Preparing to buy your first private home: the pre offer checklist

By Winfred Quek · CEA R073319H · Published 18 August 2026

Rates and thresholds change. The current figures are kept in one place: the Singapore property rules reference.

Facts verified against the sources linked throughout this guide.

Most guides to buying your first home in Singapore start at the viewing, or worse, at the Option to Purchase. By then it is often too late to fix the two things that actually decide whether your first purchase goes smoothly: whether your financing was sorted before you fell for a unit, and whether you understood the full cost stack before you signed anything. This guide covers the weeks before you make an offer on a private home, the checklist that makes offer day a formality rather than a scramble.

Getting your financing sorted before you view

An Approval in Principle, sometimes called an In Principle Approval, is a bank's non binding indication of how much it is prepared to lend you, based on your documented income, existing debt and credit record. It is not the final loan offer, but it is a realistic preview of your ceiling, and it typically stays valid for around 30 days. Time it close to when you plan to start viewing seriously, since lenders do not extend it once it lapses and a fresh application is needed. Our AIP / IPA glossary entry covers what the bank actually checks, and getting 2 to 3 approvals from different banks lets you compare packages before you commit to one lender.

Your Approval in Principle also tells you your realistic Loan to Value limit. For a first residential property on a bank loan, the Loan to Value limit is 75 percent, meaning you fund the remaining 25 percent yourself, of which at least 5 percent must be in cash rather than CPF. Our downpayment guide works through the full cash and CPF split, including what counts as cash for the minimum, and how the numbers change if you already hold another property loan.

Budgeting for the full cost stack, not just the downpayment

The downpayment is the number every first time buyer has in their head. It is rarely the number that catches them out. Buyer Stamp Duty is payable by every buyer regardless of nationality, calculated on a progressive tiered scale, and it must be paid within 14 days of exercising the Option to Purchase, in cash or CPF, never financed by the loan itself. Our Buyer Stamp Duty guide has the full tier table so you can work out your own figure before you view rather than after.

Our hidden costs guide walks through a full worked total for a first time buyer so you can see how these add up against a real purchase price, rather than budgeting for the downpayment alone and being surprised later.

Viewing with a checklist, not a feeling

Once your financing is sorted, viewing is where discipline pays off. See more than one unit before you decide, even if the first one feels right, since a single data point makes it hard to judge whether a price or a layout is actually good value. Bring the same questions to every viewing so you are comparing like for like: facing and natural light at the time of day you would actually be home, noise sources nearby, and whether the maintenance fee and any arrears position have been disclosed. Our first time buyer guide covers the fuller buying sequence from Approval in Principle through to key collection, which is worth reading alongside this checklist so you know what comes after an offer is accepted.

What offer readiness actually means

Offer readiness is not a feeling, it is a short list of things that should already be true before you tell an agent or a seller that you want the unit. Your Approval in Principle should be in hand and still valid. You should have at least identified a conveyancing lawyer, even if you have not formally engaged them yet, since a lawyer is effectively required once financing is involved and appointing one early avoids a scramble later. Our conveyancing guide explains what the lawyer actually does and roughly what it costs, so there are no surprises on that front either.

You should also understand, at least in outline, what happens immediately after an offer is accepted. In Singapore, an accepted offer typically moves to an Option to Purchase, which you then have a defined window to exercise. Our guide to what happens after you exercise the OTP covers that next stage in detail, worth reading before you make an offer so the sequence that follows is not a surprise.

Get the financing, the budget and the viewing discipline right before you make an offer, and the Option to Purchase stage that follows runs the way our other guides describe.

Printable pre offer checklist

Everything above, condensed to one page. Print it, or keep it open on your phone before your next viewing. Print this checklist

Frequently asked questions

How long before I start viewing should I get my Approval in Principle?

Get it close to when you plan to start viewing seriously. It typically stays valid for around 30 days and lenders do not extend it once it lapses, so getting one too early just means reapplying later.

Do I really need 2 to 3 Approvals in Principle from different banks?

It is not compulsory, but it lets you compare packages before you commit to one lender, and banks can assess the same income and debt profile slightly differently, so a single approval may understate what you can actually borrow.

What is the minimum cash I need beyond the downpayment?

Buyer Stamp Duty must be paid within 14 days of exercising the Option to Purchase, in cash or CPF, and cannot be financed by the loan. Legal fees, a valuation fee and fire insurance also fall due around completion, so budget for these separately from your downpayment.

Should I engage a lawyer before I make an offer?

You do not need to formally engage one before an offer, but identifying who you would use is worth doing early, since a conveyancing lawyer is effectively required once a bank is financing you, and appointing one early avoids a scramble once you are under a deadline.

What happens right after my offer is accepted?

In Singapore, an accepted offer typically moves to an Option to Purchase, which you then have a defined window to exercise. Understanding that sequence before you offer means there are no surprises once negotiation ends.

Winfred Quek is an Associate Marketing Consultant at Crestbrick Pte Ltd (CEA Licence No. L31010886H), CEA Registration No. R073319H. The information on this page is general and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Always conduct independent due diligence and consult qualified professionals, including your conveyancing lawyer, before making any property decision.