Condominium sounds luxurious with swimming pool and gym amenities, but this is not exactly what it looks like though it sounds great to some tenants. It depends very much on developer who build that particular high rise residential building. Why I said it depends on developer. Well, developer who possess good and exquisite taste will have a great sense of interior design apart from its cleanliness. I’ve seen some very clean, good and organize management build and run by a lady developer, and she managed her condo way better than men. Even her security guard are well dressed and with great manners.
Therefore, 10 things you need to consider before you start purchasing a condominium are:
1) Lady developer
Having a woman developer is a rare case. If you happen to know a condo build by lady developer, then you should buy it!
2) The sun
Position of the sun is very important. The best time to see which unit you want to purchase is to visit a condo unit during the afternoon. Look out the balcony, see where the sun shine and how hot is the living room area. If it’s too hot then don’t purchase that unit or you will have to suffer the heat. Of course the best view is to have a beautiful mountain scenery view from your balcony, with morning sun!
3) Amenities
Swimming pool
“Now you see it, now you don’t” Yes, you can see a nice big swimming pool but can you swim in it? Is the water clean? Are residents using it and who are using it?
Let’s imagine most of your residents in your condo comes from Middle East, Nigeria .. (Now, you would have guess who will use this swimming pool quite often)
The best time to see who uses the swimming pool is to go on weekend or in the evening.
Hawker stall
Isn’t it good to have hawker stall just below your condo. You can have your supper if you feel like having a mee goreng (fried noodles) at night. Most probably you will have your mee goreng in your dream. This is because you will inhale all the oil, smokes when your hawker stall runs 24/7. In addition, his “Tat-tat-tat” sound from using his wok and power generator will keep you awake whole night!
Lift
There are many people who inspire to be an artist. Now they don’t need to use a canvas to draw, because you will see lots of drawings and copywriting inside the lift. At times, you will even find “rubbish” on the floor or a “chewing gum”?
Garbage room
Make very sure it’s not near to your unit or else you have pungent smells all year round.
Gym
Check to see if those gym equipment are usable and are residents using it on daily basis.
4) Security
Safety is what we will think of when we move to a new house or new surrounding. A good safety does prevent us from being harm and rob. Therefore, check to see who is in charge of security and are they really doing their duties.
There are security guard who smokes all day while on duty, chatting with co-workers. Notice these types of security guard and you will know how badly managed they are.
5) Neighbors
Good neighbors are hard to find. Some neighbors will not care about others by turning on television or radio to the max volume. You will have to talk with them face to face in order to spot whether they are good neighbors or devil!
6) Area surroundings
Grocery stall
Having a grocery stall right below your condo sounds good. You can purchase your grocery, newspapers, bread easily anytime you want.
Wet market
Check the location of your wet market. Whether you need to walk or drive and how long you will have to travel to get your fresh fruits, vegetables and meat.
School
Distance from condo to school is also important especially for those who have small children. Therefore, research the nearest kindergarten, primary, secondary schools nearby your area.
Recreational Park
Adults and children need to exercise to keep their body healthy. Spot your nearest park and how frequent people use it.
Others you will need are supermarket, banks, post office, bus stop, restaurant, eating place and others
7) Committee
Are there any resident committee? Who to complain if you have problems with your roof leaking, flooding kitchen and other problems. Who to go to if there are no water, no electric…
8 ) Management
How frequent and how organize are your fees. Do they keep track of your monthly maintenance fees into their system.
Are they doing their duties, such as cleaning your walkway, lift, swimming pool, garbage, sewerage, water tank and so on.
9) Free hold / Lease
If you ask me what do I prefer. I will tell you it’s free hold. Because this property belongs to me after I have finish paying off the housing loan. It’s your choice whether you want a free hold or a lease one. Some prefer lease while some doesn’t.
10) Maintenance fees and other fees
Beware of some unsolicited and surcharge management fees added into your monthly management fees invoice. How often they increase their maintenance fees and etc. It’s always wise to keep track of your monthly payment for your maintenance fees.
Lastly, living in a high rise building enable you to feel the aftershock of an earthquake. Be prepared to run down the stairs for any emergency siren or if you felt an earthquake, fire. And one last tip, don’t purchase a unit as high as 25 floor because you will need to walk up and walk down the stairs for the above reasons and when the lift is out of order.
10 things to consider before purchasing a condominium