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Chapter 1: Introduction

Singapore is a small tropical island that is located "136.8 km north of the equator, between latitudes 103 degrees 38' E and 104 degrees 06' E"(*1.1). It is 647.5 sqkm(*1.2).

That's not very big at all. Because of the fact that there isn't actually that much ground to build on, the government came up with the bright idea of stacking the inhabitants on top of each other thereby increasing the population density in a small area. This is a good idea unless 1) you're scared of heights and 2)the elevator breaks down.

This also means that owning a piece of property in Singapore is very costly. It'll cost you an arm, a leg, probably your kidneys, liver and heart too. So for those of you searching for that house with the picket fence, you've got to be rolling in dough literally or you probably want to reconsider.

So now we come to the people who have decided to purchase a apartment or what we call a HDB flat. You want to own your own space on our sunny island where you can see greenery everywhere and visitors always comment on how clean and safe it is. The last two comments are subjective, but that'll keep for another article. So buying a flat...

But, in Singapore noone who buys a HDB flat actually owns that little box apartment. Why do I say that? A HDB flat is on a 99 year lease. WHatever you pay for it, you only own it for 99 years thereafter it goes back to HDB I think. You can't pass it on to your kids or your grandkids. Whoever is living when the 99 years is up probably has to buy it again and start paying off the mortgage on the flat for the next 30 years.

So, is it worth it to buy a flat? Would renting be a smarter option considering its almost the same thing?

Well with renting, you're helping someone else pay off their 30 year mortgage on their 99 year lease. Although you don't really own "own" the flat after you pay up the mortgage, 99 years is a long time to "own" something. And with the human lifespan shortening every year (just my speculation) from disease, natural disasters, terrorist threats and war (we're speaking in general here not specifically Singapore), it might feel like you really own the flat your entire life.

To buy a flat in Singapore you require two names, either family members or marriage partners on the application form. When I say family I'm refering to mother and daughter, father and son, etc. The immediate family. With married couples we only accept heterosexual married couples meaning one

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