A brochure is a sales document, and floor plans are where the real information sits. Before you attend a preview, it helps to read both with a short list of questions. Here is one, using Dunearn Green as the example, since its layouts and unit mix are still to be confirmed.
Efficiency is how much of the stated area you can actually use. Look for long corridors, awkward corners and bays that cannot take furniture. Place a sofa, a bed and a dining table on the plan mentally, using real dimensions, and check that doors can open without hitting each other. Two homes of the same size can feel very different once you do this. A simple test is to measure one bedroom and the living area on the plan and compare each against the furniture you already own. Then check where the plumbing risers and structural walls sit, because those limit how a space can be changed later.
Orientation affects afternoon heat, glare, wind and the view. The plan usually has a north arrow, and the site plan shows what stands in front of each stack. Ask which units face the main road, which face internal gardens, and where the shops and entrances sit. At Dunearn Green, a development of approximately 330 homes with ground-floor shops of up to approx. 1,400 sqm, it is worth asking how residential entrances are separated from the retail frontage, and which stacks sit closest to it.
Also look at where the lift lobbies are in relation to each home. A unit next to a lift core or refuse chute may feel different from one at the end of a corridor, even when the floor area is the same. Ask the sales team to mark known noise sources on the plan.
Brochures often give ceiling heights for the main rooms, the bathrooms and any bay or balcony. Compare like with like, and ask whether any beams or bulkheads drop lower. Read the note on specifications too: flooring, sanitary ware, appliances and window types may be described in general terms. Ask for the final specification list when it is issued, and keep a copy. Note any item marked optional or subject to change, and ask which of them the developer has already committed to. Where the brochure says 'approximate' or 'indicative', treat the figure as a starting point and ask for the final version.
Plenty. Artist's impressions are indicative. The unit mix at this 99-year leasehold project is yet to be confirmed, and the launch date has not been announced. Distances and timings are best tested on the ground: the location page puts Sixth Avenue MRT (DT7) at about 630 m, and a walk at rush hour will tell you more than a figure will. For anything about rules or eligibility, check with the relevant authority. Write down your answers for each unit type, so that you can compare homes side by side after a viewing instead of relying on memory.
When the floor plans arrive, bring your list to a preview. If you would like a second pair of eyes on a layout, get in touch with us before you decide on a unit, and we will go through it with you.
General information only, not financial or legal advice.