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Marco Georgy

Ask about the building's fire safety checks

Fire safety in an apartment building depends on systems you share with every neighbour: alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, stairwells and the team that maintains them. Before you commit, ask the community management for the date of the latest fire safety inspection and whether the building's occupancy certificate is valid. Under the programme overseen by the Department of Municipalities and Transport, obtaining or renewing that certificate requires civil defence and fire safety clearances. During the viewing, look at the common areas yourself: are extinguishers in place with recent inspection tags, are exit signs lit, and are stairwell doors clear rather than propped open? Note what you see and ask management about anything that looks neglected. The answers help you judge how seriously the building treats shared safety. Prepared by Masterpiece Property.

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Visit a finished project by the same developer

Renderings and show apartments present a project at its best moment. A community the same developer completed several years ago shows something different: how finishes, common areas and landscaping have aged, and how the place is managed day to day. It cannot tell you how your project will turn out, but it adds real evidence to a decision based mostly on plans. Choose a completed community of a similar type, for example a villa community if you are buying a villa, and visit on an ordinary afternoon. Look at entrance lobbies, lifts, pool areas, paving and

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