Maya Fisher-French: How to hunt down the home of your dreams

The home truth about the quest for a perfect home is that there may not be such a thing as a perfect home. But if you know what to look for, and you adjust your expectations accordingly, you might just find the home of your dreams.

By Maya Fisher-French*

A colleague of mine has been looking for the ‘perfect’ house for the last five years. He and his wife have a long list of requirements that the house ‘must have’ in order to cinch the deal. Finding the perfect house is a challenge in itself, but on the few occasions the perfect house came onto the market, it was out of their price range. So, they have continued to sit out the property market.

This would not be a financial disaster in Gauteng, where property prices have been fairly moderate, but in the Western Cape, which has seen a significant increase in property prices over the last five years, their perfect house is simply becoming more and more unaffordable.

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The problem is the concept of a perfect house in the first place. Even if you build your own home, as I learnt from experience, cost limits are always going to mean compromise. So how do you find your nearly perfect home at the perfect price?

The first step is to narrow down what it is you really need immediately and what you are prepared to wait for. Buying a smaller home or a fixer-upper and letting your house grow along with your finances is one way to achieve the dream home.

You cannot change your location

This is something you can never change about the house, so you need to think about it carefully. Where do you want to live? Where will your children go to school? What elements do you want to have – is a quiet street important to you or a spectacular view? Do you want a property with a sunny position or does being in shade most of the day not bother you?

And then do your homework carefully. While you don’t have to live in the most expensive neighbourhood in town, ideally you want to be in an area that is relatively safe and that has market support so that you can sell it one day.

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This is something we learnt when looking at houses in Cape Town. Certain areas, literally half a kilometer apart, would have totally different price points – even up to R1 million difference for the same type of property. This was due to many factors including perceived crime rates, weather (wind is a big factor in the Cape) and access points. If a property looks like a complete bargain, find out why and whether those negative factors are things you could live with.

Gated communities are also increasingly popular as crime rates increases, but these carry a higher price and ongoing levies which can get very expensive. An alternative is to investigate neighbourhoods which have set up strong community watch initiatives or created a Special Rating Area where residents contribute additional rates to upgrade security and general upgrade the neighbourhood.

Even an ugly duckling needs good structure to become a swan

If you have the right location, getting the rest of the house right is about time, money and patience. Buying a home with a good structure, which you can either add to or renovate is one way to get to your perfect home – eventually. If you are looking at a smaller house that you can add to over time, then carefully consider how this would be achieved.

You don’t want to end up with a situation where the only option when building is to have the garages leading into the bedroom! It would be a good idea to ask for professional advice from a draughtsperson or architect about the options for future renovations before you buy.

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If the bathrooms are an awful 1970s avocado green and the kitchen has peeling melamine counters, remember you can re-tile and put in new kitchen cupboards. You may have to live with it while you save up the money, but those green tiles are not for life.

What is for life however, is the structure of the house. This is especially important if you are planning on renovating. While changing the tiles in a bathroom is relatively easy, re-doing the house’s plumbing is not. A badly built house should be avoided at all costs. Before you buy, insist on a full home inspection by a reputable home inspection company who will check the electrics, plumbing and structure of the house, including the roof.

Don’t fixate on a pool

A swimming pool is often listed as a ‘must-have’ when buying a family home. Here in the Western Cape we have learnt the hard way that a pool can quickly become a very expensive green pond! Most older houses have enormous pools which cost a fortune in electricity and water.

The trend now is to have smaller “splash pools” which use energy efficient pumps and to use a rain tank to top up the pool, rather than municipal water. So, opting not to buy the house with the expensive pool and putting in your own smaller, more manageable pool is a good way to save money in the long run.

  • Maya Fisher-French is a personal finance journalist and the life force behind financial website MayaonMoney.co.za and City Press’s My Money My You can follow Maya on Twitter: @mayaonmoney
  • This article first appeared on the Change Exchange, an online platform by BrightRock, provider of the first-ever life insurance that changes as your life changes. The opinions expressed in this piece are the writer’s own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BrightRock.
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