My luck at balloting for HDB flats

1) Toa Payoh Crest / Joo Seng Green - Nov 2012

As much as I love Tampines and yearn to live near my parents, the location of Toa Payoh Crest was too awesome to be missed. One of the tallest developments in TPY town and sandwiched between walking distance of 2 MRT stations (1 NE line and 1 Circle line), TPC was located at the junction of 3 other roads and had other amenities within a stone's throw. Coupled in the same lot was Joo Seng Green, which paled in comparison in everything else, both BTOs were 3-room/4-room flats and comprised of 610 units in all.

It was oversubscribed by donoe how many times over, but we still kept our fingers crossed, as it was our first time balloting for a flat. Beginner's luck, they say?

A month later, the results were delivered via email!

The fact that we were allocated a number was considered not bad liao wor.


Result: 1600+/610.


From friends who also balloted for this lot, heard that even a draw number of 800+ did not even get a chance of selection.

Location was too prime, bo bian.


2) Tampines Green Forest - Feb 2013

Located beside EC The Arc and near luxurious condo Q Bay, the area was primed for denser housing development. Amenities and MRT station were more than 2 bus stops away, Tampines Green Forest wasn't an ideal choice but it was still in Tampines and near my parents, anyway. Moreover, it didn't look like there was gonna be BTOs coming up in the area anytime soon. On the other hand, the plus of TGF was that within the compound there would be a supermart and a coffeehouse, wootz.

Prior, I had heard rumours of the 'first day lucky' trend, which meant that if one were to place one's ballot on the first day of the window opening, there stands a higher chance of getting a good number! My first-degree friend got a number 15 at Punggol's BTO and this case was not the only hearsay.

So, for TGF we hiong first day ah!

At the end of the window closing, I recall it was many times oversubscribed..... oh well, Tampines ya.

A month later, the news arrived via email again! Total available: 264 units of 3-room/4-room.


Result: 354/264


Not too bad! I was very optimistic of a chance to select a unit. So we waited anxiously for a few months... and about 1 month and a half later, we received an envelope from HDB! 

The contents contained an introduction to TGF, a floorplan, pricing, proposed layouts etc, along with a confirmed appointment date for flat selection. When I checked, our appt date was only a month away and there were still 89 units available. NOT BAD RIGHT!


I must have checked almost every other day, watching the number of available units decreasing day by day... from 89 to 60.... to 50... to 32... to 20 odd.... Not surprisingly, my optimism dropped in tandem.

A week before our appt date, there were 8 units left for selection. Some units were facing a reasonable direction but all were on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th floor. There was a faintest of hopes I could have gone down to HDB Hub at Toa Payoh to see the mock up for a better decision, until 4 days before our appt date, the number went down to 4.

Come next day, there was a sole unit left, #02-53. It was not taken for a few days even until the night of the eve of our appt date. I checked the plan and realised that unit was facing was a 6-storey multi-storey carpark, all but 12-metres away. Thinking of a good view, comfy breeze, quiet road etc for your new flat? There was going to be zilch privacy!

Hence, the decision was depressing but a simple one - I jokingly told my girlfriend, "Let's leave it for a couple who needs it more."

Though by forfeiting this chance it would mean that our accumulated chances from previous BTO missed chances would be reset to zero, we didn't think we wanted to lock ourselves in that depressing unit for at least 5 years. Nope, I don't think we were choosy - with only 1 unit left, there wasn't even a CHOICE to begin with?!

3) Sale of Balance Flats - May 2013

The next few BTOs were in ulu places like CCK, Sembawang, Bukit Batok, and Punggol but we weren't comfortable with the North East. We were really considering alternatives of securing a unit for ourselves, so we widened a higher budget ala EC. Alas, the ECs in Tampines like The Arc, Trilliant, Citylife (the famous penthouse that cost >$1M) had all been snapped up.

Of course, Sale of Balance Flats was coming up in May 2013. I had signed up for sms alerts from HDB and my phone beeped one afternoon whilst at work. Immediately, I went to the HDB website and recce-ed the list of SOBF flats. There were quite many in Tampines, like 46 units of 3-room/4-room and 15 units of 5-room/Exec. I would say 70% of them were not shabby in terms of location and level, including a handful new and not repossessed flats.

Fastest fingers first - I confirmed our ballot at about 3pm and was within the first 10 to sign up for the lot of 15 units of 5-room/Exec.

REALLY THIS TIME MUST TIOK, PREASE!

By the end of the balloting period, I checked and it was over-subscribed by 31.4 times, receiving 472 bids. What the..... -_-" ....  The good news was that for this lot, all units are allocated for first-timers only, so after discounting the non-first timers (don't know why some ppl neh read), our chance stands at 1 in 20. 

Well, still a higher chance than striking 4D, don't you say? 

I never had much luck at Mahjong and cards and thesesorts over the years, now here's hoping the luck accumulated have been cannibalized for this SOBF balloting.

If I TIOK first 10 (number 'x'), I will....... I will...... I will..... burn lots of offerings and be a vegan for (10 - x) days.

And you know I love my meat.