I am thinking of buying a new home but I am not sure whether to buy resale or new.
Seems like for the recent launches, the developers have bid very high for the land but after the cooling measures they are forced to give very big discounts
In order to maintain their profit margins, will they use inferior material and cut back on quality?
Look at the shoddy workmanship and the recent number of worksite accidents
Also with all the foreign worker cutbacks will corners be cut?
Can the developers and their subcontractors be trusted?
Are these real concerns or am I paranoid?
I think u are too stupid to buy a condo. (I assume that is what u are getting when u say "home'). Worksite accidents should have no correlation with the quality of the structure. For example, many workers died building the Golden gate bridge and the Empire state building. But both are outstanding structures and have been around for a very long time. Every developer has to use materials that meet the specs. of the building codes of the area they are building in, and of what the engineers and architect specify. The plans they submitted to the authorities are legally binding plans once approved. If the plans specify a certain diameter piping, made of a certain type of material, than they have to use it. They will get inspections at every phase of construction, and the work must be signed off by the inspector before the next step can be started. If they try to cut cost by using a cheaper non spec material, and they are caught, the cost to redo the work is prohibitive. In most buildings, the base structure and material used are the same. What defines a luxury condo (say something costing $3000/sq ft versus something costing $1000/sq ft) is in the interior finishings. Marble floors cost more than tiled floors. simple as that. And most people cannot tell an expensive floor tile from a cheap one, so whether u getting inferior interior material or not, its not always evident. If you want to know whether the developer is any good, get off your fat ass and do some research. See what other projects he has done. Talk to people who bought his other projects and find out if there are any complains from them. See if there are any CASE complains against him. See if he warranties his work. Finally, most developers do not know what their exact profit margins will be. They pro forma the hell out of it all the time, but when it takes several years from start to finish, the market can change during that time. The first 80% of the units sold is just cost recovery for the developer. he really makes his money from the last 10-20% sold. He can pre-sell everything, and lock in his revenue, but again, certain costs can rise during the construction. If MOM decides to raise the levy for workers during his construction, well, he will see his margin reduce. There are so many variables, u cannot simply say "maintain their profits". They would like to do it, but its almost impossible.
