1. Attractive facade
Just like first impressions count in people, so does property.
You must be impressed at first glance. An attractive facade with elements of
luxury and a classy design gives an immediate positive feeling. If you have to
convince yourself when looking at a facade for the first time, imagine how a
future buyer will feel when you wish to sell it off one day. In property, good
looks count.
2. A
grand entrance and lobby
Good looks must follow through. High-end condominiums are not
the only ones today that come with a grand entrance and lobby. These days,
everyone wants to live well. A grand entrance and lobby add tremendous
intrinsic and extrinsic value to a condominium and gives residents a sense that
the developer cares and respects their buyers.
3. Excellent
parking space design
Are cars a hassle to park? Are corners too narrow and are the
walls filled with bumps from accidents? Parking spots must be properly designed
for the convenience of residents. Some older condos use a multi-storey or a
spiral multi-storey carpark. This is not the best choice, simply because it is
a daily discomfort for the driver. A basement carpark is most preferable, and
the parking space has to be designed to allow for wide turning.
Each car park should measure 3.5m (height) and 2.5m by 5m for
comfortable parking. With this size, even a small lorry can park.
But all the ease in parking won’t matter if the parking area is
not brightly lit. The parking area must look and feel safe enough for residents
to walk about at night. An eerie parking space eats into the safety factor and
pulls down investment value.
4. Sunny
and luxurious elevators and lobby
If you feel afraid riding in an elevator, chances are you won’t
be keen to live there. That’s why elevators must be designed with care. While
some developers take on the standard design, a well-designed elevator with a
more expensive look, perhaps even a hotel design, will go a long way in giving
comfort to the resident. The elevator must be spacious so many can enter at a
go and it has to be well maintained.
A see-through elevator is preferable, as this means added
security, especially for the lone person riding it at night. There is no sense
of being alone as the outside can see inside. Even if the ride is long, the
resident is able to enjoy views rather than look at the steely walls of an old
lift.
The lobby in which the resident waits for the elevator is of
equal importance. If the lobby is dim and lonely in design, even a minute’s
wait feels like a long time. However, with a nice and bright lobby, residents
won’t have issues waiting even for five minutes.
5. Wide
and comfortable corridors
Dark corridors, narrow stretches and a lonely feel are no-nos.
Today’s condominium corridors must be wide, preferably with plenty of lighting
and ventilation. There musn’t be a dark and dank feel. Residents must be
comfortable walking through it whatever the time of day.
6. Practical
layout design
You may not notice it, but the best condominiums in town do not
stinge on land. Tower to tower distance must be at least 120 ft apart. Towers
which are too close give a feeling of high density and claustrophobia. It also
looks slightly more barrack-like and less prestigious. Look out also for the
air-conditioning compressor. A well thought-out condominium will keep unsightly
contraptions out of sight.
7. Practical
facilities and big open spaces
When a condominium development has big open spaces, value is
enhanced. Condominium land is typically small, and to enhance space, a basement
car park is a must. However, the cost of building a basement carpark is high
and often developers shy away from it.
“The footprint of the building versus the land should be about
30%,” says Goh. “The open spaces should be reserved for jogging and cycling
tracks. Open spaces are a contrast to the tall buildings and this gives far
more enjoyment to residents. If the footprint percentage is too high, it
becomes too dense and it’s hard for the resident to relax and enjoy.”
Look at the master floorplan of the whole development to gauge the
percentage.
8. Sufficient
parking ratio
The next time you go to a showroom or visit a property
exhibition, ask the salesperson how many parking bays the property has. There
must be enough parking space for the residents. Take the assumption that every
resident has two cars and do the math. If a condominium has 800 units – it must
have more than 1,600 parking bays as visitors have to be catered to as well.
Assuming it has 1,300 (and that is very likely) that’s not a good sign.
Residents are unaware that once parking availability is
inadequate, problems arise. A look around some existing condominiums is proof.
Residents will be forced to park outside – often far away, and jam up the
entrance. This equates to bad traffic and poorer security once the number of
residents increases.
9. Reasonable
maintenance fees and the promise of continuous good maintenance well into the
future
When most people buy a condominium, they often hope the number
of units is low and equally the maintenance fees. However, this is not the best
scenario.
“Maintenance fees are very important because maintaining a
condominium is very costly,” says Goh. “If the fees are too low and the number
of units is low, there won’t be sufficient funds to maintain the development. A
condominium which isn’t well-maintained clearly goes down in value. With low
maintenance fees, you need the economies-of-scale to back it up. I recommend
looking at a development with a minimum of 1000 units.”
10. Unit
must be semi-furnished upon vacant possession (VP)
When a resident moves in, he must be able to switch on the
lights and move in immediately. The developer should build a condominium where
the main fixtures like lighting, cabinetry and kitchen appliances are all
ready.
“For condominiums to sell today, they must be semi-furnished,”
says Goh. “From my research, a condominium takes about two to five years before
it becomes well-inhabited. This is too long and discouraging for those who want
to stay in a thriving development. Often the long process is caused by the
renovation works and looking for a designer and contractor. Busy people don’t
have the time, and that is why units remain vacant for a long time.”
It’s also common for people to exceed their renovation budget.
RM40,000 can become RM100,000 and the result is more stress. When the developer
takes away this headache by including the main fixtures, it benefits both
developer and resident greatly.
If a condominium is not semi-furnished, residents will have to
put up with renovation works by others every few months. Dusty, noisy and
unsafe.
When a condominium is semi-furnished, people move in faster and
a majority of renovation works are cut down.
Bring this checklist wherever you go and most likely you won’t
go wrong.
