With bated breath...

We've been seriously house-hunting for more than a month now. I don't know if that's a normal time frame but people around us seem to think we're taking too long and viewing too many to make decisions easy. My mom is too tired to continue flat-viewing with us anymore (she zonks out by the time we get home), my dad is trying to figure out what we want and strategising all the time, and the agent - well... I can't fathom it an easy job being our agent.

EVERY time we have wanted to place a deposit on an apartment we could finally decide on, our agent rings back to tell us we're "too late - it's been sold". And I'm not even talking about us taking 2 or 3 days to think about it, more like hours. The last one we liked we lingered around until 5pm while the last group of viewers strolled in. We deliberated over dinner and by the time we called at 8pm to place an offer, we were informed that the apartment had been sold at 6pm.

So now we are in the thick of things and trying to get on track with the speed of real estate transactions, which is hard given how risk averse we are as first-time buyers. Still, it's really been quite a learning experience so far (kudos to my dad to whom I just realised I owe my neurotic disposition) in dealing with the frenzied property market. After all that we've seen, here's what we've gathered to date about

Housing...
1) Location is everything i.e. transport and amenities
2) Corner units, point blocks are da shit in property listings
3) Good prospects of a future sale (see point 1 and 2 )
4) Large area essential (in case future sale never happens)
5) Peaceful environment is ideal (lifestyle issue rather than priority)

Apartments...
1) Walk-ups are a no-no if living there long-term (think furniture shopping, baby prams, injuries, old age)
2) North-South units in high demand (gets most wind, least direct sun)
3) Unblocked flats are the most private
4) If blocked, consider where windows look into
5) Option to have windows opened is important - as daddy says, "Are you sure you want to bring up kids in air-conditioning all the time?"
6) How loud the MRT passing by the window every three minutes is
7) Don't forget location of rubbish shutes (the one for each unit and the huge ones for collection)
8) Apartment viewing both in the day and the night before deciding
9) Neighbours - well we've seen quite a few with " O$P$" scrawled on walls...

Negotiation...
1) Bargaining power is IT
2) Information is bargaining power
3) Holding onto information is strategic power
4) Timing is strategic key

Agendas...
1) Seller (conditions of sale - illegal/ legal/ contra)
2) Seller's agent (based on commission or lack thereof)
3) Buyer (see Housing/ Apartment aforementioned)
4) Buyer's agent (based on co-broke option/ commission or lack thereof)
5) Other buyers

Of course, to top everything off, price is the be all and the end all of discussion - affordability before commitment. The toughie is what to compromise to get a good deal in hard times like these? How do people juggle ALL these considerations in a blink of an eye and a flick of a cheque book?

Well, we couldn't so it took us 3 viewings, 2 agents, and a night of pondering before finally making an offer for an E.A in Pasir Ris (yep, we like this area).

And now we wait.