Four Real Estate Traps To Watch Out

Buying a property for the first time is a whole new experience. It can be the first time you deal with a lawyer; the first time you apply for a mortgage loan; the first time you engage a property agent as a buyer; or the first time to make an offer to buy something that involves more money than you have ever given thought to.

No doubt that the decision of purchasing a property is exciting. It is a result of much thought on the budget, location, as well as the investment purpose and goal. However, are you a hundred percent sure that it is the right decision? How sure are you that you are not falling into any marketing traps while making the purchase decision? Here are the checklists of a few most common real estate purchasing traps to watch out for:

1. Freebies and gifts

Developers often offer gifts such as kitchen cabinets and wardrobes to sweeten the deal, but do you need all of that? In many cases, homebuyers have to dismantle the free furnishing at their own cost because it is not their liking. If you do not need the freebies, then do not fall into the trap of signing the Sales and Purchase Agreement simply because the deal seems to be more valuable with gifts, you may end up spending more money than saving.

2. The hidden costs

Do not be too happy when you see “zero down payment” in the flyer of some new projects launching because it does not mean the initial cost will be zero. In fact, besides the down payment, there are more initial costs of purchasing property to be taken care of, such as the booking fees, stamp duty fees, lawyer fees, bank or mortgage application fees, etc.

3. Misleading advertisement

Don’t be fooled by the beautiful rendering on the brochure because you may miss out on the small note indicating that the images are for illusion purposes only. Therefore, always check with the sales representative on what exactly you will be getting, as well as make the effort to visit the show unit and sales gallery. If it is possible, tour around the neighborhood to make sure if the amenities and infrastructures promoted by the developer in the advertisement are real.

4. The “urgency” trap

You will never miss out on the unit availability display board in the sales gallery, which is often put in the most obvious spot. While the purpose of the board is to allow buyers to choose their desired unit at a glance, it is also a marketing technique to create urgency among the visitors to pick a unit as soon as possible before the choices become lesser. However, most of the time, some high-demand units will be released back to the market later due to loan rejection or change of mind.