What type of condo should I buy?

What type of condo can I afford? Property Expert, Dave Yong, from ERA Realty Network answers.

Dave Yong

A reader asks:

My CPF savings amount to $200K. I also have $120K cash in hand. My monthly salary is $6K. What type of condo do you advise me to buy?

Dave Yong, theAsianparent property expert, replies:

An excellent question that many Singaporeans have in mind! I am pleased you decided to bring this up. In Singapore, you can see an increase in the number and type of condo units. As such, I understand how difficult it must be for Singaporeans to decide on a particular type of condo unit.

Here, I have highlighted the 2 important factors you should consider when you are assessing the cost-benefit analysis of purchasing a particular type of condo unit:

1) First and foremost, the mortgage of a condo unit should not exceed 40% of your salary. Since you earn 6k monthly, the mortgage should not exceed 2.4k (40% of your salary). Thus, I advise you to consider a private condo unit that does not exceed a value of S$1 million.

2) Your loan to value (LTV) plays an important part too in your decision process. LTV is calculated as follows:

To keep it very simple, let’s say the property you would like to purchase is worth 500k and you want to borrow 400k. Your LTV yields a value of 80%. In my opinion, the lower the LTV ratio, the lower the risk for yourself. You have to ponder if your LTV is too high a ratio first before deciding on an expensive or less expensive condo unit.

Answered By Dave Yong.

Dave is a senior team director certified in CEHA with ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd. As a full-time professional realtor who mentors a group of associates under his team, his success stories includes winning numerous awards such as Asia Pacific Elite award, Top Achievers awards, Million Dollar Club Producer awards, Top Manager awards and multiple testimonial letters!

Dave exemplifies great service. His transparency and dedication to his job has resulted in many satisfied local & foreign clients who continue engaging him for all their property needs. As a consultant to theAsianparent.com Dave is excited to assist Singapore parents on property trends and update them on polices related to the property market. Dave is a peoples’ person and enjoys communicating on a wide range of topics. He also enjoy sports and spending quality time with his friends and family.

If you have any property questions, please direct it to Dave Yong at [email protected]or [email protected]

You can also vistit his site at www.sinproperty.com