House hunting

This is probably the most difficult thing Karina and I will have to do. Try and find a home.

Everyone wants to live in a cosy and spacious home with a garden, double garage with friendly neighbours and a half decent view to have drinks outside in the summer. Ok, maybe not all the above criteria applies to everyone, but it applies to Karina and I!

We already own a flat in the Strand that we are currently renting out. The flat is really an investment more than anything else because I wouldn’t want to live in my flat. (It’s not that its old or anything, actually it is a very neat flat, just way too small with only 1 parking bay and it is a FLAT. Also the neighbourhood isn’t really somewhere I would consider living.)

So, there are few of options that we could look at. Sunday, Karina and I went to look at a neat townhouse complex in the Strand. The houses are definitely larger than normal sized Strand townhouses. I.E. these homes were 2/3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with 1 on-suite and single or double garage to choose from. Then there were options of a small backyard for a braai. The prices ranged from R800k – R1m. You select a plot and then have a few plans that you can choose from.

I “liked” it, but my idea of my first home is I think way over our heads. Even though these houses were, as I said, larger than normal, they still are small compared to what I actually would like. I think my Mom is right when she says I always aim for the top/best of everything. I wanted to run before I could walk type of thing.

The big plan

Then there is the “big plan”, which is a dream that I “will” turn into a reality (think positively Jason!). I really want to live on a golf estate one day, and they are currently building a brand new Golf Estate on the N2 called Sitari Fields. My idea was to put down a deposit on a place there (once they eventually released pricing), rent a house/flat from the end of 2008 until the houses on Sitari are completed near the end of 2009 and then beg, borrow and steal the money to afford the house if it came to that. I would obviously try and predict what size bond Karina and I could afford by then, so as to know what house to put a deposit on. If things totally fall apart, well then I won’t loose anything, except the chance of owning an amazing house in an amazing area! (With, I might add, a golf course membership!)

Then things sort of came crashing down. Well only slightly in my mind. They released pricing on phase 1 plots (there are plots ) this week and they the prices are way over what I anticipated, but also, maybe I was being optimistic. 500sqm plots are going for 1.2m, with the 1000sqm plots currently priced at 2.4m. So, with that in mind, I am now awaiting the prices on the plot and plan areas. Those plots I know are smaller, so maybe their pricing might be within reach.

Buying a house / choosing a place to live is one of the most difficult decisions that Karina and I have to make. I have always set myself lofty goals and I almost always make them, so maybe if I have those figures in my head as my goal, you just never know. (Never underestimate me pal! )

Do you have any ideas or wise words for Karina and I regarding buying our first home? Leave us a comment below.

Jason wrote this on Monday, January 21st 2008 and listed it under House Hunting.