Contributed by Canaan Building Inspection Sdn Bhd director Joshua Kang

Over the years, property prices have increased and a lot of first time home buyers are struggling to get their own house. However, putting a roof on one's head is not the only reason why people buy a house. There are also property investors who are buying properties to gain a quick profit or to rent it out to earn a consistent income as a landlord.

Even so, many people are unaware that shoddy craftsmanship or building defects can affect the rental income and the value of the property that they have purchased.

Case Study

A few years back, I had a client who bought two units of semi-detached houses at Johor Bahru for the price of RM500,000 each. Within two years after the completion of the house, the market value of the property was reaching RM800,000 each.

Despite its worthy purchase with excellent capital appreciation, my client had no intention to sell the property. Instead, he was planning to stay in one of the units while renting out the other one for additional income.

The plan turned sour when he took possession of the units. The condition and quality of the houses appalled him. Multiples cracks can be seen on the columns and walls. The painting on the wall was incomplete, and the wire conduits were exposed on the ceiling. There was a missing shower mixer inside the bathroom, not considering the mispositioned water cistern and many more quality issues that have changed and stalled his initial plans.

Several attempts have been made to sell off or to rent out one of the units, but that failed. As we can see, shoddy workmanship and quality issues have an immediate impact on the value of the property as well as in getting tenants.

Wrong Perception

Many property investors do not pay any attention to the quality and workmanship of the project but instead focuses on capital appreciation, the ease in getting the unit rented out such as the future surrounding developments, Feng Shui and public infrastructures.

In fact, there are only a few developers in town who will emphasise and highlight the quality and commitment in their workmanship during the project launch. They also use it as part of their selling points.

I heartily agree that all these factors play an essential role in pushing up the capital appreciation and the creation of rental demands for the property. But bear in mind that the quality and workmanship can also create an immediate and direct impact on the property when we first viewed them.

As of now, only a few developers are promoting and emphasising their product with excellent workmanship and quality commitment. I think this needs to change in the nearest future.

Conclusion

Today, many property developments in Malaysia are all packaging their projects with sophisticated design, usage of branded materials, convenient location and functional connectivity with public infrastructures. Therefore, quality has become one of the critical factors in defining and distinguishing between the good and best.

Homebuyers should get their property inspected and demand a good quality product, as it is an essential factor in ensuring capital appreciation and excellent rental income.

To Read More: Standard procedures during Vacant Possession of a new house 

To Read More: Ask Me Anything: How much does building inspection cost?

To Read More: Ask Me Anything: What are the extremely dangerous problems to rectify during building inspection?

To Read More: Performing a building defects inspection during vacant possession

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