URA Caveats Lodged
What Is a URA Caveat?
Lodging a URA caveat is a legal step to prevent others from buying a property you're interested in. It is usually done when a buyer exercises an Option to Purchase or enters into a sale and purchase agreement.
While not mandatory, it is a recommended precautionary measure to protect your interest in the property and reserve it as your potential new home.
URA Caveats: How to Lodge It
To protect your property purchase, your lawyer must submit a caveat to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). This involves completing a form with important buyer and transaction details and paying a fee.
Once approved, the caveat legally prevents the property seller from entering into another transaction. It is important to note that this information is public and can be easily accessed through the URA transactions tool.
By lodging a caveat, you are essentially revealing the purchase price of the property to the public. This means that anyone, including your neighbors, can search for your address to find out how much you are buying or selling your home for, and vice versa.
URA Caveats: Why Is It Important?
So, how does lodging the document with SLA affect you? And more importantly, why should you bother to search for caveats?
1. If you’re buying a property
If you want to purchase a specific unit listed for sale, caveats can confirm if someone else has already expressed interest in the unit. To do this, you will need to consult your lawyer to search for any lodged caveats on the unit.
This will prevent you from wasting time contacting the owner and visiting the property, unless the buyer decides to forego their option to purchase.
2. If you’ve just sold your property
As a seller, when a potential buyer lodges a URA caveat for your home, it indicates their serious interest in purchasing it. This gives you confidence to begin searching for your next home.
3. If You’re a Potential Home Seller
Considering selling your home? URA caveats provide an easy way to determine the market price of your unit. Simply search for similar units on the URA caveat to see what other sellers are offering.
For instance, if you're selling a private apartment, finding condo transaction prices in your area will give you valuable data. Not sure where to begin selling your home? Let Property How Much’s selling guides help you make informed property decisions.
Leveraging URA Caveat Transaction Data for Property Research
Knowing how to utilize URA's transaction portal, specifically the list of URA caveats lodged, is beneficial regardless of where you are in the process of buying or selling a home.
For home buyers, the transaction portal provides the most current market transaction data available. Transactions are updated weekly on Tuesdays at 12pm, displaying information up until the previous Tuesday.
Additionally, updates are provided on Fridays at 3pm, showing new launch and resale transactions up until the previous Sunday.
By utilizing actual condo transaction price data, you can compare the per square foot (psf) prices of similar units to ensure you are not overpaying. Additionally, if you come across a great deal, act quickly to finalize the purchase.
On the other hand, if you are considering selling your property, you can use URA transaction data to assess sales volume in your area and predict how much your property could sell for.
Whether you are a homebuyer or an investor, the transactions portal is an invaluable tool for staying informed about market trends and discovering underpriced opportunities.