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“The majority of first-time home buyers are probably buying into a complex (sectional title),” he says. But both freehold and sectional properties each offer owners unique opportunities to maximize the value it can offer a new buyer. “A first time home buyer, in all likelihood, would just be excited that they’re in a financial position to buy a home,” says Jansen. He emphasizes that most would be focusing on the fit and finishings of the home. Did you know that you can stand to save up to 35% on your monthly premiums by combining your car and home insurance? CLICK BELOW to get multiple quotes!
“Very few people are bathing these days,” he says. “In today’s market, if you don’t have a house with a shower, you’re definitely behind the curve.”
“Older properties will typically have a lot of carpeting. Some of them will even have carpeting in the bathroom!” says Jansen.He suggests people hoping to sell should give buyers what they want. Since people have moved away from carpets, tiling in the living spaces is a good choice, as well as laminate flooring in the bedrooms. As low maintenance as possible.
“Not too long ago, the average tile size in your property was what they call a ‘330x330’ and what we’re finding now is that tile sizes are getting bigger,” reports Jansen. “An average tile size would be 500x500.”He says a bigger tile is an immediate indicator that a property has been updated or renovated. He doesn’t advise blowing the budget, but looking at what the biggest, nicest, tile under R110 per meter square.
Make sure your property is as on trend as possible. The colour palette at the moment is neutral beige and grey colours. “A lot of people might like a feature wall: a maroon, or a dark blue; but your feature wall and my feature wall would obviously be different,” says Jansen.He says: paint the property in a neutral colour that is the ‘colour of the moment’. To find out what that is, consult the latest home magazines or ask your local paint shop what the popular colours are at the moment. But focus on neutrality - not the bright colours.
“Let’s say I bought a townhouse that was 10 years old - the basin in the bathroom is probably a basin and a pedestal,” says Jansen. He advises doing an easy DIY: replacing the pedestal with a cabinet for extra storage and to modernise the look of the bathroom.
“Something that you can easily do is change the handles on the cupboard doors.” Find something that’s the same size as the old handles, but modern. “It just gives the whole place a much fresher look,” says Jansen, who recommends the chrome or brushed metal look.In your kitchen, especially, replace or update the cupboard doors. Chalk paint is quite trendy for a new look.
“These days both parents work, so they’d require a live-in nanny for the children. So you’re looking at domestic quarters for the nanny,” says Jansen.
“The big problem is the cost of the renovation. If I wanted to add another bathroom, I’m probably looking at anything between and R120 000 and probably R150 000 - and that’s at cost. The question is: will I get that money back whether I decide to sell or not? “The likelihood is you‘ll make your money back over a period of time. The general advice that I’ve given in the past is, don’t renovate to sell, you should be renovating to live. Particularly in the current marketplace. In trending suburbs, something like that could probably be a good idea. But if it’s not in a trending suburb and there isn't a huge demand for it, then you’ve got to be very careful about overspending on the property. The likelihood of you getting your money back is not very good,” concludes Jansen.