If you have always had the dream of buying a property on one of South Africa’s beautiful coastlines but have no idea how to start looking read the following and it may make it easier for you.
First ask yourself what you are going to be using the property for. Is it going to be your holiday home that you utilise once or twice a year and rent out to others for the rest of time, will it be your retirement home or will it be your permanent residence for yourself and your family. Answering this will focus your search as you will then know what the home will need to have.
If you are buying the coastal property purely for investment reasons there are more things to consider. Usually a property that is close to the beach that has a sea view is a sound investment. However if the view is what makes the property so valuable do some research and find out if there are any developments planned for your area that may interfere with your view or accessibility of the beach. Some buyers have been sorely disappointed when after purchasing a great house with a great view some developer goes and builds a high-rise beach front apartment complex right in front of their house.
Other things that will either increase the value of your home or improve it’s re-sale chances are the following:
1. A low crime rate. Investigate the areas crime rate and the measures in place that are there to manage the crime rate. 2. Investigate the need for tourist accommodation, it doesn’t help if you buy the property to rent out in the holiday season and then afterwards discover the market is completely over saturated and there are many similar houses that stand empty all season. 3. If the property is close to the beach, shopping malls, parks, schools and hospitals it will be even more valuable.
So, know what you want and investigate all prospective investments thoroughly.