Essential Inspection Tips for Your New Property: Don’t Just Collect the Keys

Essential Inspection Tips for Your New Property: Don’t Just Collect the Keys

There is something very exciting about receiving the keys to a new property.

After waiting for years, suddenly you are standing at the entrance holding the keys to your own home.

You want to open the door, take photographs, imagine where the sofa will go and perhaps start planning the renovation.

But hold on.

Don’t start renovating yet.

There is something much more important to do first.

Inspect the property.

I have bought and owned several properties over the years, and one lesson I have learnt is that we should not assume that a brand-new property means a perfect property.

A new property can still have cracks, leaking pipes, hollow tiles, faulty electrical points, poor workmanship or things that simply don’t match what we were promised.

And once the furniture and renovation start coming in, identifying some of these defects becomes much harder.

#1 – DON’T JUST LOOK. TEST EVERYTHING

This is probably the biggest mistake.

We walk into a beautiful new condominium and say:

“Looks okay.”

That’s not an inspection.

For a proper inspection, I want to open, close, switch, flush, run, tap and test.

Open every window.

Close every door.

Test every lock.

Switch on every light.

Test every power socket.

Turn on every tap.

Flush every toilet.

Run the shower.

Check whether water actually flows towards the drain.

#2 – BRING YOUR SPA

This is one thing I would definitely add to my original article.

Bring your Sale and Purchase Agreement and the relevant specifications/floor plan.

Why?

Because your inspection isn’t only about defects.

It is also about checking whether you received what you paid for.

Count the electrical points.

Check sanitary fittings.

Check the stated appliances, if any.

Look at the floor plan.

Check measurements where relevant.

Make sure the fixtures and fittings match what was specified.

After paying hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of ringgit, spending two or three hours checking whether everything promised is actually there seems like a very good investment of time.

#3 – LOOK AT THE WALLS, CEILINGS AND FLOORS

Start with the basics.

Look for:

• Cracks
• Uneven plastering
• Uneven paint
• Watermarks
• Dampness
• Peeling paint
• Scratches
• Chips
• Uneven flooring

Then comes one of my favourite checks:

Tap the tiles.

A hollow sound can indicate that the tile isn’t properly bonded.

Check the floor tiles, bathroom tiles and, where applicable, wall tiles.

iProperty recommends using a tapping rod or similar tool to identify hollow tiles, while also checking for cracks, uneven surfaces and discolouration. 

Bring masking tape and mark every defect.

Don’t rely on memory.

You will forget.

Haha.

#4 – WATER IS YOUR FRIEND

This is one area where I would spend plenty of time.

Turn on every tap.

Run the shower.

Flush every toilet.

Fill the sink and let it drain.

Look underneath the sink.

Check whether the water pressure is reasonable.

Most importantly:

Watch where the water goes.

Does it drain quickly?

Does water accumulate?

Does it flow in the wrong direction?

Are there signs of leakage?

And here’s another tip I like:

If possible, inspect the property after heavy rain.

For landed properties especially, this can reveal roof, gutter, balcony and drainage problems that may not be obvious on a dry sunny afternoon. 

#5 – DON’T FORGET THE ELECTRICAL POINTS

Bring a simple phone charger.

Plug it into every power point.

Switch on every light.

Test fans and air-conditioning units if they are provided.

Check the switches.

Look for loose fittings or exposed wiring.

You don’t need to be an electrician to identify whether a socket doesn’t work.

But if you discover something potentially dangerous, don’t start opening the electrical panel yourself.

Get a qualified professional.

The objective is to identify problems, not to create new ones.

#6 – CHECK THE OUTSIDE TOO

For a landed property, don’t stop at the front door.

Check the gate.

Mailbox.

Drainage.

Car porch.

External walls.

Roof and gutters where accessible.

For a condominium, check your allocated parking bay and the relevant areas you’re entitled to inspect.

And here’s something many people forget:

The common areas matter too.

So if there is obvious water leakage, damaged flooring or another significant problem in an area relevant to your unit, don’t simply assume:

“Not my problem.”

#7 – TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF EVERYTHING

This is 2026.

We have smartphones.

Use them.

Take a photograph of every defect.

But don’t just take a close-up.

Take one photograph showing the defect clearly and another showing where the defect is located.

For example:

Photo 1: crack.

Photo 2: crack + entire bedroom wall.

Then number the defect.

Defect #01 – Master Bedroom, north wall, approximately 1 metre from window.

This makes it much easier for the developer’s contractor to find it.

And keep your submitted defect list and photographs.

iProperty recommends marking defects, photographing them and keeping a record when submitting the defect form to the developer. 

DON’T RUSH TO RENOVATE

This is perhaps the most important advice I can give.

In Malaysia, new properties generally have a 24-month Defect Liability Period (DLP) from vacant possession, during which defects covered by the applicable arrangements are to be rectified by the developer. 

So use that period properly.

Submit your defects.

Let the developer rectify them.

Then inspect again after the rectification.

Don’t assume:

“They came and fixed it, so everything is okay.”

Check.

And check again.

MY SIMPLE CHECKLIST

If I were inspecting a new property today, I would divide it into seven areas:

1. Promise – Does it match the SPA and specifications?

2. Walls & ceilings – Cracks, paint, watermarks and workmanship.

3. Floors – Cracks, unevenness and hollow tiles.

4. Water – Taps, toilets, showers, drainage and leaks.

5. Electricity – Lights, switches, sockets, fans and air-conditioning.

6. Doors & windows – Open, close, lock and inspect the glass.

7. Outside & common areas – Drainage, parking, gates, roof, balcony and shared facilities.

And bring:

SPA + phone + flashlight + masking tape + marker + measuring tape + notebook + charger.

If you don’t have the time, confidence or experience to do this properly, consider engaging a professional inspector. There are now specialist inspection services in Malaysia precisely because many homeowners prefer an independent pair of eyes. 

Because at the end of the day, we are talking about a property that could cost us hundreds of thousands or millions of Ringgit.

Spending a few hours checking it properly?

That’s not being fussy.

That’s being a property owner.

And after all the years of waiting, loan applications, paperwork and finally getting the keys…

the last thing I want is to discover six months later that there was a problem I could have identified on Day One.

Happy home ownership.

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Sources

• Original Kopiandproperty article — “Essential Inspection Tips for Your New Property” — the original article refreshed here.