Preview to Booking Day
Preview Period (~2 Weeks)
During the preview period which usually stretches across 2 weekends, prospective buyers will visit the developer’s sales gallery at a pre-registered time slot to learn more about the project such as actual location, site layout etc.
There will also be at least one or multiple show units onsite to give buyer a sense of the final product such as the flooring, cabinetry and even appliances provided by the developer.
At this point, the units are not for sale and the actual prices are not available as well. Any circulated pricing are likely based on a mark-up from the land cost.
However, developers will usually provide ‘indicative’ prices of the units (which are usually not too far off from the launch pricing).
The preview appointment usually last an hour or so and by the end of the appointment, buyer could submit their interest by filling up the Expression of Interest (EOI) form, together with a blank cheque issued to the developer’s project account.
The blank cheque is meant to be the 5% booking fee on the property (if you wish to proceed with the purchase) so when the prices are released, the amount will be inserted accordingly.
The purpose of submitting the EOI is that you will be able to participate in the ballot system on the day of the launch.
You, along with the other people who have registered their interest beforehand, will be invited to book a unit in the development in the order of when your ballot number is called.
Note that submitting the EOI form and cheque won’t obligate you to go through with the purchase; it will be returned to you, without penalty, if you decide not to proceed.
Balloting Process
The balloting process will be carried out by the developer in the presence of the appointed marketing agencies e.g. PropNex and sometimes, live telecast via Facebook/YouTube so buyers could watch in excitement to see if their number is among the first few to be called.
Depending on the number of EOIs collected, this could take up to a few hours and buyer will be notified of their queue number and also the date/time to show up on the booking day.
Bulk Purchase
Multiple-unit purchaser will have priority over a single-unit purchaser which means even if their queue number is less ideal, they are able to do the booking a day (or an hour) ahead of the launch day.
The definition of bulk purchase could vary among developers so if you are planning to buy with another family member (immediate or even distant cousin), it will be good to clarify early.
Unit Selection
Even though we could have identified the preferred layout/stack/levels etc well ahead, depending on the queue no, there might be a need to do a short meetup/zoom to re-strategise the unit choices to maximise the odds of getting your preferred choice.
Booking Day
The most exciting part of the entire process has to be the Booking Day itself.
You will be given the booking location and also the date/time to show up. Expect a mildly chaotic scene where as units are flying off the shelves.
You will also be able to request for the prices of the shortlisted units (assuming they are available) and hopefully not too far off your expectation.
If all goes well, you will follow the queue and proceed to book the unit. Once the booking is confirmed with the developer, you have secured the unit at the given price and developer will not be able to sell to another buyer.
The final step is to make payment for the 5% booking fee, sign off the rest of the documentation and proceed with your celebration.