Buying privately can save you some money on the purchase price, but is it worth taking the risk? I will try to explain both the advantages and disadvantages of using estate agents, and also what you should keep in mind or be aware of.
Buying privately can save you some money on the purchase price, but is it worth taking the risk? I will try to explain both the advantages and disadvantages of using estate agents, and also what you should keep in mind or be aware of.
When buying a property which is going to cost you hundreds of thousands of rands, shouldn’t you be absolutely certain that the property you intend to buy is in good condition with no major defects/problems?
The new Consumer Protection Act (CPA) does not allow for properties to be sold “as is” or “voetstoots” anymore, and the seller should reveal all known defects to the buyer. The problem is that the seller might not always be aware of certain problems, and it might be hard to prove the seller knew about a specific problem when he sold the property.
Today many estate agents will provide you with a Diclaimer and Disclosure document, signed by all parties. This document is for their protection (the estate agent and seller), not so much yours… They will use this document as their weapon against CPA claims if needed.
The last week a proposed change to the Property Rates Amendment Bill made headlines in newspapers and websites all over the country. Hundreds of readers were frustrated and become very worried about their future investments in this country.
It stated that homeowners who own a second residential property (which might be rented out) would have to pay commercial municipal tax rates instead of the current residential tax rates. That would in effect have doubled the current municipal taxes in most cases, in many cases even higher.
