First-time buyer? Here are 10 hidden costs of buying a house

Property professionals Paul Stevens, CEO, Just Property and Samantha Craddock Partner at Kaplan Blumberg Attorneys lift the lid on the true cost of buying a home to help first-time buyers budget properly.

Bond initiation fee

Your bank will charge you for initiating and opening your bond. This fee may not exceed R6,037. It can be added to your bond amount if necessary, but you'll save on the interest charges if you pay it upfront.

Legal Fees

Buying a home generally involves three types of conveyancing attorneys, who each charge a fee: bond attorneys, cancellation attorneys and transfer attorneys.

The bond attorney will register your bond and prepare the related documents. Their fee is based on the bond amount to be registered, guidelines issued by the Law Society of South Africa and the type of property, with sectional title properties attracting additional costs.

You might be able to negotiate slightly but expect to pay around R15,000 ex VAT for a R500,000 bond and R55,000 ex VAT for a R5 million bond.

A bond cancellation attorney is required to cancel an existing bond on a property - for example, if you have a bond on another property you've sold (perhaps in order to buy your new home). (You will require the services of a cancellation attorney when your bond is paid up too.) This fee is independent of the required "90 -day" penalty interest a bondholder is entitled to charge when the bond is under cancellation.

Fees will be according to the Law Society of South Africa's conveyancing fees guidelines. The average bond cancellation fee for cancelling one mortgage bond ranges between R 4800 - R 5200 (an additional fee will be added for an additional bond to be cancelled).

The transfer attorney is appointed by the seller but the buyer pays them for registering ownership of the property in the buyer's name with the Deeds Office. Their fee is based on the property's value and according to guidelines issued by the Law Society of South Africa. An amount for items like postage and FICA will be added.

Expect to pay around R 13 000.00 ex VAT for a R 500 000 property and R 57 000 for a R 5 000 000 million property.

It is important to note that the examples above do not account for the related disbursements, for example, postage and petties, FICA identification fees, and deeds office searches.

Deeds Office Fee

The Office will charge you a fee for registering your bond over the title deed. This fee may be paid by your transferring attorney, who will then bill you for it, and you can expect to pay around R 755 for properties of R500,000 to R 2350 and up for purchases of R 5 million.

Transfer duty

This tax is normally the largest cost you will need to pay over and above the purchase price of a property. It must be paid to SARS within six months of the property transfer.  (If a seller is VAT registered, you will pay VAT instead of transfer duty. This is often the case when buying a property in a new development.)

Budget for around R50,000 on a R2 million property and R366,000 for a R5 million property. 

Monthly bond administration fee

Your financial institution will charge a small monthly admin fee, usually under R100.

Insurance premiums

To get a bond, you will probably be required to take out homeowner insurance/structural replacement insurance. This is on top of your normal household insurance. Costs vary and you don't have to take the product recommended by your financial institution, so shop around. Depending on your credit scoring and or risk assessment, life cover could be a condition of your mortgage loan agreement.

Moving costs

Depending on whether you use a minivan or a pantechnicon, you could be charged anywhere from a few thousand rands up to tens of thousands. It is always cheaper to move mid-month, so try to arrange that.

Connecting to utilities

Owners of freehold property will need to register for water, electricity and a landline. You're looking at a few thousand rands.

Don't forget about the cost of an internet connection and fibre.

Rates and levies

The liability for a purchaser could entail making provision for 1 - 2 months' worth of the municipal rates & the body corporates levy premium, payable in advance - subsequent to the registration date. You will pay monthly rates for rubbish collection and sewerage, and taxes based on the value of your home.

Shortly after registration (mostly in freeholds), a deposit is charged to open a new water and/or electricity account at the council's office - approximately R2500 water deposit and  R2500 electricity deposit.

Owners of sectional title property will pay a set levy every month.

Security, maintenance and renovations

Some suburbs have security in place, which you will need to contribute to. And you will need to decide whether to contract with an armed response company. If your home doesn't have a good system in place, this is a good time to ask the security company about a package deal for an upgrade.

Top Tips To Lessen The Pain

• Give yourself two to three years of really serious saving. Tighten your belt and put as much as possible away for a deposit.
• Spend six months before you start looking for a house to improve your credit score - this will help you get the best rate on your bond.
• Find an estate agent you trust who comes highly recommended for the suburb you're considering. They will be able to give you a true idea of current pricing and other tips about the area.
• Negotiate on the asking price - a good agent will do this for you.
• It doesn't cost you a cent to let a bond originator to get you the best deal on your bond from the banks, and it could save you hundreds of thousands of rands in interest over your bond term.
• If there's an attorney you know well, you could ask the seller to appoint them as the transferring attorney. If not, remember that you can try to negotiate the conveyancing attorney's fees before agreeing. You can call for Pro-forma cost statements from any Conveyancing Attorney firm to roughly set out the transfer and bond registration fee applicable to the purchase price you have in mind.
• Shop around for the best deal on homeowners' or bondholders' insurance, movers, etc.
• Remember, it's cheaper to move during the month than at the end/beginning of the month.