Application for 'Vinares' flats is now open

This process can be filled out through the MyHulhumale’ portal with the use of an eFaas account.

Source: HDC

Source: HDC

The Government owned Housing Development Corporation (HDC), has opened the application process for purchasing 'Vinares' flats - a project that was carried out on the reclaimed land in Hulhumale phase II and consists of 10 towers of 13 floors with each floor consisting of 3-room apartments with 3 bathrooms and a balcony. This process, which is open until the 15th of September can be filled out through the MyHulhumale’ portal with the use of an eFaas account. 

The Vinares flats consists of four different types of apartments; marina view, outer view, inner view and standard view. The marina view apartments have a view of the yacht marina and cruise terminal, while inner view apartments have a view of the main roads. The outside view is of the city, and standard apartments are in the middle of the towers.

Unlike the Hiyaa flats, HDC stated that when the finishing work for Vinares flats is completed, the living rooms and bedrooms of the apartments will be tiled, as will the bathrooms' walls and floors, as well as the fixtures. Kitchens will have full kitchen cabinet sets mounted on the wall, and all rooms will be air-conditioned. In addition to this, the flats also come with four elevators, easy access to ATMs, good security due to CCTV installation and parking space. In addition to this, two floors of the building will be leased for commercial use, making it easy to access gyms, cafes and convenience stores.

Last month, HDC also opened up slots for flat viewings, which drew a large number of applicants, leaving the slots fully booked until August of this year. The viewing slots for the 1,344 apartments in Vinares flats were reserved by over 11,000 people.

HDC is using three different models when it comes to selling these flats:

  • Lease to own model: requires a 15% downpayment and the remainder to be paid monthly for the next 20 years. If a 20% down payment is made, the remaining balance can be paid off in 25 years.
  • Own equity finance model: allows you to pay the entire amount at once. 
  • End-user financing model: allows you to purchase an apartment with a loan from a third party such as a bank or other financial institution.

While it definitely sounds like a dream apartment one of these apartments costs between MVR 2.52 million and MVR 2.59 million in total. The prices vary depending on the category as well as the location as follows:

  •  Marina view

64 Top floor apartments – MVR 2.73 million

80 Mid floor apartments – MVR 2.62 million

28 Lower floor apartments – MVR 2.6 million

  • Outer View

96 Top floor apartments – MVR 2.7 million

112 Mid floor apartments – MVR 2.62 million

164 Lower floor apartments – MVR 2.6 million

  •  Inner View

96 Top floor apartments – MVR 2.6 million

128 Mid floor apartments – MVR 2.62 million

128 Lower floor apartments – MVR 2.6 million

  •  Standard View

128 Top floor apartments – MVR 2.59 million

160 Mid floor apartments – MVR 2.57 million

160 Lower floor apartments – MVR 2.54 million

Like any other housing scheme, in order to purchase Vinares flat, the applicants would need to meet specific requirements.

  • Being a registered resident of Male’ city
  • Not bound to an agreement to purchase a housing unit or lot from the city of more than 600 square feet
  • Must not be making any payments toward the purchase of a city-owned housing unit or lot larger than 600 square feet.
  • Must not have sold any residential property of 600 square feet or more in the city in the last three years.
  •  Must not have previously owned a house under any government housing project.

Unlike the previous housing scheme, which sold land plots in the greater Male' area, citizens who have lived in Male' for more than 15 years can apply to buy the Vinares flat. One of the main concerns with the previous housing scheme was that people who had been registered on another island at any point in their lives were not allowed to register for land. 

While the majority of the plots in the Vinares flats are also reserved exclusively for Male' citizens who do not have registration elsewhere, 100 apartments have been reserved for those who are registered in Male' and have lived in the city for 15 years.

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