5 things that home buyers get wrong about property amenities

If you go by the property leaflets, all kinds of amenities are available in each house in Singapore. The promotional materials would describe the most depressing hut on Pulau Ubin as something that has every facility required to build a neighborhood on Mars. Don’t give ears to such noise. Here is a guide to find how whether the amenity is real or juts a marketing propaganda.

 

Your amenity is waste of space for other person

The real estate representatives talk about property amenities in a way that they have objective value, however, in truth the word “amenity” is very vague. Your amenity can be a waste of space for other person. Lets exemplify. For adog owners, a dog park is a good amenity, however, for someone who does not own a dog or is allergic to dog, dog park is a waste of space.

Most of the first time home owners do not ponder on whether the said amenities benefit them or not. Because of the misunderstanding, these people get many things wrong, for example: A nearby shopping centre is a positive sign. Let’s analyze the value of shopping center, for your convenience, whether you might be a first time investor looking to rent the property or first-time home owner.

If there is a shopping centre, or a super market, which provides various low cost essentials it’s a divine gift. When we say shopping center, we are referring to a shopping mall of at least four stories where there is a cinema, Din Tai Fung, McDonald’s of Chinese food, and retail shops. For some people, this is a nuisance because they want a quite place and the commotion in the shopping center may get on their nerves. A conducive place for your family to grow and develop can be at City Suites.

For those who love quietness, shopping centre, a small strip mall, or a marketplace with an antique store, ice-cream parlours, florist shops etc may worth nothing. These are not amenities for these people.
Never think a mall as amenity unless you visit the place once a day.

 

The nearby eateries are property amenities

In case you are experiencing financial problems or trying to save money just because you are raising your first child, dealing with psychiatric prescription, or trying to handle the, you won’t squander money on food. You will always have $2.50 chicken rice in a road side eatery instead of $35 meal in a café. Furthermore, for those who are allergic to certain food, they will avoid trying various dishes in the eateries.

If you are trying to cut expenses on food, or love cooking food in home, or are allergic to certain food, eateries are no more amenities. If the promotional materials say eateries as the main amenities, think about it.

 

The nearby MRT stations are a huge deal

In the early times, for example back in 1955, if there was a bus stop in your block, it was a wonderful facility, However, these days people do not care about this thing just because there are bus stops everywhere. Same is the fate of MRT stations. Therefore, you should keep that in mind whether a train station will be a capital gain in 15 years interlude.

Apart from this, for some people MRT stations may not have much importance because they don’t use it much. If you use your own car, paying extra just because the property is neat MRT stations is just a burden. Likewise, if you use your own car and there is already a station, you will have to think about the noise pollution.

Park connectors, bicycle tracks, and nature walks as amenities
It is interesting to note that developers as well as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) both nurtures the same idea, people love nature and they enjoy long walks in the humid tropical climate, along the mosquito infested trees.

More power to you in case you enjoy walking in the heat or in the areas where swarms of mosquitoes hide. Nature walks and parks are the part of the amenities provided by your developer; therefore, enjoy the mosquitoes as well.

If you don’t like outdoor activities such as cycling, walking, then you will have to reconsider about these amenities. It is true that many people want greenery around. However, paying extra just because of little greenery, may not be a good idea for some of you. Maybe you are a person who likes more parking spaces instead of greenery. For many people, concrete developments are cheaper than the property with landscaped parks, and yet not any discomfort.

Last but not the least. If there is a big garden, it require a lot of gardeners, which will cost more money for the residents. The surrounding view is permanent. So you bought a condo near coastal area that offers a sea view. Do you think this wonderful view will last forever? Perhaps your fate will be similar to the condo owners at Bayshore Park. The residents’ sea view was stopped once the developments intensified in the area. Instead of sea, all residents could see was another condo.

Therefore, it is really hard to say how long the surrounding view will last. You paid extra for a great view, but your extra payment will go waste when there are new developments in 10-15 years. The charm of great view will die sooner or later.

When you’re buying a house for your family, always think about important things such as good neighbors, good management councils, accessibility of the house etc. Don’t go with the so called amenities.