by admin | Jan 18, 2012 | Featured Articles, Home loans
When selling your home there are costs which you may not have anticipated that are out of pocket expenses that need to be paid upfront in order to be able to close your deal and finally get paid.
Over and above the normal expense of the Estate Agents commission, assuming you are using an Estate Agent are the following.
Electrical inspection and certificate
An electrical certificate is required before the papers can be lodged with the deeds office for processing and this is broken up into an inspection fee as well as any repairs that need to be done in order to comply with the necessary legislation.
In my case, I sold an apartment in Seapoint, the inspection fee was R400 and the work that needed to be done before the electricians would issue the certificate amounted to a little over R3000.
The water inspection and certificate
The water inspection fee was R350 and the supply of some pipe was a little over R1000 which I never quite git to the bottom of but had to pay or the certificate would not be issued.
Four months of future rates
When you sell your property your rates account needs to be up to date and the City Council requires you to pay an additional 4 months of rates before they will issue a clearance certificate.
Four months of future electricity
The same applies to your rates account.
These amounts mount up to a whopping R20 000+ and all I want to do is sell my property. The important thing to remember is that these amounts you need to pay upfront in cash so do your calculations and set aside some money to cater for them.
After the transfer has been registered the council will do a calculation and you will be refunded the pro-rata amount. Also remember that if the new owners have taken occupation of your property before transfer, these amounts are payable by them and should be factored into the final payout calculation.
by admin | Jun 28, 2010 | Featured Articles, Home ownership
Selling a house privately has both positives and negatives and in order to determine whether or not your home is best sold privately or through an estate agent you need to consider very carefully the possible pitfalls.
Option 1
Selling your home privately through an existing private sale channel like privateproperty.co.za is an option for those who are prepared to spend about R3000 on advertising but in return get assistance with paperwork in the form of bond approvals for the buyer and having access to documents for the sale of your property.
You are able to set your price expectation and negotiate the deal with the buyer directly in the knowledge that your documentation is correctly drawn and the bond will be handled professionally.
Option 2
Selling your home directly by placing your own adverts in the newspaper and taking advantage of agents selling in your area by putting up your for sale boards in positions which will take advantage of the agents advertised properties is a good way to get feet through your show house.
Private sale agreements for property, be it freehold property or sectional title, are available at most Waltons stores and good stationary suppliers. It is viatlly important that you have an attorney at your disposal who is aware of your property for sale who will be able to accept the deposit from the buyer into his trust account once your private sale has been successfully negotiated.
Bear in mind that while you will be saving the 5% to 7% in agents commission, the risks are fairly significant and you will be required to spend a lot of time preparing advertising material, negotiating with the buyer and of course dealing with the banks regarding the bond and attorneys. Think carefully before you decide to go the private sale route and be sure that you have the time and energy to devote to the sale.
Before you place your home on the market privately or have a show day, read the tips and tricks to get your home sold.
