“Old” and “leasehold” are Singaporeans’ least favourite combination of words. We ourselves have seen that, despite numerous presentations on how leasehold can outdo freehold, there’s just a strong reluctance to accept it: on some visceral level, many like to feel that they’re paying for 25+ years of their lives for something permanent. So why did three of these homeowners we speak to decide to purchase not only leasehold condos, but older leasehold condos? Here are their stories:

1. Affordability issues when both spouses are self-employed

CH is Malaysian but works in Singapore, and his wife is a Singaporean; he’s currently awaiting a change in his citizenship status. The couple’s main worry, when choosing their property, was twofold: First, qualifying for a loan was tougher for both of them. Banks apply a haircut of 30 per cent to variable sources of income, for Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) purposes. The TDSR, in turn, limits home loan repayments to 55 per cent of monthly income,  ...