Find your next home online

The search for your new home truly begins once you know the kind of home you are looking for.

Sign up for news, sale, and rental alerts related to the type of property you’re looking for. These will help you stay in touch with news and trends relating to the type of home you’re searching for.

Start conducting casual online searches to see what the average price, in your chosen area, for your intended new home would be. You’ll quickly become an expert at spotting a well-priced deal.

Know your new neighbourhood

This is especially important if you’re moving across the country. Learn as much as you can about your new neighbourhood. A simple online search could tell you quite a bit about your next hometown, but really getting to grips with what to expect in terms of lifestyle takes a bit more effort.

Know your price point

If you’ve had your home loan pre-approved, that will make life a whole lot easier. But, if you’re still looking for the right type of finance, you should conduct a thorough financial assessment, to understand what you can afford.

Check out Bond Repayment Calculators and Bond Affordability Calculators. Once you know your price point, start applying those criteria to your search results.

Read: Tips for selling your home in winter

Know your next home

This is where searching for a property online can turn tricky, because photos and videos can be somewhat deceiving, in good or bad ways.

If you find a property that suits your needs, but the photographs don’t seem to match up with the description, contact the agent or owner, via the contact form supplied. Request more photographs and information relating to the property, and then use those to decide whether or not to eliminate the listing from your property shortlist.

Don’t DIY, unless you want to. Pay careful attention to the descriptions attached to each property listing you come across, and avoid anything that recommends a home “needs work” or is “made for the DIY lover”. Of course, if you’re handy with a spanner and enjoy renovating your home, then those are the homes you should focus in on.

Don’t sign before you see

Before you sign on the dotted line and book your moving company, make sure you have met your new home “in person” first. If not, you should arrange a viewing before committing to your big move, and a responsible agent would almost always insist on this. Of course, that’s not always possible. But, if a friend lives nearby, or someone you can rely on is passing through the neighbourhood, ask them to pop in to view the property. They can take a video for you of their walk through, or conduct a video call with you, as they inspect your potential new home. However, it works out, try your best to at least “meet” your new home before you move in.

• Information supplied by Private Property.

Have a story?

Contact the newsroom by emailing: Thelma Koorts  (editor) brakpanherald@caxton.co.za

or Stacy Slatter (news editor) stacys@caxton.co.za

 or Miné Fourie (journalist) minev@caxton.co.za

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