How to Buy a Property in South Africa at a Bargain - Article by Private Sale Private Sales and Rentals of Property in South Africa

Can’t find a rental or private sale?
Contact +99 estate and rental agents with one click.
apply here

Are you an estate agent?
You are not allowed to list on Private Sale or contact sellers. However, we will alert you of an Open Mandate.
apply here

Are you a Bond Originator?
Contact us for free leads
apply here

Are you a Conveyancing Firm?
Contact us for free leads
apply here

How to Buy a Property in South Africa at a Bargain

Articles about home loans / property in South Africa > How to Buy a Property in South Africa at a Bargain

The following are guidelines to help you buy a property in South Africa at an affordable price and to help you make an informed decision on which property to buy.

Research the property market

This means doing your homework by looking in the property section of local newspapers, property publications and internet listings. The internet has become an important tool with which to look for property for sale and you can easily compare various property for sale from the comfort of your home. Be sure though to use property sites such as Private Sale which have up to date property listings and not outdated listings which have been sold already as this can waste a considerable amount of you time. Compare the size of the property to the asking price and work out how much it will cost per square meter. Now you can compare the price of the property with other properties in the same area to find out if the property is a bargain. You can also look at previous property sold in that area to get a feel of what price you should be paying for the property.

Use an estate agents or sell your property privately

The advantage of using an estate agent is that they usually have a list of buyers which they match up with the property that appears on the market. But the Estate Agent will take a commission which can be avoided if you sell your property privately. Private Sale will assist you in selling and buying your property privately with features such as free listing of your property for sellers and notifications of property listed that meet your search criteria. They will then also help you complete the necessary documentation for the sale to be completed and Private Sale also offer home loans services where you can apply for a South African home loan. The savings that you make when buying property privately may just enable you to buy that property which you thought was financially out of reach.

Property owners motivation for selling the property

By understanding the property owner's motivation for selling one can often be placed in a better position to negotiate a bargain. Find out why the owners are selling the property. Do they urgently need money? Are they moving overseas? Have they bought another property already? You can often negotiate the price of the property lower if you know that the owner has some urgency in selling the property.

Eliminate overpriced property

If you have done your research as suggested in the first point you should be in good position to eliminate those properties whose prices are out of synch with other similar sized property in the same area. You usually will have little success negotiating a lower price with owners who overprice their property. If you have time on your hands you can often rather wait a month or two and approach these owners when the property has failed to sell at the original price.