How can you tell if an apartment has quality finishes

I have been asked by a reader how to tell if an apartment was high quality finishes. Often, you can just tell by looking. Here are some signs that may give you a clue as to whether the developer did a quality job on the apartment:

Are all rooms air-conditioned, or just some rooms?

Central air-conditioning, or an air compressor on balcony (As described by a developer: "Split system air conditioning to living / dining and Bedroom 1 (condensor on balcony’s)")

Full central air, or just a day/night air conditioner (i.e., when air is on it the living room, it is off in the bedrooms)

A plasterboard ceiling with recessed lighting, or a "popcorn" ceilings (i.e., a sprayed finish on the concrete slab above) and oyster lighting (often described as "Texture paint finish to concrete soffit")

Underslung sink, or a sink that rests on the benchtop

900mm wide oven, or 600mm wide oven

1000mm wide space for fridge with water point, or 850mm wide space for fridge

Bathroom wall tiles to ceiling, or tiles only part of bathroom walls

2 pack polyurethane finish to cabinets, or laminate cabinets

Clear balcony balustrades v. concrete or metal balustrades

Ceiling height

Air conditioned common hallway

There are many other items, listed in the schedule of finishes for an off-the-plan apartment, that need careful studying.

Generally, if an apartment is listed as investor quality, this means it is of lower quality. Some buildings have apartments with different quality -- for example, a lower floor apartment may have lesser finishes than an apartment on a higher floor. In the Flow development, the apartments on one side of the building (the river side) have a higher quality finish than the apartments on the other side of the building (the city side). So take care!