getting our first home when our Q. exceeds 146% 👀

happy march everyone! putting this post out here to share some love & light to all those couples who are trying to BTO in the latest selection that were released yesterday 🫶🏻 we had our very first huge milestone as a couple back last year & we honestly had a struggle because even though we had a queue number, it was way beyond the flat supply 🥲

SO WHAT DID WE DO IN BETWEEN THE TIMELINE & HOW DID WE MANAGE TO SELECT A FLAT?

it was a total of 5 months wait in between the results & when we got invited down to HDB to select the flat.

1️⃣ keep hope!!

we really wanted this flat because it has the shortest waiting time that was ideal for the both of us. so we didn't "give up" on this flat, and decided that we'll keep this as a choice for us to explore more. at the same time, to ensure that we're not hoping aimlessly, we observed the appointment date tracker really closely the moment people start choosing their units.

2️⃣ prepare for alternative solutions

while keeping hope is important, we also decided that we will explore other options & went to apply for 2 more projects within the 5 months, one of them being sbf 😅 and why we chose sbf is because we wanted a house quickly so that was a direct option! unfortunately, we missed the sbf chance 🤦🏻‍♀️ and then we also applied for a BTO project during the time we got called up - so that's where the DILEMMA comes 👀 (which leads to the third point)

3️⃣ list down the factors for consideration

because we can't keep our BTO application (results would have been out a month later) & secure our unit at the same time, we had to choose between the 2 options 🥵 so before we went down for the appointment, we sat down & discussed which factors are the important to us when it comes to our unit (e.g. whether sunlight can come in, how low of a floor can we accept, which unit along the corridor is it, etc etc). after seeing the units irl and analysing, we shortlisted a few units & kept staring at the watchlist screen at HDB hub 🤦🏻‍♀️ (cuz we knew there were people ahead of us!) but thank god we managed to secure the unit that we want 🙆🏻‍♀️

it wasn't the most ideal unit, cuz the higher-floor 5-room units in that project had balcony but obviously that was out of our league already 😭 and one of the KEY consideration factor for us was the waiting time.

so if you didn't already know, the Feb 2023 BTO has already launched yesterday! if you and your partner are considering various scenarios when applying, i hope mine helps 🤍

#Lemon8SG #Adulting101 #bto #lemon8home #homeliving #Couple