Key Singapore Property Buying Mistakes You Will Need to Avoid
If you have your eyes set on a piece of property in Singapore, you are hardly alone. A lot of foreign buyers from all four corners of the world have a particular soft spot for property in the lion city.
It is easy to see why. Singapore, a first world nation with matching first-world living standards, has one of the lowest tax rates in the world among the developed countries. This rationale is a big deal.
If you are a job creator, and not necessarily a job seeker, you would take this very seriously. Unfortunately, a lot of high-end countries with very high standards of living also have matching high tax rates.
As you can well imagine that there is a tremendous amount of demand for tax havens. Besides, Singapore is at the hub, both geographically and financially, of Southeast Asia.
Indeed, you only need to spend a couple of hours on a plane, and you will find yourself in Australia, China, Southeast Asia, and add a few more hours, and you will find yourself in India as well as Japan and Korea.
These advantages stand out. It's no surprise that there are so many foreign and local buyers for real estate in Singapore. With that said, given the high demand and interest, it is no surprise that a lot of property buyers in this market make a lot of mistakes.
These mistakes are quite common. Unfortunately, if you were to commit these mistakes, you probably would end up paying more money than you need to.
You just got so excited and so pumped up about owning a piece of real estate in this part of the world that you temporarily take leave of your senses, and you wake up to the sobering reality that you shelled out a lot more cash than you needed to.
Keep the following common property buying mistakes in Singapore in mind, so you don't commit them.
Don't let your emotions get the better of you
This is easier said than done. It is. Why? When you look at the property valuation charts for individual districts in Singapore, it's as if you are looking at a no-lose proposition.
Imagine playing a game where there is a guarantee that you will walk away with more money than when you started. Of course, you'd get excited. Who wouldn't?
A lot of people get thrilled about the positive real estate trends in Singapore that it shows no signs of slowing down over an extended period. Sure, there are temporary drops and dips, but when you look at the big picture, and we're talking about a 20-year timeline, it's a sure win.
It's like shooting fish in a barrel. Given that impression, people just let their emotions get the better of them, and they make emotional buying decisions—bad mistake.
Never let your impulses get the better of you because you will, at least in the short term, pay more money than you need to.
There's a lot of frenzied vying for supposedly hot properties when a little bit of research will tell you that there are related or nearby properties that you can snap up at a relative bargain.
The tendency to look for free advice
There's nothing wrong with free advice in and of itself, but you have to understand that free consultation can only take you so far. As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for."
The bottom line is if you are looking to buy the very best property and you want the ins and outs of the process, you don't have to pay extra fees in terms of hidden costs and ongoing costs. You just need professional advice.
Unfortunately, if you are a cheapskate, you have to come to terms with the fact that you're going to have to pay for that advice. Why? That advice is specific to your set of circumstances and nobody else.
You're looking to pick somebody's brains, who will customize the information so that it makes sense to you and gets you the outcome that you're looking for. That information is not free, because it takes a lot of work to get that information and verify the data.
If you want to buy a new house, you may ask around which is better - new launch or resale condo? You will get different opinions from different people.
The good news is that the savings that you get to enjoy, pay for or make up for the amount of money you shelled out for that paid advice.
Buying because of a herd mentality
Have you ever come across a restaurant that has no people in it? I know I have. Let me tell you, that my first instinct is to keep on walking. That's right. I walk past it.
When I think back on it later, I assumed that the reason why no one is inside the restaurant and enjoying their meals is that somehow someway, the food must not be all that good, so I kept walking.
The opposite is also true. If you see a restaurant with a long line at the front, that snakes through the corner, then there's something in you telling you that you should also fall in line. If the restaurant serves a cuisine that you like, all the more that you might feel tempted to join the line.
This is human nature. You're not going along to get along. Instead, you are intrigued by the fact that the food may be so tempting that people couldn’t help but queue up. Why would people in their right minds line up without a good enough reason? Do you see how this works?
This dynamic play out in Singapore. A lot of entirely high condo towers don't get much love from the market because they don't know how to promote themselves.
However, in terms of amenities, physical structure, and all the essential selection criteria that you usually apply to condominium buildings in Singapore, they are perfectly equal or almost the same as a nearby condominium tower that has a long waiting list.
In Singapore, people always tend to say freehold is better without truly knowing why or is it really always correct? Do you own research to compare freehold property and leasehold, you will derive your own understanding and answers.
The herd mentality can work against you because when people line up for a property, you can bet that its price goes up more than it needs to. Keep the mistakes above in mind if you are in any way, shape, or form thinking of buying in Singapore.
Whether you're buying a small property or a large one, it doesn't matter. By avoiding the mistakes above, you can hang on to every hard-earned dollar you have in your pocket.
