What to WhatsApp a property agent to book an HDB viewing

We’re buying our flat without a buyer’s agent, so we send every viewing request ourselves. I underestimated how many messages that takes.

These are the messages I’d send now. Change the bits in square brackets and send them on WhatsApp.

Before you send anything

Pick two or three free slots in the coming week. If you’re messaging several agents at once, give each one different slots, or two of them may pick the same time. For flats in the same estate, offer each agent a different hour on the same afternoon.

Apply for your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter now if you haven’t. Without one, the seller can’t grant you an Option to Purchase, so you can’t secure a flat even if you like it. HDB says processing can take up to 21 working days once your documents are complete, and the letter is valid for nine months. You don’t need to wait for it before you start viewing.

Check the block on HDB’s ethnic and PR quota check too. If the block has reached its limit for your ethnic group, or you’re a non-Malaysian PR household and it has reached its PR limit, you’ll need to ask the agent about the seller in your first message. There’s more on why this matters below.

The first WhatsApp message to the listing agent

Hi [agent’s name], I’m [your name]. I saw your listing for the [4-room] at [Blk 268C Compassvale Link] on PropertyGuru: [link]. Is it still available?

We’re direct buyers (no agent) and [our HFE letter is ready / we’ve applied for our HFE letter]. Could we view it on [Thu 7pm], [Sat 11am] or [Sun 3pm]?

Include the link. Many agents have several listings at once, sometimes in the same block, and without the link their first reply will be “which unit?”

“Direct buyer” is what agents call someone without an agent. The listing agent will ask whether you have one anyway, so saying it in the first message saves a round of replies.

The agent can check your slots with the owner and come back with one of them. “When is the owner free?” usually starts a thread that runs for days.

If the listing has no floor plan, add this line.

Could you also send us the floor plan before then?

With the plan in hand, you can think about how you’d use the rooms before you’re standing in them. The HDB viewing checklist has more on what to compare against the plan.

If the quota check showed the block has reached its limit for your group, add this line.

We’re [Malay], both [Singapore citizens]. Is the seller able to sell to us under the quota?

What the agent might ask you

Most agents reply with a few questions of their own.

• What’s your budget? Or “Can you take the asking price?” Say you’d like to see the flat first and you’ll make an offer after. If the agent hears you could go to $600,000, the seller will hold out for $600,000, because the agent works for the seller, not you.
• Do you have your HFE letter? Say whether it’s ready or when you applied. If they ask for a copy, crop out the loan and grant amounts, because those figures tell the seller roughly how much you can pay.
• HDB loan or bank loan? Say which, and leave out the amount.
• When do you need to move in? A rough month is enough. If you need to sell your current flat first, mention it, because the seller will want to know whether your dates fit theirs.
• Want my colleague to represent you? You don’t have to accept. The colleague would be from the same agency as the seller’s agent, and has to tell you so in writing. For an HDB flat, their fee would usually come from you, not the seller.

Some agents will call you instead of replying. If they tell you anything that matters on the call, like a new time or the seller’s move-out date, send it back to them in a message so you both have it in writing.

Why the agent asks your race

Many agents ask your race, and whether you’re a Singapore citizen or PR, before they book a viewing. They ask because of HDB’s Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) and its quota for Singapore PRs (the SPR quota). If a block or its neighbourhood has reached its limit for your ethnic group, you can only buy a flat there from a seller of the same ethnic group. If you’re a non-Malaysian PR household and the block or neighbourhood has reached its SPR quota, you can only buy there from another non-Malaysian PR household. The agent knows the seller’s race and residency, so your answer tells them whether the seller is allowed to sell to you.

The quotas are updated on the 1st of every month, and HDB applies the ones for the month it receives your complete resale application. If you check in March but submit your application in April, check again on 1 April.

When the agent goes quiet

If there’s no reply after two days, send one short follow-up. Don’t apologise for it.

Hi [agent’s name], just checking if the owner is OK with any of those times? If not, [Tue 7pm] also works for us.

If there’s still nothing a few days later, ask whether the flat is still available. The seller could have granted another buyer an Option to Purchase without the agent telling anyone or taking the listing down.

Hi [agent’s name], is the flat still available? Let us know either way so we can plan our viewings.

When the time changes

Owners reschedule a lot. When the owner cancels, or offers a new time that doesn’t work for you, reply with two other times.

No problem. Would [Sun 4pm] or [Mon 7.30pm] work instead?

If you’re already going to the estate for another flat, say so. Some agents will move the viewing so you only make one trip.

We’re viewing another flat nearby at [Sat 3pm]. Could we do [4pm] that day?

If you need to change the time yourself, tell the agent as early as you can, because they have to go back to the owner.

Hi [agent’s name], sorry, we can’t make [Sat 11am] any more. Could we do [Sun 4pm] or [Mon 7.30pm] instead?

The day before the viewing

Confirm the time and ask where to meet, especially if the block has more than one lift lobby.

Hi [agent’s name], confirming [Sat 11am] at [Blk 268C #08-123]. Should we go straight up to the unit, or meet you downstairs? If downstairs, which lift lobby?

HDB listings often leave out the unit number. If you don’t have it yet, ask for it in the same message.

Hi [agent’s name], confirming [Sat 11am] at [Blk 268C]. Which unit is it, and should we meet you there or downstairs?

After the viewing

If you want to know more, ask in writing. The answers are easier to compare later, and you have a record of what you were told.

Thanks for showing us the flat today. A few questions:

1. Does the seller need an extension of stay?
2. Which furniture and appliances will stay?
3. Has the bathroom leak been fixed?
4. Could we come back one weekday evening to hear how noisy it is?

If you’re not interested, say so the same day in one line, and ask the agent to tell you if the price comes down.

Thanks for showing us the flat today. We’ll pass on this one, but please let us know if anything changes on the price.

Letting the agent pick the time

I’m building Be Your Own Agent to cut down the back and forth over viewing times. It will draft the first message with a link to your free times, and the agent will pick a slot without installing anything. Every flat you’ve asked about will stay in one list with its viewing time. If that sounds useful for your own search, get early access.