Cracking the Buyer’s Remorse Code

Buying an older home is a romantic proposition for many. If you appreciate a beautiful antique, then the appeal of a home that has an aged character and many years of memories within its walls are easy to understand.  It’s one of the reasons why Linden, a suburb established in the 1950s in Johannesburg, has become one of the most sought after areas for house hunters looking for some nostalgia.

Ross Garrett, a professional photographer, recently chose to buy his dream home in Linden.

“I loved everything about the suburb, and the home was exactly what I wanted.  Granted it’s an old property, but it was well-maintained.  I knew that older homes could potentially present with challenges around older infrastructure such as the electrical wiring, plumbing, roof trusses and building materials.  Fixing such issues if they did pop up after the sale could be frustrating and cost a truckload of unplanned money, but I loved everything about this property.  None of these issues were visible when I viewed the home, but obviously, it remained a real concern,” explains Ross.

“When estate agent Ahmed Moosa from Ennik Estates informed me that the seller had signed up for a Hollard home warranty and explained what it was all about, I knew it was a win-win situation.  Not only could I get the home I wanted, but I had the security of a warranty to protect me against the financial implications of unseen defects cropping up later.  When you consider that the house was built over 75 years ago, this concern was always back of mind,” he adds.

Hollard’s Home Warranty couples a professional property inspection with an insurance policy which protects both buyer and seller against the financial ramifications of any defects that may emerge in the property for two years after taking transfer.

Seller Jeremy Craig, who also happens to be an agent with Ennik Estates, explains how the home warranty helped him get the price he wanted for his home, in record time.

“I was confident that my home was well maintained and to the best of my knowledge it was free of any major defects. After disclosing to the agent what I knew the defects to be, I was quite stunned when the very first offer I received came with a long list of conditions that I was practically unable to meet.  It seemed that the disclosed defects had made the buyer nervous, leaving the buyer with an unrealistic assumption that there were more.  I decided to decline the offer as I felt many of the demands were unreasonable, even though the price was attractive.  This experience left me wondering whether, in order to sell my home for the price I wanted,  I needed to address the minor problems.  This would enable me to provide the prospective buyer with the peace of mind that there were no other issues,” explains Jeremy.

It was just then that Jeremy heard about the newly launched home warranty from Hollard.  “I knew this was the perfect way to protect both myself and the buyer.  It also meant my home would be more marketable to qualified buyers.  I was fully prepared to fix any problems necessary to get the selling price I wanted, but I did not want to make unreasonable sacrifices on my price for snags that weren’t material in the first place.  The professional property inspection achieved exactly that.  My home received a clean bill of health barring some very minor repairs that cost me much less to repair than I thought they would.  Less than two weeks after receiving the Hollard Home Warranty certificate, my property was sold at a price that I was happy with,” explains Jeremy.

Estate agent Ahmed Moosa adds that this was his first experience working with a Hollard Home Warranty, and it brought a whole new dimension of professionalism and security, not only to seller Jeremy Craig and buyer Ross Garrett, but to him as the agent acting for both parties.

“Typically, a disclosure list can make buyers warier of what else could be wrong with a property, and they sometimes end up finding problems where there really aren’t any. I have seen situations where clients find their dream home albeit with a few minor problems, but end up walking away from a great deal because they overestimate the extent of and cost to fix minor problems.  A home warranty puts paid to all the challenges around buying and selling a home by providing peace of mind, transparency and a fair playing field for everyone involved in the transaction.

“The warranty definitely shortens the sales cycle by making it easier for both buyer and seller.  Sellers get to differentiate their home and pass their disclosure obligations on to the insurer. Buyers get the peace of mind that if something goes wrong that they didn’t know about, they are covered for any financial repercussions.  I also found the support provided in the repair process by the Hollard team and contractors to be invaluable for both clients.  In fact, had the first interested buyer received the warranty certificate, they might not have talked themselves out of a property that they really wanted,” concludes Ahmed.

Peace of mind comes standard with a Hollard home warranty

When it comes to property transactions, making sure the homework is done by professional property inspectors is the first step towards peace of mind.  The next step is transferring the risk of undetected defects to an insurer.  It’s a product that should be attached to the ‘for sale’ sign of every well-maintained home for peace of mind and the best possible outcomes for all parties concerned.

To find out more or get a quote, go to www.hollard.co.za, or email hollardhomewarranty@hollard.co.za. Or call 0861 HOME 4U (0861 4663 48).