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 21, 2010 | Build and renovate, Featured Articles, Home ownership
Showing your property is not simply moving out for a few hours and hoping the estate agent is going to make magic, you need to prepare for it. You want to sell your home, show it in the best light possible without spending a lot of money.
Her are a few really handy things to do that will make those entering your home feel more enclined to make an offer.
Place a bowl of fresh green apples in a bowl near the entrance or on the kitchen counter.You have probably received scented candles as gifts that are sitting in a cupboard, get them out and make a candle display.
The scents you are looking for are fresh citrus and cinnamon or vanilla. These are homely comforting scents.
Get out your best crystal and display it neatly in your kitchen cupboards. A well looked after home makes a good impression.
- Shine you taps and bathroom fittings
- Clean any visible appliances very well.
- Place an unopened sachet of baby smelling fabric softener in the cupboards, who can resist the smell of babies!
- Vacuum you carpets with a scented conditioner.
- Give your furniture the once over with the vacuum and pretty up with cushions.
- Cut the lawn and remove any dead leaves from plants in the garden.
- Clean the swimming pool and brush the paving.
- Never leave any clothing or toys lying around.
- Borrow furniture or cushions from friends to make it more homely.
If you have any visble cracks or damp areas on walls or ceilings, you are going to need to spend a little cash to fix them. A fresh, clean, neutral wall colour goes a long way to catering for anyones tastes.
- Fix any cracks and paint the whole wall, not necessarily the whole room, but the whole wall.
- Clean the skirtings and paint if necessary
- If you have stains on your carpets, get them cleaned or cover with a simple rug.
- Clean or paint the ceilings. It’s amazing, but every person who enters a house looks up!
- If your garden hasn’t seen much attention for ages, go out and buy a few colourful and green plants.
The aim here is to spend as little as possible to make your home as welcoming as possible and to present it in a way that shows off all of the best attributes of your home. Most of these suggestions take a little time and very little money but will make a whole lot of difference in the final sale price that you achieve. Showing your house as a clean, well kept and much loved home will do wonders for the prospective buyers of your home so give the estate agent something to work with. The Estate agent has to spend hours in your home and the more he likes it, the better the chances are of him concluding a sale on your behalf.
