Woman finds out someone died in her $600k Potong Pasir flat but she has more pressing concerns
When buying a resale flat, it might be a good idea to check in with the real estate agent or even neighbours about its previous owner, lest you be in for a surprise.
That's what happened to one woman, who purchased a HDB flat at Blk 139 Potong Pasir Ave 3 — only to find out that the former owner had died in the unit.
The woman, surnamed Chen, told Shin Min Daily News that she purchased this particular unit for $600,000 in August 2022.
After spending several thousand dollars on renovations, Chen moved into the flat with her two sons, her father-in-law and her brother's family some three weeks ago.
"The flooring and the walls had to be renovated, and we also replaced the squat toilet with a toilet bowl," recounted the 31-year-old.
Chen told the Chinese daily that she didn't think too much about the unit's origins as she had just sold her old flat and needed to find a new home in under three months.
As her real estate agent only gave her two possible options, Chen said she settled for this unit as it was near her son's school.
All was fine until Chen found that her kitchen's ceiling was leaking, which prompted her to call a contractor to fix the problem.
When the contractor went to the unit, he told Chen that the problem had actually persisted for more than a decade.
"He said he couldn't paint over the water stains on the ceiling and asked me to contact the authorities. He then casually asked me if I knew about the unit's history."
Remains of old man found
After speaking to the contractor, Chen found out that the remains of the previous owner were found in the kitchen by the National Environment Agency (NEA) in July 2020 while conducting dengue inspections.
It was reported then that a locksmith had to be engaged to open the door after several unsuccessful attempts by NEA to contact him. The man's remains were then found in the unit.
According to Lianhe Wanbao, a calendar in the flat was still turned to the month of June 2011, suggesting that his body had laid undiscovered for nine years.
The deceased was born in 1948 and he had reportedly been living alone in the flat.
After learning the truth, Chen remarked that the real estate agent should have told her about the incident beforehand, and hoped that there would be more transparency in the future.
Since she is unable to do anything about it now, Chen told Shin Min that her top priority now is to deal with the water leakage, as she has children and elderly living in the flat.
Not obliged to share information about previous owner
According to Nelson Lim, Director of Altitude Real Estate, real estate agents are not obliged to share information about a property's former owner, Shin Min reported.
However, Lim added that buyers are allowed to ask real estate agents these questions. In these cases, agents are then obliged to tell the truth.
In the event that an agent does not comply, buyers can revoke the transaction, and the agent may face disciplinary action.
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