Do you know what you are buying?

During the break one of the participants came forward and asked to take a close shot of one new launch print ad. He explained that his friend had bought a unit in the same project and was very unhappy about what he got. He wanted to show the friend the original drawing of the project based on ‘artist’s impression’.


Buyers are paying for ‘artist’s impression’

I have explained in my book No B.S. Guide to Property Investment what it means by ‘artist’s impression’:

To capture buyers’ imagination, sales brochures distributed during launch all come with nice drawings of the building’s exterior and the surrounding landscape. Below are some common finds:

1. A must-have includes infinite blue sky, lush greenery, a beautiful beach or breathtaking sea view. The development stands out prominently in the area, with adjacent buildings conveniently shortened or erased to flaunt its stylish profile.

2. The actual site may be in the middle of a cross junction. But the developer gives this an interesting twist to make the project appear in the midst of a jungle. In reality, blocks can’t even be built without cutting all the trees originally found at the site.

3. Nuisances or objects with bad fengshui like cemeteries, slums, petrol stations, power plants, etc. adjacent to the site are suspiciously hidden. When asked, a safe answer is that the government has plans to relocate it. They will be gone when the project is ready for occupation.

4. Some facilities are drawn for illustration only. For instance, a swimming pool is included to create a relaxing ambience. Never mind that the actual one might be too small for anyone to swim there.

The shock comes from the large disparity between buyers’ memory of the drawings, the project model and the showflat, versus the reality of seeing the real surroundings, the actual site and the final bare unit.

The experience is like going for the first date with someone you meet online. The Facebook picture looks very much like Lee Min Ho or Park Shin Hye. But unfortunately, he or she is completely unrecognizable in real person.


Honey, I shrunk the psf

It remains a mystery how developers calculate the actual floor area of the units (some developers don’t even care to show the size next to the floor plans anyway). In my workshop, I tell participants that there are different terminologies: strata area versus GFA (Gross Floor Area), construction floor area versus sellable floor area, and built-in area versus open-air area.

Buyers often lament that flats built these days come with much smaller halls and rooms. Bedrooms that are used to have more than enough space for a king size bed can now place a single bed only. Living and dining rooms in older condominium projects all look very decent in size, compared with modern designs that have 2-in-1 living and dining hall but can’t even fit in a round-shaped dining table for six.

These are the things that buyers often miss when they are appreciating the nice showflat at the sales gallery. The showflat unit looks spacious. But when buyers finally collect the key, they are shocked to find that the size of their unit shrinks.

The experience is like buying the biggest size oranges at $4.25 for 3 from your neighborhood supermarket. You choose the highest price option thinking that each orange should be big enough to share with 2 to 3 in the family. But after you peel off the thick skin, the actual size of the orange flesh is not much bigger than the type of you can get at $3.25 for 10.


You’re sure you are buying that?

I have gone for flat viewngs for hundreds of units. I often wonder why some owners would buy a house or unit with such bad fengshui.

I am especially puzzled by buyers who pick a place with very strong Sha Qi (煞气): T-Junction, Noise Sha (声煞), the Heaven’s Kill Sha (天斩煞), Scissors Sha (剪刀煞), Wall Blade Sha (壁刀煞), Flame Sha (火形煞), Reflection Sha (反光煞), Roof Ridge Sha (屋脊煞), etc.

The saddest part is that: These people pay so much to buy a home. They stay there and feel something’s wrong. But they don’t even know what the problem is.

Property agents’ job is to move the houses or units off the project as many and as quickly as possible. It is not in their best interest to tell you the potential problems, or share with you which one is the good house or unit.

Buying a home, either for own stay or for investment, is probably the most expensive purchase in your life. If you want to avoid buying the wrong property, and learn how to pick the best block and the best unit in a property project that your property agent will never tell you. Join us at the How to Buy Good Quality Properties one-day workshop this Sunday.