House Viewing - What to Look for?

House hunting is definitely a lovely process since that really brings a whole lot of excitement. You should prepare in advance on what are the important questions or key points to note so that you get the most out of your viewing experience.

Viewing a house isn't about just walking around a property to see if you like it. You will need to make sure that your future home is in its proper condition for the price you paid for. With the list below, we hope that we can assist you in how to start viewing houses like a pro.

1. To look out for

• Any damp spot or mould. This might sound very neglectable but no, damp patches on walls are not only an eyesore, but also there is potential damage to the wall structure and your health.

• Crack on walls or ceilings - this will lead to a potential structural issue and it’s quite worrying since even if you renovate your home, structural parts can’t be removed or changed that much.

• Condition of the entire block - you have to check if this residential properly is well looked after or is it in a state of neglect.

• Kitchen and bathroom conditions - you definitely know this is the most important part of any house, so make sure that these places are in good condition.
  

2. What about group viewing?

We even have this covered. Since the property market in Singapore is so hot right now, with more buyers than sellers, there are many times when house viewing is organized in groups. Though many buyers will be viewing the house at the same time as you, there’s nothing to worry about. Of course, the atmosphere is competitive since all the eagle eyes are there trying to snap a property before anyone else, but remember not to be pressured. You should still ask lots of questions, and find a corner within the property so that you have a quiet moment with the agent to run through your list until you have all the information you need. Another suggestion is to take lots of photos. At least it can help you to review those again when you are back, and who knows you might be able to spot something out of these pictures.

3. Questions to ask

Never be afraid to ask a lot of questions, after all, you are paying for this. Below are the list of questions that we think it is so important; and yes, please feel free to add them to your own list of questions :

• How long has it been on the market and how many viewings has it had? If it’s a long time, you may want to consider why this property is not being sold. Many possibilities, but definitely, price or conditions are the 2 most common factors.

• Why are the current owners moving? You wanna know why they are potentially leaving this home. It can be to either upgrade or downgrade from their existing property, but it doesn’t hurt to do a bit of reference check isn’t it?

• What is the owner's timeline? This would be important as you would want this to be in line with your own timeline. Imagine if you have an urgency to find a property and the owner will only let go of the house within the next six months, then yes, this property is not for you.

• How are the neighbours? Since you will potentially be moving in and being part of this neighbourhood, you definitely wanna know this. Trust us, helpful and nice neighbours really make a great difference.

Make sure to jot down all the relevant information from the answers and remember to watch out for any signs of hesitation or discomfort. This could mean that someone is hiding something, so you might want to ask more questions to clarify further.

This is definitely what we call a “life decision”. So, Good Luck!