
Half Housing Grant
  • If you are a first-timer citizen and your spouse has previously enjoyed a housing subsidy


$10,000
#If you are from an SC/SPR household, you can enjoy the full housing subsidy by applying for the Citizen Top-Up when your SPR family takes up Singapore Citizenship or when you have an SC child.


EC Buyer with Average Gross Monthly Household Income from $11,001 to $12,000
From 15 Aug 2011, first-timer households with monthly income between $11,001 and $12,000 may buy new ECs with a CPF Housing Grant of $10,000. This revision is only applicable to EC projects launched for public sale on or after 15 Aug 2011.
Type of Grant Available
Amount
SC / SC Household
SC / SPR Household
CPF Housing Grant for Family
$10,000
$0#
Half Housing Grant
  • If you are a first-timer citizen and your spouse has previously enjoyed a housing subsidy


$5,000
#If you are from an SC/SPR household, you can enjoy the full housing subsidy by applying for the Citizen Top-Up when your SPR family takes up Singapore Citizenship or when you have an SC child.

What are the down payment schemes which I have to note?
If you are eligible for a loan ceiling of 80%, you will have to pay the initial payment of
  • 5% in cash
  • balance 15% using CPF savings, CPF Housing Grant or cash

If you are eligible for a loan ceiling of 60%, you will have to pay the initial payment of

  • 10% in cash
  • balance using CPF savings, CPF Housing Grant or cash
If you are eligible for a loan ceiling of 50% or lower, you will have to pay the initial payment of
  • 25% in cash 
 
Can I purchase an EC as a second timer?
For existing HDB property owners who have fulfilled their Minimum Occupation Period(MOP), you will be eligible to apply for an EC if you can fulfill firstly the criterias mentioned earlier and secondly if you have not exhausted 2 opportunities to get a subsidized flat. (Resale Unit + housing grant is considered as one chance)  

You will not need to pay back Resale Levy to HDB as you are not eligible for any grant either. However, you must dispose of your existing flat within 6 months from the date of issuance of the Temporary Occupation Permit in respect of the Executive Condominium (EC). 

If you intend to apply to purchase an EC where the Temporary Occupation Permit for the EC has been issued, you will be required to dispose of your existing HDB / DBSS flat within 6 months from the date the Developer serves the Notice of Vacant Possession on you.



Are there other important information which I need to note?
Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)
Sale of EC

You have to occupy the EC for 5 years before you can sell it in the open market.


Essential occupiers in EC
Occupiers who are essential in the forming of a family nucleus with you in the EC application must continue to be listed in the application and stay in the EC during the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).
They cannot make a separate application, or to be listed as occupiers in another application to purchase an HDB flat or another EC within the MOP.

Renting out your EC
Renting out the whole EC unit

Renting out of whole EC unit within the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) is not allowed, unless for valid reasons and subject to HDB’s written approval.


Renting out rooms
No prior approval from HDB is required if you rent out your bedroom(s) in the EC within the MOP. However, with effect from 1 Feb 2010, you must register the subletting of bedrooms with HDB within 7 days of doing so. You are also required to notify HDB when you renew or terminate the subletting of bedrooms, and when there are changes to your subtenants’ particulars. You may approach the HDB Branch managing your EC to register the subletting.

Buying another subsidised housing
After selling your EC in the open market, you must wait for 30 months before you can submit an application to buy:
    1. a new flat from HDB; or
    2. an apartment under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) from developers; or
    3. another EC from developers.

Resale Levy
The resale levy is meant to reduce the housing subsidy that can be enjoyed by flat buyers in the purchase of their second subsidised flat from HDB. It also ensures a fairer allocation of housing subsidies among flat buyers.

You are liable to pay a resale levy of $55,000 when you buy a second subsidised flat from HDB or take over ownership of a subsidised HDB flat after selling the EC bought under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme (after meeting the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and the 30-month period).

If you do not intend to buy a second subsidised flat from HDB, for example, if you are buying a resale flat, a new DBSS flat, an EC from the developer, or a private residential property, you need not pay the resale levy.

Interest in Private Property
You cannot invest in private residential property during the 5-year minimum occupation period.
Executive Condominium (EC) owners who have occupied their EC and met the 5-year minimum occupation period (MOP) can sell their EC in the open market. The 5-year MOP is computed from the date of issuance of Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in respect of each EC.
After the 5-year MOP, from 6th to 10th year, EC can be sold in the open market to those who can meet the HDB eligibility conditions.

From 11th year, all restrictions will be lifted. Foreigners and corporate bodies can buy ECs in the open market from 11th year of the EC project. 


Please feel free to drop me an email for further queries or clarifications.