Buying a property can be daunting, and even more so when you are single. And even more so if you are an introvert.
When I was in my mid-30s, I felt it was time to take a deep breath and dive into the real estate market. The government is even signaling to singles my age that it is time to get out of our unmarried, possessorless bum and buy an HDB apartment. (Well, except for prime housing. Sorry buddy.)
More than that, I had always dreamed of having my own home, a place that I could design according to my wishes and lead my best life. In real estate language, I was a buyer looking for “my own residence” rather than investment opportunities.
It took me a full year to get my 4 bedroom resale apartment. And even with the Covid-19 virus, I honestly had more fear of the real estate market. I was afraid it would chew me up and spit me out in a lot of regret and debt, and there is no vaccine to prevent that.
But now, as I write from my study in my apartment, I’m happy to say the experience was rewarding.
This four-part series is my story of buying my first property as a single, introverted person. (Stacked already featured my personal journey to buying a home, so go there if you want the TLDR.) I’m not a real estate expert, but as they say hindsight is 20/20 and I think there is some value in it my experience for some of you.
In Part 1 I will tell you about my experiences with entering the real estate market independently.
Can you buy a property without an agent? The short answer is – yes. (For a longer explanation, Stacked has a great article on buying DIY real estate.)
The internet is an enabler for introverts like me – you can get everything done online without having to deal with pushy salespeople. When I decided to enter the real estate market in November 2019, I scoured the offers on PropertyGuru and 99.co and made viewing appointments myself. Dead easy.
Not quite. With all of my solo bravado, at first I really had no idea what I was doing. I’ve been all over the store looking at a wide range of properties, from one and two bedroom apartments and EC units to three and four bedroom apartments DBSS and HDB.
I knew I wanted to stay somewhere west or north to be close to my family, but I also checked out a few properties in the east and south. (I stopped just before the Core Central Region because there wasn’t enough money.)
