some views on buying resale flats

i have been searching online for potential HDB flats for quite awhile but only commenced on physically checking out the units recently due to some stupid law issue which didnt apply to us but we were mislead by the bloody XXX staff who know shit about anything.... argh!!! anyway... long story to short, currently i am actively searching for resale flats & want to share with you guys some of the tips/important points that i experienced

1. punctuality... this is very important esp for the property agent... i mean 5-10min late is acceptable but dont freaking MIA... thats super rude especially when i could be your potential customer.... i must really share this incident which happened 2wks ago... i arranged an appt with the property agent to view the flat at 3.15pm... i arrived earlier & messaged the agent but no reply after 10min so i called him & then he told me that he isnt around... & make it worst... flat owner also not around... i was like OMFG!!! the owner supposed to have open house from 3-4pm & you are not around!??!?! was so damn pissed so i just ignore the bloody agent & go for next appt.... for this kind of people, no matter how nice & wonderful the flat is, dont bother doing business with them.... you wont know when they will play u out

2. grants.... for people who purchase the first HDB flat, the couples are entitled to $40k grant if the flat is near parents or $30k if not near parents.... the income ceiling is $10k.... i think this amount of $ is important especially for young couples as the $ can be used to pay for the flat 10% down payment

3. locations.... personally i think convenience is very important cause traveling from one place to another takes quite a long time even for a small place like SG.... of cause staying near town area will be nice but those flats prices are insanely expensive!!! so i think the next best alternative will be to stay near mrt/bus interchange.... currently, my parents' flat is 3 bus stops from mrt.... the bus journey is about 5min but waiting time could be 30min.... so even just 1 bus stop will waste a lot of time... so i have decided must buy flat that is within walking distant from mrt....

4. flat age..... one problem with resale flat is the age issue.... normally flats near mrt will tend to be more than 10yrs.... so convenience may have to compensate with old flats..... the facade aside, the main problem with old flats is the piping.... due to age, majority of the piping will rust, resulting in "dirty" water..... my mama actually suggest us to purchase a resale flat which is less than 10yrs such that if we stay in that flat for say another 20yrs, when we sell off the flat, it is still 30yrs = not super old flat.... but of cause, if you purchase an old flat, the chance of having en-bloc will be much higher....

5. view & directions.... these points are very subjective & based on personal preference.... normally you wont want to get a flat which faced south cause the afternoon sun is really grilling hot..... my mama also suggest us to avoid staying near schools, temples, church & mosques cause those are more eerie places so it may bring bad luck... but this is more of a superstitious view.....

6. prices & loans.... this is very important because buying a flat will spend ALOT of $ & one must be sure they can afford the flat before making the purchase.... currently, the resale flats prices have gone down quite abit but the star buy will still cost quite a fair bit.... so it is time for bargaining skill to come in when negotiating the price...  personally i feel that if the family can get $500k loan... then try to get a flat within/around that budget... dont try to keng & appeal for more loan to buy a $700k flat... or borrow $ to pay for the difference.... cause you will end up paying like hell for the loan.... dont try to be too ambitious especially for the first flat....

7. renovation..... it will be great if the resale flat comes with nice renovation so that you can save an amount on that... however, there are pros & cons for renovated flats.... pro is of cause you can save $ on renovation.... but if you dont like the renovation, you will have to spend extra $ to tear down the place & rebuilt it... & the renovation will become a con....

8. floor level..... of cause in general higher flats are preferred, not only because of the view & wind.... staying at low floor makes me feel lack of privacy as passer by can peep into your flat.... i think above 8th floor will be acceptably nice....

9. corridor vs corner unit..... normally people will prefer corner unit due to privacy.... but nowadays due to the building structures, many flats are located along the corridor...... one superstitious point by mama is that avoid staying in flat which face a flight of stairs that goes down... cause it will mean $ flowing out = lose $....

10. neighbours.... this is very hard to control.... i find it very irritating when i pass by a corridor with people hanging out their laundry... i mean one or two pieces of rags of cause is fine... but i have seen people like opening a laundry store along the corridor... that's ridiculous... same goes for plants... the corridor isnt your own garden lea... dont need to open a green house outside your flat lo.... those are really inconsiderate people cause it will block off majority of the walkway which is common property... selfish shit!!! so if during house viewing... your potential neighbours are selfish shit... try to avoid the house... cause next time will sure get into a quarrel.... UNLESS you intend to go down to hdb/town council to complain about the selfish neighbours everyday....

above are some of the points that i feel are important or useful to take note when purchasing a flat... of cause those are just personal views.... but just want to share some insights that could potentially benefit others =)