As with resale flats, BTO flats are also subject to the minimum MOP period of 5 years. Add this to the waiting period for completion and you are “stuck” with your flat, for better worse, for up to 10 years. While you and your partner’s life may seem stable at this point in time, we all know life can change when we least expect it.

If you do end up having to change your living arrangements, HDB allows flat owners to rent out bedrooms (not the whole flat) within the MOP period if you own a 3-room or bigger flat, with no prior approval from HDB required. In cases of divorce, HDB's prevailing policy will allow the divorced party who has the custody of the child to retain the flat, subject to their eligibility conditions.

3. You Lose Your “1st Timer” Preferred Status after 2 Tries

Regardless of how many times you have applied - If you were invited by HDB to select a flat twice, but for whatever reason chose not to, you will lose your preferred status and will be moved to the end of the queue, to compete on a level-playing field with other 2nd time flat applicants.
While this was a critical concern in earlier years when HDB released fewer units under former Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, the 50,000 new flats announced this year by the new National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan means there will be ample supply of BTO flats coming up. New couples may decide that despite the worse odds, it might still work out better for them in the long-run to keep balloting over and over again until they get a preferable queue number. After all, while it only costs $10 to apply, buying that BTO HDB flat would mean signing up for a 30-year mortgage financial commitment, so couples might be forgiven for only wanting to sign on the dotted line for a flat they really like.

4. The Price You See is Not the Price You Pay

Although HDB releases a list with information on the respective sale prices of each unit to successful applicants, buyers should note that additional costs such as buyer stamp duty, legal conveyance fees, moving and renovation costs can make the final price more than 20% higher. While HDB allows Singaporeans a HDB concessionary loans at a 90% loan quantum, with an interest rate pegged at 0.1% above the CPF rate, not all may qualify. The remaining option is to apply for a private bank loan, but under this option the maximum loan amount is capped at 80%, meaning the buyer has to fork out more out-of-pocket cash - which young couples out in the working world for just a few years may find hard to do.