Offer to purchase question

[Lupus]

He didn't do well buying or selling

Nope, misunderstood the buy low sell high concept

 

[mr_norris]

An update with my house.

Early on after the OTP signing I paid both sets of lawyers and signed paperwork.

Rates assessment went through pretty quickly.

Drama started hitting when it was getting close to lodging time. The transfer attorneys were on their own planet, kind of gave up sending updates, then used the wrong property description in some paperwork.

I paid these okes what I consider a ton of money. I still can't believe how they made silly mistakes and constantly seemed to stall the whole process. I am not impressed. I expected some competency here.

So I ended up having to resign paperwork with the bond attorneys. That was last week (I think) and then they lodged on Monday morning.

I reckon without the mistake, lodging could have happened way before the end of October and I would have been able to move in close to November.

It is still not bad I suppose, kind of approaching the 3 month average people usually quote. So I can't be too angry, but it could have been quicker.

I have updates. After weeks of sulking, I think I am now into the acceptance stage. The agent essentially started ignoring me once the transfer happened - the owners, unfortunately overseas, so chasing them is pointless. I was made many promises and virtually none of them materialised, but it is what it is.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot from this and it has come at one hell of an expense. Next time, I will be better prepared and I things will not be handled the same.

The state of the house was a bit of a shitshow when we moved in:

* Stolen pipes. This is a multi week saga. And possibly the biggest painpoint.

- Tap was left opened when that happened, so when the water was fixed, a section of the house flooded. I was not told, and only found this out from my electrician weeks later.
- The plumbers the previous owner / agent used gave me the run around. They install pipes into random holes and used the wrong type of pipes for hot water, they got water going in one section of the house, and left it at that. When I called and begged them to come finish up, I got the run around because "they were not informed of the scope of the work". Yet every time I called the oke, I was told that "I'm coming today". He never came.
- I found a really good plumber / builder to sort things out. It was a joyous occassion when the whole house had water.
- More pipes were stolen after we moved in and fixed things the first time, but that was quickly sorted.
- The water bill was insane. I didn't realise I would be the one nailed for the first time around, so I had no supporting docs or info to put a claim through ethekwini. School fees x 2.

* Roof tiles. There were some missing roof tiles. There still are but we replaced the ones in critical spots. Need to do the rest someday. Also need to redo some of the flashing with some rubber paint. There were some leaks when there was a really bad thunderstorm once, not serious leaks though.

* Ants and termites. I noticed that ants were moving into the roof. These things made a whole highway up a tree, onto a balcony, and up into the roof. It was impressive. Unfortunately when I decided to get that looked into, I found some termites popping up through a floor inside. Ants would have cost me about 2k to sort out. Finding the termites meant the bill went up to 12k. Unfortunately I only noticed and dealt with this after the 3 month period, so I couldn't go back to the original entomologist who did the first check. We did try call and ask for advice, but instead of trying to help, he was defensive - so someone else got my money.

* Electrics. The house was a mess electric wise. There are still some gremlins but I think the big issues are figured out and sorted. Apparently they had to pay the electrician a good 70k to fix it up. A tenant there went ape with the electrics and did some really weird stuff. There are remnants of his bad decisions that I still need to deal with. Cables were also stolen outside so most of my outside lights didn't work for some time. There were also some breaker issues where areas of the house would trip for some reason or other.

* Alarm. This thing was messed up. I paid to revive it, but there are zones that are still rather broken. The wiring is an abortion. Random wires just floating around. So many sensors just dead. I hope to fix this up properly and get everything working nicely one day, but for now the most important things work. Also bought a board to make it smart (something I had to figure out myself, because the alarm company just told me it couldn't be done).

* Aircon. Whoever installed this (I suspect the tenant who fancied himself as a DIY man) didn't install it properly, so it would make a little fountain when I used it. Got that sorted. Recently discovered the heater doesn't work so who knows whats wrong there. I can live without a heater, so I may just leave that be.

* Gate motors. I have swing gates, and the thing was just DOA. Was made endless promises, but in the end I found someone to fix them myself. Apart from the lies from the agent about this, almost every oke I contacted wanted to replace the entire workings of both gates. I eventually found someone who was willing to fix it. Getting this working gave me a lot of joy, money well spent.

* The plans are out of date. I was promised newly drawn plans but they did not materialise.

* The biggie - dampness. This one I still need to deal with. There is a main room, maids quarters, and an entrance area that are all affected. Dampness seems to rise through the tiles and come through certain walls. There is also dampness that seems to come from the top of a different wall (a balcony is just above that - so I believe the rain just seeps through, but who knows). When I asked the agent why this was not disclosed, I was told that "The tenants never told us" - shortly after that message, I was ghosted. There is no way in hell that people could have been oblivious about this. The dampness was just so severe. Fortunately it was really bad late last year, then disappeared in the main section of downstairs. There is still some dampness in the maids quarters but we don't use that. So while I work out what to do about it, its still livable.

I was quoted about 70k to sort out the dampness in the maids quarters and the main bedroom downstairs from a company recommended by some folks at work, but I believe more work needs to be done that they quoted for. It is also a bit of a steep price to shell out after everything else. So for now, I just need to work out some other options before I commit.

There are loads of other things I need to deal with. But it's time, money, and willpower LOL. I need to clean gutters on the high side of the house - it is not really safe to be on the roof there, if I fall off I will be gone. I want to start clearing all the drains outside - lots of them are blocked.

There is also the fact that its just not the house I had in mind. It has potential to be a lovely place. It's in a lovely area and that's really why I bought it. But I was really blinded by the area and price so I made some costly mistakes in this exercise. I really wish I had waited a while, and perhaps spent a bit more on something somewhere else which ticked off more boxes.

 

[Tomtomtom]

I have updates.

* Roof tiles. There were some missing roof tiles. There still are but we replaced the ones in critical spots. Need to do the rest someday.

* The biggie - dampness. This one I still need to deal with.

Welcome to homeownership! It's expensive.

Can I suggest you do the rest of those tiles now? Otherwise your dampness problem is just going to get more expensive. It's amazing how much damage one cracked tile can do, never mind a missing one. It's definitely more than the cost of a new tile.

After we bought, I happened to go up into the attic during a storm and I found a tub there, full to the brim with water. It was one more rainy day away from overflowing onto the ceiling. A cracked tile can also leak into a cavity wall, or destroy a soffit.

Don't waste time and money on damp walls until your roof and guttering are 100%.

 

[mr_norris]

Welcome to homeownership! It's expensive.

It sure is hey.

I do want to get the tiles sorted - they seem to only be some random ones on the overhang section (don't know what its called). But still want them done.

Another gem I forgot to mention is someone messed up the rates bill. Unfortunately I didn't know any better but my gut told me something was wrong.

Asked a few mates how long it takes for rates to start showing up on my municipal bill - they all said "a couple of months". A couple of months came and went. Tried to call the municipality, no answer. Email addresses are dead ends. Eventually asked my mate who works there for help a week ago. Turns out the rates were still in the previous owners name.

Spent Tuesday morning fixing that one up, and I owe about 6 months worth of rates now

 

[RedViking]

I have updates. After weeks of sulking, I think I am now into the acceptance stage. The agent essentially started ignoring me once the transfer happened - the owners, unfortunately overseas, so chasing them is pointless. I was made many promises and virtually none of them materialised, but it is what it is.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot from this and it has come at one hell of an expense. Next time, I will be better prepared and I things will not be handled the same.

The state of the house was a bit of a shitshow when we moved in:

* Stolen pipes. This is a multi week saga. And possibly the biggest painpoint.

- Tap was left opened when that happened, so when the water was fixed, a section of the house flooded. I was not told, and only found this out from my electrician weeks later.
- The plumbers the previous owner / agent used gave me the run around. They install pipes into random holes and used the wrong type of pipes for hot water, they got water going in one section of the house, and left it at that. When I called and begged them to come finish up, I got the run around because "they were not informed of the scope of the work". Yet every time I called the oke, I was told that "I'm coming today". He never came.
- I found a really good plumber / builder to sort things out. It was a joyous occassion when the whole house had water.
- More pipes were stolen after we moved in and fixed things the first time, but that was quickly sorted.
- The water bill was insane. I didn't realise I would be the one nailed for the first time around, so I had no supporting docs or info to put a claim through ethekwini. School fees x 2.

* Roof tiles. There were some missing roof tiles. There still are but we replaced the ones in critical spots. Need to do the rest someday. Also need to redo some of the flashing with some rubber paint. There were some leaks when there was a really bad thunderstorm once, not serious leaks though.

* Ants and termites. I noticed that ants were moving into the roof. These things made a whole highway up a tree, onto a balcony, and up into the roof. It was impressive. Unfortunately when I decided to get that looked into, I found some termites popping up through a floor inside. Ants would have cost me about 2k to sort out. Finding the termites meant the bill went up to 12k. Unfortunately I only noticed and dealt with this after the 3 month period, so I couldn't go back to the original entomologist who did the first check. We did try call and ask for advice, but instead of trying to help, he was defensive - so someone else got my money.

* Electrics. The house was a mess electric wise. There are still some gremlins but I think the big issues are figured out and sorted. Apparently they had to pay the electrician a good 70k to fix it up. A tenant there went ape with the electrics and did some really weird stuff. There are remnants of his bad decisions that I still need to deal with. Cables were also stolen outside so most of my outside lights didn't work for some time. There were also some breaker issues where areas of the house would trip for some reason or other.

* Alarm. This thing was messed up. I paid to revive it, but there are zones that are still rather broken. The wiring is an abortion. Random wires just floating around. So many sensors just dead. I hope to fix this up properly and get everything working nicely one day, but for now the most important things work. Also bought a board to make it smart (something I had to figure out myself, because the alarm company just told me it couldn't be done).

* Aircon. Whoever installed this (I suspect the tenant who fancied himself as a DIY man) didn't install it properly, so it would make a little fountain when I used it. Got that sorted. Recently discovered the heater doesn't work so who knows whats wrong there. I can live without a heater, so I may just leave that be.

* Gate motors. I have swing gates, and the thing was just DOA. Was made endless promises, but in the end I found someone to fix them myself. Apart from the lies from the agent about this, almost every oke I contacted wanted to replace the entire workings of both gates. I eventually found someone who was willing to fix it. Getting this working gave me a lot of joy, money well spent.

* The plans are out of date. I was promised newly drawn plans but they did not materialise.

* The biggie - dampness. This one I still need to deal with. There is a main room, maids quarters, and an entrance area that are all affected. Dampness seems to rise through the tiles and come through certain walls. There is also dampness that seems to come from the top of a different wall (a balcony is just above that - so I believe the rain just seeps through, but who knows). When I asked the agent why this was not disclosed, I was told that "The tenants never told us" - shortly after that message, I was ghosted. There is no way in hell that people could have been oblivious about this. The dampness was just so severe. Fortunately it was really bad late last year, then disappeared in the main section of downstairs. There is still some dampness in the maids quarters but we don't use that. So while I work out what to do about it, its still livable.

I was quoted about 70k to sort out the dampness in the maids quarters and the main bedroom downstairs from a company recommended by some folks at work, but I believe more work needs to be done that they quoted for. It is also a bit of a steep price to shell out after everything else. So for now, I just need to work out some other options before I commit.

There are loads of other things I need to deal with. But it's time, money, and willpower LOL. I need to clean gutters on the high side of the house - it is not really safe to be on the roof there, if I fall off I will be gone. I want to start clearing all the drains outside - lots of them are blocked.

There is also the fact that its just not the house I had in mind. It has potential to be a lovely place. It's in a lovely area and that's really why I bought it. But I was really blinded by the area and price so I made some costly mistakes in this exercise. I really wish I had waited a while, and perhaps spent a bit more on something somewhere else which ticked off more boxes.

Thanks for the writeup. We always learn from others. Some of the points have been cautioned / noted in this thread.

Would be awesome if someone did like an AWESOME summary of this thread and all the information in it. Massive job though.

 

[Tomtomtom]

Would be awesome if someone did like an AWESOME summary of this thread and all the information in it. Massive job though.

Perfect for an AI.

 

[Tongs of Destiny]

I have updates. After weeks of sulking, I think I am now into the acceptance stage. The agent essentially started ignoring me once the transfer happened - the owners, unfortunately overseas, so chasing them is pointless. I was made many promises and virtually none of them materialised, but it is what it is.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot from this and it has come at one hell of an expense. Next time, I will be better prepared and I things will not be handled the same.

The state of the house was a bit of a shitshow when we moved in:

* Stolen pipes. This is a multi week saga. And possibly the biggest painpoint.

- Tap was left opened when that happened, so when the water was fixed, a section of the house flooded. I was not told, and only found this out from my electrician weeks later.
- The plumbers the previous owner / agent used gave me the run around. They install pipes into random holes and used the wrong type of pipes for hot water, they got water going in one section of the house, and left it at that. When I called and begged them to come finish up, I got the run around because "they were not informed of the scope of the work". Yet every time I called the oke, I was told that "I'm coming today". He never came.
- I found a really good plumber / builder to sort things out. It was a joyous occassion when the whole house had water.
- More pipes were stolen after we moved in and fixed things the first time, but that was quickly sorted.
- The water bill was insane. I didn't realise I would be the one nailed for the first time around, so I had no supporting docs or info to put a claim through ethekwini. School fees x 2.

* Roof tiles. There were some missing roof tiles. There still are but we replaced the ones in critical spots. Need to do the rest someday. Also need to redo some of the flashing with some rubber paint. There were some leaks when there was a really bad thunderstorm once, not serious leaks though.

* Ants and termites. I noticed that ants were moving into the roof. These things made a whole highway up a tree, onto a balcony, and up into the roof. It was impressive. Unfortunately when I decided to get that looked into, I found some termites popping up through a floor inside. Ants would have cost me about 2k to sort out. Finding the termites meant the bill went up to 12k. Unfortunately I only noticed and dealt with this after the 3 month period, so I couldn't go back to the original entomologist who did the first check. We did try call and ask for advice, but instead of trying to help, he was defensive - so someone else got my money.

* Electrics. The house was a mess electric wise. There are still some gremlins but I think the big issues are figured out and sorted. Apparently they had to pay the electrician a good 70k to fix it up. A tenant there went ape with the electrics and did some really weird stuff. There are remnants of his bad decisions that I still need to deal with. Cables were also stolen outside so most of my outside lights didn't work for some time. There were also some breaker issues where areas of the house would trip for some reason or other.

* Alarm. This thing was messed up. I paid to revive it, but there are zones that are still rather broken. The wiring is an abortion. Random wires just floating around. So many sensors just dead. I hope to fix this up properly and get everything working nicely one day, but for now the most important things work. Also bought a board to make it smart (something I had to figure out myself, because the alarm company just told me it couldn't be done).

* Aircon. Whoever installed this (I suspect the tenant who fancied himself as a DIY man) didn't install it properly, so it would make a little fountain when I used it. Got that sorted. Recently discovered the heater doesn't work so who knows whats wrong there. I can live without a heater, so I may just leave that be.

* Gate motors. I have swing gates, and the thing was just DOA. Was made endless promises, but in the end I found someone to fix them myself. Apart from the lies from the agent about this, almost every oke I contacted wanted to replace the entire workings of both gates. I eventually found someone who was willing to fix it. Getting this working gave me a lot of joy, money well spent.

* The plans are out of date. I was promised newly drawn plans but they did not materialise.

* The biggie - dampness. This one I still need to deal with. There is a main room, maids quarters, and an entrance area that are all affected. Dampness seems to rise through the tiles and come through certain walls. There is also dampness that seems to come from the top of a different wall (a balcony is just above that - so I believe the rain just seeps through, but who knows). When I asked the agent why this was not disclosed, I was told that "The tenants never told us" - shortly after that message, I was ghosted. There is no way in hell that people could have been oblivious about this. The dampness was just so severe. Fortunately it was really bad late last year, then disappeared in the main section of downstairs. There is still some dampness in the maids quarters but we don't use that. So while I work out what to do about it, its still livable.

I was quoted about 70k to sort out the dampness in the maids quarters and the main bedroom downstairs from a company recommended by some folks at work, but I believe more work needs to be done that they quoted for. It is also a bit of a steep price to shell out after everything else. So for now, I just need to work out some other options before I commit.

There are loads of other things I need to deal with. But it's time, money, and willpower LOL. I need to clean gutters on the high side of the house - it is not really safe to be on the roof there, if I fall off I will be gone. I want to start clearing all the drains outside - lots of them are blocked.

There is also the fact that its just not the house I had in mind. It has potential to be a lovely place. It's in a lovely area and that's really why I bought it. But I was really blinded by the area and price so I made some costly mistakes in this exercise. I really wish I had waited a while, and perhaps spent a bit more on something somewhere else which ticked off more boxes.

sounds likes a lovely place! lol
Let's all hope you got it at a few hundred grand less than the average neighbourhood price, then it's worth it...

• start on the roof, get those tiles fixed now as it is dry season. Tiles are cheap, if you struggle to match them look on marketplace

• you must start on the roof and work your way down... cut all the trees far away from the house, all branches and roots

• if you have a maid coming to live, then fix that maids room, a human can't live in there. And R70k is ridiculous to repair some damp in a little maids room. Just get a guy to chip out the affected plaster, let it dry out and seal the whole room in damp proof paint. Keep the doors and windows open to air it out. Look outside the maids room to see if you can sort the problem where the damp is coming from.

• sort your security out, this is SA after all. Outside lights, secure from gate, doors, windows etc.

• then start inside one room at a time, don't try all rooms little by little.

find a handyman (black guy as they're the best and don't rip you off most of the time) get them to do a lot of the hard work, they go much much faster than you or I can ever do. If you need someone who is very reliable and an incredible builder / renovator etc then I have contact details for both Durban & Johannesburg

 

[TheTwo]

I have updates. After weeks of sulking, I think I am now into the acceptance stage. The agent essentially started ignoring me once the transfer happened - the owners, unfortunately overseas, so chasing them is pointless. I was made many promises and virtually none of them materialised, but it is what it is.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot from this and it has come at one hell of an expense. Next time, I will be better prepared and I things will not be handled the same.

The state of the house was a bit of a shitshow when we moved in:

* Stolen pipes. This is a multi week saga. And possibly the biggest painpoint.

- Tap was left opened when that happened, so when the water was fixed, a section of the house flooded. I was not told, and only found this out from my electrician weeks later.
- The plumbers the previous owner / agent used gave me the run around. They install pipes into random holes and used the wrong type of pipes for hot water, they got water going in one section of the house, and left it at that. When I called and begged them to come finish up, I got the run around because "they were not informed of the scope of the work". Yet every time I called the oke, I was told that "I'm coming today". He never came.
- I found a really good plumber / builder to sort things out. It was a joyous occassion when the whole house had water.
- More pipes were stolen after we moved in and fixed things the first time, but that was quickly sorted.
- The water bill was insane. I didn't realise I would be the one nailed for the first time around, so I had no supporting docs or info to put a claim through ethekwini. School fees x 2.

* Roof tiles. There were some missing roof tiles. There still are but we replaced the ones in critical spots. Need to do the rest someday. Also need to redo some of the flashing with some rubber paint. There were some leaks when there was a really bad thunderstorm once, not serious leaks though.

* Ants and termites. I noticed that ants were moving into the roof. These things made a whole highway up a tree, onto a balcony, and up into the roof. It was impressive. Unfortunately when I decided to get that looked into, I found some termites popping up through a floor inside. Ants would have cost me about 2k to sort out. Finding the termites meant the bill went up to 12k. Unfortunately I only noticed and dealt with this after the 3 month period, so I couldn't go back to the original entomologist who did the first check. We did try call and ask for advice, but instead of trying to help, he was defensive - so someone else got my money.

* Electrics. The house was a mess electric wise. There are still some gremlins but I think the big issues are figured out and sorted. Apparently they had to pay the electrician a good 70k to fix it up. A tenant there went ape with the electrics and did some really weird stuff. There are remnants of his bad decisions that I still need to deal with. Cables were also stolen outside so most of my outside lights didn't work for some time. There were also some breaker issues where areas of the house would trip for some reason or other.

* Alarm. This thing was messed up. I paid to revive it, but there are zones that are still rather broken. The wiring is an abortion. Random wires just floating around. So many sensors just dead. I hope to fix this up properly and get everything working nicely one day, but for now the most important things work. Also bought a board to make it smart (something I had to figure out myself, because the alarm company just told me it couldn't be done).

* Aircon. Whoever installed this (I suspect the tenant who fancied himself as a DIY man) didn't install it properly, so it would make a little fountain when I used it. Got that sorted. Recently discovered the heater doesn't work so who knows whats wrong there. I can live without a heater, so I may just leave that be.

* Gate motors. I have swing gates, and the thing was just DOA. Was made endless promises, but in the end I found someone to fix them myself. Apart from the lies from the agent about this, almost every oke I contacted wanted to replace the entire workings of both gates. I eventually found someone who was willing to fix it. Getting this working gave me a lot of joy, money well spent.

* The plans are out of date. I was promised newly drawn plans but they did not materialise.

* The biggie - dampness. This one I still need to deal with. There is a main room, maids quarters, and an entrance area that are all affected. Dampness seems to rise through the tiles and come through certain walls. There is also dampness that seems to come from the top of a different wall (a balcony is just above that - so I believe the rain just seeps through, but who knows). When I asked the agent why this was not disclosed, I was told that "The tenants never told us" - shortly after that message, I was ghosted. There is no way in hell that people could have been oblivious about this. The dampness was just so severe. Fortunately it was really bad late last year, then disappeared in the main section of downstairs. There is still some dampness in the maids quarters but we don't use that. So while I work out what to do about it, its still livable.

I was quoted about 70k to sort out the dampness in the maids quarters and the main bedroom downstairs from a company recommended by some folks at work, but I believe more work needs to be done that they quoted for. It is also a bit of a steep price to shell out after everything else. So for now, I just need to work out some other options before I commit.

There are loads of other things I need to deal with. But it's time, money, and willpower LOL. I need to clean gutters on the high side of the house - it is not really safe to be on the roof there, if I fall off I will be gone. I want to start clearing all the drains outside - lots of them are blocked.

There is also the fact that its just not the house I had in mind. It has potential to be a lovely place. It's in a lovely area and that's really why I bought it. But I was really blinded by the area and price so I made some costly mistakes in this exercise. I really wish I had waited a while, and perhaps spent a bit more on something somewhere else which ticked off more boxes.

Did the condition report not state of all this? Needed to have been listed clearly and then you have a claim for Latent defects, I think thats the term.

Alot of Estate Agents together with the Sellers try to fall back to the Voetstoots clause but you could still have a Claim

 

[Steamy Tom]

sounds likes a lovely place! lol
Let's all hope you got it at a few hundred grand less than the average neighbourhood price, then it's worth it...

• start on the roof, get those tiles fixed now as it is dry season. Tiles are cheap, if you struggle to match them look on marketplace

• you must start on the roof and work your way down... cut all the trees far away from the house, all branches and roots

• if you have a maid coming to live, then fix that maids room, a human can't live in there. And R70k is ridiculous to repair some damp in a little maids room. Just get a guy to chip out the affected plaster, let it dry out and seal the whole room in damp proof paint. Keep the doors and windows open to air it out. Look outside the maids room to see if you can sort the problem where the damp is coming from.

• sort your security out, this is SA after all. Outside lights, secure from gate, doors, windows etc.

• then start inside one room at a time, don't try all rooms little by little.

find a handyman (black guy as they're the best and don't rip you off most of the time) get them to do a lot of the hard work, they go much much faster than you or I can ever do. If you need someone who is very reliable and an incredible builder / renovator etc then I have contact details for both Durban & Johannesburg

I have updates. After weeks of sulking, I think I am now into the acceptance stage. The agent essentially started ignoring me once the transfer happened - the owners, unfortunately overseas, so chasing them is pointless. I was made many promises and virtually none of them materialised, but it is what it is.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot from this and it has come at one hell of an expense. Next time, I will be better prepared and I things will not be handled the same.

The state of the house was a bit of a shitshow when we moved in:

* Stolen pipes. This is a multi week saga. And possibly the biggest painpoint.

- Tap was left opened when that happened, so when the water was fixed, a section of the house flooded. I was not told, and only found this out from my electrician weeks later.
- The plumbers the previous owner / agent used gave me the run around. They install pipes into random holes and used the wrong type of pipes for hot water, they got water going in one section of the house, and left it at that. When I called and begged them to come finish up, I got the run around because "they were not informed of the scope of the work". Yet every time I called the oke, I was told that "I'm coming today". He never came.
- I found a really good plumber / builder to sort things out. It was a joyous occassion when the whole house had water.
- More pipes were stolen after we moved in and fixed things the first time, but that was quickly sorted.
- The water bill was insane. I didn't realise I would be the one nailed for the first time around, so I had no supporting docs or info to put a claim through ethekwini. School fees x 2.

* Roof tiles. There were some missing roof tiles. There still are but we replaced the ones in critical spots. Need to do the rest someday. Also need to redo some of the flashing with some rubber paint. There were some leaks when there was a really bad thunderstorm once, not serious leaks though.

* Ants and termites. I noticed that ants were moving into the roof. These things made a whole highway up a tree, onto a balcony, and up into the roof. It was impressive. Unfortunately when I decided to get that looked into, I found some termites popping up through a floor inside. Ants would have cost me about 2k to sort out. Finding the termites meant the bill went up to 12k. Unfortunately I only noticed and dealt with this after the 3 month period, so I couldn't go back to the original entomologist who did the first check. We did try call and ask for advice, but instead of trying to help, he was defensive - so someone else got my money.

* Electrics. The house was a mess electric wise. There are still some gremlins but I think the big issues are figured out and sorted. Apparently they had to pay the electrician a good 70k to fix it up. A tenant there went ape with the electrics and did some really weird stuff. There are remnants of his bad decisions that I still need to deal with. Cables were also stolen outside so most of my outside lights didn't work for some time. There were also some breaker issues where areas of the house would trip for some reason or other.

* Alarm. This thing was messed up. I paid to revive it, but there are zones that are still rather broken. The wiring is an abortion. Random wires just floating around. So many sensors just dead. I hope to fix this up properly and get everything working nicely one day, but for now the most important things work. Also bought a board to make it smart (something I had to figure out myself, because the alarm company just told me it couldn't be done).

* Aircon. Whoever installed this (I suspect the tenant who fancied himself as a DIY man) didn't install it properly, so it would make a little fountain when I used it. Got that sorted. Recently discovered the heater doesn't work so who knows whats wrong there. I can live without a heater, so I may just leave that be.

* Gate motors. I have swing gates, and the thing was just DOA. Was made endless promises, but in the end I found someone to fix them myself. Apart from the lies from the agent about this, almost every oke I contacted wanted to replace the entire workings of both gates. I eventually found someone who was willing to fix it. Getting this working gave me a lot of joy, money well spent.

* The plans are out of date. I was promised newly drawn plans but they did not materialise.

* The biggie - dampness. This one I still need to deal with. There is a main room, maids quarters, and an entrance area that are all affected. Dampness seems to rise through the tiles and come through certain walls. There is also dampness that seems to come from the top of a different wall (a balcony is just above that - so I believe the rain just seeps through, but who knows). When I asked the agent why this was not disclosed, I was told that "The tenants never told us" - shortly after that message, I was ghosted. There is no way in hell that people could have been oblivious about this. The dampness was just so severe. Fortunately it was really bad late last year, then disappeared in the main section of downstairs. There is still some dampness in the maids quarters but we don't use that. So while I work out what to do about it, its still livable.

I was quoted about 70k to sort out the dampness in the maids quarters and the main bedroom downstairs from a company recommended by some folks at work, but I believe more work needs to be done that they quoted for. It is also a bit of a steep price to shell out after everything else. So for now, I just need to work out some other options before I commit.

There are loads of other things I need to deal with. But it's time, money, and willpower LOL. I need to clean gutters on the high side of the house - it is not really safe to be on the roof there, if I fall off I will be gone. I want to start clearing all the drains outside - lots of them are blocked.

There is also the fact that its just not the house I had in mind. It has potential to be a lovely place. It's in a lovely area and that's really why I bought it. But I was really blinded by the area and price so I made some costly mistakes in this exercise. I really wish I had waited a while, and perhaps spent a bit more on something somewhere else which ticked off more boxes.

Stop talking to the estate agent and make the attorneys aware of the issues. The estate agent isn't in your corner, never was.

 

[bokka1]

Stop talking to the estate agent and make the attorneys aware of the issues. The estate agent isn't in your corner, never was.

Exactly this.

The conveyancing attorney has an obligation to tell you as the buyer that he is not acting on your behalf and can't give you any legal advice.

The estate agent can't give you legal advice as they don't have the specialised knowledge to assist you, they are marketers as in any other business.

You will have to get your own attorney to help you.

 

[Tongs of Destiny]

For heaven's sake, there a lot of people here who don't understand the difference between patent and latent defect as well as the voetstoots clause. Running around saying this and that doesn't solve anything, first read up on the law then decide if you think there is a case. Secondly the transfer has already gone through, so now is it worth your time hiring a lawyer to try and sue another person for a few thousand Rands... just think about that.

 

[Gtx Gaming]

"I have had no further news from the Master and await their approval of the Account. The advertisement has not been placed yet but that will be done shortly.

It is very tricky to provide timelines when we are dependant on the Master’s Office to finalise.

I am away at present, but will follow up next week when I am back"

Looks like im paying ooccupational rent for a bit longer lol

First Cape Town storm in house, lets see how it holds up!

 

[bokka1]

"I have had no further news from the Master and await their approval of the Account. The advertisement has not been placed yet but that will be done shortly.

It is very tricky to provide timelines when we are dependant on the Master’s Office to finalise.

I am away at present, but will follow up next week when I am back"

Looks like im paying ooccupational rent for a bit longer lol

First Cape Town storm in house, lets see how it holds up!

The Cape Town Master's Office is non-functioning, you can't give clients any timelines for documentation required from them.

 

[Tomtomtom]

First Cape Town storm in house, lets see how it holds up!

Take Roger Bisby's advice, get an umbrella, go outside and look around. You might be surprised to find water coming out places you didn't expect it.

Also, get in the attic if you can and take a look for suspicious rivulets of water on the underside of rafters etc.

 

[Ghost1293]

So we found a property we really liked, had lots of lack of communication with from the Estate agent initially, to the point where i had to send an email on their website each time and got a reply within 5min from the estate agent.

We went to look at the property on Sunday and then yesterday evening again with the wife's father, just to be able to get some more and see if he sees anything i might have missed.

The whole house inside and outside has been repainted recently.

Been up till about 1am reading this thread to ensure i have a good understanding on what to put into my OTP conditions and my word, this stuff is scary stuff.

Estate agent also told us yesterday that there's an offer given already and it expires on Friday, but im not too bothered with that and just wanted to make sure my side im happy with all the stuff i need to add.

This is some scary stuff i tell you.

 

[Tongs of Destiny]

just remember you can put in any offer, it is up to you and not the agent, by law they have to present all offers to their client (you can also ask for confirmation of your rejected offer if you don't believe them should it be so)

also, you CAN and SHOULD add anything you want into the terms and conditions of the sale.

So we found a property we really liked, had lots of lack of communication with from the Estate agent initially, to the point where i had to send an email on their website each time and got a reply within 5min from the estate agent.

We went to look at the property on Sunday and then yesterday evening again with the wife's father, just to be able to get some more and see if he sees anything i might have missed.

The whole house inside and outside has been repainted recently.

Been up till about 1am reading this thread to ensure i have a good understanding on what to put into my OTP conditions and my word, this stuff is scary stuff.

Estate agent also told us yesterday that there's an offer given already and it expires on Friday, but im not too bothered with that and just wanted to make sure my side im happy with all the stuff i need to add.

This is some scary stuff i tell you.

pu

 

[Ghost1293]

just remember you can put in any offer, it is up to you and not the agent, by law they have to present all offers to their client (you can also ask for confirmation of your rejected offer if you don't believe them should it be so)

also, you CAN and SHOULD add anything you want into the terms and conditions of the sale.



pu

Sadly the estate agents not being helpful at all.

I sent her all our details yesterday morning 10am and conditions we have and by 10am this morning i have not heard a thing. What is the normal time frame, if any, from time of telling estate agent your offer and conditions, to receiving the OTP papers to sign, if any?

So far, she says no seller is going to agree to my amount of conditions and i spoke to someone from this thread as well and he said they were pretty standard requests.

I requested that there is up to date plans on the property and this is the sort of reply you get from the estate agent regarding that clause "I will advise shortly on the house plans and the deadline you wish to include on this, as I don't think the seller wants to accept an offer like this, if she does not have plans."

My guess at this stage, probably going to fall through.

 

[Neuk_]

Sadly the estate agents not being helpful at all.

I sent her all our details yesterday morning 10am and conditions we have and by 10am this morning i have not heard a thing. What is the normal time frame, if any, from time of telling estate agent your offer and conditions, to receiving the OTP papers to sign, if any?

So far, she says no seller is going to agree to my amount of conditions and i spoke to someone from this thread as well and he said they were pretty standard requests.

I requested that there is up to date plans on the property and this is the sort of reply you get from the estate agent regarding that clause "I will advise shortly on the house plans and the deadline you wish to include on this, as I don't think the seller wants to accept an offer like this, if she does not have plans."

My guess at this stage, probably going to fall through.

Up to date plans should be non-negotiable.

 

[W@P]

A bit OT.

I recently sold a property to a couple through an agent.
The day I went to sign at the attorneys and hand over the title deed, the couple had a massive domestic dispute or whatever you wanna call it. By this time they already signed everything.

Now the wife wanted out of the deal. I said no. AFAIK they can no longer walk away from this. And the deal must go on.
Just another one lifes hurdles thrown at me.

Anyway. Next thing I check my place that I sold is being marketed for rent. I call up the agent and tune wtf?
So it turns out the buying couple must proceed with the deal but they will not occupy the place. So the agent got a tenant, who signed a 12 month rental agreement, with terms that they will pay in full up front. I'm like wtaf is going here.

So tenant will rent the place, I get paid the monthly rent till registration at the deeds office takes place. Then rent will go to the buying couple. And I walk away from this evnetually. And the buyers can then sell the property again. As they are gatvol of each others kak.

Then it turns out the tenant was supposed to move in end of July, they only paid dribs and drabs. I don't even know wtf is going on.
Somewhere inbetween all of this I get a snag list from the agent's assistant on kak I need to fix in the house. GTFO!!!

I mean, I fixed up the place. I put it in the market, found a buyer and I sold the fscking place, as is. Now there are issues that need attention before the tenant moves in. WTF. One of the things was that the LPG cylinder was half full. AND? WTF about it I asked? I know it was half full, I put it there ffs. The tenant or the buyers can sort it out. That's like complaining the prepaid meter only has 5 units on when you move in. WTAF?

So I just said to them sort out the place. Let the fsckers move in. And get this BS over with.

 

[Lupus]

Sadly the estate agents not being helpful at all.

I sent her all our details yesterday morning 10am and conditions we have and by 10am this morning i have not heard a thing. What is the normal time frame, if any, from time of telling estate agent your offer and conditions, to receiving the OTP papers to sign, if any?

So far, she says no seller is going to agree to my amount of conditions and i spoke to someone from this thread as well and he said they were pretty standard requests.

I requested that there is up to date plans on the property and this is the sort of reply you get from the estate agent regarding that clause "I will advise shortly on the house plans and the deadline you wish to include on this, as I don't think the seller wants to accept an offer like this, if she does not have plans."

My guess at this stage, probably going to fall through.

Myself and FNB insisted on up to date plans, as the last plans were from 1985 when the house had been built and there were a ton of mods.
If the seller doesn't want to do that, there's something dodge.