This story was submitted by Daniel Hii Jun Chung
My first home was a second hand unit. It was very colourful so I thought I was about to consider buying a childcare centre. Every room and practically every wall had a different colour scheme. I asked the owner why it was so and she told me she loves colourful environments. It took the painters a great deal to neutralize the walls back to its original colour.
The owner was always away during the daytime so I had to view the home at nights. This was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. At night, any stains, be it water marks or uneven paint colouring and wall tiles expansion are very hard to notice. Furthermore, with artificial lighting, there are shadows everywhere so many imperfections were hidden.
Therefore, I truly believe that you should only inspect the homes during the daytime when sufficient natural lighting is available. The best timing is around 3pm to 4pm on a clear day when the sun angle can penetrate deepest into the home where it will not be too dark.
Apart from knowing your tolerance during the hottest period of the day (around 2pm to 3pm when the temperature is highest), you can see the things indoor clearly. Check also from outdoors how much your surroundings can shade you, either from trees or neighbouring blocks.
I also feel that you have to be as thick skinned as possible to flip the entire unit upside down if furnishing is included in the deal. My biggest regret was not to check the furniture and electrical appliances in detail when the owner was around. They may tell you that you are free to check the entire house but you will feel reluctant to open up people’s wardrobe, drawers and view under the bed.
I ended up having a wardrobe with uneven doors while sliding, a king sized bed with a broken leg, a washing machine that was very stained in the interior and many defects for the given items. I ended up giving away for recycling about 90% of the items.
Check every light, switch, socket, wiring, furniture and appliances included in the home. Check the tap condition, water supply, outlets, basins, toilet bowls and piping for any trace of leaking or water retention. Open the windows and doors to check whether the connections are fine. A few of my windows had very stained glass, were so tough to open and had broken handles that I needed to replace them afterwards.
Finally, check the outdoor facilities if applicable whether they are in good condition. For example, the gym had almost 50% of its equipment not working. If I knew there were so many negative aspects earlier, I could have bargained for a better price to justify the true value because of the defects.
I believe we need to be more observant when we view homes to purchase, including new developments. Write down every single detail you can pick up before keys are given to you. This is to protect yourself as you are going to live there everyday.
Do you have a story to share with us on how you chose your first home? Share it with us and stand a chance to win RM10,000!
