It is no secret that buying a home is one of the biggest financial commitments you will ever make in your life, but along with the costs of the physical home there various other fees and charges to keep in mind too.

Steve van Wyk, Seeff’s MD in Centurion, lists the following main costs to factor in when buying a home of R2 million:

Initial buying costs

• Purchase price: R2 million
• 10% deposit: R200 000
• Transfer duty to SARS: R60 500
• Conveyancer fees: R25 380
• Postages and petties: R977.50
• Deeds office transfer levy: R1 098
• Electronic document generation fee: R747.50
• Deeds office search fee: R241.50
• Local council rate clearance: R345
• Bank and bond costs on R1.8 million
• Deeds office levy fee: R1 098
• Initiation fee: R5 250
• Attorney bond and registration cost: R23 910
• Postages and petties and VAT: R977.50
• Electronic generation fee: R1 092
• Another small cost to bear in mind is an electricity connection fee of around R600 to R1 200
• Water connection Fee: R470

Also keep in mind that VAT needs to be added to the above amounts.

Monthly expenses to budget for include:

• Monthly repayments of the bond: At the current prime interest rate of 10.25% the monthly repayment on a bond of R1.8 million will be around R17 670.
• Bond monthly admin service fee: R69
• Homeowners insurance: Banks usually add this to the mortgage amount to protect themselves against claims for flood, fire and hail damage.
• Insurance on the owner’s life: This is to cover the cost of the property in case of death. The policy will not only cover the outstanding loan amount to the bank but will also ensure that any dependents have a roof over their head at the time of death.
• Rates and taxes: Due to the municipality for rubbish removal and the maintenance of your area.
• Water and electricity: Due to the municipality for your household’s monthly consumption.

Van Wyk says any prospective home buyer should carefully look at their budget and expenses before considering the big step of buying property.

“A realistic budget is extremely important before embarking on this journey,” he adds.

Source: property24

Zoom