Is recent housing construction safe? Can developers be trusted?

[SadPlumpGal]

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?

 

[eatshitndie]

best for you to camp out at a construction site and watch the work every working day from 6am to 6pm. as a bonus, they may give you the "hooter's" call. and if you get lucky, you may get invited to their dorm.

 

[looneytan]

if you get lucky, you may get invited to their dorm.

the dorm is rather cram, they would prefer SadThinGal

 

[kaipoh]

Caveat Emptor!

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?

 

[laksaboy]

Newly married couples whom I know bought new flats and complained of many defects.

I doubt such a thing happened with flats made in the late 1970s. This was before HDB started outsourcing the construction to third-party contractors.

 

[sethdemitri]

Newly married couples whom I know bought new flats and complained of many defects.

I doubt such a thing happened with flats made in the late 1970s. This was before HDB started outsourcing the construction to third-party contractors.

Time change..now all these developers just want to maximize their profit margin.

 

[laksaboy]

Time change..now all these developers just want to maximize their profit margin.

I think it's worse than that. There are more than one contractors for a HDB project and there is no consistency or quality control.

For example, one contractor does the windows, another does the tiles, yet another does the wall and ceiling, and another does the electrical wiring.

 

[peppertail]

Newly married couples whom I know bought new flats and complained of many defects.

I doubt such a thing happened with flats made in the late 1970s. This was before HDB started outsourcing the construction to third-party contractors.

That is because people in the 70's had bigger issues than a couple of scratched tiles. There was no such complain culture back then.

 

[laksaboy]

That is because people in the 70's had bigger issues than a couple of scratched tiles. There was no such complain culture back then.

Trust me, it is more than just a case of some scratched tiles. I suspect back in those days, the govt had not yet been given over to greed and took the quality of public housing much more seriously.

 

[wendychan]

TS
No and no

 

[Hans168]

NEVER trust developers of houses esp landed....... these crooks will shortchange you by giving you amembrane which deteriorates after 5 years; copper tubing for water supply which spring leak (expensive defect) and termite infestation becos it failed to treat soil before erection of building......... & you cannot claim from them as most of these problems surface after the one year defect gurantee period. That is why many developers cum contractors like Tong Tien See made money on the back of home buyers' misery.........may they be cursed forever!

 

[TracyTan866]

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?

Valid concern! With the recent widespread use of tempered glass for condos, is BCA negligent in the long run? Can the tempered glass last fifty or more years with the tropical heat and torsion and twist that come with nearby earthquakes and temors from indonesia?

i wont buy the new condos with 80% glass walls

 

[wendychan]

when developers are interviewed in the press they appear as angels or almost usually have a rags to riches to story..... ok but ultimately so what.... a developer is only as good as what he builds and what he builds depends on the human labour and quality control he uses... and whther he wants to save more money for himself by cutting corners...



i believe one developer even come across as a nice catholic boy in recent interview in the edge.... so bloody FOOking what...

 

[peppertail]

Why would you listen to developers sales pitch anyway??? Go view the house and buy if you like it. If you don't like it, don't buy it. And hell no, don't buy what is not yet built! Stupid, stupid, stupid...

 

[The Penetrator]

I hear from my agent friend the quality is very bad nowdays because they rush to complete new project . There have many deflects and handover can be three hours long now !

 

[looneytan]

There have many deflects and handover can be three hours long now !

consider hangover is much shorter

 

[tonychat]

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?

let me guess, you are buying a home in sinkieland..that's why!!!

 

[Papsmearer]

NEVER trust developers of houses esp landed....... these crooks will shortchange you by giving you amembrane which deteriorates after 5 years; copper tubing for water supply which spring leak (expensive defect) and termite infestation becos it failed to treat soil before erection of building......... & you cannot claim from them as most of these problems surface after the one year defect gurantee period. That is why many developers cum contractors like Tong Tien See made money on the back of home buyers' misery.........may they be cursed forever!

Many landed home buyers are also stupid despite their evident wealth. You look at so many semi-Ds, one side (the newer side) is taller than the old side. where got such shit in other countries? Originally, the semi-D might was build as a one level bungalow style side by side, than one owner will demolish his side and build a 2 storey new unit. But actually, both semi-Ds share a common wall and a common foundation, and a common roof. Now, one side's foundation is demolished to put in a new one to withstand the higher loads of the 2 storey, this inherently weakens the orginal single storey side. Same for the roof, which was designed as one piece, now, you have a roof line the is taller than the other side. Again, it cannot afford the same level of protection. Many of these new semi-Ds are leaking at the roof. URA should have never allowed this, and the contractors should have pointed these issues out too. Either both sides of the semi-D agree to demolish both their units and build a new one, or no side can build by themselves. So, u cannot say the developers are crooks, the authorities never do the inspection properly, and the home owners themselves have to take the blame. Its the same for old single storey bungalows too. Most of them just add another storey to it, instead of doing it right, which was to demolish the whole building. U can add a second storey, but u have to really know what u are doing, and its beyond the scope of many contractors. These kinds of things u mention like a substandard membrane should have been caught during the inspection. In my opinion, everyone is to blame.

 

[Papsmearer]

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.

 

[Debonerman]

People staring at the cracked open ceilings of their flats built in the Teh Chean Wan era and seeing more sand than cement in the harden mixture knows the Ali Babaing of yesteryears can only sigh and put the cross on the PAP box of their voting slips.