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Why Selling Your Own HDB Flat May Be More Challenging Than You Anticipate: 7 Hidden Challenges to Prepare For

Posted by Jayson Ang on January 29, 2025

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TLDR

Selling your flat can be a daunting task, not because of the paperwork but due to challenges in marketing and dealing with potential buyers. Handling numerous inquiries, dedicating weekends for viewings, dealing with no-shows, and facing critical remarks about your home can be overwhelming. Additionally, some buyers may lack proper financial approvals, complicating the process further. Managing listings on portals designed for agents can also be burdensome. While it’s possible to sell your flat on your own, the complexities often make professional realtor assistance worthwhile unless you have ample time or an exceptionally well-located property.

A prevalent misunderstanding is that the challenging aspect of selling your flat lies in the paperwork or transaction process. However, we believe otherwise—HDB has significantly simplified these procedures over the years, and with the introduction of the new HDB listing portal, it appears that one of the more challenging elements of selling your home—marketing and visibility—might also be addressed.

That said, selling a home is fundamentally different from most other DIY transactions you might have undertaken. It’s the factors beyond the transaction process that can complicate the sale of your flat. Here are some of the more frustrating challenges you should prepare for:

1. Dealing with numerous calls that waste time.

When it comes to DIY selling, receiving too few inquiries is problematic, but so is being inundated with them. If your listing gains popularity, you might find yourself handling up to 50 or 60 calls each week. In fact, some highly sought-after properties, like maisonettes or those in the Tanjong Pagar area, can receive over a hundred calls weekly.

Among these calls, you may discover that only about a third are genuine inquiries. Many of the others come from individuals who are also attempting to sell; some are real estate agents looking to promote nearby units, while others are sellers trying to align their pricing with yours.

Identifying serious inquiries from casual ones isn’t always straightforward, which can lead to wasting three to five minutes on each call. With a high volume of inquiries, this adds up to a significant amount of lost time, which could certainly frustrate your employer if you’re juggling a job while trying to sell your home. Additionally, you need to keep track of callbacks.

And this situation only pertains to phone calls. You’ll likely receive even more messages from people who ask repetitive questions, despite your having meticulously included all relevant information in the listing. Coordinating viewing times will also involve a lot of back and forth, as you try to accommodate everyone’s schedules, leading us to our next consideration.

2. Prepare to dedicate your weekends and evenings until a committed buyer is found.

Many individuals prefer to explore properties outside of regular office hours. This necessitates being ready to dash to your unit after work to conduct viewings with potential buyers. You might also find that your weekends are consumed by these activities; numerous sellers have experienced staying home from Friday through Sunday due to viewings, sometimes for extended periods.

The most frustrating aspect, however, is the presence of non-serious inquiries during these viewings. It can be difficult to determine if the prospect you’re hurrying to accommodate at 6 PM after a workday—or even at noon on a Saturday—has genuine intentions to make a purchase.

Additionally, it’s important to prepare your family for some interruptions in their routine, as there will be occasional visitors wandering through your home. Pets can add to the challenge; you may need to engage in extra cleaning and vacuuming (particularly during shedding season) and arrange for them to be taken for a walk when prospective buyers arrive.

3. When it comes to scheduling viewings, there are always individuals who may not attend.

You’ve verified with them three times that they will be attending, you hurriedly took a Grab ride home from work to tidy up the house, and even canceled a dinner reservation… only for the prospects to not show up. If they do call, it’s usually just five minutes before their scheduled arrival.

It feels like a complete waste of time and resources, yet it happens – sometimes even repeatedly for certain sellers. Unfortunately, there’s little you can do; it’s simply something you have to come to terms with.

4. You’ll need to cultivate a tougher exterior for the sake of viewings.

Expect to hear hurtful and unkind comments about your home. Without a realtor acting as an intermediary, you might hear remarks about how unattractive your flooring or curtains are, how unappealing your bedroom looks, or how difficult it is to imagine living in a kitchen like yours.

People may also make judgments about the cleanliness of your space or any unusual smells they notice. This feedback can come regardless of the time and effort you put into cleaning, so prepare yourself to let it roll off your back.

While some visitors may exercise discretion, many will not hold back. You’ll encounter a fair number who lack a filter and express their thoughts openly. Keep in mind that they are potential buyers, not guests in your home; try to avoid becoming defensive or engaging in arguments. Instead, suggest alternatives that the property can offer. Additionally, it’s important to set aside your feelings, as sometimes the most impolite and condescending individuals are the ones who end up making the best offers.

5. Buyers who continuously demand additional changes during the closing process.

Potential buyers often request modifications or enhancements before making a purchase. You might hear questions such as, “Will you replace the air-conditioning system if we go ahead with the purchase?” This is quite common. However, you may also face buyers who, just when you think the deal is finalized, will suddenly pull back and request one more change.

Initially, their requests may be minor—such as asking you to leave the washer and dryer behind—but these can gradually escalate to more expensive demands, like retiling an entire section of the kitchen. The tricky part is that these buyers may appear genuinely interested, causing you to overlook other, more straightforward prospects in order to accommodate them.

You’ll need to establish your limits and be ready to seek out new buyers if necessary. Failing to do so could lead you to undertake a significant renovation project without securing a sale in the end.

6. Oblivious buyers lacking In Principal Approval and showing no interest in grasping the process.

There exists a specific kind of buyer who lacks both the time and the inclination to engage in the transaction process but still wishes to make a purchase independently*. These buyers can often be easily recognized, as they pose questions that are impossible to answer (for instance, in one known case, a potential buyer asked the seller to determine whether the buyers had sufficient CPF to proceed with the purchase).

Interacting with this type of buyer can be risky. The likelihood of undesirable outcomes increases, such as the buyers unexpectedly retracting their interest due to a miscalculation of their available finances. Even less severe errors on their part, like failing to recognize their ineligibility to make a purchase, can lead to wasted time. You might spend weeks in negotiations only for them to return with disappointing news.

In any case, the new listing portal aims to solve this, as you need valid eligibility letters before you can contact the seller.

7. Managing listings can often be quite a burden.

To put it frankly, the landscape of property portals is predominantly designed to cater to real estate agents, who are their primary clientele. Most major portals require a CEA license for listings, which can leave you with limited options like the HDB resale portal and a few smaller sites that permit anyone to post listings. This situation isn’t ideal for effectively marketing your property.

In our previous article, we suggested that it would be beneficial if HDB mandated the listing of all resale flats on their portal. This would attract a larger audience to the HDB portal, reducing the need for individual sellers to hire realtors or list on larger platforms.

Beyond property portals, other methods to generate interest—like leveraging your personal social media or the traditional “stick it at the bus stop”* technique—can be quite labor-intensive. Neglecting these efforts may result in a diminished pool of potential buyers and less competitive offers.

*Note: This method is illegal, yet it continues to occur.

While selling your flat isn’t impossible, the complexities involved make realtor assistance invaluable. Unless you can dedicate substantial time to navigate all these challenges or possess a property that practically sells itself due to its location and price, it’s wise to think carefully before attempting a solo sale.

Should You Buy, Sell or Wait?

If you’re reading this, you must be trying to figure out the best course of action right now: is it the right time to buy or sell?

It’s difficult to give an exact answer since everyone’s situation is unique and what works for one person may not necessarily work for you.

I can bring you a wealth of on-the-ground experience and a data-driven approach to provide clarity and direction. From beginners to experienced investors, our top-down, objective approach will help you on your real estate journey.

I can help you by:

Offering Strategic Real Estate Advice – I can help create a comprehensive plan to guide you through your property journey.
Connecting Your Home with the Perfect Buyers – Through stunning visuals, an effective communication strategy, and an in-depth knowledge of the market, we’ll ensure your home is presented in the best possible way to fulfill your goals.

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