New HDB Package for BTO Buyers

RESIDENTIAL MARKET 

New package deal for BTO flat buyers

The Housing & Development Board has introduced a doors-and-sanitary fittings package for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats launched from September.

The package costs between $3,190 and $4,330, depending on the flat type.

Home owners say this scheme goes some way to address concerns about the cost of the HDB's doors-only package, which costs about $3,000 on average for four- and five-room flats.

Under HDB's Optional Component Scheme (OCS), buyers can opt to pay for extra finishes such as flooring and internal doors.

They pick their options when selecting their flat at HDB Hub, and can use their Central Provident Fund or mortgage loan for this.

The OCS includes an internal doors package that ranges from $600 to $3,080, depending on how big the flat is.

A set of five laminated semi-solid timber doors, for instance, costs $2,830 for BTO projects launched in March this year such as Fajar Hills and Clementi Ridges. At Punggol Opal, a project launched in July, the set costs $3,080.

This works out to $566 to $616 per door for four- and five-room flats.

However, suppliers say that similar quality doors can be got for about $230 each, including installation.

Best Industrial in Kaki Bukit Crescent, a specialist in timber doors, charges $230 for a laminated semi-solid door with a timber frame. A full timber door - solid with no coat - costs $200.

This package, which includes installation, works out to $1,150 for home owners, including HDB home buyers.

Yong Fang Doors in Upper Bukit Timah Road sells and installs timber doors at $330 each. UHome Interior Design in Upper Paya Lebar Road charges a similar rate and its doors come with a 15-month warranty.

Last month, the HDB offered a new package offering doors and sanitary fittings including wash basins, taps and shower mixers costing between $3,190 and $4,330.

Sanitary fittings have never featured in the OCS before.

An HDB spokesman said sanitary fittings were introduced to provide greater flexibility and to minimise wastage when buyers choose to customise their own fittings during renovation.

The market rate for taps ranges from $20 to $300. Sinks cost between $40 and $300 and shower mixers start below $100 and can go up to $500.

Some home buyers, like Miss L. P. Lim, 37, who is unemployed, said the doors-plus-sanitary-fittings deal makes the package more attractive.

She added that she was generally pleased with what HDB has on offer. "One is really paying for convenience. You don't have to worry about the basics because those are taken care of and it's hassle free 

for owners. All in all it works out to be quite a good deal."

An HDB spokesman said the doors are sourced from suppliers and it requires its suppliers to ensure good workmanship and finishes. The agency sets out detailed specifications for the installation, ironmongery and locksets of its doors. Its doors also go through a series of tests to ensure their durability.

"Installation works are carried out by professional contractors and supervised by a team of consultants. HDB also provides a one-year Defects Liability Period, during which all defective items, if any, will be rectified," he said.

He added: "As these standards are good practices and not regulations, it is likely the doors supplied by renovation contractors may not meet similar standards."

The HDB spokesman said optional components are generally popular among home buyers.

About 70 per cent of those who selected a flat in this year's January and March BTO sales exercises, for instance, opted for at least one item under the scheme - for either doors or flooring, or both.

He said: "Many buyers continue to select them as they do not then have to engage their own contractors to do the works later on."

Source: The Straits Times – 28 October 2012