SINGLED OUT: 38-year-old bachelor finally secures ballot for BTO on 8th try

SINGAPORE: In space-challenged Singapore, accessing public housing isn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially for singles. For one man, it was a case of if at first you don’t succeed, try, and try again.

Or again and again, rinse and repeat, till Zachary Loo struck it lucky on try number 8, although he admitted that he actually thought it might take much longer.

Mr Loo told Yahoo Finance Singapore, “I have never given up hope. Honestly, I expected to ballot 20 more times at least, because from what I’ve heard from other singles who are older than me, they only started seeing success in their 40s.

I really didn’t think I would get a ballot before I turned 40 because I thought that the HDB would assume that I still had a chance to get married and have a kid.”

He ended up with a ninth-floor unit in Yishun at its launch in November last year. And while he would have preferred one on a higher floor for a better view and fewer insects, he took what he could get.

The S$15,000 housing grant he received went to the premium, Yahoo added. And since it does not look like he’ll be marrying, he isn’t likely to see it come back.

The piece also says that Mr Loo has known he’s wanted to move out since the age of 24 and began the process of bidding as soon as he turned 35.

However, he counts himself lucky to have a family that not only understands his situation but also gives him his own room.

“I’m so old already, yet I still have to stay with my family. Lucky for me, they are understanding, and they are okay with me staying till I get my own place. That’s the only option that makes financial sense,” Yahoo quotes him as saying.

Mr Loo also told Yahoo that he understands the government policies concerning housing but wishes that the eligibility age would be lowered to 32 or even 30. /TISG

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