The house looks very different than it did 6 weeks ago.
Things have been cooking in Durban with our property as we received the first offer prior to the listing which fortunately fell through on the buyers side for unknown reasons. The good news is this has become hot property due to the correct pricing and it was listed yesterday.
Last night we had 3 viewings and already have two offers at full asking price and more viewings today plus a show house on Sunday. One of the offers received this morning is a qualified buyer meaning she has a bank bond already in place with half as cash up front being deposited into a trust account next week.
My agent has asked for instructions on what to do and this is unknown territory for me so I told her to do the viewings today and see what happens. Who knows we could end up with 3 or 4 offers at full ask and then it becomes a bidding war. I am happy with the woman buyer as she is offering cash and has no stipulations as she will be gutting the property.
Since yesterday I have had 5 different estate agents phoning to see if they can be part of the mandate and had to tell them it is locked up until January. They all mentioned that the property is correctly priced and why there is so much interest.
My estate agent informed me she had 20 different people asking for viewings and we have only been on the market for 24 hours. Is my price too cheap? I do not think so and is priced correctly for the area and in a price bracket that most families can afford without having to go to their limits.
We could have spent more money on the property modernizing certain features like the bathrooms and the two kitchens, but then again would we get the same type of return and I think it is a gamble. Whoever buys the property can do that themselves according to their tastes which I think is far better. From what I have been told the one buyer is a property developer and is going to redo the property anyway so none of this is even necessary. If I had known none of the work done would have been required and could have saved that cash.
The pool is now an inviting crystal clear blue and is a feature because in the Durban climate you spend more time outdoors. I used to spend a good few hours every evening in the pool and very happy to see it back to how it should be all the time. A swimming pool only takes 5 minutes each day to maintain it and once it turns green it takes more time and effort to get it back.
The electrical wiring has been entirely redone plus now has a COC certificate which we would have needed to do anyway. All the exterior spot lights have been replaced and upgraded for security reasons plus this is required for the COC certificate. The two window frames have been replaced along with the damp bathroom wall which was highlighted as an issue. there were two cracked window panes that have also now been replaced and this should be it.
The budget was blown on this project yet it is still cheap when you consider how long the team has been on site. The initial price of R148K which is nearly $10K was for the basics like paining the house, the boundary wall and the roof. Gutters being replaced and sanding down and varnishing the windows with a general garden clean up. Time estimated was 3-4 weeks and was kind of wishful thinking if the weather played along which it never does.
What we did not know was what else was lurking like replacing two entire window frames. Repairing the ceiling and roof which had created a damp wall in the one bathroom which needed replastering and painting. The electric fence needed some replacement parts plus the certificate of compliance (COC) which we would have needed and was not on the original quote.
The total cost of this project ended up at around R220K which is roughly $15K and the team has been on site for over 6 weeks. If we had decided to go with the local handyman this price would be closer to R300K and possibly higher. I am very happy with the end result as we achieved our objective of getting this done and getting it sold within the 3 month buyers window being September - November.
This has been great to share this with you and I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have because there is always so much unknown that you have no idea what is around the next corner. This was possibly much smoother than i could have ever imagined even if the first buyer pulled out and we made an extra 10% on that original offer. This is all good if this ends well which it looks likely and keeping my fingers crossed for the next 3 months.