Flat Inspection Before Completion Date

[emobebe 1]

According to Option To Purchase, Clause 19, Delivery of possession.

19.1 States that the flat is to be sold with vacant possession on completion. (if buyer is unable to confirm vacant possession then this clause is violated).

19.2 States that Seller must allow the Buyer to conduct a final inspection of the Flat on or before the Completion Date. (If this is also not carried out, then the seller have violated this clause too)

Therefore I think the buyer should still inspect to confirm vacant possession unless prior agreement to keep some of the furniture.

So for this clause, we have to make sure that the seller really vacant everything. If their things still there, what should we do? Any advise?

[skyvers 0]

So for this clause, we have to make sure that the seller really vacant everything. If their things still there, what should we do? Any advise?

For my case, my lawyer advise me to hold back some money for the removal of items remaining in the flat in the case where we are unable to do an inspection. So what I did was to list down the possible items still in the house ( based on the last time I viewed the flat) i.e dining table, sofa beds. Town council provides free removal of bulky items ( up to 3 pcs per mth). Officially any additional items will be chargeable at $25/pc. So i listed down 11 items and then subtract the 3 items and my lawyer wrote a letter to the sellers' lawyer to hold $200 ( 8pcsX$25) back in the payment because we are unable to do the final inspection. However there is no guarantee that the sellers will agree to this request but my lawyer say we can hold the payment of the outstanding property tax ( in my case, $90) at the very least. Later on my contractor friend told me that actually when the workers are there to remove the bulky furniture, we can actually pay that extra $20-30 and they will clear everything for you. Luckily after the letter was faxed over, the sellers'agent panicked and quickly arrange for the inspection so that completion can go on.

Another option that have come across my mind was to get my agent to do the inspection for us and if when we get the keys, the flat is not vacant, my agent must be responsible to remove all items inside. This is because my agent was also at fault for failure to inform me that he couldn't contact the seller's agent the day before the final inspection. He assumed that the inspection will still go through.

Anyway postponement of completion date should really be the last resort. It is a lose-lose situation for buyer. You get your flat later and might incurred admin charges for reissue of cashier order too.

[wj221 0]

Hi All, I am new to this forum....

recently we exercised our OTP for a 4 rooms flat in Tampines. During first viewing, we noticed there are quite serious painting peeling at the kitchen's ceiling, we thought its only peeling, nth serious, so we paid deposit 1k on that night.

After few days, we requested a 2nd viewing together with a contractor, he told us the peeling may due to the leaking for the unit above us, but the owner insist no water leakage although we noticed some water stain.

So we actually quite indecisive to proceed with the purchase, but our agent keep on saying he checked with hdb and this is not a big issue, etc...Our agent even offered us to pay $250 for the repair cost because the owner refuse to pay for the repair cost for this issue. Tomorrow our agent will go to HDB to report this issue and owner agreed to coordinate with hdb to perform the repair job.

The question is: If the leakage is serious and its from unit above us, who should bear the cost? The bad part is we signed an agreement with the owner saying that we will bear the repair cost =(

[whisper 0]

I am a buyer of resale flat too. I got the following info from the correspondences between HDB and my seller when there was toilet leakage problem happened and repaired during the period of OTP to second appointment.

If later the leakage really happen and cause by upstair unit, you may report to HDB branch office. They will send an officer for inspection at both units. If repair work is required, HDB will assign a contractor to perform the work. You will be informed in writing on which day the work will be executed, and the contractor's contact.

Payment wise, HDB 50%; upstair unit 25%; downstair unit 25%.

Hope it helps you. One thing to take note is I am not sure whether this is a by default payment method, or you have to go through some channels to apply for it.

[forgotten 1]

I am a buyer of resale flat too. I got the following info from the correspondences between HDB and my seller when there was toilet leakage problem happened and repaired during the period of OTP to second appointment.

If later the leakage really happen and cause by upstair unit, you may report to HDB branch office. They will send an officer for inspection at both units. If repair work is required, HDB will assign a contractor to perform the work. You will be informed in writing on which day the work will be executed, and the contractor's contact.

Payment wise, HDB 50%; upstair unit 25%; downstair unit 25%.

Hope it helps you. One thing to take note is I am not sure whether this is a by default payment method, or you have to go through some channels to apply for it.

My inlaws' upstairs neighbour unit leaked onto their unit years ago.

Yes. Their payment wise was also : HDB 50%; upstair unit 25%; downstair unit 25%. My inlaws paid $100+.

[whitewalls 0]

My inlaws' upstairs neighbour unit leaked onto their unit years ago.

Yes. Their payment wise was also : HDB 50%; upstair unit 25%; downstair unit 25%. My inlaws paid $100+.

hi all,

read the subject heading and i decided to share my opinion here: it is best to make it a point to do an empty flat inspection before the 2nd appt.

i will (officially) be getting my keys today, in abt 1.5 hrs. yay! however, i have already received my keys from my seller agent yesterday, in the presence of my seller. still, i will be passing the keys back to the seller agent/ hdb officer (not sure who) later. they will help me with some follow-ups and i am sure they will keep me updated.

my house inspection was yesterday - day before 2nd appt. the inspection was pleasant. it was not rushed. one of the bits in our conversations was my question on ceiling leakage. the reply was that that had happened but it had been fixed and the seller had not much issues there. the key was passed to me and then it was 'thank yous' and 'byes'.

after the 'byes', i went up to the flat to do my look-see and to imagine how my reno plans would work. looking up at the ceiling of the kitchen, i noticed cracks. it looked like a part of it was going to fall. a chair and a pole (both left behind) allowed a closer inspection and when i put my hand on the 'piece', it (size: stretch out the fingers of both your hands, place the thumbs side by side. about that size if your hand size is average) came off the ceiling. i brought it down and laid it on the floor. on the ceiling, i could see the metal bars (i think these are used to reinforce the structure?). imprints of the metal bars (rusted bits) are on the piece on the floor. i took photos, called my agent and whatsapp the photos to my agent.

after that, more looking around and i found a long (80cm) hairline crack on the wall in one of the rooms. photo taken. there are parts of the ceiling in the another room that appears to be 'swollen'. the door of the rubbish chute was missing a side and cannot be closed tightly. hmmm.

well... i will see how later.

wish me luck.

Edited December 19, 2011 by whitewalls

[homvir 0]

Hi

Am new to this forum.. just curious.. Did you check that there are no water stain at your toilets ceiling? Cos i am a new hdb flat owner and i checked my toilet ceiling near the piping and notice water stain.. HDB came and inform me that since I have reported before moving in I am not required to pay for the repair jobs.. If not, then i would be liable to pay 25% of the repair cost although it is the top unit having leakage..

How to report this to HDB?

im a buyer and found water seepage at kitchen area during the inspection, but not very big patch

how will the seller pay the costs? Means we gotta fix it together with the upstairs unit, then send the bill to previous owner?

[spikedoll 2]

Funny leh.. How come I don't have any inspection of my new flat before completion? Or it's upon buyer's request? I did notice a crack line on the wall when we requested from the seller for us to go up do some measurement with ID. I'm collecting keys tomorrow!

[May_dream1 14]

Funny leh.. How come I don't have any inspection of my new flat before completion? Or it's upon buyer's request? I did notice a crack line on the wall when we requested from the seller for us to go up do some measurement with ID. I'm collecting keys tomorrow!

I can't really remember but buyer must have inspection of the flat before completion as after that, buyer cannot complain abt the flat to hdb. It's sold as you see it.... So anything not ok, before completion must say.

[djonk 0]

Hi. Is the final inspection compulsory?

I bought a vacant unit from JTC.

I have already inspect the place thoroughly during my first viewing and already sign some papers with JTC.

Do i need to do this inspection again? Can i ignore this step and still go for the 2nd appointment and complete the transaction?