"Milking" Dry ...

This year is a year of new rulings, especially in terms of heavy ticket items like car and housing. For a country who charges exorbitant prices for cars and housing, the news is definitely not welcomed by the general population.

 

Just imagine this. The salaries we make is barely sufficient to make ends meet. I am not even talking about luxurious lifestyle like fine dining, going first class, staying in a mansion and driving fancy cars. I am talking about a mere small two-bedroom apartment, small hatchback car, and grocery shopping or eating at hawker centres. Yet most people still struggle with dual incomes.

 

For instance, the cheapest car around, a Suzuki Swift, cost around S$68,000.00 or thereabouts. I am quoting the estimated price because I have no idea how much the cars cost nowadays. This is for a new car. But in order to own this car, one needs to have the certificate of entitlement of say S$10,000.00. So in total, a small car like this can cost S$78,000.00 or thereabouts. I believe with this price, one can own a fancy car or even two cars overseas already!

 

It was still bearable in the past because you just need to purchase the car with a loan and then pay off as much as possible after that. However, with the new ruling, those who intend to buy a car needs to have a forty percent downpayment first before the bank loans can start. Which means one now needs to pay S$27,200.00 plus S$10,000 of the entitlement to even own a car, making it a flat payment of S$37,200.00 before the loans can start taking into effect.

 

S$37,200.00 to own a car! And this is only the downpayment! This amount probably equates to a full car ownership in some other countries! How many people can come up with this amount first hand? Unless you are the rich and famous, otherwise this amount equates to many people's yearly income.

 

This also includes buying second hand cars, which means even if the car is older, one also needs to pay the full flat fee of forty percent downpayment before being able to own a car. Looks like the government's efforts of restricting cars on the roads are finally going to succeed, to the uproar of the public.

 

It may still not be that bad if one does not have a house to pay off. However, if one needs to pay off housing loans as well, then it is really practically impossible to own a car now. Living expenses are really getting more and more difficult to sustain in the near future. Housing prices will only increase, despite the flats getting smaller and smaller, and location getting more and more inconvenient. No longer do we have the luxury of owning a big flat in a good location, because the newer estates are all in the undeveloped areas that is so far off from everywhere, with hardly any transport and amenities, and yet the flats are being built with smaller spaces.

 

Now comes the new ruling for flat ownership. It used to be that singles who have reached the age of thirty-five, are not able to buy new flats on their own. They can only buy resale or old flats, and only limited to three-room flats, which means two-bedrooms and one living room. Why? Because new flats are exclusively reserved for those with families. Why are we being punished just because we happen to marry late, or do not get married for whatever reason? It is as if it is a sin being single and unmarried.

 

With the new ruling, singles who have reached thirty-five and earning a maximum of S$5,000.00 a month can apply for new flats. However, the catch is that the new flats must be in non-mature estates, which means developing estates, which means somewhere out of the way from everywhere else. And they are only restricted to two-room flats. Which means the bigger flats are reserved for those with families.

 

Does it mean just because one is a single, one is not entitled to a bigger flat? What if someone likes to live in a bigger place with more rooms? What can one do with just one room? What if they have guests coming to stay? Afterall, if we are going to pay so much for a flat, are we not entitled to choose where we want to stay? A flat, like marriage, is supposedly a once-in-a-lifetime affair, and if we buy a good place and build our dream home, would it not be much better than to shift again if there is any change in status or family?

 

Sometimes I really wonder if our government is milking us dry. Where else is there such restrictions on things like housing and cars? I have never heard of anywhere else that singles cannot buy their own place until thirty-five. Does it mean once you reach thirty-five, you are certified left on the shelf and no hope for a family anymore? Then I should start panicking, is it not, since I am close reaching that age and still will not be married by then.