I woke up in my sister’s condominium in Penang and took the picture below. She bought a unit on the 11th floor after I ‘forced’ her to cancel another booking she did with project X. The reason I forced her to cancel was because of the developer. I did not like the developer. This is despite the fact that she would have to pay higher for this current one that I chosen and the unit size is even smaller. Another friend refused and bought the bigger and cheaper unit which my sister cancelled. Today, the differences could not be further away.
Both has appreciated from the prices they paid but Project X has stopped appreciating and in fact, prices for my sister’s condominium is already much higher today. Everything is still working well and but the Project X, its lift is missing a few buttons, maintenance is getting worst and my friend’s unit has water leaking into his bathroom’s ceiling and it has yet to be fixed after 9 months. In fact just looking at the guards would reveal that the engaged security company is a cheaper one.
Sometimes, we should give benefit of the doubt to some newer developers. However, if a developer has repeatedly built sub-standard units and it’s main selling point is always only price, I would skip it. Come on, when you pay lower, do you expect them to compress their margins and give you a better unit than others? Think very objectively. The cost of construction and the materials cannot differ too much. If one is selling way lower than another, find out more. Do not pay too much, of course but to pay too low but expect the sky? Well, the sky might just fall on you then. It’s your home. Happy deciding.
written on 31 May 2015
next suggested article: IF affordability = low quality
