TO BUILD OR TO BUY – THE BIG QUESTION

Buying a house is huge decision, not just financially, but emotionally too. Most people spend months – if not years – imagining their perfect home before they start looking, and are often disappointed when nothing on the market quite compares to what they had in mind. The only guaranteed way to get exactly what you’re looking for in a property is to build your dream home from scratch – but that comes with a whole lot of challenges of its own.

So what’s better – to compromise and buy an existing home, or to go the whole hog and create your ideal space from the ground up? As with most things in life, there are pros and cons to both options, and a lot depends on your personal preferences and, of course, your budget.

There’s little doubt that buying an existing home is the quicker and more convenient option. It may take time to find something you really love, and you might have to live with a few details that aren’t quite perfect, but with the help of a good estate agent and a little bit of luck, you could be unpacking in your new home in just a few months.

Existing homes are also usually more cost-effective than building from scratch, especially when you take into consideration the side benefits of a properly cared-for, lived-in property. Things like an established garden are a huge plus that would take years and thousands of rands to set up from scratch.

There are some other potential downsides to buying an existing home, apart from compromising on the details, however. You never know how well former owners have maintained things and there is always the chance that you could discover problems that need to be fixed down the line. The Consumer Protection Act does give buyers some recourse against latent defects but it’s always a good idea to have a professional home inspection done before you buy to help prevent nasty surprises.

If you decide to build instead of buy, you have the comfort of knowing that everything in your home will be brand new.

New houses are definitely not exempt from hidden defects and it’s not uncommon for new houses to have plumbing, wiring and even structural problems, so make sure to use a reputable builder, and have provision in your contract for the repair of any latent defects.

Defects aside, building a new house does mean that you’re much more likely to get exactly what you want. There are rules and restrictions on sites, so you will need to work within those, but a good architect and builder can make your dream home a reality.

In most other respects building a new home is expensive. You have the cost of the site, the cost of the building itself and the cost of all the fittings and finishes – not to mention the professional fees for your architect and/ or building inspector.

You’ll also need to prepare for the fact that that’s about the only thing that’s likely to happen fast. Taking into account the design process, getting council approval, and the time spent on site, building a home could take anywhere from six months to over a year to be completed.

There’s no doubt that building your own home can be the ultimate source of satisfaction, but it can also be an expensive, time-consuming option with potential pitfalls. Likewise, buying an existing home can be filled with surprises, but it can also be an exciting journey to discover a good fit at a great price.