Chapter 03 · 2022 · TOP ~2029
A 44th floor corner unit in Queenstown, 5-room PLH BTO, $724k plus a $45k resale levy. Applied as a second-timer in the exact month Punggol hit MOP.
There are things in life money alone can't buy. A 44th floor corner unit in Queenstown with a view that genuinely takes your breath away is one of them. You need the ballot to go your way. You need to be eligible. And you need to pick the right unit while standing there under time pressure with a queue number in your hand.
I've stayed in five-star hotels with worse views. When it's done, this flat will have a view you can't put a price on, and I never intend to find out what that price is, because it's not for sale.
This is the part people ask about. I applied for Ulu Pandan Banks while Punggol was still under MOP. Second-timers must have fulfilled their MOP by the application closing date, not the ballot date. The Ulu Pandan Banks closing date landed in exactly the month Punggol hit MOP. I applied, and I was eligible by the closing date. Not by much. But enough.
Luck? Some. But I was watching the calendar very carefully. I knew the launches and I knew my MOP date, and when the right launch appeared at the right time, I moved. You can't get lucky on timing you're not paying attention to.
It's also why I pay the $45k resale levy. That's the price of being a second-timer: you've already had HDB's first-timer subsidy (on Punggol), so when you come back for another flat, you contribute the levy. Totally fair. I'd pay it again for this unit.
High floor, corner unit, consistent with every BTO decision I've made: high floor corner in Yishun, high floor corner in Punggol, and now the highest floor corner in Ulu Pandan Banks. If you're balloting, think about what makes a unit genuinely better to live in, not just what the market values today. You'll be there for years.
Fair question. Deliberate sequencing and an understanding of HDB rules. No loopholes, no tricks.
BTO 1, Yishun. First marriage. When it was annulled, the flat went to my ex-wife. I kept no ownership. Clean slate.
BTO 2, Punggol. Applied with Sylvia as a new family unit in 2014. A normal first-timer application. Balloted, moved in 2017, MOP 2022.
BTO 3, Ulu Pandan Banks. A second-timer application in 2022, the year Punggol hit MOP. Having already had a subsidised BTO, I pay the $45k resale levy, and in return I still get BTO pricing, well below market.
None of it works if the order is wrong. Each step is enabled by the one before, and the closing date landing on my MOP date wasn't an accident. I was watching the calendar.
Got a UPB flat?
There's a residents-only Telegram group for Ulu Pandan Banks, with over 500 owners in it. Everyone is verified, so message me on Telegram (@kevinchiasg) with a screenshot from HDB that shows your block number. Blank out your unit number if you like. I'll send you the invite link.
The button opens the chat with this message ready. Fill in your block and attach the screenshot:
Hi Kevin, found you on kevinchia.sg. I own a flat at Ulu Pandan Banks, Block ___. Screenshot from HDB attached. Could I join the UPB Residents chat?
My own account of what I did with my own money. Not financial or property advice, and I don't take commission on anyone's purchase. HDB rules change: check the current ones with HDB before you decide anything.