PRESENTING YOUR PROPERTY IN AN ATTRACTIVE WAY STILL THE KEY TO FINDING A BUYER

Talking recently on Cape Talk's morning radio programme, which is hosted by Refilwe Moloto, Rowan Alexander, Director of the Cape Town northern suburbs estate agency Alexander Swart Property, said that while it is undeniable that the residential homes market, especially in certain specific areas and the R4million plus bracket, is now under pressure-because of South Africa's poor economy-it is still possible to achieve a reasonably good price by "presenting" the home in the best possible way. This, he said, means making sure that it is in tip-top condition and gives evidence of being well maintained and cared for by its previous owner. The street frontage, the 'face" that the home shows to a newcomer, is, he said particularly important. In the current economic conditions, he said, many home owners have fallen behind on their maintenance obligations

"If you look at properties that sell below their apparent market value in any one area, it will almost always be due to the owners allowing them to degenerate so that they present themselves in a poor light. South Africans have traditionally been houseproud and have usually maintained their properties well-we need to recapture this mindset, continually attending to such basics as repainting walls and replacing broken tiles, some of which can be handled by any competent DIY owner. This applies especially to those areas in the home where the family spends the most time."

The condition of the garden, said Alexander, is from the new arrivals' perspective possibly even more important than that of the house and it will usually pay to bring in a professional gardening company to upgrade your garden if you have neglected it. If the home has an asbestos roof, it will eventually be essential to employ those specialists who are licenced to replace such roofs

Alexander said that the agent's main task is to not to try to "sell" the home at an unrealistically high price but to negotiate with the buyer to get a fair, market related price-and to achieve this, he said, it is absolutely essential to price the home at a level that the market will accept and the agent will usually be the person best qualified to determine what this is. In the current conditions homes in less favoured areas, he said, can take 10, 15, 20 weeks or even longer to sell-but in the high demand areas like Brackenfell this is not the case. Homes which are too high priced, he said, inevitably acquire a certain stigma and end up selling below their true value.

For further information, please contact Rowan Alexander on cellphone 082 581 3116 or by email: rowan@asproperty.co.za