Buying a house in a new development

[Sheppard_za]

My wife and I have started discussions on purchasing a house. At the moment we are renting so we want to start saving up now.

The topic on buying into a new development vs. buying an existing house has come up and I am trying to work out which would be best. Is it worth it to buy into a new development, or will we just get less than what we paid for when comparing the house to existing houses? What would you consider to be the pro's and con's to buying into a new development?

The only obvious benefit when buying in a new development is saving on transfer duties as we live in CT which have no houses under R900k.

 

[DapperDanMan]

The only obvious benefit when buying in a new development is saving on transfer duties as we live in CT which have no houses under R900k.

You may have answered your own questions...

 

[zerocool2009]

Its actually R1 000 000 now, it changed on 1 Match 2020.

 

[backstreetboy]

No thanks. Those new places start to crack under a year.

 

[Hemi300c]

There are cons and pros
Pros
1 new place
2 nice and clean
3 usually has a builder's maintenance guarantee for a few months
4 transfer fees

Cons
1 One only really know how well a place is built after 2yrs
2 crime if not totally secure and some places still under construction
3 sounds like a community living with additional costs which can only depend on full occupation
4 if 3 above and if you willing to live in accordance with others rules
5 being hounded either by the body corporate to obey or to join

Just a few that immediately came to mind

 

[zerocool2009]

Con’s: high levies to build a reserve fund up from scratch!

 

[Sheppard_za]

There are cons and pros
Pros
1 new place
2 nice and clean
3 usually has a builder's maintenance guarantee for a few months
4 transfer fees

Cons
1 One only really know how well a place is built after 2yrs
2 crime if not totally secure and some places still under construction
3 sounds like a community living with additional costs which can only depend on full occupation
4 if 3 above and if you willing to live in accordance with others rules
5 being hounded either by the body corporate to obey or to join

Just a few that immediately came to mind

Thanks for the list of pros and cons, they are all very valid point we would need to consider.

 

[Sheppard_za]

Con’s: high levies to build a reserve fund up from scratch!

This is something we have not considered and will have to look at, thanks.

 

[diapason]

The only obvious benefit when buying in a new development is saving on transfer duties as we live in CT which have no houses under R900k.

The price of the new house will include VAT so one way or another you will pay some sort of tax.

 

[zerocool2009]

A friend of mine got an invite to get his keys for his new apartment

Nice shock, smart prepaid meters, with a 10% admin fee when purchasing power or water!

Ask this before hand when you buy property.

 

[cguy]

Additionally, the levies may be artificially low until a certain percentage of the properties are sold (builder may be subsidizing some costs in order to show cheaper levies and sell faster).

 

[zerocool2009]

Additionally, the levies may be artificially low until a certain percentage of the properties are sold (builder may be subsidizing some costs in order to show cheaper levies and sell faster).

True! An estate with low levies: it sells quick!

 

[Hamster]

If you do buy in a new development buy in phase 2 or later. Phase 1 can be rough. I won't put myself through that again.