#2 | One foot forward - making my largest investment

Four hours later, and here I am still hyperventilating and in utter disbelief. The entire HDB appointment this afternoon took like us less than 15 minutes (?!) This sounds ridiculous considering all the time / days we spent staring at futuristic town proposals, floor plans, town maps, and individual unit layouts. It feels a lot like preparing for a major examination, really.



The entire appointment consisted mostly of non-stop contract signing and responding nervously to the HDB staff with her machine-like string of confirmation and instructions. But one thing for sure, be absolutely clear and accurate about your chosen unit's block and unit number, as well as deciding to opt in (or not) for the optional component scheme (OCS).

One piece of advice: NEVER make your decision last minute or just moments before the appointment

I personally found it very stressful when the bell kept going and there you are still trying to make up your mind. DO do your homework beforehand and do up a clear list ranking your units in terms of preference. This helps a great deal! For us, being the last 30 for the entire exercise meant that units were so limited. By the time it was our turn, others had already ticked off two units from our list. BOOHOO. But such is life, and we eventually ended up with our third choice.

Things to prepare before the big day - Flat Selection Day:-

1. IC
2. CPF statement for the past year
3. Payslip for the past 3 months prior to HLE letter approval
4. HLE Letter

If you are applying your flat under the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS), I would recommend coming down with your parents to do the MCPS undertaking on the same day. Else, you would have to take them down to Toa Payoh HDB office another day anyways.

Under the MCPS scheme, do bring along the follow:-

1. IC of parents
2. Birth certification
3. Marriage certification of parents

Of course, there's a lot more consideration when choosing your desired flat, like the fengshui and all, but that calls for a separate post another day. For now, I still can't believe that I'm finally having my own place in four years :)