Offer to purchase question

maumau said:
Not interfering but looking after a 4 and a 7 year-old isn't going to be easy on your wife while she's working from home.
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Not interfering at all... Appreciate the concern and input. It is a very valid point you make and we have discussed it as well. And it is certainly not a set in stone decision yet.

Mornings are quite hectic for wife workwise but since she can start at 06h00 nowadays when I leave for work, she is finished much earlier than when she needed to head to the office. Kids only get off school at 13h00 and she will have to juggle them and the bit of work left for the day for about 2 hours before she can knock off.

Daddy does the cooking, cleaning and also all the homework with the kids (only daughter for now) when he comes home at about 17h30. Wife takes over for bath and bedtime.

Been working quite well for us. Which is why canceling aftercare is an option for us.
 
APoc184 said:
So as first time buyers. What is a good rate to look at in current situations? We have a squeaky clean credit record and we are pre-approved at a bond originator for affordability of about R250k more than the price range we are looking at.

Does area of the property play a role at all?

And term of the loan if we perhaps wanted to only take a loan over 15 years instead of the standard 20 years? Can a better or worse rate be expected?

Edit: And how does one go about fighting for a better rate when quotes start coming in and you think they can do better? Leave that up to the bond originator?
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20 years at prime should be fair.

Hoping to get that myself from fnb, as I am first time buyer. Want to stick to fnb for ebucks benefits etc
 
Gtx Gaming said:
20 years at prime should be fair.

Hoping to get that myself from fnb, as I am first time buyer. Want to stick to fnb for ebucks benefits etc
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Yeah we'd be more than happy with prime as well... Actually been doing all our calculations with prime plus 1 over the past year just to make sure we play it safe with the budget. And with the rates coming down as much in recent months it is looking a lot better indeed.
 
Personally I don't think being close to a school is a huge advantage in the "catchment area" yes but close, no. Kids grow up, change schools etc. All the traffic and crazy parents 2 or three times a day.

Rather find the best house for you and drive a bit than just buy on location.
 
Chingha said:
Personally I don't think being close to a school is a huge advantage in the "catchment area" yes but close, no. Kids grow up, change schools etc. All the traffic and crazy parents 2 or three times a day.

Rather find the best house for you and drive a bit than just buy on location.
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I've heard of people doing half and hour on 500m when picking up their kids from school.
Walking distance, real safe walking distance, would be priceless.

The other side of that coin is that I could not really leave home between 6:50 and 07:45 and expect a happy drive to work when I lived close to a school. Then again, if I worked in Sandton those times would be much too late anyway.
 
I have never viewed a property to buy, my wife just came home each time and said we are building a house there or we are buying this house.

We are both in the property game, different areas of the business. She marketing, me on the legal side.

Works perfectly for us.
 
I hear the argument about location not being everything but we have a threefold reason for having a major look at location.

Main reason is obviously the kids and keeping them in Garsfontein schools.

Other reason is the 3 branches of business that I manage. I have to be within 20min driving distance from all 3 of them because of breakdowns and emergencies. Especially over weekends.
Our main office is within 1km from the property we viewed tonight. And most definitely a very safe walk to schools.

Very good area and nice property. Would like to view it again during daytime. Was difficult with it already getting darker. And felt a bit rushed as there were other viewings schedule after us.

And reason 3 is selfish.... We just loathe traffic or long drives. I would actually start riding my bicycle to work if I could.
 
bokka1 said:
I have never viewed a property to buy, my wife just came home each time and said we are building a house there or we are buying this house.

We are both in the property game, different areas of the business. She marketing, me on the legal side.

Works perfectly for us.
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We started looking before lockdown. And our first option was to try and buy the house we are currently staying in. Owner was very straight forward with us and said he will never sell as he is leaving all his properties for his children. Fair enough.

He also knows we are looking to buy and move when we get sorted. Still gave us 75% off rental during 2 months of lockdown without us even asking. Says we are his best tenants in years and will miss us but wishes us well.
 
bokka1 said:
I have never viewed a property to buy, my wife just came home each time and said we are building a house there or we are buying this house.

We are both in the property game, different areas of the business. She marketing, me on the legal side.

Works perfectly for us.
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Sounds good. That is the kind of intelligent and trustworthy decision-maker I'd like to have at my side!

I wish there were proper Buyer's Agents....
 
Is it generally frowned upon to discuss price right then and there when one goes and view a property?

Either with the agent or even the sellers if they are there? Or even both at the same time?

While walking through with the agent, we tend to mention to each other things that need work or might need an upgrade in a while. Like outdated kitchens or bathrooms. Or like last night the garden which will need a couple months of TLC and some proper eradication and trimming to get things back from a forest to garden.

Things that we think might give us reason the offer a lower price. But seems like all agents go deaf right about then and start changing the subject.
 
cherenkov said:
Make sure to checkout neighbours also.
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For some reason all the properties we have liked so far are surrounded by much older people who has been living there for ages.
Much like where we are currently renting.

Perfect for us. We are a very quiet, relaxed and private family. No parties or late nights for us. So we'll get along with the older people. And they with us!
 
APoc184 said:
For some reason all the properties we have liked so far are surrounded by much older people who has been living there for ages.
Much like where we are currently renting.

Perfect for us. We are a very quiet, relaxed and private family. No parties or late nights for us. So we'll get along with the older people. And they with us!
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till they die in 2 years and a snot moves in next door
 
Steamy Tom said:
till they die in 2 years and a snot moves in next door
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I said older.... Not fossils :p

But yeah. The chances are good we are going to see new neighbours in a couple of years.

Property from last is an example. 70+yo couple. On their own since the kids moved out. Too big of a house for them and looking to scale down or just straight up move to a retirement village.
 
APoc184 said:
For some reason all the properties we have liked so far are surrounded by much older people who has been living there for ages.
Much like where we are currently renting.

Perfect for us. We are a very quiet, relaxed and private family. No parties or late nights for us. So we'll get along with the older people. And they with us!
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If they are sensible, the oldies won't have spent tons on dollying up the house just to sell, so you can factor that into the OTP. Then you can do it up yourselves once you have lived in the house for a while and seen what works for you.
 
One way of estimating the work that needs doing it to take along your own building inspector. Follow him around, making notes of his findings as he kicks the foundations, inspects the fences, climbs up to look at the ceilings and roof, checks the taps, looks for cracks, etc. Ask him to tell you all the faults, and what looks solid and good, and what, roughly estimated, the repairs are likely to cost.

His fee may seem expensive at the time, but such a detailed inspection can potentially open one's eyes to what really will need doing, and what might be nice-to-have, and what it will involve.
 
Gozado said:
One way of estimating the work that needs doing it to take along your own building inspector. Follow him around, making notes of his findings as he kicks the foundations, inspects the fences, climbs up to look at the ceilings and roof, checks the taps, looks for cracks, etc. Ask him to tell you all the faults, and what looks solid and good, and what, roughly estimated, the repairs are likely to cost.

His fee may seem expensive at the time, but such a detailed inspection can potentially open one's eyes to what really will need doing, and what might be nice-to-have, and what it will involve.
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The 1st 2-3 years in a new place you spend a crap load of money to make more to you liking and buying things gardening tools, curtains etc. And fixing hidden defects (mine was damp which I think caused anyway with paving). Oh and my bond was for 20 years but anything extra like overtime and some inheretance went into the bond and after 13 years its basically paid of.
 
ghostim said:
The 1st 2-3 years in a new place you spend a crap load of money to make more to you liking and buying things gardening tools, curtains etc. And fixing hidden defects (mine was damp which I think caused anyway with paving). Oh and my bond was for 20 years but anything extra like overtime and some inheretance went into the bond and after 13 years its basically paid of.
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curious to know how you caused it with paving?

I want to do some paving so just an fyi for me
 
Steamy Tom said:
curious to know how you caused it with paving?

I want to do some paving so just an fyi for me
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Paved right up to the outside wall with brick paving and no aditional damp proofing. The water when raining tends to dam up a bit and seep into the paving which in turn leeches the moisture into the walls. So flowerbeds and paving can be a pain when not done properly.
 
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