Selling an HDB flat to buy a condominium: the timeline

The upgrade is not one decision. It is roughly six, and taking them out of order is what turns a comfortable upgrade into a stressful one.

1. Confirm the MOP date, exactly

The Minimum Occupation Period runs from the date you collected keys, excluding any period where you did not physically occupy the flat. Get the exact date from HDB rather than counting five years on a calendar.

2. Work out what the flat is actually worth

Not what a neighbour’s unit transacted at. Your block, your floor band, your layout, and the units currently competing with yours this month.

3. Work out what is left after CPF

The CPF principal you withdrew, plus accrued interest, returns to your CPF account on sale. That is not lost money, but it is not cash in your hand either, and a lot of upgrade plans are built on a number that quietly assumed it was.

4. Get the loan position before the price position

Total Debt Servicing Ratio and, where applicable, Mortgage Servicing Ratio set a ceiling that no amount of enthusiasm moves. Knowing the ceiling first tells you which properties are actually in scope.

5. Sequence the sale and the purchase

This is the ABSD question, and it is covered in the ABSD guide.

6. Only then, go and look at homes

Viewing before steps one to five is how people fall in love with a home they cannot sequence.