The WIS Ordeal

Yippee, the house can be handed over pretty soon!  Dear1 and Dear2 met up with the designer today, and he mentioned that he will be doing the touch ups, install the 2 ceiling fans and install the glass panels within these few days.  After which he will be acid-washing the place for the second time.  And after that, it will be hand over time.  Yeah!!

Dear 1 and Dear2 got our 3 room flat via the Aug 06 WIS process.  We went to HDB hub in Jul 06 wanting to get a place and almost took up a flat in the same vicinity as our current house.  We brought parents and even grandma to visit the place and everyone was almost agreeable, short of it requiring you to climb a few stories and it being directly next to a market place, everything else seems fine.  Due to some time-sensitive issue, we had to forgo the deal and go for the next month’s exercise.

On 31 Jul 06, Dear1 and Dear2 made our way down to HDB hub again, this time to queue for a number.  The list of 150 3-room flats on sale is released every first of the month.  Sales go by a first come first served basis, so interested parties will look at the list, get a queue number and proceed into the sales room on the actual day to select a flat.  Being first come first served also means that if the flat that you are interested in is being selected already, then you lose it.  Singaporeans being Singaporeans are very shrewd, they start queuing for a number even before the list is being released.  So imagine our bewilderment when we reached HDB hub slightly after the lunch hour on 31 Jul.  There was already a queue in line (remember, the list is not out yet, so it means that the people queuing do not even know if there is any of their desired flats is being listed).  To think that we wanted to seat ourselves comfortably on the sofas and wait till 5pm then start queuing when the list is being distributed.  So, no choice, Dear1 and Dear2 joined the queue (by then we were already numbered 20 odd) amidst the others who were there, well prepared with knitting kits and stools and newspapers.  We heard that the first in the line started queuing/ camping the night before!

Anyway, we finally selected our place under this Walk In Selection (WIS) Scheme.  Why Dear1 and Dear2 decided upon this scheme as compared to the Build to Order (BTO) or Balloting Exercise (BE) is that one can gain ownership pretty soon.  The typical keys collection is from 3 to 6 months, while you gotto wait for at least a few years for BTO or BE.  The established family can probably wait a few years while the building is being constructed in a new estate, but for Dear1 and Dear2, we prefer living in a more matured estate, where amenities are within easy reach and the public transport network largely established.  :)

- Dear2

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