Here's everything to know about the BTO, SBF and Open Booking payment timeline

Buying a new HDB flat is almost a rite of passage for new couples in Singapore. But with the excitement of owning a home, comes the scary part: the payment timeline to pay for the flat.

That's why our top advice for prospective homebuyers is to make sure that their finances are sorted before applying for a new flat from HDB (whether it's via BTO, Sales of Balance Flats or Open Booking). This ensures that they're able to afford the payments when they're due.

For that reason, we've come up with this little cheat sheet summarising the payment timeline to help you figure out what you're in when you sign the dotted line.

Specifically for Open Booking of Flats, given that you can book for a flat as early as the next working day, you'll need to get the HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter before the application.

HDB BTO, SBF and Open Booking payment timeline

Stage of purchase	Fees payable	Amount payable	Payment mode
BTO application	Application fee	$10	Credit card or mobile payment app (eg. DBS PayLah!, UOB TMRW, OCBC Pay Anyone, etc.)
Flat booking	Option fee (forms part of the downpayment)	2-room Flexi: $500 3-room: $1,000 4-room and bigger: $2,000	NETS
Signing of Agreement for Lease	Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD)	First $180,000: 1 per cent Next $180,000: 2 per cent Next $640,000: 3 per cent Next $500,000: 4 per cent Next $1.5 million: 5 per cent Remaining amount: 6 per cent (Given the price of BTO flats, the BSD rate payable should be up to 3 per cent.)	GIRO, PayNow, AXS, internet banking, SingPost, cheque
Conveyancing fee (also known as legal fee)	First $30,000: $0.90 per $1,000 Next $30,000: $0.72 per $1,000 Remaining amount: $0.60 per $1,000 Rounded up to nearest dollar before applying for GST.
Downpayment	If taking HDB loan: 10 per cent of purchase price, with CPF or cash  If taking bank loan with LTV of 75 per cent: 5 per cent cash, 15 per cent CPF and/or cash If taking bank loan with LTV of 55 per cent: 10 per cent cash, 10 per cent CPF and/or cash
Key collection	Registration fee	Lease In-Escrow: $38.30 Mortgage In-Escrow: $38.30	Cashier's Order, CPF
Survey fee	1-room: $162 2-room: $162 3-room: $229.50 4-room: $297 5-room: $351 Executive: $405 (inclusive of 8 per cent GST)
Stamp duty for Deed of Assignment	0.4 per cent of the loan amount, up to $500
Home Protection Scheme (HPS) annual premium	If you’re using CPF to pay for loan instalments, depends on factors like outstanding loan
Fire insurance premium for 5 years	If you’re taking HDB loan. 1-room: $1.63 2-room: $2.73 3-room: $4.91 4-room: $5.99 5-room: $7.19 Executive: $8.18 (inclusive of 8 per cent GST)	Cannot be paid with CPF
Downpayment	For flat applications received between Dec 16, 2021 and Sept 29, 2022: 5per cent of purchase price, with CPF or cash For flat applications received after Sept 29, 2022: 10 per cent of purchase price, with CPF or cash If taking bank loan with 75 per cent LTV: 5 per cent of purchase price with CPF and/or cash If taking bank loan with 55 per cent LTV: 25 per cent of purchase price with CPF and/or cash
Balance of purchase price	This will be covered by the home loan if you’re taking it

Here’s an illustration for taking an HDB loan

Let's take the example of newlywed couple Mark and Sophie, who are both Singapore Citizens in their 20s.

They are first-timer applicants with a combined income of $8,000/month. They're looking to purchase a four-room BTO Flat, with a purchase price of $500,000.

In addition, they qualify for the Staggered Downpayment Scheme (SDS), and will be financing their purchase with an HDB loan which will cover up to 80 per cent of the purchase price (for flat applications from Sept 30, 2022, in line with the recent cooling measures), for a term of 25 years.

With a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio limit of 80 per cent, this means their loan amount will be $400,000.

They also intend to service their loan instalments using their CPF savings.

Stage of purchase	Fees payable	Amount payable
BTO application	Application fee	$10
Flat booking	Option fee (forms part of the downpayment)	4-room: S$2,000
Signing of Agreement for Lease	Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD)	$9,600
Conveyancing fee	$338.04 (after rounding up and applying 8 per cent GST)
Downpayment less option fee	5 per cent of purchase price minus option fee: $23,000 (cash or CPF)
Key collection	Registration fee	Lease In-Escrow: $38.30 Mortgage In-Escrow: $38.30
Survey fee	4-room: $297
Stamp duty for Deed of Assignment	$500
Home Protection Scheme (HPS) annual premium	$254
Fire insurance for 5 years	4-room: $5.99
Downpayment (for Staggered Downpayment Scheme)	15 per cent of purchase price (for BTO application after Sept 29, 2022): $75,000 (cash or CPF)
Balance of purchase price	Loan amount: $400,000
Total	$511,081.63

If you’re taking a bank loan for the BTO flat 

Now let's see how the finances work out if they were to take out a bank loan with a 30-year tenure. Since it's their first loan, they are entitled to a loan of up to 75 per cent of the purchase price. This means the loan amount will be $375,000

In this case, they decide to go with legal counsel that their bank recommends, at a cost of $2,500.

Stage of purchase	Fees payable	Amount payable
BTO application	Application fee	$10
Flat booking	Option fee (forms part of the downpayment)	4-room: $2,000
Signing of Agreement for Lease	Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD)	$9,600
Legal fees	$2,500
Downpayment less option fee	10 per cent of purchase price minus option fee: $48,000 (5 per cent cash + 5 per cent cash or CPF)
Key collection	Registration fee	Lease In-Escrow: $38.30
Survey fee	4-room: S$297
Stamp duty for Deed of Assignment	$500
Home Protection Scheme (HPS) annual premium	$254
Downpayment (for Staggered Downpayment Scheme)	15 per cent of purchase price: S$75,000 (cash or CPF)
Balance of purchase price	Loan amount: $375,000
Total	$513,199.30

ALSO READ: Resale HDB projects near May 2023 BTO locations

This article was first published in 99.co.