HDB targets frivolous applicants

News source: HDB targets frivolous applicants

THINK hard before you apply to buy a new Housing Board flat: Lodging frivolous applications will now get you sent to the back of the queue.

New HDB rules unveiled yesterday target flighty first-time buyers who have been hedging their bets by applying for flats when they often have no intention of closing the deal.

The HDB said the move 'will encourage applicants to consider their options carefully'. It also addresses concerns that the thousands of applications that pour in for HDB projects bear little relation to the actual take-up rate.

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I don't really see what's the problem with people adopting the apply-first-and-see-how attitude. If you don't like the flat, you should have the right not to buy the flat. You're not buying a bowl of fishball noodles. The flat cost many times your salary. The buyer should be at least entitled to a moment of painful doubt.

If it cost many times your salary, the 1 year penalty is relatively light compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Again, how will this help the genuine buyers? Or how does the frivolous applicants hurt the genuine buyers? If buyers before them backed out, these genuine buyers would naturally move forward in the queue. Of course, your choices might be limited because you're still somewhere at the back. But hey, you're now presented with an opportunity you previously had not.

It's funny. Would the policy makers themselves buy a flat they do not like? Do they actually talk to people who are going to be affected by their policy?