6 Factors To Consider When Searching For A Property

𝟔 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 You’ve prepped, you’ve saved, you’ve done your research – it’s finally time to start searching the market for your dream home. Instead of looking for a needle in a haystack, try these top tips from the experts to focus your property search like a pro. 𝟏. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 If you’re ready to hit the market, you probably have a good idea of your budget and the basics that you’re looking for in a home. According to David Jacobs, Gauteng Regional Manager for the Rawson Property Group, the more details you can nail down in advance, the easier your search will go. “Think about more than just the number of bedrooms and bathrooms that you need,” he says. “What kind of property best suits your lifestyle? Do you need the space and privacy of a freestanding home, or are the security and lock-up-and-go benefits of apartments more your speed? Are you willing to explore fixer-uppers, or do you need a move-in-ready space? A budget may influence your options, but laying out your non-negotiables in black and white makes it much easier to narrow your search to properties that genuinely meet your needs.” 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐫-𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 *Poor overall neighbourhood condition *Focus on the potential *A larger property *Solid construction *More character *Weigh the higher price of stress, time and money 𝟐. 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥(𝐬) Most properties in South Africa are featured on one of a handful of major property portals. Jacobs recommends sticking to these (and official real estate agent websites) to avoiding falling prey to scammers. “Some properties may be listed on multiple portals, but others may only be on one, so it’s a good idea to get to know all of the biggest players,” he says. 𝟑. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 Today’s property portals make it very easy to filter out listings that don’t match your specific criteria. However, Jacobs warns against going too far with search filters in case you accidentally miss out. “It’s not unusual for agents in a hurry to only tag the main features of a property, like neighbourhood, property type, price and number of bedrooms and bathrooms,” he says. “Adding additional filters like pools, gardens or flatlets to your search criteria may exclude properties that do have these features, but just haven’t been tagged as such.” Of course, if your searches are consistently bringing up properties that don’t meet your needs, feel free to play around with filters to see if you can refine your results. 𝟒. 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 Even in a buyers’ market, the best properties get snapped up quickly. If you want to avoid losing out to faster fingers, it’s a great idea to sign up for automatic alerts when new listings that meet your search criteria are posted. “Notifications mean you don’t have to manually check each property portal every day,” says Jacobs. “You can sit back and relax knowing the portal will send you a message any time a promising property is uploaded.” 𝟓. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 Automatic notifications can’t cover all your bases, however. Jacobs says there are plenty of times properties never even make it online. “Most agents will contact their list of potential buyers before posting a property publicly, That means, unless you’re on that agent’s radar, you may never even know that your dream house was available at all.” To avoid losing out, Jacobs recommends calling up the most reputable real estate businesses in your neighbourhood and asking them to keep an eye out for new listings that could meet your needs. Shaun Rademeyer, CEO of MultiNET Home Loans warns property buyers of fraudsters out there trying to evolve their scams to further exploit a growing system. He says when a listing doesn’t exist, other practitioners of fraud will invent one for themselves. They locate a property that seems vacant, even if the owner is merely on vacation or away for a short time and create a listing as the property owner. They put forward that because you will rent the property, you can move in first and fill out paperwork later. They push for immediate payment and insist you move in quickly rather than planning for a specific date. “When pretending to be a homeowner or an agent doesn’t satisfy them, many con artists will even form fake realtor companies. Similarly, as the deception used to make you believe they are an agent; they find abandoned properties and make them just presentable enough on the surface to be believable. 𝟔. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 Property listings are sales tools – they’re designed to show off the very best a property has to offer. Jacobs cautions buyers not to get disheartened when homes aren’t always as picture perfect in person. “Every property has some flaws – try not to judge a book entirely by its cover,” he says. “That said, you may have to kiss a few frogs to find your property prince.” It’s equally important to keep a cool head when a property is even more gorgeous than its pictures. “It’s very easy to fall so in love with a beautiful home that you’re willing to overlook all kinds of underlying issues. If you want to avoid buyers’ regret, don’t let your heart trick your head into making hasty decisions. “Be ready to move quickly when you find ‘the one’, but don’t cut corners on your must-have list or skip essential steps like home inspections,” he continues. “Buying a property is a long-term commitment – do whatever it takes to be 100% sure it’s the right move for you.”