Buying a house

[ians]

Not me ... but I am involved in other stuff related to the purchase.

So you go look at a house for sale ... estate agents are all over you to get the best deal and max their profit margin on the sale.

You walk around the house and view what is presented to you on the day. Chances are there are people living in the house ... you get to see how some pigs (tenants) live ... the place is piled with shyte everywhere ... so you dont really get to see all the hidden problems ... or ... you get to see a well staged house ... nice and clean because the owner wants to get top price.

The estate agents points out the good and some bad.

You have no experience ... all you know is there are a whole lot of experts involved, who take a slice of the sale ... transfers, taxes, commissions, inspectors, contractors, etc ... all experts in their field who do this on a daily basis and charge accordingly ... you pay percentages of the property value ... the higher the value the bigger the slice.

The transfer goes through and the way I see it, the estate agent presents you with a "clean" property, a pile of documentation with all the original COC's etc.

Your removal company arrives and delivers your furniture and you start your new chapter in your life.

Just imagine if it was so simple.

Lets this be a warning to people who have no experience when it comes to buying properties ... unless you know what the to look for ... DONT TRUST ANYONE ... we are there to make a profit ... its called business.


If you don't want to climb in the roof to check if there is plastic between the roof tile sand rafters ... or don't know what rotten beams look like ... or why there is a big hole in the ground where the water is running under the house .... or why the plaster looks like it has been repaired from the roof to the floor.

If you don't know any thing about electrical or plumbing.

Understand that when you see extension cords running to the security lights or there is a lot of trunking with extension cords in bedrooms ... chances are all that stuff might still be there or gone by the time you move in ... now you suddenly go from 4 plugs per roof to 4 plugs in the whole house

All those beams and cameras around the garden connected to a security system ... are they part of the sale or is the owner/tenant removing them and the plugs lights and security system when they leave.

I am going to say this again and again and again ... you need to understand what it is you getting for the the price you are paying ... that R35 000 security system with all the nice cameras and beams ... might not be part of the sale. All those security lights around the house and in the garden might not be included. what is discuss verbally means nothing once the transfer has taken place.

It could all be just part of the dress up to unload the property.

Once that transfer goes through ... from my experience dealing with this shyte on a daily basis ... you are on your own.

Dont worry it takes a little while to get over it ... and in 100 % of cases I deal with you will either just accept and learn to live with it or send large sums of money sorting it out yourself.

From my experience with the COC ... most people feel that the COC is valid ... so they just leave it because they have a COC and therefore insurance will payout if there is a fire ... valid or not.

[Dave A]

The Property Practitioners Act has just come into effect. One of the new elements it introduces is a mandatory declaration by the seller about defects that they are aware of. I see there has been some comment issued by conveyancers as to how this might affect the liability of the seller when it comes to "as is" conditions in the sale agreement.

The Consumer Protection provisions of the PPA may well help move the dial towards improving disclosure. However, the really tough hurdle has always been in pursuing justice where the problem is only found after the transfer has been effected and all monies disbursed.