How to Inspect a Building Before You Buy the Apartment
A practical site-visit checklist: structure, insulation, services, communal areas and the questions that reveal build quality.
Look at the parts nobody photographs
The plant room, the lift motor, the electrical panel, the underground parking drainage, the roof insulation and the waterproofing detail at the parapet. These decide the building's next twenty years and they cost nothing to show a buyer who asks.
Questions that get real answers
Who is the structural engineer, and what other buildings have they signed? What insulation thickness is on the external walls? Which glazing system is specified and what is its U-value? Who maintains the lifts, and under what contract? Vague answers to precise questions are themselves an answer.
During construction
Visit at least twice: once at frame stage, when the structure is visible, and once at finishing, when the quality of the trades shows. Bring the specification schedule and check it line by line rather than admiring the show unit.