‘Problem’ with HDB Grant

Leave a Comment / HDB Grants / By / 27 August, 2025

Get a resale home near your parents

Yup, 23 years later that was the amount! My ‘loan shark’ told me that it was the amount that they can make for me if I let them keep my money. But since I took my money out to buy myself a HDB flat, this will be the money that I owned to myself them.

But my loanshark was also kind enough to inform me not to worry as they will not be hanging a pig head or scribble O$P$ on my front door should I am unable to pay them back. In fact they were so ‘kind’ to say that it’s ok that I don’t even need to pay back the outstanding amount say if I only sold my flat at valuation price of S$350,000. In fact, they even published an article to give assurance to their customer.

Rubbing more salt to my wound, my loanshark also reminded me that the S$49,000 Grant I applied in 1999 actually subjected to interest charges. I was like 🙁🤦🏻‍♂️

So don’t say I didn’t tell you hor. Nothing is free hor. 

 

We decided to try applying for the Near The Parent Grant since $50,000 was really a big sum of money to help us own our 1st HDB home.

So we started looking for a HDB resale flat around Ang Mo Kio. After a few viewings, we decided on this current unit among Block 562 – 565. As a long range planner, we like the idea of a huge piece of land at the intersection of CTE and AMK Ave 3 and that plot was only occupied by 4 HDB blocks. We also like the huge carpark even though we cannot afford a vehicle 😅

However, the government decide to slash $1,000 every month and eventually reducing the grant to S$45,000 in 1st May 1999.

We bought the resale flat and got S$49,000 HDB Near The Parent grant. After offsetting the S\$49,000 grant, I only need to take a \$19x,xxx-ish HDB loan at 2.6% interest and then slowly pay off a 25 years loan with my CPF. Little that in the later stage in life than I realised that CPF charges another 2.5% interest of the money that I lend to myself for paying for my home 😒🙄

23 years later….

I had fully paid for this HDB few years back. If not for the SERS, I would had not been too bothered about the look at my CPF Principal and its Accrued Interest since this will be the home where I will be spending my last day with the family.

I started reviewing the CPF statements for my wife and I and was shock to find that for a home that cost S$233,000 in 1999, 23 years later, our combined Principal Withdrawal and Accrued Interest came out to a total amount of…..wait for it…..

S$423,500.07

Yup, 23 years later that was the amount! My ‘loan shark’ told me that it was the amount that they can make for me if I let them keep my money. But since I took my money out to buy myself a HDB flat, this will be the money that I owned to myself them.

But my loanshark was also kind enough to inform me not to worry as they will not be hanging a pig head or scribble O$P$ on my front door should I am unable to pay them back. In fact they were so ‘kind’ to say that it’s ok that I don’t even need to pay back the outstanding amount say if I only sold my flat at valuation price of S$350,000. In fact, they even published an article to give assurance to their customer.

Rubbing more salt to my wound, my loanshark also reminded me that the S$49,000 Grant I applied in 1999 actually subjected to interest charges. I was like 🙁🤦🏻‍♂️

So don’t say I didn’t tell you hor. Nothing is free hor. 

 

In 1999, my wife and I decided to give up the option of buying a new flat at Punggol 21 after 5 long years of waiting. Why? Because we simply could not afford a new flat that already cost S$240,000 just for Level 2. My monthly salary in 1999 was still under S$2,500 (I think..🤔).

As that was my 1st job after National Service, I also do not have enough money in my CPF to afford a new HDB. Internet was still at its infancy stage and Mr. Google is also limited 😅. But somehow my wife and I came across a news that if we buy a resale HDB, there is some sort of grant that we can apply for.

$50,000 and counting downwards

We decided to try applying for the Near The Parent Grant since $50,000 was really a big sum of money to help us own our 1st HDB home.

So we started looking for a HDB resale flat around Ang Mo Kio. After a few viewings, we decided on this current unit among Block 562 – 565. As a long range planner, we like the idea of a huge piece of land at the intersection of CTE and AMK Ave 3 and that plot was only occupied by 4 HDB blocks. We also like the huge carpark even though we cannot afford a vehicle 😅

However, the government decide to slash $1,000 every month and eventually reducing the grant to S$45,000 in 1st May 1999.

We bought the resale flat and got S$49,000 HDB Near The Parent grant. After offsetting the S\$49,000 grant, I only need to take a \$19x,xxx-ish HDB loan at 2.6% interest and then slowly pay off a 25 years loan with my CPF. Little that in the later stage in life than I realised that CPF charges another 2.5% interest of the money that I lend to myself for paying for my home 😒🙄

23 years later….

I had fully paid for this HDB few years back. If not for the SERS, I would had not been too bothered about the look at my CPF Principal and its Accrued Interest since this will be the home where I will be spending my last day with the family.

I started reviewing the CPF statements for my wife and I and was shock to find that for a home that cost S$233,000 in 1999, 23 years later, our combined Principal Withdrawal and Accrued Interest came out to a total amount of…..wait for it…..

S$423,500.07

Yup, 23 years later that was the amount! My ‘loan shark’ told me that it was the amount that they can make for me if I let them keep my money. But since I took my money out to buy myself a HDB flat, this will be the money that I owned to myself them.

But my loanshark was also kind enough to inform me not to worry as they will not be hanging a pig head or scribble O$P$ on my front door should I am unable to pay them back. In fact they were so ‘kind’ to say that it’s ok that I don’t even need to pay back the outstanding amount say if I only sold my flat at valuation price of S$350,000. In fact, they even published an article to give assurance to their customer.

Rubbing more salt to my wound, my loanshark also reminded me that the S$49,000 Grant I applied in 1999 actually subjected to interest charges. I was like 🙁🤦🏻‍♂️

So don’t say I didn’t tell you hor. Nothing is free hor. 

 

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