Recent content by sasha.gale

Ask for three separate written schedules: acquisition costs, annual holding costs, and costs or taxes that may arise on an eventual sale. A single “closing costs” total can hide assumptions about ownership and future treatment. I would also ask who calculates each amount, when it becomes...

A practical update could use one row per revision date: sample size, active inventory, new listings, removed listings, completed sales where available, median asking price, days on market definition, price band, property type and neighbourhood. Keep the current figures marked provisional until...

Everyone says the nerves are normal, which is not as helpful as they think. I’m 74 days into the process and trying to decide whether I’m stretching too far. For a 2-bed townhouse in Cape Town at about ZAR 11,650,000, I would have roughly ZAR 600,600 left after the deposit and estimated closing...

Search usefulness also depends on age. Rates mentioned in an old discussion may still appear beside current posts unless the date is prominent. I would filter by both rate and posting period, and leave old threads alone rather than trying to migrate them automatically. Members or moderators...

This has helped me separate “cash remaining” from “cash genuinely available to spend.” My provisional split of the ZAR 637,000 is ZAR 400,000 untouched for emergencies, ZAR 35,000 for moving, ZAR 100,000 for urgent repairs, ZAR 52,000 for first-payment/service-charge/insurance timing, and no...

Using most of my available cash could secure the better 1-bed condo; choosing a cheaper place would leave more room for the first year. I’m leaning toward the second approach, but I do not know whether the numbers actually require it. The Cape Town condo costs about ZAR 10,740,000, and my...