For a completed resale condo, the completion date comes from your contract. There is no universal day-by-day schedule that lets every buyer leave the bank offer, stamp duty or title questions until the same week. Once you exercise the OTP, organise the remaining work around the agreed date and your lawyer’s earlier funding cutoffs.
This checklist covers a completed private resale home. An uncompleted developer purchase and a sub-sale require different documentation and payment arrangements. Start with our OTP guide if you have not yet exercised. Checked on 18 September 2026.
Confirm what has become binding
Ask your lawyer to confirm valid exercise, the agreed completion date, the deposit credited and any outstanding contractual conditions. CEA’s optional private residential contract templates provide a useful reference, but your signed terms govern the transaction. A calendar reminder cannot correct an acceptance delivered to the wrong recipient or without the required payment.
Keep copies of the exercised option, payment evidence and correspondence confirming receipt. If a party asks to change the date or payment terms, obtain advice and a documented agreement. Do not assume an informal conversation has varied the contract.
Use a responsibility checklist, not invented week numbers
| Workstream | What the buyer should confirm |
|---|---|
| Bank | Accepted offer, valuation, outstanding conditions, signed loan documents and the bank’s disbursement requirements. |
| CPF | Approved use, required documents, submission cutoffs and treatment of any duty reimbursement. |
| Title and searches | Registered ownership, interests on title and how mortgages or other matters will be dealt with at completion. |
| Money | Completion statement, deposit credits, bank and CPF amounts, remaining cash, adjustments and verified recipient details. |
| Occupation | Vacant possession or an existing tenancy, included items, agreed condition and the procedure for handing over access. |
Ask for the date each item must reach the person handling it. Your lawyer may need funds before contractual completion, and banks have processing cutoffs. If you will be overseas, arrange signing and payment access in advance. Do not discover on the last day that a bank transaction requires an unavailable signatory.
Keep stamp duty outside the completion balance
For a private purchase instrument signed in Singapore, BSD and applicable ABSD are generally due within 14 days after the signed contract or agreement. For overseas execution, the general period is 30 days after receipt in Singapore. Confirm the applicable execution date and retain the stamp certificate. Do not wait until a late-stage completion statement arrives.
Our worked OTP budget shows why the deposit, early duty payment and balance price must be tracked separately. A S$1.6 million purchase with an S$80,000 deposit and S$1.2 million loan still needs S$320,000 towards the price from the buyer at completion. Duty and other charges are additional costs.
For a completed property, CPF’s duty reimbursement is processed at completion. Ask your lawyer to show how it appears in the funding plan, so the same CPF funds or cash receipt are not allocated to two different payments.
Understand title issues before calling them deal-breakers
An existing seller’s mortgage is not, by itself, evidence that a sale cannot proceed. The question for your lawyer is whether the required discharge and transfer can be completed under the agreed arrangements. Similarly, ask what an identified caveat or restriction means for this purchase instead of assuming that every entry has the same effect.
SLA’s land-title search service is the official starting point for title information. A marketing floor plan is not proof of legal title or authorised alterations. URA advises buyers to check approved plans and unauthorised works, which can become a problem for the new owner.
Ask the seller for the relevant records and let your conveyancer explain unresolved issues. For an older condo, also examine maintenance contributions, proposed works and the contractual allocation of charges. Do not budget on an assumption that every future levy belongs to the seller.
Inspect the agreed condition and occupation arrangements
Arrange a pre-completion inspection through the agreed access arrangements. Compare the home with the contractual inventory and documented promises: included appliances, fittings, vacant rooms and items that should be removed. Photograph discrepancies and send them to your lawyer promptly.
This is a record of condition, not an automatic right to delay payment or deduct repair costs. The contract determines the obligations and remedies. Do not assume every defect in an older resale home is the seller’s responsibility, or import a new developer’s defects-liability regime into a resale purchase.
For a tenanted investment unit, review the tenancy, rent and deposit records, and the arrangements for notifying the tenant and transferring relevant obligations. For an owner-occupier, confirm when the home will actually be available. Avoid committing to a renovation start or a non-refundable move based only on an expected completion date.
Check the final statement and payment instructions
Reconcile the price less payments already credited, then compare the balance with confirmed loan, CPF and cash amounts. Review the treatment of apportioned outgoings and any agreed retention with your lawyer. Query a changed figure before sending funds.
Independently confirm unexpected account changes using the law firm’s established contact details. Keep payment receipts and completion documents together. After your lawyer confirms completion, arrange keys, access cards, management-office records, utilities and any insurance required for your circumstances.
If funding, employment or timing changes before completion, tell the bank and lawyer promptly. Default can involve more than losing the deposit. An extension or alternative funding arrangement needs to be resolved while there is still time; neither is an entitlement.
Record the acquisition date for future sale planning
The old three-year Seller’s Stamp Duty shorthand is wrong for a home acquired now. IRAS’s schedule for acquisitions on or after 4 July 2025 applies 16%, 12%, 8% and 4% across the first four holding-period bands, subject to applicable exemptions. The duty is based on the higher of sale price and market value. Have the acquisition and disposal dates checked rather than counting from moving day.
A household that may relocate soon, or an investor relying on a quick resale, should consider that exit cost before purchase. Completion settles this transaction; it does not establish whether the home was affordable or a sound investment.
General information for completed private resale purchases. Your conveyancer should confirm the legal and payment requirements for your own transaction. No site inspection or professional retainer is implied.