SG DefectScan

Noel and Eva were really great with their service and knowledge. Noel especially was diligent and thorough in his defects finding. He explained the details to me and represented us very well when we did our joint inspection with the main con. Main cons will always push back but Noel was able to back up his findings with his experience. I enjoyed working with him and would recommend him in a heartbeat! Thank you for teaching me a thing or two about home defects!

We initially wanted to go with two of the more established players but unfortunately, the they ran out of suitable timeslots. Hence, we decided to engage SG DefectScan upon hearing good reviews from other homeowners and "influencers" on Instagram. The price quoted was the same as with the two aforementioned established players. Unfortunately, our overall experience did not match the rave reviews we read online. We were told that we need not be present for the first visit, which we were grateful for as we wanted to save our leave for the actual renovation works. Post inspection, we saw lots of stickers pasted throughout and whole unit and we were sent a brief WhatsApp note summarising the major defects. Though, because we were not present, we did not know what was tested and what was not. They also arranged the inspection with the BSC and told us we did not need to be present for the joint inspection as well. So far, so good. Prior to the joint inspection with BSC, we told them that I would be present. We wanted to find out more details about what checks were performed etc and I arrived 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. However, the team went ahead to do the joint inspection with BSC before I arrived and by the time I came, they were already halfway through. As they were rushing to another unit (they claimed to have 8 more units in the same development to go), I did not really get the chance to ask them what was checked and what was not. Still, I trusted their professionalism etc. even though I had to point out certain defects (e.g., sink had a small chip) which they did not flag out. So far, the experience was still fine and we understood we had to wait fourteen working days for the defects to be fixed. Halfway through the fourteen days, we received an email from HDB BSC team listing down the defects that we had reported, which was only a small subset of what was in the WhatsApp note. We went down to our unit and saw that almost all of our stickers had been removed, but a lot of obvious defects remained. We were a bit taken by surprise as we did not expect all the stickers to be removed and now we had no record of what defects were flagged out previously and what were actually fixed. We asked SG DefectScan if they had a record of the defects they had tagged down. Unfortunately, all they had was the brief WhatsApp note that was no very useful at all. They promised that during their third and final visit (before the inspection with the BSC team), they would re-inspect the unit again. However, I thought it would have been much more efficient if they actually noted down (say, through photos) the defects they had tagged, or at least told us to do so as we did not know the stickers would be removed by BSC. The third visit was generally fine and to their credit the guy who came down explained quite a few things to us. Following the third visit we thought we would receive a more detailed report, but it was still in the form of a brief WhatsApp note. Though, this time we made sure to take photos on our own. Following the three trips, we noted quite a number of issues were not flagged out as part of their checks. For example, we only noticed recently that our bomb shelter door had issues being locked, due to a misalignment of the door. There was also a big hole at the bottom of the partition wall between the two common bedrooms which we believe was not picked up during their first and second defects check (although I cannot verify this 100% as I do not have a record of what defects were pointed out initially) and which we had to manually tag ourselves thereafter. When we asked if they have a checklist of the things they went through and ensured that there were no defects, they said they do not have one. I also understood later on that they do not check whether the data points in the house are working (noted another defect check firm does this service). In the end, I had to buy my own network tester to confirm that the points worked (and noticed another defect through the process -- stuck dust cover). Overall, my experience with SG DefectScan was less than stellar. Granted, perhaps I may have had formed a different view had I gone down for the initial check. The problem is, now, I do not know exactly what was checked, and what was missed out or not within the scope of coverage. To their credit, they did point out some issues we were not aware even existed (e.g., door frame misalignment; kitchen tile popping up very slightly which was only visible in certain lighting). However, because we do not know what was checked and what was not, we became a little "paranoid" and ended up re-checking everything ourselves and had to go to BSC several times to get these issues fixed thus wasting more time in the process. Sometimes we wonder if we should have gone with the more established players -- perhaps even if their waiting list is longer we might have gotten all our defects fixed more quickly. Would urge the company to perhaps be a bit more organised in future and/ or maintain a checklist or some documentary evidence so that it is easier for new homeowners to know exactly what was checked and what was not.

Engaged the Defect team to have a check around our house and it was the best decision we ever made. Honestly with the renovation stress checking for minor or even big defects was the last thing on our mind. Thank you for the amazing service and the prompt response!