 Welcome back, this is your Feel Good Breakfast to Expresso on SABC3 as we continue in our series of Private Property learning all about what it takes to be a first time home buyer especially once you've made that very crucial and critical offer. Along with Private Property we are experiencing the process of buying a home. Being Valentine's Day we thought we would romanticise about making that big offer on your future home. But as with any big purchase there are a few things to consider. That's why we have Simon Bray on the couch to help us out. Simon how are you? Very good, happy Valentine's Day Zoe. Happy Valentine's Day to you too. We are talking about making that big offer on a home that you love. Is there anything we need to keep in mind before making that big offer? Well making the offer to purchase is the biggest step you're going to make in this property process. It's the binding contract between buyer and seller so you've got to be absolutely sure. You've fallen in love with the property but this is now getting married to the property. So it's worth you know testing the commute times between work and school, understanding what the neighbourhood really has to offer. Perhaps talking to a couple of neighbours and if you're absolutely sure then take the plunge. Take the plunge. Now you mentioned a binding contract. How can I ensure that you know when I went and viewed the home that all the fixtures and all the things that I saw like the finishes remains in the house because that's essentially what made you do the final decision as well. Absolutely. I think you know when you see the house and on a show day or by appointment and you're walking around you just assume that everything you're seeing is part of the contract part of the deal. Sometimes there's disagreements between buyers and sellers about what's a fixture, what's permanent and what's not. A great example would be curtain rails. The curtain rail itself is screwed into the wall. It's part of the property. It's a fixture. It should stay. The curtains well that's up to the seller. They could take those when they leave but all of that can be done through agreement. So it's worth going through the property itself having a discussion with the agent or with the seller directly and saying you know what are the items that are staying and what are the items that are going and then that minimises any of that kind of conflict. I think you know that discussion point is very important but when we come to the price I think are we allowed to have a discussion around that as well? Can we give an offer that's less than the value of the house? Absolutely. You know property in South Africa is all about that game of buying at the best price and the seller getting the best price that they can. So you can certainly offer less than the seller is asking. Offer too little and the seller is going to get upset and you might lose the deal entirely but it is worth negotiating on price. It's certainly something that you want to meet in the middle and both feel like you've done a tough deal. Now is it possible to change your mind once you've made an offer? It's a great question. You know you sign this off at a purchase, you get all the excitement and then you wake up the next morning and you're like what have I done? You know is this the right call? There is a cooling off period for property below 250,000 rand that basically means if you've signed a deal on a really cheap property and it's not the one for you you can walk away from that deal within a certain period of time but it doesn't apply to properties more than 250,000. So you really have to be sure when you sign that deal because if you meet all the suspense of conditions and that contract goes ahead well then it's binding and you actually have to purchase the property. You have to so you need to be absolutely sure before signing that offer. Well Simon thank you so much for sharing those tips with us and I hope that you were able to get some insight into making an offer that has helped you to take that one step closer to buying your first home. Don't forget to also go to 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 also find all the teas and seeds 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.