Know your loan room before you book — ideally via a bank in-principle approval (IPA) or a written estimate. TDSR (Total Debt Servicing Ratio) is the MAS framework banks use to cap how much of your income can go to debt repayments. Walking into a gallery without this number is how budgets get stretched.
- What TDSR cares about: income, existing loans (car, personal, other mortgages), and the new housing loan’s stress-tested instalment.
- Why before showflat: so you shortlist unit types you can actually complete — not ones that only look good on a brochure.
- New launch angle: progressive payments change cashflow timing vs a resale that needs full mortgage earlier — still model the eventual full loan.
- Upgraders: if two loans overlap briefly, TDSR gets tighter — plan sell-first vs buy-first with your banker.
MAS publishes the official TDSR rules. Any % ceilings or income haircuts here would go stale — confirm current MAS/bank rules with your banker or Alex.
Want a plain-English loan-room check before Thomson Reserve preview? WhatsApp +65 8388 0528.