Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May/June 2015 | Page 8

Q ASK THE EXPERTS Q&A Q Q A A Y P Q Q Matie Jacobs asks: Do you know of a South African property inspection App that I can use on my Ipad to inspect each room, make comments, take photographs and download a full report when I am back at the office? A A Neale Petersen of Real Estate Investor Magazine answers: T Hellip asks: Can you please help me buy a house? I don’t have enough money. My wife and I both earn R3 500 each. Can you please help us buy a house? he best inspection applications available in South Africa include Inspection Manager, Happy Inspector and eInspect by Harcourts. These applications are made for property managers or residential letting agents but anyone can use them. Compile a comprehensive property condition report with Inspection Manager. Then, securely send or sync reports directly to your office computer. This application conveniently lets you rate the condition of the property, take photographs and add personal comments about the inspection. Happy Inspector, meanwhile, assists you in doing comprehensive due diligence reports for your property. Then, safely store or send them via Dropbox. Customise Happy Inspector to produce inventory, midterm, routine or periodic, move in or move out and letting criteria. Take many photographs, caption them and then embed them in the report, either directly next to the damaged item, or added as an addendum at the end of the document. Ask The Property Experts click here 6 A Meyer De Waal of Rent2Buy answers: ou may be able to qualify for a Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Plan (FLISP). Your subsidy can be +/- R63 000 based on your joint income as a deposit. Consider your debt exposure and credit profile. If this is acceptable (based on an income of R7 000), you can qualify for 30% of that for a monthly home loan repayment of R2 100. That can give you a bond of +/R220 000 (depending on the interest rate from your bank). Now you can add your FLISP subsidy of +/- R63 000. Your purchase power will be +/R 280 000. You can only apply for a FLISP subsidy once your bond is approved. Budget for transfer and bond registration costs. Buy a property from a developer who includes costs in the purchase price, or reduce this price to cover these costs. An estimate of these costs is +/- R9 300 for a transfer of R280 000. Factor in the bank bond raising fee at +/- R5 000. Go to www.avidf irefly.co.za Q Kayla Lewis asks: I am an Investment buyer, looking for a high rental income. Is it better to invest in commercial or residential property in South Africa or abroad? I have liquid cash, ready to invest. A Koos Du Toit of P3 Investment Group answers: roperty investment carries varyious risks depending on different variables. Careful research into the pros and cons of each alternative is vital before you spend your money. Investing abroad means you will have to trust others entirely for the transaction and continued management of the property. You require large amounts of money upfront, have little control and the risks are high. However, the rewards can be very high because you earn foreign currency. Investing in commercial property can earn high rental income, but factories and offices are first to stand empty during an economic downturn. Returns are linked to economic cycles. Carefully selected local residential properties will give good returns and there will always be high demand for these properties. Selecting a good rental agent is vital. Do you have a property question you would like answered by our experts? If so, post it on ASK THE EXPERTS on www.reimag.co.za or email [email protected] MAY 2015 SA Real Estate Investor www.reimag.co.za