Cost Saving from HDB Resales

I would like to list down some savings as well as mistakes I made from my sales of HDB.

1. Agent commission

The agent I engaged charge a fixed commission which is less than 1% of selling price. I manage to save ~$5k compared to standard agent commission (2% of selling price).

Please note low agent commission might came with a price in term of services. refer to point 2 in:

Sold My 1st HDB At Loss & Lessons Learned

2. Legal Fee

I manage to find a law firm which charge $1,200 legal fee (net, inclusive GST) for HDB resales, instead of $1,600 quoted by other firms. I save $400.

I forget to check if HDB ca act as seller lawyer and how much it will cost. I'm assuming it will be lower than $1,200, probably I will save additional $200- $300.

3. Bank Loan Interest 

My bank loan requires 3 months full redemption notice, which I forget to request my lawyer to expedite in issuing redemption letter as soon as HDB has confirmed HDB resales appointment date.

There was also delay in issuance of redemption letter to bank from my lawyer due to staff turnover & Covid situation, I end up need to pay $1.2k extra loan interest to cover 3 months full redemption notice.

I should have instructed my lawyer to issue redemption letter based on estimated HDB resales appointment date.  Bank charges  for change of redemption date (<$200 as per my lawyer) much lower than $1.2k loan interest.