5 Property Buying Tips

If you are planning to buy a house, be prepared and well advised in order to avoid the pitfalls and make a successful purchase. Buying a property would be one of the important decisions you make in your life and therefore I am sure you will agree that all aspects should be considered before going ahead with your purchase.

1. How Much Can you afford?

The first thing you have to think of is how much you can afford when buying your new property. Decide on the amount you will be able to put down as a bond deposit and also the repayment amount that you can afford to pay every month until your loan has been completely paid off. Get together with your partner and write down all your monthly expenses and a little bit extra for an emergency and deduct this amount from your monthly joint income or if you are single, the income you earn monthly.

Keep in mind that the maximum bond a bank will allow is where the repayment is not more than 25% of your monthly salary and this should never be more than what you can afford to pay the bank monthly (as calculated above). You don’t want to be overcommitted now, will you? Since the rates of interest keeps varying from bank to bank shop around to find the best deal before you commit yourself.

2. Finding a Good Property

You can do it in the old fashioned way by registering with as many agents as possible in the area and be patient until something suitable comes your way or do it in the comfort of your home by using technology and go online to access the vast number of properties advertised on the internet.

3. Transfer costs and Other Fees Payable

When setting aside money for your purchase, remember to make provision for duty on transfer and conveyance fees which normally has to be paid by the buyer. The Transfer Duties at present are:

• Nil for properties valued at less than R500, 000.
• R25, 000. For properties valued at less than R1 Million
• R25,000+8% for those valued over R1 Million

While conveyance fees will be around R20, 000. You can avoid having to pay legal fess if the property you hope to buy has not been previously registered in which case there will be no transfer fees to be paid either.

4. Getting your Loan Approved

Unless you know exactly what you’re doing, it might not be easy to get your loan approved due to extremely stringent measures adopted by banks recently. You should therefore get expert advice from professional loan negotiators before applying for a loan to buy a new property or home.

5. Location of your Property and Security in the Area

Everyone would have like to have their home close to the shopping areas, school and subway if possible. The price of real estate in such location however tend to be high. Look at the possibility of down scaling the size in favor of a convenient location. Once you have seen a house or property which is to your liking, make a few runs through that particular area at different times during the day and night and also make inquiries from residents and the police to ensure that there is no criminal activity taking place.

By being patient, yet diligent and on the look out for a good opportunity, you will undoubtedly be able to find your dream home or property at an affordable price with everything else such as your loans, interest and repayment terms etc, falling into place comfortably.