LONG WAITING TIMES, TECHNICAL ISSUES
CNA spoke to three flat buyers who described the wait for their HFE letters as “unnerving” and peppered with “frustration”.
All of them had applied within the first week of the HFE letter being implemented but waited 30 or more working days before their applications were approved.
For Mr Christopher Chan, it was radio silence after he submitted his application on May 14.
“I was checking on the status every week and it’s always pending … even long after the 21-day period and I did not hear anything from HDB,” said the 38-year-old who is getting married next year and hopes to purchase a flat before that.
Others said they were asked to submit additional documents between five days and two weeks of their applications and did so promptly. But they still waited for weeks after that with no updates in between, leaving them unsettled about what to do next.
Technical issues added to the anxiety.
Ms Simin Soh, 29, recounted how she received a text message from HDB asking for more documents.
“I went into the portal immediately, but I didn’t know what documents were outstanding and there was nowhere that said something was missing or for me to submit anything,” the first-time home buyer told CNA.
“I was very confused, and I started worrying whether this was a delay that I might be causing but I am not aware and not seeing on my end.”
Ms Soh said she called the HDB hotline several times regarding her application and waited for as long as half an hour before being able to speak to a customer service agent.
“When I finally got through, I spoke very briefly with a customer service representative who said she’d take down my details and get an officer to call me back.”