Please please do your homework on the developer. I bought an off plan unit and the developers were a bit dodgey. They had done previous developments but just close one company down and open another each time to avoid prosecution if anything goes amiss.
Buy through trusted developers who do quality work like Renico. Their sectional titles are everywhere and although you pay an extra R50k-R100k to what similar places are asking - the headaches afterwards would be minimal.
Do your homework on the type of materials used. Our dev put dry walling between bathrooms and bedrooms in some units which quickly absorbed water and went moldy which is a huge health risk. They also had to rewire half of my unit. Check everything!!! Every little nook of each window for cracking etc - you will be very surprised where the issues come up.
Also - always install security bars, security gates and an alarm system BEFORE moving anything else in. The builders and thieves know and watch when you move in and come rob you blind. I managed to avoid this by doing my security beforehand. 25 other units in the complex I bought were all cleared out in one night. Budget at least 15k for your security. It cost me R15k for security bars and 2 security gates and then My father and I bought and installed an alarm system ourselves with motion sensors and magnetic sensors for windows and doors.
Test everything when you take ownership, and I mean EVERYTHING. Water faucets, cupboards, hinges, roller cupboards, sinks, baths, showers, all the plugs (inside and out), check for chipped tiles, bad carpeting, test all the windows work properly, no gaps in window installations, check the quality of painting. Check that all baisins etc drain properly. Run the water for a while to check that there arent any sewer blocks - if there are the bath or sink will fill up after a while of running them. Check all the lights work inside and outside. Also important: spray the entire outside of the unit with a hose, especially the windows! This way you can check for leaks before the rains come.
Get the developer to draw out a plan of where the water pipes run. This way if you want to put up extra fixtures you will know where to drill. I used a pipe finder but it only picks up copper piping so I thought all was fine and drilled straight into the water pipe. Most devs use plastic piping nowadays.
Also check the DB board. Test every item on the board individually! Turn all switches off and and raise each one at a time and make sure it is delivering power only to where it says it is. My DB board items were incorrect and some powered more plugs then they were supposed to. Also, turn the geyser switch off and see if you still have hot water in 2 days time. The electrician bypassed my geyser switch on the DB board completely. I found a product useful for this testing called The Owl - google it. It was invaluable proving that the meter they installed was faulty and that they were charging me too much.
MOST IMPORTANT: If you do decide to buy off plan make a point of becoming a trustee ASAP, even if it's just for the first year. As soon as 20% (i think it is that amount) of the entire count of owners has moved into the complex, have an Inaugural meeting and get to be a trustee. From there try your best to get the finances sorted asap. The devs are usually dodgey on this and can cause huge issues. Anyone going this route is welcome to contact me via PM and I will give them details on what to look out for. When I bought my unit I had no idea what was involved with being a trustee or what to look out for but now I know and wish I knew before. I can give some very valuable advice and things to look out for.
ALSO: When doing the Inaugural meeting DO NOT take handover of the current managing agents contract until a later date. In my case we were lucky we didnt do this and made it easy to remove the managing agent that was useless at their duties and was running the complex at a loss. The managing agent will have a contract with the developer but the trustees and body corporate are in no way forced to receive this contract. I have a very cheap and reliable managing agent in the West Rand area if anyone needs that managed to to get our complex from red to black in a matter of months.
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