6 advices on buying resale flat 💡

We went through the process of buying a resale flat earlier this year and we would like to share more about what to note when purchasing one.

We viewed more than 10-15 flats across 2-3 months and we know how exhausting the process can be, hope this helps! ☺️

𝟏. 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬

Don’t be pressured into putting in an offer. If the house has been in the market for a long time, trust that there is no demand for it. If you find something you like and there is a price/ bidding war, walk away if it’s out of your budget. Nothing good ever comes out of being pressured to purchase something.

It’s always right to compare prices of the flats around your potential unit to ensure that you’re buying a flat for the right price.

𝟐. 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲

Once you have found a home you like, visit the neighbourhood various times in the day and night, and stay for at least 30 minutes to observe the surroundings, neighbours, the crowd, the vibe. Request for second viewing of the flat again if you are unsure.

Story time:

We actually forfeited a house (paid $1k OTP) once. We quite like the house but was on the fence about its surroundings, especially when the house was facing the main road. We went back to the area at least 3-4 times and listen to the road noise at different times of the day (rainy day, morning, afternoon, night), and eventually decided to let go of the house.

𝟑. 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭

Visit the house via public transport so you know how easy or difficult it is for you to travel out, for your friends and family to come over. Travel to and fro to your workplace so you understand how much time you need to travel from the new home. Walk around the neighbourhood and see how much time you need to get to food places, MRT, bus stops etc. You want to replicate actual living conditions.

Don’t end up complaining when expectations don’t match reality when have sealed the deal and moved in.

𝟒. 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬

When viewing a unit for sale, observe how neighbours use the communal spaces such as corridors and lift landing areas. Are they tidy with their footwear or do they place big clothes racks and too many plants that block the corridor path?

Your neighbour’s cleanliness can also affect the quality of your life, look out for signs of uncleared trash or litter along the corridors as these could potentially attract pests.

𝟓. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

It is important to look out for serious infrastructure damage that could pose a future safety hazard or require more money to repair. For example, cracks on the wall, loose hinges on the doors and cabinets (is fine if you’re changing all of that, but take note if you’re retaining such items).

This list is not exhaustive, let us know if you’d like more tips!

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