What to remember when buying a Property

FOR MOST PEOPLE, BUYING A PROPERTY WILL BE THE BIGGEST SINGLE INVESTMENT THEY WILL EVER MAKE. IT WILL BE ADVISABLE TO MAKE A CHECKLIST OF IMPORTANT ASPECTS THAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER AND CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING THIS STEP INTO THE MARKET.

Firstly inspect the neighborhood, the property and the house to determine whether the property will meet all the requirements of your family. Consider if the property is near to all the amenities that you need to be close to i.e. schools, work, shops etc. It will also be advisable to visit or view the property during the day and at night time.

Here are a few steps to consider before you submit your offer:

1. Determine how much you can afford to pay on a bond per month (should you need a bond) and ask the bank how much you will qualify for;

2. When you have found the house you consider buying request a copy of the Title Deed to familiarize yourself with all the conditions relating to the property.

3. Request approved plans for the property to ensure that what you are buying is for all purposes a "legally built" building. (Should there not be approved plans and the municipality discovers this after registration they can request the approved plans which you will then have to pay for should there not be any and they can even demolish the building at your expense)

4. Should you discover that certain alterations are not on the approved plans you should request that the seller undertakes to have the alterations approved at his own cost and include this undertaking in the Offer to Purchase.

5. Ensure that electric gates, garage doors and fences are in good working order. Specify this in the Offer to Purchase as well.

6. Inspect the state of the building and ensure that there are no roof tiles missing as this can lead to water damage.

7. Also beware of any severe cracks in the walls as this could be structural problems which could cost a pretty penny to fix.

8. If there are smells of damp and moisture in the building also beware and request that the plumbing and geysers be checked.

9. Should occupational rental come into play it is important to discuss an amount before the sale agreement is concluded and insert this amount in the contract to avoid future arguments.The crux of the matter is to insert all specific conditions relating to the sale into the sale agreement to ensure that you are getting exactly what you are paying for and what you intend on buying.