Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh paint in a new house? If you’re lucky to skip past the resale condo and settle into a gleaming condo development, there’s plenty to look out for, even if it’s a brand-new property purchase. Whether your private property is for you to live in, or if you’re looking to earn some rental income, here’s a guide to what to do after your condo TOP for all the fresh condo buyers out there.

After all, all residential properties are not built from the same concrete, and one condo developer is not like the other. With this handy guide, you can focus better on the intricacies of moving to a new home.

1. Defects inspection

Upon delivery of vacant possession of your condo unit, check the duration of your Defects Liability Period (DLP) and report any defects found in your condo and have the developer rectify them. Even brand-new luxury condos can sometimes have defects, be it a door that isn’t installed properly, or a toilet that won’t flush. Plus, if you’re not aware, there will be increased costs over time as the defects become more difficult to rectify. By then, the condo association or the condo developer won’t be liable for it.

Bring along a family member or friend (preferably someone detailed oriented) to check your property for defects. Hopefully, they can cover the spots that you may have missed. It’s easy if you’re just inspecting a condo studio unit, but it’s a completely different story when you’re combing through an entire 3-room condo.

Here’s a checklist you can use when conducting checks in each room:

Flooring

• Check for unevenness, cracks and stains on the flooring
• For bathrooms, the flooring should slant slightly towards the drainage.
• Use a pointer to tap the floor and listen for any hollow sounds
• Ensure that floor skirting is consistent with no cracks

Tip: Bring along some marbles and place them at different areas of the flooring to test for evenness, and if the marbles are rolling in the right direction in the bathroom.

Walls and ceiling

• Look out for any hairline cracks, blistering or stains
• Check that the surfaces are not rough or patchy
• Check for straightness of the corners

Doors

• Ensure that the door and its frame are evenly aligned
• Doors should have consistent joints
• Try to lock and unlock the door to check that the lock is working smoothly
• Check that the door security system is working
• Look for dents and scratches on the door

Windows

• Open and close each window a few times to make sure that it moves smoothly and that the hinges are working
• Look for dents, scratches and rust on the glass and window frames
• Check if the locks are working well

Electrical fittings

• Ensure that there are no gaps between the switches and the wall
• Check to make sure that there are no exposed wirings or any loose mechanism
• Check that all power points are working as expected

Fittings

• If your apartment comes with a clothes drying rack, check that the parts are not rusty and are functional
• Check that all bathroom fittings (e.g. sink, taps, toilet bowls, showerhead) are fitted properly and does not come with any scratches or rust
• Check that the flush system is working

**Pro-tip: Bet you didn’t think of this when you bought your 1st property. Bring along a Post-it pad and pen to indicate the defective areas. A measuring tape would also come in handy if you would like to take some measurements to plan your furnishing.

2. Furnishing your apartment

Have your apartment as ready-to-move-into as possible. If you’re planning your shopping list, ensure that you’ve covered these essentials:

• Washing machine
• Dryer (or a drying rack)
• Refrigerator
• Beddings
• Sofa
• Television
• Dining table and chairs
• Curtains
• Air-conditioner (May have already been installed in the property; do check with the condo management on the free servicing period)

Alternatively, speak to our Asset Management team and have them take care of the furnishing and rental of your property.

3. Lease your apartment

A worthy investment should allow you to grow your wealth with minimal hassle. So here’s when you have to find the right party to work with.

Apart from rental rates, these are top 3 criteria you should look out for when getting someone to manage your leasing needs:

• Wide tenant network – Observe the quantity and quality of potential tenants viewing your unit. You’d want options, and a good leasing partner should possess the resources to provide you with tenants that fit your preferred profile
• Reliability – For a start, responsiveness and punctuality is a good gauge of a responsible agent. Next, look into the person or company’s leasing history and ask for reviews of their service.
• Support services – Sometimes, things go wrong. Damages may occur in your property during the rental period or the tenant may decide to paint your wall a different colour without your permission. Your leasing partner should provide support for any furnishing, maintenance and repair issues, as well as rectify any unacceptable treatment of the property. You should not be disturbed unnecessarily.

You may choose to work with a property agent, a leasing partner like MetroResidences, or both, to manage and minimise your rental gap!

4. Review tenancy agreement and inventory list

Review the tenancy agreement and inventory list Now that you’ve found the right tenant, you will sign the letter of intent and review all clauses in the tenancy agreement.

Create an inventory list of the items in your property and have both agent and tenant review the list and sign off, to confirm that the items listed are handed over in good condition before you hand over your keys to the tenant.

Planning on leasing your apartment with us? You can leave the inventory checks and tenant briefing to our team.   

5) Payments

If you’re working with a property agent, don’t forget to set aside his/her’s commission once you’ve collected the first months rental.

As our team handles all tenant communication, we’ll collect the rental payment, which includes our management fee, and deposits from the tenants.

Call us at 6513 0030 (ext 3) drop an email to [email protected] to find out more about renting your property and making the most out of this investment.

About MetroResidences

About MetroResidences MetroResidences is an apartment booking platform that curates properties to match every corporate traveller’s living needs. Each apartment is managed and furnished to fit the standards of modern living. We remove the hassle of leasing and booking corporate apartments; connecting people to homes by providing a variety of options while building a community of trusted owners and tenants.