Singapore teacher burdened by hefty mortgage loan for HDB fl
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Singapore teacher burdened by hefty mortgage loan for HDB flat before marriage
Dear TR,
Thanks for publishing the article by Ms Judy Eng. It really strikes a chord in my heart as I am in the same situation as her too.
I am 28 this year now working as a teacher in a secondary school.My fiancee just found a job in a GLC as an engineer after six months of looking for one. The pay isn’t fantastic as there is an abundance of foreign engineers in Singapore. He considered himself lucky to finally secure a full-time job after months of being on contract.
We are planning to get married in July and just bought a 4-room resale flat at Sin Ming. Guess how much it costs? You won’t believe it, we bought it at almost $500,000. No kidding, it’s true! All the flats in the vicinity cost above $500K. After paying about $30,000 in COV partially paid for by our parents, we do not have a single cent left for our wedding which we will have a simple afternoon tea buffet at our church instead of the traditional 8-course Chinese dinner.
I am really worried about our future. We earn barely $5,000 together and the mortgage loan already took up 30 percent of our income. We still have to cough out some cash after using up the entire CPFs. The moment I think of this, I lost all the mood already.
People used to say that marriage is the happiest moment in a girl’s life, but I am not looking forward to it. I feel very heavy, like a burden placeed on my chest, sometimes choking me, it is so suffocating. Can we buy a new flat? I do not wish to wait for another 3 to 4 years, anything can happen to our relationship during this period of time. It is a risk I cannot afford to take.
My hubby-to-be is burnt out everyday from work – OT, OT and OT and he is not paid for it. For me, my weekends are either burnt in school CCAs or marking the homeworks of my students. We hardly meet each other at all, sometimes just enough time to have a meal or catch a movie. Somehow I feel apprehensive startinig life together with another person, am I ready for it? I don’t think we can start a family, at least for the next three years or so. How to have children when we are not financially stable?
I will pay the loan mostly on my own as my hubby still have to pay for his student loan and car loan. I have only a few thousand dollars in my savings now and I wonder how long they can last me. What happens when there is an emergency? Or if we are retrenched? I dread to think of the worst…but women being women, they always think alot.
Every month, my pay gets used up almost immediately after it’s deposited into my POSB account – living expenses, allowances for parents, and now with housing loan, I really don’t know how far we can continue like this. Did we do our Maths before we make the purchase? Yes, but what can we do, the flats are expensive everywhere and we want to stay near our parents. Even 4-room flats in Jurong are calling above $400,000 nowadays! The prices are really going crazy, the agents told us that they will only go up in the future as the govt will never allow them to come down.
Sorry for the ramblings. There are so many things on my mind now, I can’t think or type clearly…..Thanks for providing me an outlet to vent my frustrations, who can understand what we are going through? Sigh, maybe I am one of those few unlucky souls.
Please edit and publish this rant of mine as you see fit. Thanks again for listening.
Melissa Quek
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how can a join income of them
earning 5k? thats crazy
A school teacher earn a lot wat
I even know teacher staying in landed house
Teacher earning around 3 k?
so how can that GLC enginner only 2k ?
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teachers easily hit 5k after working a few years. many teachers I know live in condos. what is this person complaining about?
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Originally posted by av98m:
teachers easily hit 5k after working a few years. many teachers I know live in condos. what is this person complaining about?
yep this teacher is talking rubbish..where got so low pay for teachers ?
no more money left after paying house loan?
thats the greatest joke i heard from a teacher
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Originally posted by noahnoah:
yep this teacher is talking rubbish..where got so low pay for teachers ?
no more money left after paying house loan?
thats the greatest joke i heard from a teacher
unless she is so screwed up she keeps getting a D performance grade and is never promoted. even then the pay is still decent.
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She's the teacher and receiving the pay. Who would know it better. You or her?
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maybe the women earns 3K and the guy barely earns 2K?
so the combination is barely 5K
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Originally posted by TYING:
She's the teacher and receiving the pay. Who would know it better. You or her?
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Nowadays times are bad, supply of staff more than demand. Govt can opt to pay low.
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"I will pay the loan mostly on my own as my hubby still have to pay for his student loan and car loan."
sell the car, they will have easily another 12K per year in their pocket
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Originally posted by TYING:
She's the teacher and receiving the pay. Who would know it better. You or her?
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ppl can choose to live their life unrealistically. cos so long as bubble havent burst still can tahan.
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considering that a brand new BTO 4 room can cost less than $250k before rebates ..... and considering that there ARE listings for sin ming 4 rooms for less than 400k ..... and considering that resale 4 rooms at other estates are available from around 350 to 390k ..... and considering that first timer goverment rebates for resale is another 30-40k straight off .... and considering that no one pointed a gun to her head to buy a flat at sin ming for nearly half a million instead of a unit at other, much cheaper estates, and considering that for that kind of money she could have bought a 5 room or EA at other estates ....
what is she ranting about ? Did she really do the math ? Did she really do her homework ?
something is fishy here ...
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But I'm wondering, why choose a house at Sin Ming? Flats there are very very expensive. If budget tight, why not try admiralty or sembawang, flats there are much cheaper. And if the school happen to be around that area, there is the direct red line right? New Admiralty flats are around 200-300k from what I heard.
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for that kind of money, one can get a 4 room in marine parade with full seaview facing the ECP some more ......
but of course ..... if you want convenience, want "prime" location, want high floor, want close to town .... then be prepared to pay lor .... no one forced you to buy a resale at this particular estate ....
there are plenty of resale 4 rooms at other estates that cost less than 350k .... what's wrong with this couple ? ... if they think they were earning not enough to begin with, then why did they jump into such an expensive house in the first place ? ... and seriously, it's HDB we are talking about ... what kind of "prime" people want to talk about ?
and got car somemore ?!?!?!?! ..... two person earn 5k can still buy car and half a million dollar flat ? ..... this couple really kiam gan ....
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Originally posted by Fatum:
for that kind of money, one can get a 4 room in marine parade with full seaview facing the ECP some more ......
but of course ..... if you want convenience, want "prime" location, want high floor, want close to town .... then be prepared to pay lor .... no one forced you to buy a resale at this particular estate ....
there are plenty of resale 4 rooms at other estates that cost less than 350k .... what's wrong with this couple ? ... if they think they were earning not enough to begin with, then why did they jump into such an expensive house in the first place ? ... and seriously, it's HDB we are talking about ... what kind of "prime" people want to talk about ?
and got car somemore ?!?!?!?! ..... two person earn 5k can still buy car and half a million dollar flat ? ..... this couple really kiam gan ....
5k not enought to keep a car in the first place
10k maybe still ok
i wonder the banker/hdb officer con them in some maths calculations
onhousing loan ?
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Originally posted by noahnoah:
5k not enought to keep a car in the first place
10k maybe still ok
i wonder the banker/hdb officer con them in some maths calculations
onhousing loan ?
regardless, they are both professionals, educated adults, they should know better and have better financial sense.
what are they expecting ? sympathy ? for buying a prime location HDB flat over much cheaper resale flats elsewhere ...... AND a car ? .....
*snorts ....
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Originally posted by Fatum:
regardless, they are both professionals, educated adults, they should know better and have better financial sense.
what are they expecting ? sympathy ? for buying a prime location HDB flat over much cheaper resale flats elsewhere ...... AND a car ? .....
*snorts ....
Do you think her hubby would have gotten her if he didn't had a car? -
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Do you think her hubby would have gotten her if he didn't had a car?then the hubby would be better off without her right?
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Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Do you think her hubby would have gotten her if he didn't had a car?well then good luck to the couple ........
and if that is really the case, then she must be even dumber than she appears in this letter, cos her husband may have gotten her with his car ... but, as she has written, she now finds herself paying most of the mortgage by herself ! ..... thanks to his car ....
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If a Teacher cannot make it, how can a barmaid like me make it, yo, kindly ask Melissa if she is interest in doing partime nite job or not??
Wha lau, taxi driver, rubbish collector, general worker and casual workers are not making noise, a damn teacher make so much noises?? no money drive car for what??
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Money no enough.
No matter how much they earn, money will not be enough.
You think they were caught by surprise by the $500,000 four-room flat and therefore find themselves with a monetary crisis.
Live within your means, and save up.
Not live above your capability, find yourself short, and blame the government for it.
BTW, the one who sold the flat must be very happy. Maybe even apply for new 5-room flat at $350,000 form the HDB in newer estates.
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Wow combined income of 5,000 and they can buy a car and buy a flat worth half a million.
I say good luck to them
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This type of couple is what i called, chiong first, talk later mentality. Hope it dun end up one killing the other and then jump down.
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Originally posted by angel7030:
This type of couple is what i called, chiong first, talk later mentality. Hope it dun end up one killing the other and then jump down.
I don't think they did their math like she saidOr maybe they calculated wrongly