Private Property CEO, Simon Bray, gives insight on how to narrow down the options when buying property for the first time.
Presenter: Live on SABC3, this is your feel good breakfast show. And it's that time of the morning where we speak to all of you first time home buyers. This morning, Zoe chats with the CEO of Private Property, Simon Bray, to gain some insight on how to choose that house that you want to buy. After all, this is your hard-earned money that we're talking about. Now after having viewed many properties, it all comes down to that one perfect house and taking the next step.
After many weekends of viewing your show houses, deliberating and following your heart, it all comes down to choosing the house you want to buy. And today, we take look at how to make the final decision. And here to help us, we welcome Simon Bray from Private Property back into studio. Good morning.
Simon Bray: Good to be here Zoe.
We're talking about choosing the home. We've been viewing many and I think the big question is, how do you narrow it down to make that decision?
Simon Bray: Yeah. I mean, it's a love-hate relationship when you're looking for property. You've really got to pick the right one. And how to choose can be one of the more difficult, one of the more daunting tasks. Presumably, you've spent all your time online. You've researched the neighborhood. You've understood what the price and the value of the homes around are looking like. So now it comes down to, fundamentally, your personal decision. Is this the house you're going to love? Is this the house you're going to live in or not?
Well you know what? Often, your heart and your head has different directions. The head will make the more calculated decision. The heart often falls in love with a particular style of a home. What are some of the pros and cons about following your heart?
Simon Bray: You've got to make a rational decision when it comes to property. This is going to be probably the biggest decision you've made in your life. It's going to be certainly the biggest financial decision for many people. So it's important that you get it right. The big three are the things that you should look out for. Location, is this absolutely the area that you want to live in from a lifestyle and from a value-growth perspective? Often, we say, rent in an area before you buy in an area. The second big one is obviously budget. You don't want to overspend. You don't want to stretch yourself out to the max because if something changes with the interest rate, or with your job, or your personal financial situation and then you're under a lot of pressure. And then of course third is to make sure that that property is exactly the right property for you. One that you can walk into and you can feel like this is home. And that's the emotional part. And that's where the heart comes in. But certainly, get the first two out of the way before you go and fall in love with the property.
Yes. Well I think that's the predicament because what if you fall in love with one property, but you know that financially, the other property would be better suited? Do you go after love or do you go after the logic?
Simon Bray: Look, a lot of us would go after the love because ultimately, if you love something, you're going to put the effort and the time and the sacrifice in to make it work. But be as rational as you can when it comes to property purchase, particularly when it comes to the financial planning, making sure that you're buying a property that suits your budget and your needs.
Are there tell-tale signs that this is the right decision that you're making right now? Is there a way of knowing?
Simon Bray: Well what I like to do if I'm picking a property is just put together a spreadsheet, a couple of key features, a couple of key things that I'm looking for in a property before I even start the search. So right at the beginning, you're identifying what your needs are. And then you see whether the properties that you're looking at, tick those boxes. If it's space you're looking for and the house doesn't have space, well then it's not worth falling in love with it because it's not going to meet your needs and you're going to get frustrated with it down the line.
Well thank you, Simon. That was really, really interesting. And it is an exhilarating process choosing property that you can soon call home. Now don't miss out as we continue to show you progress on how to go about purchasing your chosen property. Also, make sure to go to www.privateproperty.co.za and answer the question posted there to stand a chance of winning a 20,000 rand voucher to spend at a store of your choice. You will find all the T's and C's and information there.
Whether it's your first apartment in the city, a trendy suburban townhouse, or that dream family home on a golf estate, there's a home for everyone on Private Property.
