Less well known developments : Engaging a civil engineer for 2nd opinion..
Hi guys, thanks for popping by this thread. Just wanna seek ur opinions on whether this is exaggerating..
The Nusajaya area is getting really popular among residential property developers and even some smaller players (not as big as UEMLand, Gamuda Land etc ) are also seeking a pie in this region. The past year alone, I've seen some of these smaller developers holding road shows at Bukit Indah Tesco and Sutera Mall. Ever since, I have visited some of these show houses (by smaller developers) and price ranges between RM250k+ to around RM600k+. Some of the units are smaller compared to the ones in HH, NI and other well-known major developments.
I'm not looking at major developments like HH and Nusa Duta as prices are hovering around the RM1million mark and is out of reach to me. Will most probably go for the lesser known developments by smaller developers. Am looking at houses ranging between RM500k to RM700k.
Other than visiting these show houses and finding out the prices, I even went took a look at the bricks and cement packaging nearby that is waiting to be used (I can't tell whether the quality is good or not but somehow I just worry). Over the next few days, I started to wonder about the quality of the building materials used by the smaller developers. Thought of various building defects starting to surface a few years after moving in.. and I even question myself if the roof will collapse on me at night etc..
Then this idea floated into my mind.. Was thinking of gathering a group of potential buyers in that development who are just as concern as me (or maybe I am the only neurotic one) and engage a civil engineer and do a site visit for a 2nd opinion. Probably also get advise on various aspects such as the quality and safety of the houses in this particular development.. given the quality of the building materials, what are the steps we need to take to keep it in good shape, eg: how often do we need to repaint the house, when is the recommended time to do a re-roofing or re-tiling etc.. is there anything we should take note of and carry out 10yrs, 20yrs or even 50yrs down the road, or maybe even demolish and re-built with better quality after a few decades.. is the foundation of the house properly built by the developer etc.
In the event we (the buyers) make the purchase and after collecting the keys, get the engineer to inspect the houses on our behalf for defects (maybe there are some defects which cannot be detected by the untrained eye) and whack the developer if there are any poor workmanship or failed promises based on the brochures and also to check & ensure that any remedial work is properly done. I'm hoping this will put the developers on their toes and send a signal to them that we have an expert here with us and they can forget about "smoking" us with lame excuses.
I'm not implying that every developer will play punk, but just wanna have a 2nd opinion from a trained person who can act on our self-interest so we can have a peace of mind. Just like why some people choose to visit another doctor for 2nd opinion.
Thereafter, for those who wish to carry out major renovations (hacking of walls, erecting of whatever structure you fancy etc), probably the engineer can also give recommendations on what type of good materials the contractor should use. The engineer will also ensure the renovation is properly done and also to detect any shoddy job. What seem like a job well done to lay people like us may not be normal to a trained civil engineer.
If there are any experienced Singaporean ( I trust NUS and other established universities) civil engineers who is out of a job, probably this can be a temporary respite from their jobless days.
What do you guys think of this idea? Is it extreme ?
