 Yes, there's a lot of things that are unaware of and certainly what we've seen in the current market, especially in the Johannesburg side, is that there's not a lot of properties available. People want to jump into the property market, there's not a lot of properties available and it makes it difficult. The private property podcast right here on the private property Facebook page, it's 7 p.m. and it's a weekday so you know what time it is, it's time for us to sit down and talk everything property. Thank you so much for joining us and if you are joining us for the first time, this is the podcast where we talk each and every single thing of property. So whatever questions that you may have about property, how to grow your portfolio, how to even start in the market, this is the podcast for you. So make sure that you share this link if you are regular with anybody you think might benefit from the conversation that we are having right here. Anyone who is joining us on the Twitter space, thank you so much for coming through. Tonight we are talking something that is quite popular because I mean it's something that we all go through and we are talking overcoming the obstacles of buying a home. This may be your first home, this may be your second home, this might even be your third or fourth home, you know, but there are those different obstacles that rather ahead at different points in time, you know, in these transactions because each transaction is unique and has those different circumstances that make it difficult at some point, you know, when you are buying a home. So tonight I'm joined by a seasoned professional as usual, someone who is going to bring us tips, tricks and insights on how you can really overcome these obstacles and make sure that you bag that home. I'm talking to Nadia O'Gump today who is a broker manager and legal liaison at Remax All-Stars. Nadia, good evening and welcome. Thank you so much for joining us. We really, really appreciate you making the time. I'm just going to really jump into the conversation tonight and talk about, in your experience, what is the most difficult thing for consumers when buying a home? Yeah, so what we've seen is actually a lot of people wanting to buy homes, they haven't got a deposit and they are unaware of all the fees that's actually involved when they need to buy a property like the transferring fees and everything that ties in with that. So it's quite a shock when they see, okay, it's not only the bond amount that they've got. They need to look at all the extra fees, the transferring fees, bond registration fees and then everything that goes with it. Sure. So would you say that because that just speaks to finances, would you say that that is just one of the biggest ones? What are the other ones that you have seen? I really want us to tackle them today. We can spend some time to really talk about them in terms of what they are and what they look like. One of the other things that I want us to do before I forget is to talk about the ones that catch them unaware. So maybe the financial ones or the financial implications may be a bit popular, but what is that one thing that someone is like, I never knew that this needs to happen when I'm buying a home? Yes. So there's a lot of things that they're unaware of. And certainly what we've seen in the current market, especially in the Johannesburg side, is that there's not a lot of properties available. People want to jump into the property market. There's not a lot of properties available. And it makes it difficult because you haven't got a lot of options. And if we list a property that's well priced, it will sell within the first 21 days that it's listed. So I think also shortage of stock in the property industry is also quite a concern. And then any additional costs that can be like the removal company, the cleaning costs, all those things also add up when you purchase a house and people don't budget for that. So also going financial, but yeah, there's quite a few things actually. Sure. And in your opinion, what would be the best way for somebody who wants to go into the property market? Now I'm talking first time buyer, somebody who's never been through a transaction before. We will touch a bit on the people who are increasing their property portfolio just later on in the conversation. But I want us to help those people who are considering going into the property market as a first time home owner. What are those things that they should prepare for to decrease that anxiety and to decrease the emotions that come with buying a new property? Yes, I think also what I would suggest is when you consider buying a property first, do you maybe a credit check on yourself? Just to check that there's no listings on your name that you are unaware of. And that can be quite a shock to people as well. We also try and assist people then just to sort out if they've got anything on their name with the credit bureau, just to sort that out and we wait the time out for them to buy property. But what I would suggest just to ease the whole process is to deal with a professional property practitioner, somebody that's reputable that you know. Also that comes with a big brand. I think that's also good. You don't want to fly by night that you want to put in an offer and you don't hear from them ever again. So I think a reputable company is definitely a mask when you considering buying a property. Sure. And when we are looking at, I've just started this process and how does a typical process look and where most stumbling blocks are? Let's say a property has already been approved and my affordability is great and my credit score is amazing. What are some of the things that I need to look out for in the journey of acquiring a property that may be a bit of a stumbling block and especially when it comes to other parties like the deeds offices and you mentioned a little bit about the other costs like cleaning and all of those things. I want to talk more in the ways of you making sure that you are on the right side of the law and making sure that things are done properly and accurately. Yes, yes. That is actually such a good question to ask. Once you've obtained your finance from the banks, you said to go offer accepted finance approved, you're on your way to get the property registered in your name. So I would suggest just making sure that everything is legal and that especially nowadays with the defects list on the property. Go through the defects list. Check that you are aware of everything that's listed. If you are unsure, maybe meet with your agent and go to the property meet with the seller. Let them show you what they've actually specified on the defects list because at a later stage when it's registered you don't want to go back and say, you know, I didn't know I was unaware of this. I don't want to cancel this deal based on something that was unclear in the defects list as disclosed by the seller. So that can be a major thing. And another thing is also once you're in this process, you are part of the legal and binding document. So we want to see this transaction through as smoothly as possible and make sure that everybody's happy at the end of the day. You've got so excited when you signed the offer when you found that your bond has been approved. So we want to make sure that that whole process keep you in the loop every step of the way that you know what's happening and that all the compliance certificates are provided by the seller so that we know everything is legally in order before it gets registered. Perfect. And with new developments, you know, a lot of times when new developments are coming up, you see no transfer costs and easy and simple to register. Let's talk a little bit more about new developments. Is the process of getting a new development fundamentally different and how is it different? And we're still talking around somebody who is who's a new time or first time buyer. Let's talk a little bit how they are different from buying a first a new development and a property that has already been in existence and someone has been occupying it. Let's talk the different processes that that exist there. Yes, with new developments. It's actually quite different from buying a brand new home. When you buy a development, you actually sometimes we actually sell it from plan. So the buyers will have an indication these the plans will be laid out in some sketches will give an indication of what the finishes will be at the end of the day, and they actually buy a property without seeing it sometimes. And through the process as we go about, you will be able to then pick the finishes and choose different tiles. And you've got a budget for specific things with new developments that you can actually get involved with that. If you buy a house that's already, I want to say it's built a couple of years ago, you're not buying a brand new place. So the it's completely different. The owner is selling the house for us, although they need to declare any defects to the property with a new development. You've actually got a snack list afterwards. Once you moved in, you can go through everything make sure everything is working perfectly. If there's any snacks, it can be addressed by the developer, and it will be sorted out. So you've got the benefit. The benefit of buying a new property for off plan or new development. It's perfect, especially for first time buyers. There's not no transferring cost involved, and only the bond registration costs, if you apply for a bond, if it's not a cash sale. But that's actually the assistance that comes in there helps a lot, especially if you're first time home buyer, where if you buy a property where people already lived in, there you will have your transfer fees that you need to pay, transfer duties, as well as your bond registration fees. Sure. Thank you so much for that. You know, it's really, really insightful and informative. So these processes are different. Let's let's now move a little bit, you know, escalate this conversation a little bit and talk commercial properties. You know, with commercial properties, a lot of people who start the going into these commercial property sales and purchasing are people who want to grow their property investment. Let's let's talk a bit more on how, how different and the obstacles that one might face if you are buying a commercial property or even buying land. How does how do these processes differ? And I think also with land or commercial properties, we need to look at the zoning of the property. That's very important to look at the zoning. And it might not be zoned for the needs that you've actually identified that you want the property for. So zoning is extremely important when purchasing commercial or actually land for commercial use. Make sure about that you go about getting zoning certificates from the property practitioner that you are dealing with. And also full disclosure. If there's any servitude or rights that's registered over that specific property, because sometimes, especially with distilleries, or we need additional licenses, you will have to look at each zoning certificate to make sure that you will be able to actually use it for like distillery or for industrial and commercial properties. Sure. And you know, when businesses look for properties like this, as you said, it's for specific use. And apart from them looking in terms of location, are there specific costs that are involved that are specific for commercial properties that don't exist when one is buying property for residential purposes and for one to live in? Is it different? Do we have specific costs that are specifically for commercial properties? And there are additional costs from time to time, but mostly it runs the same process. We've still got to transfer fees that you need to pay. If there's a bond to bond registration fees, although with some commercial properties you will find that some of the banks won't give you a full bond, depending on the price of the property or the usage of the property. So you might need to put down a substantial deposit to actually assist with the bond given. Oh, thank you so much. Great. Great stuff. If you just joined us, we are talking overcoming the obstacles of buying a new home. And just a little bit here, we've been talking also about investment property and commercial property and even buying land. So if you just joined us, that is the conversation we are having tonight, and I'm joined by Nadia Okam, who is a broker manager as well as legal advisor at Remix All Stars. So if you have a question or comment or even a story of how you overcame getting a property or the obstacles that you faced, send those questions to us on Facebook. Nadia is still here for us to take those questions, to tackle those issues, and let us get that information out there. It's very, very important that as we're here, we engage on the right topic. So send those questions and we will take them before we close the conversation tonight. And Nadia, you're talking about the grapevine, and you know that people have these discussions at Bryce. They have these discussions at the water coolers when they're at the office. Let's talk about how important it is for someone to get the right information about getting or acquiring a property. What is your take on this advice? You know, a lot of people have different mediums now where information is just there. How would you advise someone who is trying to get a property or increase their portfolio and having these conversations with other people? What would you say to those ones? I would definitely, well via the grapevine, I will just test and see if the information is accurate because a lot of information that goes around is USA, and it's not very accurate at the moment. Definitely, I know before the declaration by seller was approved that we had to put that forward in every transaction. A lot of people were actually trying to force us to provide the declaration, although it only came into play quite recently, we've made sure that all our transactions comes through with that. So it's important to know that there is specific regulations that we need to apply to when you buy a property, and also look at the person who's giving you the information. Have they gone through a similar process now? Have they recently bought a property? They might know some things that has happened to them, for instance, to guide you a little bit. Overall, I would work with a professional and a reputable property professional to actually make sure that all these things are ironed out and that you know you're in good hands when you actually do a property transaction. No, totally. Doing your research is very important, and even on sites like private property, we've got an area blog where you can actually read up on the area. You can see the kind of amenities that are on the area and actually really see how much value does a property in this area, whether commercial, whether land, or whether a residential would cost, and what exactly you're going to be paying for. So even that conversation that you are having with the property agent or the seller is fruitful, and it's very directed and intentional because then you then know you are armed with that information to make the right decision. Let's talk parting words. Thank you so much for joining us, and you can just give us parting words and advice or one of the other highlights for you that you're saying this is what I would say to overcoming obstacles when you are buying a home. I would definitely encourage people. Property is such a great investment. You will always get that nervous feeling when making a big transaction. I think it gets easier for property investors that's doing it on a daily basis. They're not emotionally connected to the property, but for first time home owners, you've got that emotional connection that you make with a property. That nervousness will be there, but property is a great investment. Do your research, have all the facts at hand, and make a good research decision when you put down an offer to purchase. And I can tell you, in South Africa, property is a good investment, and I would encourage people if you can afford to buy property, especially now with the lower interest rates, make that investment. Use a good and reputable property practitioner and you can't go wrong. Thank you so much, Nadia, for joining us tonight. Really, really appreciate you taking out the time and giving us such insightful nuggets that we can use to help us when we are buying our next property and our next home. Thank you so much and have a good evening. Thank you so much. Have a good evening. Cheers. And that is how we come to the end of the show tonight. Thank you so much for joining us with on the Twitter Spaces, whether here on Facebook, and even if you catch up on the show later on, this conversation was really insightful and hope you have learned so much from it. My name is Tumi and have a great evening. So the next time we see you right here on the Private Property Podcast, 7 p.m. every weekday. Have a good night.