Property buying in Singapore - pre-purchase home inspection?

[1sttimer]

We have made the major decision to buy a place in Singapore. But what has come as a surprise is that getting the potential unit inspected by a professional is not common. Apparently what you see is what you get...at least that's what we've been told by our agent.
We are not 100% comfortable with this and have been told if we really wanted we could ask permission to bring a contractor in to have look around the place before we make the offer. Which is not good enough for my husband - he will like to get a proper survey done.
Will appreciate any advice from those who have bought in Singapore - did you get a proper home survey done before you bought the place?The aim of this is not to have the sale price lowered, devalue the place etc but to know of any potential issues that we will possibly get ourselves into and whether we will be prepared to deal with it. For example, we once rented a place where we were told by the landlord to just lightly mop the balcony and not scrub it down before it would cause leakages to the unit below. I think these are the things we will like to be prepared for before we buy the place!
Thank you.

[don't bother]

With an apartment you don't really need an inspection because the condo's sinking fund will cover any issues like the one you described. We've bought apartments here twice without an inspection.

You should definitely get a valuation estimation though, like Streetsine (similar to Residex in Australia).

[1sttimer]

Thank you for sharing.
Yes, we have already done an initial bank valuation with a few of the big names. Streetsine also very useful, we have been using that for our own research.
Do you have any advice about in situations where repairs need to be done, under what circumstances is it the responsibility of the owner or condo management?

[easy]

Anything wrong inside your housing unit is your responsibility. Suppose you own the top floor and rain seep in from the ceiling then the condo management will fix it for you.

[NMS1]

We bought a new landed property so our situation is a bit different but if you want a survey done there are surveyors attached to the HDB who can do it for you. They will check for leaks etc as much as possible by filling baths up with water, throwing water over all the kitchen & bathroom floors (although not sure how that would work with an existing property!)

[1sttimer]

Hi NMS1,

Thanks for your advice. We are looking at condos - for HDB I understand a survey by them is necessary to ensure the current owner didn't do any unauthorised renovations, etc. But there isn't any similar obligations for private property as far as we know.

We have looked into this further and have concluded that this is basically a buyer beware market. Which we accept but just need to ensure that we are comfortable with any potential liabilities that will come with the place we wish to buy.

Just one more question - from experience have you all faced any issues in obtaining a floorplan of your place for reference before buying? We asked about it but the agents were very vague and non-committal about it. I would have thought this is a basic document to be provided to the potential buyer???

 

[don't bother]

We were given floor plans on both of our purchases, but each time it was just a photocopy of the not-to-scale plan from the developer's sales brochure. However, we found those plans were actually fairly accurately drawn.

Re internal renovations, there's no permission required for a condo. It's only required for external renovations (i.e. on landed properties), and internal renovations on heritage buildings.

[1sttimer]

To 'don't bother',

Thanks for sharing. So do you mean if walls are to be hacked out for example to create an 'open concept' kitchen, in a condo this wouldn't require permission from any authority, not even the condo management?

[CondoManager]

You usually need permission from the management

[don't bother]

Yes, absolutely the condo management needs to approve - you need that even to hang a large mirror (seriously!) - but not a government body.

[Logic prevails]

The best and most cost effective way is to ask the agent selling you the property to undertake the survey. On the whole they are a very knowedgeable, trustworthy and honorable lot that can be relied upon to give you and accurate report on any defects or potential defects in the property.

Failing this you can use one of the proffesional survey companies but to be honest I worry about their ethics..... i.e. I think you have to be dubious about the morality of anyone that wants to charge you for a property survey. Then when something is found they suddenly turn up with the required contractor who can fix the problem. This goes to the heart of Vulans argument on morality.

[rent first]

if you have your eyes on a particular property, and intend to buy it. its best to 'trial' stay in it for a few months to find out. 

[done in]

I do recall getting a professional evaluation of a landed property we were considering buying. Our housing agent recommended a firm that was very professional, gave us a detailled report that covered a structural assessment among other things. It cost us @$600. Threw it away recently so dont have the name, sorry.