Three different leaders have taught me this (with one of the leaders going through this thrice), and with everyone giving me a slightly different focus, it’s time to bring all the different sets together as one.
What’s important to understand from the beginning:
The HDB resale “timeline” is more a set of checkpoints for resale HDB buyers and sellers. There’s a set of to-do’s, and a general timeframe to do them in, but some of the time periods are negotiable and there are reasons why.
So as much as I love textbook answers (which is enough for the RES exam), once we get on the ground with our licence, things are different.
Let’s start with HDB sellers. (Skip over to HDB buyers with this link.)
For HDB sellers
Day 1: Register an Intent to Sell.
- Register on the HDB Resale Portal
- Cooling-off period of seven days
Before we even begin selling, we need to head over to the HDB Resale Portal and register an Intent to Sell.
It’ll tell us if we’re eligible to sell, who we’re able to sell our unit to, and any costs we already have to pay. (Specifically, we’ll learn the status of our Minimum Occupation Period, Ethnic Integration Policy and Singapore Permanent Resident Quota, and upgrading costs.)
There’s a cooling-off period of seven days, so while we can allow potential buyers to view the property, no issuing an Option to Purchase, and no collecting of any money.
The Intent lasts for one year, so it’s perfectly fine to do this early.
Day 8: Issue an Option to Purchase (OTP).
- Only one OTP can be issued
- Receive a maximum of $1,000
- Discuss extension before issuing OTP.
Once we have a potential buyer, we’ll discuss any extension we may need after the sale is complete.
If their offer is acceptable, we’ll issue an OTP in exchange for a maximum of $1,000. (Usually $500 and above.)
The OTP binds us as the seller — we cannot issue more than one, and we’re bound to the buyer until the OTP is either exercised or lapses.
Within 21 days: OTP is exercised, or lapses.
- By 4pm on the 21st day
- Buyer has to exercise OTP — signs and pays
- Receive a maximum of $4,000
This can happen within a day, or all the way on the last date.
Open our calendar, and whatever today’s date is, go down three weeks, and that’s the day the OTP must be exercised by.
When that happens, we’ll receive a maximum of $4,000 as the exercise fee, bringing the total to a maximum of $5,000.
If the hour and day passes without the OTP being exercised, then the seller gets to keep the option fee (the max. $1,000), and is able to issue another OTP to another buyer — we cannot accept another offer and issue an OTP until the 21st day is done.
About 60 days: Submission period (look for a house).
- Timeline is negotiable between seller and buyer.
- 60 days is common — enough time to look for a new home.
- Sellers want it longer, buyers want it shorter, typically.
- Submit Resale Application.
Anything from 30 to 45 to 75 days — any longer and the buyer’s HDB Valuation Report expires and a new one is needed (it’s issued after the buyer gets the OTP and is valid for 90 days).
At the end of the submission period, the seller’s and buyer’s agents must submit the Resale Application to the HDB within seven days of each other (otherwise the $80 fee is wasted and they must do it again).
8 to 12 weeks later: Completion.
- Speed depends on HDB.
- 3 stages: Acceptance, Endorsement, Approval.
- 100% cash, loan, CPF.
- Keys.
With the Resale Application submitted, the timeline is out of everyone’s hands. HDB can come back in eight weeks, or it can stretch to three months later.
They’ll accept the submission, request for endorsement, and when they approve the Resale Application, they’ll give us the completion date — when the cash, loan(s) and CPF are cleared out, and the keys are handed over.
We’ll need to keep an eye on document submissions to keep things moving smoothly.
If we need to use our CPF funds to make the next purchase, we’ll need up to three weeks from completion date for the money to be available in our account. The property purchase completion date must be delayed until then.
Extension
- A private agreement between seller and buyer.
- This is discussed before issuing the OTP!
Once the sale is completed, the keys can either be passed to the buyer immediately, or there can be a delay with an extension.
That gives the seller enough time to complete the purchase of the next property, and to renovate it before moving in.
This is a private agreement, though, and if one party decides to renege on it, there is no help from the HDB. Even if there is an application that’s made to the HDB.
For HDB buyers
Day 1: Apply for HLE letter, register Intent to Buy.
- If taking an HDB loan, obtain an HLE letter here: HDB | Login
- If taking a bank loan, obtain an IPA
- Register Intent to Buy on the HDB Resale Portal
If we’re taking a HDB loan, we’ll need a Home Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter. The HLE is valid for six months — and it’s a requirement before we can obtain an OTP from the seller.
Head to HDB | Login to apply and once the documents are submitted, HDB can come back within 14 days. (HDB | HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) Letter)
If we’re taking a bank loan, we should get an In-Principle Approval (IPA), so that we’re more assured in our negotiations. (The Letter of Offer comes after the OTP.)
We’ll also need to register an Intent to Buy at the HDB Resale Portal. There’s no cooling-off period, so this can happen right before an OTP is obtained. Best to do it earlier though, to know if we’re eligible to make a purchase.
No HLE (for HDB loan), no Intent to Buy, no Option to Purchase.
For IPA (bank loan), it’s recommended to have it early.
Day 1 (bank loan) or 14 (HDB loan):
Obtain OTP, valuation, and LoE
- Discuss extension
- Pay a maximum of $1,000
- Obtain an OTP
- Obtain valuation
- If taking a bank loan, obtain the Letter of Offer
Once we find our future home, we should discuss any extension that the seller may need, and when we agree, pay a maximum of $1,000 in exchange for the OTP. (Usually $500 and above.)
The OTP binds the seller — as buyers, we can go ahead and obtain more OTPs if we want, but we’ll lose the money that’s been paid when we don’t exercise them.
We can then get a valuation of the property (costing $120), and if we’re taking a bank loan, it’s time to get the Letter of Offer.
Within 21 days: OTP is exercised, or lapses.
- By 4pm on the 21st day
- Exercise OTP — sign and pay a maximum of $4,000
This can happen within a day, or all the way to the last date.
Open our calendar, and whatever today’s date is, go down three weeks, and that’s the day the OTP must be exercised by.
When that happens, we’ll pay the seller a maximum of $4,000 as the exercise fee, bringing the total to a maximum of $5,000.
If the hour and day passes without the OTP being exercised, then the seller gets to keep the option fee (the max. $1,000), and we’ll have to pay for another OTP, whether we want the same place or different.
About 60 days: Submission period.
- Timeline negotiable between buyer and seller.
- 60 days is common — enough time for the seller to look for a new home.
- Buyers want it shorter, sellers want it longer, typically.
- Submit Resale Application.
Anything from 30 to 75 days — any longer and our HDB Valuation Report expires and a new one is needed (it’s valid for 90 days).
At the end of the submission period, the buyer’s and seller’s agents must submit the Resale Application to the HDB within seven days of each other (otherwise the $80 fee is wasted and they must do it again).
Until that time, we just sit tight, wait, and pack our place to prepare for the move.
8 to 12 weeks later: Completion.
- Speed depends on HDB.
- 3 stages: Acceptance, Endorsement, Approval.
- 100% cash, loan, CPF.
- Keys.
With the Resale Application submitted, the timeline is out of everyone’s hands. HDB can come back in eight weeks, or it can stretch to three months later.
They’ll accept the submission, request for endorsement, and when they approve the Resale Application, they’ll give us the completion date — when the cash, loan(s) and CPF are cleared out, and the keys are handed over.
We’ll need to keep an eye on the document submissions to keep things moving smoothly.
If the sellers need to use their CPF funds to make the next purchase, we’ll need another three weeks from completion date for the money to be available in their account. That means our property purchase completion date must be delayed until then. (This also happens to us if we’re selling to buy our property too.)
Extension
- A private agreement between buyer and seller.
- This is discussed before the OTP is obtained!
Once the sale is completed, the keys can either be passed to us immediately, or there can be a delay with an extension.
This is a private agreement, though, and if one party decides to renege on it, there is no help from the HDB. Even if there is an application that’s made to the HDB.
Phew!
How long does the entire process take?
About 6 months, but the timeline can shift — the OTP can be exercised in the same day or day 21, the submission period can be anything from 30 to 75 days, and HDB may take 2 or 3 months — and so it may stretch.
Having read so far (thank you!) I’d like to add one last thing. It’s what my leaders told me:
Knowing the checkpoints is one thing. The what to do is easy.
Knowing when, and why the checkpoints shift — that’s when experience and expertise come in.
At the end of the day, this post is still perfect only on paper. Getting on the ground, and having it happen in real time/life?
I hope you’ve contacted me so that I can be there to help you.
❤️🌧️
