4 Key Points before Buying a Resale Condo

Before Buying a Resale Condo, do these 4-Points Check

There are 4 key things that you need to know before buying a resale condo, regardless whether you are a first-time condo buyer or a veteran investor

📌 #1 Description Tag besides Price in Propertyguru Listings

In any listings that you see, always check the wording beside the price. It could be ‘starting from’, which sometimes may mean that the owner is not willing to sell at the listed price but a ruse by the agent to attract potential buyers to call them

📌 #2 Check Land Tenure

Before buying a resale condo or new launch, remember to check the tenure of the property. There are instances where the land is freehold but the development is sold with a 99-year leasehold tenure. For example, Shore residences in the east coast area.

In 2009, real estate developer Far East Organisation made the rare move of selling the 408-unit Shore Residences on a 103-year lease. It acquired the site in the East Coast area from the collective sale of the former Rose Garden, a freehold development

What are the implications? Once the lease of the building expires, the land will go back to the developer instead of the government. Hence, the possibility of en bloc is remote.

Take note of the T.O.P. date and lease start date. These are two different things. Normally, it takes about 3 to 4 years for the developer to complete a building from scratch. Sometimes, there might be some delays and this can cause the T.O.P. date to be too far away from the lease start date.

One example is Coco Palms in Pasir Ris. The T.O.P. date for this particular development was in 2018, whereas the lease started in 2008. This is 10 years difference, which in my opinion, is too long.

📌 #3 Beware of Home Staging Effects

Home staging is getting common. Before buying a resale condo, be reminded that the furniture and other movable items in the unit that you may be viewing are not included.

What You Should Do

• Imagine the place without the decorative items, music and aromatherapy scents
• Try turning off the air-conditioning to see if the natural air ventilation is good
• Ask for a second viewing during daytime if you viewed at night and vice versa

📌 #4  Any Harassment Activities or Unnatural Deaths?

It is imperative that you ask if there is any harassment from loan sharks (more for HDB Reslae) or whether any unnatural death had occurred in the unit before buying a resale condo

It is important because the seller or agent is not obligated to tell you this information if you do not ask. However, if you do ask, they must tell you the truth.

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