Can i find blueprints for my house

When homeowners decide to build a new house, it is critical to consider the original plan. There are specific reasons why this is important to any homeowner. First, the building plan of any house is essential as it shows different parts of the home. It also shows the size and the specifications of every detail, and they are necessary during remodeling projects. It will be required to buy your plan before any renovations in your home or find an expert to get it for you.

However, not all houses have blueprints, especially those which are built in rural areas. Therefore you should not strain to look for a blueprint that does not exist. But you may be asking yourself, where is the right place to find the blueprints for my house? Or you may be wondering how easy it is to find building plans for my house. If you are sure your home has an original plan, here are some of the places where you need to look for it.

1. Local Municipality Office

One best way to launch your search is by visiting the local municipality office. However, it depends on when and who created the plans. Old house plans are not likely to be in the local municipality, but sometimes you may be lucky. But your local municipality office is helpful because you can get beneficial information about your home to help you in your search.

Some city and county governments have their policies regarding blueprint online. It is possible to find that information online. When searching for that information, it is advisable to use the word property records or home records for fast results. 

2. Former Owner

If you are not the first buyer of the home, another way of getting the information you want is by contacting the former owner. Sometimes you may find that the former owner of your home has those documents, making the work very easy. If the former owner does not have the architectural design, then ask them whether they have contacts of the architect or the engineer who may be having the plan. Sometimes the former owner may have gotten a loan from the bank to build the house, and the bank may still be keeping the plan.

3. Your Realtor

Your realtor or the estate agent who you worked with while purchasing your home may hasten the process for you. If the house in question is not more than 50 years, you may get the plan through a realtor. However, sometimes the house in question may have slight variations with what the realtors have.

4. Neighbours

You can also talk to your neighbors and find out what they know. In most cases, you will find houses in your neighbourhood looking familiar. The reason may be that they were designed and build by the same people. Looking at your neighbour’s house may give you the original floor plan of your home.

5. Fire Insurance Maps

In your city hall, you may find the fire insurance maps for your area. Some of the city halls have records dating many years back. You can learn a lot about your home using the fire insurance maps. Sometimes, these maps may reveal specific details like the shape and position of doors, windows, and more. If you find this job more involving than you can afford, hiring an expert to do the work for you may be the best option.

It’s time to renovate or move house. Now, you want to pull up your long-lost property documents such as the title deed and floor plan. Where to find?

Before you fly into a panic and visit HDB Hub at Toa Payoh, rest assured you can quite easily access you house’s title deed and floorplan online.

Before we dive in, let’s take a look at what the title deed and floor plan are – and when you will potentially need them.

What is a Title Deed?

The title deed is a legal document which proves that you are the legal owner of a residential or commercial property. The title deed is theoretically different from the sale deed – a legal document which states the transfer of property ownership from the previous owner to you, the new and current owner.

However, the sale deed and title deed are often used interchangeably since these both documents state the current and legal owner of the property.

In Singapore, a title deed will sound like:

• Certificate of Title
• Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title
• Subsidiary Certificate of Title

Most of us HDB-dwellers who took up a HDB or bank home loan, and paid for the mortgage with CPF won’t have to deal with these title deeds. When you pay for your house with CPF in Singapore, your property’s title deed is automatically listed in the Land Titles Registry of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

Out of curiosity, can you access your title deed via the SLA? Yes, you can. We will get to that later.

However, if you paid for your home loan using cash, you would have had to deal with the physical title deed.

Finally, the only other reason why you would have received a copy of your title deed is when you’ve fully paid off your mortgage. Well, congratulations!

Where to Find Your HDB or Private Property’s Title Deed?

There is only one website where you can access your title deed: My Property by Singapore Land Authority (SLA). All you need to do is to go to the website, login via SingPass, and access all title deeds that are legally registered under your Identification Number (NRIC or FIN). If you are a business owner, you can view your commercial property’s title deed with your business’ UEN number.

It’s free, but you have to be the property owner (or the officially registered buyer) to view the title deed. Not a bad thing – that kind of eliminates nosy aunties and uncles from trying to search up your new condo’s title deed. Of course, if you are in the midst of buying a new property, you can check if you’ve been officially registered as the buyer.

What is a Floor Plan?

A floor plan is basically a top-down drawing of your house. It’s often drawn to scale, and shows you a bunch of information that’s crucial for your renovation and home furnishing process – such as the measurements of a room, the livable area you have, whether it’s a load-bearing wall or not, plumbing, and electricity.

When you approach a renovation company or interior designer, you should bring along your property’s official floor plan so the professionals will know what kind of property they are working with.

Where to Find Your Property’s Floor Plan?

You will often be given a soft copy and hard copy of your property’s floor plan upon purchase. It’s best to always have the original copy kept together with all other property-related documents in a safe place in your house. If your interior designer took it, they should make a photocopy and return you the original.

If you’ve lost your original floor plan, or are helping your elderly parents out with a renovation or sale, there are three ways you can obtain your unit’s floor plan online. Unlike the title deed, the floor plan is never free. You will need to pay a small fee to download your floor plan.

1. Buy Your Floor Plan from HDB Website

If you need a HDB floor plan, you can buy it from HDB online. You can only choose to have it emailed to you in PDF form. HDB will not slow mail a physical copy to you. If you need a physical copy, you’ll have to find a printer to have it printed yourself.

To buy your HDB floor plan from HDB, search for “Purchase of Residential Floor Plan” online, and you’ll find yourself on a secure HDB website. Key in all your personal information, and you can request for any HDB floor plan of your liking.

From what I’ve tried, a regular HDB floor plan costs $5. You will be required to pay online with a Visa or Mastercard credit card. After payment, you will receive your floor plan in your email inbox immediately. 

2. Buy Your Floor Plan from SLA’s Website

There are Property owners can now access free information on their property on the Singapore Land Authority’s new online service, MyProperty.

Launched in 2016, Singapore Land Authority’s online service, MyProperty online service allows members of the public to view their title deeds and boundary plans. Additional features include online alerts to property owners of any document lodged against their property title and records related to their property including caveat and mortgage documents.

3. Buy Your Floor Plan from Buy Condo.sg or PropertyGuru

If you’re considering the purchase of a private property – whether condominium or landed house – chances are, you’ll want to view the internal floor plans for comparison before deciding.

When you’re not the owner, it can be quite difficult to access floor plans via official means such as the abovementioned MyProperty by SLA website.

Try to first get your property agent to request for the floor plan from the sellers’ agent. However, if you’d like to stay discreet about your purchase, you can independently purchase floor plans from third-party property websites in the likes of Buy Condo and PropertyGuru.

Buy Condo SG, for instance, has a pretty comprehensive collection of condominium floor plans in Singapore. In fact, you will be able to download most of them for free – albeit with watermark. However, if you’re just doing comparisons with your interior designer or property agent, these floor plans are more than sufficient.

PropertyGuru, on the other hand, only allows registered users such as property agents to access their database of floor plans. If you’re working with a property agent for your next purchase, he or she will be able to tap into this resource to help inform your next purchase.

• TAGS:
• floor plans
• online services
• property news
• property transaction
• Singapore Land Authority
• title deed