We were on our way to view a home today when our agent got the call.

Our buyer couldn’t secure a loan, so the deal’s off and depending on which side of the glass you’re looking at, we’ve gained $1,000 (buyer’s deposit) or lost a coupla hundred grand in usable cash.

I love where I live, inside and out. It’s bright and breezy, everyone knows our names, and we’re one minute from town by train. I’m used to being outnumbered racially so I can ignore the fact that the Chinese-to-Indian ratio is probably about 1:500 on Sundays.

I’m not looking forward to going through the sale process again but I’m not completely bummed out either. It helps that it’s not a great time to buy. We’ve been to a few far-flung locations in the last two weeks and here’s what I can tell you about trying to get a resale HDB flat in the current market:

A. You need a lot of cash.

• Crappy-looking flat, near MRT, low floor = +$30,000 over valuation
• Nice-looking flat, near MRT, mid floor = +$50,000
• Any flat considered “central” = +$60,000 and up, up, and up

B. Property ads can be great time wasters.

• On websites like Property Guru (my fave local property search engine because you can filter by distance to specific MRT station, price, size, and more), agents place dummy ads to gauge interest for a particular area and to add callers to their list of “ready buyers.” Fake ads usually don’t have pictures or much detail about the flats being sold. Even if there is a picture, it’s not necessarily of the sale apartment so always check to save yourself a wasted trip.
• If an ad doesn’t mention which floor or whether it’s a corner/corridor unit, assume it’s a low floor, corridor unit.

C. Old flats may be bigger (click here for a list of HDB flat types and models), but you may also have the hassle of lift/internal upgrades (as well as paying for the works). Agents will always sell it to you as a good thing, but I’ve just been through two years of watching a hotel come up right next to my block and I’m not ready for another year of noise and dust. You can check if the apartment you’re eying is up for upgrading programmes here. For some forum chatter on whether or not old flats are worth the price, click here.

Here’s a little story: About a week ago, we made an offer for a flat in Chong Pang, a sleepy town with supposedly good hawker food stuck halfway between Sembawang and Yishun. Low floor, corner, something that needed overhauling in terms of decor. Two bus-stops from Yishun MRT, with a feeder service at a frequency of 15 minutes. Or you could walk for 20-25. The agent was asking for $40,000 over valuation, and we offered 10 (and were willing to go up to 15 or 20). Mr Agent said it wasn’t even worth telling his client about — totally unethical — but stopped short of giving us a counter-offer. The End.

We’re giving this buying/selling business a short rest before we plot our next move. If you’re still out there home hunting, here are more links that might help:

• Things to note, questions to ask an agent when viewing a home (link 1, link 2)
• Buying property in SG (procedures, etc): Something we didn’t know before was that for HDB flats, you’ll have to pay a 1% commission fee to the seller’s agent even if you respond to a property ad on your own, without an agent’s help
• H88′s HDB Buying Guide
• Minimum occupation period for HDB resale flats (March 5, 2010 update)
• Using CPF to purchase HDB flats