Whether you are acquiring your first BTO flat or hoping to score a tidy sum from the resale market, buying or selling a piece of property can be a rather daunting process.

What are some key things that you should look out for? Three property agents shared with Mothership the top things that they will never, ever do as a house buyer and seller.

"One thing I will never do when selling my house"

The most common answer was quite surprising: never let the buyer see the house in a messy state.

And that includes keeping away your laundry, by the way.

There are two reasons.

First reason: people need help visualising a space.

"A lot of buyers -- first time buyers especially -- they cannot see beyond what they see in front of them," said Kas Chen, a 33-year-old property agent who has been in the industry for nine years.

"As realtors, usually we tell buyers, 'This will be removed, only fixtures that will be left behind. This bed, this sofa, this everything will be removed, then it will be very spacious. It will be very airy. You give it a new coat of paint, it will be brighter.'"

Second reason: people buy with their emotions.

Brandon Choi, who goes by the moniker Oppa Brandon, said:

"People buy a house based on their feelings. When they feel good, they can think about how the space will turn out, and how they are going to renovate the place."

Choi, who has been in the industry for 10 years, has a few tips: Clear out unnecessary items and declutter your house. If you need to, stick all your barang-barang in one room so that your living room, master-bedroom, and kitchen are clutter-free.

And here's another piece of advice from 36-year-old Brian Hafiz Koh: Never start buying another unit before your sell your current unit.

Koh, who has been in the industry for over two years explained that doing so tightens your timeline; you might end up having to sell your unit at a lower price if you're rushing to exercise your Option to Purchase.

"One thing I will never do when buying a house"

Talking about being an emotional buyer, Chen's advice is that buyers should try to strike a good rapport with sellers.

Because leaving a good impression and being able to "click" with someone might go some way in helping you nail that deal.

This is especially important if the house holds some significance for the seller, like a matrimonial home or a childhood home.

"Sometimes it's about the vibe. Sometimes, it's not about the money," said Chen.

And so, one thing that Chen would never do as a buyer: Never open the seller's fridge and cabinets without permission because that might turn some houseowners off.

For Choi and Koh, it's something more practical: Never start looking at houses without your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter.

Introduced in May, the HDB Flat Eligibility letter gives homebuyers an overview of the financing options and grants that they are eligible for.

It takes about 21 days to receive your HDB Flat Eligibility letter, but according to Choi, he has had clients who waited for more than three weeks. It depends on the number of people who are applying for the letter.

Choi's advice is to make sure that you get your HDB Flat Eligibility letter and understand your financing options before looking at houses. That way, you will be ready to put down an offer if you come across a house that you like.

Koh concured: "It's very important to get your HFE done so that you know whether you're financially strong enough to buy the unit that you are keen in buying."

"One thing I look out for when viewing a house"

There's one thing that house buyers tend to overlook when viewing a house and that is water damage, said Chen.

Signs of water seepage range from slight, barely discernable seepage to big puffy blisters on the wall and unsightly mould growth.

"The easy-to-spot ones are usually in the bathroom," said Chen. The most common ones result from leaking water heaters.

Depending on the type of property, the cost of resolving water damage can cost a lot.

"If it's an apartment, usually, if it's from upstairs, you will try to mediate with upstairs -- either they pay or you will split the costs. But then if it's a landed property, then it's very hard to identify where the water is coming from. It can cost quite a bit."

The age of the property doesn't only tell you how time is left on the lease; it affects how much cash you need to fork out, said Choi.

If the HDB flat is more than 40 years old, there are conditions if you want to use your CPF to pay for it. For cases like this, buyers typically have to use cash for the monthly instalment--which is something many balk at.

"One property that I will never buy for myself"

For Chen and Choi, the tropical heat factors into their house-buying consideration.

Chen would never get a unit on the topmost floor.

The issue, she said, is that units that sit right at the very top of the building tend to receive a lot of heat.

There is an exception:

"If there's some developments on top, like sky terraces. You have other things, then you're not exactly on the topmost part of the building," said Chen.

For Koh, the property that he would avoid is an executive maisonette, at this point in time.

Executive maisonettes are currently fetching high prices. Many of them have cash over valuation that can go up to S$80,000.

"There is only a small pool of people who will be able to buy and will be able to afford these properties and the COV that comes with it," said Koh, who also explained that there is a high chance that you might need to let go of the unit at a loss if the property market cools.

"Personally I would not buy executive maisonettes for myself."

Top image credit: Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash