“We Treated Our Flat As A Liability” How One Couple Paid Off Their HDB In 15 Years

Paying off the home loan early isn’t the universally right move for everyone: it can tie up a lot of money in a property asset. But there are homeowners who aim to do just this, and some have ambitious goals like paying off a home loan even before their mid-forties. This week, we spoke to some homeowners who have already cleared their debt, way before most of us are halfway through repayments:

1. Buying an older flat for quicker loan repayment

It’s not every day you hear about a couple paying off their flat loan in just 15 years, but that’s what JW and her husband did. They bought a resale 5-room flat that was built in the 1980s, which would have been around 25 years old at the time of purchase. JW says:

“There was still around 74 years on the lease and we were already in our late twenties, so that’s more than enough to last our whole lives. We don’t have children, so objectively, our flat is a liability from a financial standpoint; our aim is to keep the cost as low as possible while still being comfortable.” 

JW says the couple are naturally savers, so they could make a substantial down payment from the start – enough to cover almost half the cost of the flat, which she says was only around $400,000 despite being in a mature neighbourhood (note: they bought the flat in around 2010, that price isn’t probable today). This made it relatively manageable for them to pay off the remaining sum (roughly $220,000) over just 15 years. 

JW says she has no regrets over the age of the flat, as after renovations, it’s on par with any newer unit. In fact, it’s larger than many newer flats.

“You might say there’s an opportunity cost to paying the loan early,” JW says, “But there’s also opportunity costs if you’re still paying when you’re in your fifties.” 

2. Paying off the loan early because no HDB loan was available

VK and his wife started with an Executive Condominium (EC) as their first home, and they were disappointed to learn that a bank loan was necessary*. Although private bank loans were cheaper than HDB loans at the time (below two per cent), VK says he was uncomfortable with the variability of private bank loans:

“My brother is a debt capital markets specialist, and he told us it couldn’t stay low (referring to the interest rate – Ed.) I also felt stressed about the loan, since the interest rate can change anytime, because I’m self-employed and my wife’s employer seemed to downsize every year after the crisis (referring to the 2008/9 Global Financial Crisis – Ed.)”

The couple had to “scale down” their lifestyle to speed up the repayment on their home. This meant surrendering private transport and vacations, and putting the savings into a fund for paying off the mortgage. VK’s role was to repay his home loan before he reached his 45th birthday, which was an ambitious 17-year plan. 

Ultimately, VK says he fell short by around three years; this was due to unexpected circumstances: he had to shoulder the cost of his father’s medical treatment alone, when his siblings ran into financial difficulty. Nonetheless, he did manage to pay off his EC before his 50th birthday, which was still a significant relief to him. 

VK also notes that, true to his brother’s prediction, interest rates today are much higher than when he bought his property. Interest rates as of 2025 average around 3.5 to 3.75 per cent per annum.

*There are no HDB loans for ECs, even if they haven’t been privatised yet. 

3. Buying a smaller home to live debt-free

PT felt that, because his family is small (just his wife and son), there wasn’t a need to splurge on a large residence. Besides, PT’s parents have a business in Malaysia, and he can end up spending several months there in a year – he even once stayed in KL for the better part of a year. 

PT chose to be optimistic and see this as an opportunity: it meant the family could do with a smaller 3-room flat:

“I would rather be debt-free than to have a big house, especially when it’s just three people and one of us is sometimes away for months. I don’t have any intention to upgrade to a private property, as I’m not really interested in pools, gyms, this kind of thing; so I wasn’t too concerned about smaller flats being harder to sell.”

The main reason, however, was that PT and his wife had both witnessed a painful foreclosure firsthand: before they were married, PT’s wife endured financial difficulties and her family home (a condo) was foreclosed on. This was due to the failure of her parents’ business, which made subsequent loan repayments impossible. This caused PT’s wife to have to live with relatives in a cramped 4-room flat, an experience she found both uncomfortable and embarrassing. 

PT says that: “After this experience, I wished to own my own home completely, so even if I have no income, I at least have a roof over my head.”

While some homeowners may have good reason to pay off their mortgage early, we suggest you get expert advice before doing so. We’re not financial planners, so we can’t make recommendations regarding this issue; but early home loan repayment is not necessarily a prudent move for everyone. Do check with an expert first. Also, be sure to speak with a qualified mortgage broker, as some home loan packages may include penalties for early repayment (but never for HDB loans).