Property finance, TDSR, MSR, LTV and CPF: RES practice questions

The CPF Board's bank-loan rule describes how much OA savings owners may use for a property, with continuation up to 120% of the lower-value base after their respective BRS requirements are met. That percentage is a total CPF usage ceiling, not an extra allowance on top of VL. CPF Board separately identifies bank lending eligibility and maximum-loan terms, which must be checked with the bank. A CPF withdrawal rule therefore neither obliges a bank to advance that amount nor measures repayments as a proportion of salary.

With no outstanding housing loan, the bank-LTV pair is 75% or 55%. The lower percentage applies where tenure exceeds 25 years for an HDB flat, but the corresponding threshold for private property is 30 years. The proposed 26 years crosses only the HDB threshold. Maturity at age 56 does not trigger the separate beyond-65 condition. Thus the HDB bank loan has a 55% LTV ceiling and the private-property bank loan a 75% ceiling. These are LTV categories, not promises of loan approval or the absolute maximum permitted tenures.

HDB provides a Family Grant category for couples comprising a first-timer and a second-timer. For this category, the amount is S$40,000 for a 2- to 4-room resale flat and S$25,000 for a 5-room or bigger resale flat. Their 5-room purchase therefore attracts S$25,000. The S$50,000 SC/SC amount for a 5-room or bigger flat belongs to a wholly first-timer household, not this mixed-status couple.

CPF Board expressly lists Home Protection Scheme premiums for HDB flats as a permitted OA use. This does not make OA a general household-expense account. CPF Board excludes monthly service and conservancy charges and other charges arising from property use, including taxes. Property tax and electricity charges fall on that excluded side of the distinction.

CPF Board states that CPF savings can only be used to buy properties in Singapore and cannot fund a property purchase in another country. The proposed apartment is in Malaysia. A Singapore lender, Singapore-dollar settlement or an intention to occupy the apartment does not change its location or satisfy the geographical restriction. She therefore needs funding other than CPF housing withdrawals for this purchase.