Picking the best unit in a property project

October 5, 2015


Do you like visiting showflats of new launch projects? Was that once your favourite weekend activity before you bought your present home? Me too. Except that I didn’t stop doing so even after I bought five properties.


Have you chosen a good unit?

In fact, I have visited well over a hundred showflats since year 2000. Now I can step into any sales gallery, flip the sales brochure for five minutes, and point out from the project model which blocks and units are the best ones. The marketing agents serving me are often surprised how I manage to do so in such a short time.

And let me share with you a little-known fact: Units that are priced higher, or blocks that are selling fast, are not necessarily the best blocks or units in a development.

Why? Because most buyers decide on their choice based on the recommendations of their property agents. Many are excited first-time buyers or upgraders who are inexperienced. More are amateurs who can’t tell the difference between a good and a bad unit.

I believe that you are the other type of buyers who care about buying a good fengshui condo or HDB unit for your own stay, or you are serious about investing in a good quality private property. Because if you are one of those buyers who barely spend an hour in a sales gallery and buy just any unit there, you won’t be reading my blog and sign up as a follower anyway.


Why you can’t rely on your property agent

Property buyers often empty their hard earned money to buy a property without knowing the problems of the units they bought. Unfortunately, it is not in the interest of the developers, marketing agents or property agents to share tips with buying on how to pick a good unit. Their job is to move off the shelves blocks in the launch phase, star buys of the week and unsold units in the project.

That is the reason why property agents will tell you that west sun is good for drying clothes, and that expatriate tenants from western countries enjoy watching sunset. No laundry area to dry clothes is a new trend because modern families tend to use washer-dryer or go for laundry service. Hall too cramped to place a dining table is fine because couples prefer to have dinners on two bar stools in front of a bar top table or on the sofa to eat and watch TV at the same time …


Four tips to pick a good unit


Tip #1: Visit the actual site, not the sales gallery.

In the past, showflats are open house in a completed project and sales galleries are built on the actual site. Nowadays it is common to see the actual site and the sales gallery at different locations. Misunderstandings arise because:

1. The location of the sales gallery is accessible, but the actual site may not be.

2. The advertisement says it is just next to or a few minutes away from the MRT station. But it doesn’t specify whether it is a few minutes’ walk, run or drive.

3. It highlights the proximity to two or three train stations. But the actual site may not be near to any one of them.

4. The sales gallery is surrounded by lush greenery, open space and nice view. But blocks in the actual site may see HDB blocks, another development or a religious place.


Tip #2: Ask what they don’t tell, not what they want you to know.

If you have done your homework before stepping into a sales gallery, the things that the property agent tells you in the first ten to fifteen minutes you should already know.

A property investor once shared with me two principles to stick to in a sales gallery:

1. Pay a deaf ear to whatever the sales rep is telling you, like the skill you mastered after years of living with a nagging spouse.

2. Focus on things the sales rep doesn’t tell you. Show your utmost curiosity by asking questions like a three-year-old.

If you are an experienced property buyer, you should immediately tell what they forget to show in the showflat, like a bad view from the window, or that obstructing pillar in the unit.


Tip #3: Study the sitemap, not the project model.

The project model, just like the showflats, are often not built up to scale. It is an artist’s impression for your reference only: Buildings blocking the panoramic view are not found there. The open sea view can only be seen from super high floors. Two blocks too near to the opposite ones are removed to make the development look more spacious.

Learn how to read directions and where sunlight and wind come from. Know the impact of all condo facilities that are built near to your block, including swimming pool, water feature, barbeque area, tennis court, carpark entrance and rubbish collection area.


Tip #4: Spend time on the floor plans, not the showflat units.

Wonder why a bare unit or your new unit is always smaller than what you see in the showflat and from the floor plan?

Learn how developers calculate floor areas. Know the differences of strata area versus GFA (Gross Floor Area), construction floor area versus sellable floor area, and built-in area versus open-air area.

Understand the pros and cons of different development, including walk-up apartment, mansionette, shoebox units, penthouse, cluster housing or townhouse.

Learn how to draw a rectangular block of a unit and locate the centre which is the heart of the property. Identify all the layout problems in the living room, dining area, kitchen, toilets and bedrooms.


Learning how to pick the best unit is more an art than science. If you want to know more about how to find a good fengshui condo/house, how to choose the best block/unit in a project, and how to read floor plans, join us at the How to Buy Good Quality Properties one-day workshop this Sunday.