Singapore may be a tiny country, but there are tons of areas to stay at. Each estate has its own little quirks and personality. Which place best suits you? Take our quiz to find out.

https://www.playbuzz.com/mothership10/which-singaporean-neighbourhood-should-you-live-in

Did you get an upcoming BTO estate (Tampines North, Bidadari, Punggol)? Here are useful things to keep in mind if you’re BTO-ing.

#1: You might not need that five-room flat 

Five-room flats are usually the priciest – and not always the best choice for young couples who are just starting out in their careers and have not a lot of cash to spare.

In fact, four-room flats have the same number of rooms as five-room flats. But four-room flats cost much lower (BTO ones can go for as low as $200,000). Plus, couples can enjoy the Special CPF Housing Grant when they buy a four-room flat in a non-mature estate.

For singles and folks aged 55 and above, there are also two-room Flexi flats. In this year's February and May BTO exercises, some went for less than $15,000 after grants.

Think about it: A smaller home means less housework to do!

# 2: Sometimes, newer estates are better

Does everyone like living in a mature estate with lots of amenities? Yes. Can everyone afford the price tag that comes with it? No.

That’s not necessarily bad news. After all, you can save over a 100 grand just by choosing to stay in a newer estate. 

That’s money that could easily let you go travel the world for a year or two. Or an investment portfolio generating a nice pile of cash for your retirement. 

And living in a young and new estate has its perks. Look at Punggol – it was known more for being a poultry and pig farm paradise before the 90s, but these days it’s a thriving place that more young people are moving into, complete with amazing parks like Punggol Waterway and Coney Island and Instagram-worthy cafes.  

#3: Don’t forget to apply for grants … and use your CPF

Depending on the criteria, you can get grants of up to $80,000 (see if you qualify here), to help you pay for your down payment and monthly instalment.

And if you do your maths right, you can pay for your monthly instalment fully from your CPF without any cash. Genius.

Why throw a nice 80k away if you can use it, amirite? 

These sound pretty common sense but…

Sometimes we just get carried away by the prospect of having things we can’t afford. You’ll be surprised how many Singaporeans go into debt simply because they think bigger is better.

Choose an affordable house that you can comfortably pay off. Rather than slogging your whole life away for an empty apartment filled with broken dreams.  

Use the money you’ve saved to travel the world or start a dream business or invest and grow it for future needs.

Or nuah on your couch and zoh boh because you can. How’s that for retirement, Rebecca Lim?

This sponsored content fuels Mothership writers so that we can turn our BTO dreams into reality.

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