Do home buyers know what they are buying?

Money can buy you a new apartment or a big house. But it can’t buy you discernment and wisdom.

Being a property enthusiast, I have stepped into a hundred showflats and gone to hundreds of flat/house viewings. I am often surprised by all the wrong types of landed houses, private projects and condominium units that home owners bought.

Trust me, all of them have nothing to do with budget: Some are related to Feng Shui. Many can be screened from experience. Most are just common sense.

You may argue that these home owners are westernized or are foreigners. They are not superstitious and don’t believe in Feng Shui. But I can tell you that, in most cases, the owners are Chinese and they do set up a Chinese altar at home.

Buy a home facing a T-junction?

I often pass by a new mid-size condo project under construction. It is built on a small slope along a busy road.

To maximize the use of limited site area, the developer built the first tall block as close to the road as possible. You can imagine that, even with double glazed windows, units facing the road will get the dust and noise from the traffic. As sound travels upwards, the higher your floor, the louder the noise.

Another bad thing: The development is facing a heavy traffic T-junction directly. Imagine cars from the T-junction coming like arrows shooting endlessly at the condo, and residents in the front block get all the Sha Qi (煞气). If you are not into Feng Shui, just think how headlights of oncoming vehicles can disturb your sleep at night.

As if things are not bad enough, there is still a train track right on top of that T-junction. Apart from the noise and air pollution from the traffic, you are disturbed by seeing and hearing trains coming regularly out of your windows and balcony.

And wait, I only mention the T-junction so far. I haven’t even started talking about other Sha Qi of the project, units in the blocks to avoid, layout problems of some floor plans, etc.

Who will buy these projects?

Mind you, this is not just another mass market condominium. When the project was first launched, it was marketed aggressively as a unique luxurious development in the area. Flyers were distributed everywhere and property agents were all talking about it.

Under a red hot property market, the media had reported brisk sales and price per square foot had reached a record high. Phase one was 100 percent sold out. By now almost all units have been sold.

The developer said that more than 90 percent of buyers are locals. A check with the sales data show that more than 65 percent are Singaporeans and over 15 percent are Permanent Residents.

A few blocks down the road, there is another interesting project. Two sides of the development face a busy cross-junction while the other two sides face canals with stagnant water right in front (割脚水). Definitely not a home for good health!

But this one is a sold-out project. A few hundred units have been snapped up in a matter of months. And close to 80 percent buyers are Singaporeans. No kidding!

Another five minutes’ drive you will see an older condominium built on a long odd-shaped piece of land. This type of land is only suitable for commercial buildings but not residential projects.

I remember this project was once featured in a property magazine, when many units were still vacant after TOP. Not for me! I prefer a home in a squarish or rectangular piece of land to enjoy the balance and stability.

What is in a good quality home

After you have saved hard to buy a private property, I don’t think you just want to buy any condo unit or any house regardless of its quality. Afterall, it is your hard-earned money. You may probably only buy one property in your lifetime and stay there all your life.

Feng Shui is both art and science. To put it into practice, you have to integrate environmental science, architecture, interior design and your personal background. The ultimate aim of practicing Feng Shui in a property is to achieve harmony among the nature, the development and the residents.

A good quality home should be ideal both internally and externally. As a property buyer, you should have a checklist with items on location, direction, facing, sunlight, ventilation, layout, safety and convenience. You may not get 100 percent of everything because such property doesn’t exist. But at least you don’t make the major mistakes.

Why you need to know all the Feng Shui blunders

Some people like to buy their house first and ask a Feng Shui master to give advice after the purchase, with no idea of all the blunders of Feng Shui in houses.

To act courteous, the Feng Shui master can’t say too many bad things or mention all the bad consequences in front of the house owners and their families. The sessions often end with safe advice to change a few designs, add some decorations, or place some ornaments (so he/she can sell something too!).

The practice of Feng Shui inside the house can only do so much to improve the situation. The negative elements from nature are still there.

Next time when potential tenants or buyers come for viewings and give you that strange look on their face, I hope you understand why.

The truth is: You can’t get what is not there. You can’t activate Qi if it doesn’t exist. Like a famous Feng Shui master has once said, you can’t perm, dye or do any styling to your hair if you don’t have authentic hair in the first place.

Before you buy an apartment or a house, be it brand new or resale, you should learn the following first:

1. The tricks of developers and their marketing agents in new launches and showflats;

2. How to tell good quality condo projects or landed houses from bad ones;

3. How to pick the best block and best unit in a project;

4. How to choose the best house in the street; and

5. What type or facing of home is suitable for you.

I agree with you that not many buyers know the above before they sign the Offer to Purchase. And that’s exactly how we differentiate an amateur and a savvy buyer!

You can learn how to buy good quality properties in a 1-day workshop on March 21.