#115: Tips and tricks for buying a home The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap

It’s finally done. I’ve submitted the offer, the owner accepted it. Pending the approval of my home loan, I’ve bought a house. The process has been dreadful and not one I’d like to repeat. I’m very sensitive to where my money goes and what I’d like it to do in the future. Making a decision involving hundreds of thousands of rands was never going to be easy. 
The worst part was not knowing whether I could trust the information I was getting. It’s a negotiation between a buyer and a seller, mediated by a third party who has a vested interest. I only have a superficial idea of what I actually signed on for. 
If you are about to embark on this journey, I recommend visiting the Estate Agency Affairs Board website and downloading the Code of Conduct. This document inadvertently tells you all the fast ones agents like to pull. It also gives you a sense of what you are entitled to as a buyer (and seller). I wish I read this before I started.
I made liberal use of the South African Property Transfer Guide reports. I bought four, in total. I knew exactly who the seller was, how much he paid for the unit, what the other units in the complex were going for and how much churn the complex had seen recently. It also helped me figure out the agent showing me a different unit was being duplicitous; think Photoshopped pictures and unregistered agents.
Lastly, I want to point you to the tool I found an hour too late, submitted by Adam. This company does a comprehensive inspection of the home you’re about to sink your fortune into. If you are seriously considering buying a place, pay a company like this before you commit. 
My house hunting stirred some ideas and questions for you too. In this podcast we share some tips and tricks and help a few listeners figure out how best to buy or sell.
Sally has a question about a second property. She didn’t buy it as an investment property initially, but then her circumstances changed. At first she wasn’t sure if she should keep it or sell it, but in the time it took us to get to her question, she’s had some closure.
I’ve always been of the mind that an investment in property is a good thing and never really looked into it any deeper (in terms of returns etc). 
I was mostly covering costs currently and figured I’ll have extra income once the property has been paid off. 
First, I did the Stealthy spreadsheet, with all the actual money that went in and out of this property over the years. 
The returns are sitting around 8-10%, which is not great. 
I’ve actually been extremely lucky with tenants, and had no vacancies with this place, but who knows how long that luck will last! 
Then I looked at retirement numbers. 
My cost of living with the income is lower, thus the number I need to reach is lower,  and could potentially reach it in 15 years. 
Without the income,  my retirement number is a bit higher, but without the property I would have more disposable income. If I’m disciplined, I could actually reach the higher number in just under 14 years. 
Due to the amount of money in and out of the bond, the amount of cash from the sale will not be huge, but on the plus side, I won’t have a bond to pay off.
I am thinking I may now put it on the market and buy some nice passive property etfs. I’m in no rush to sell, so that’s in my favour. I understand it may take time to sell, which isn’t an issue either. 
What do you think? Have I missed anything critical,  or do you have further arguments for keeping versus selling?
Christiaan shared a bond calculator. It shows:
How your monthly contribution would change if the interest rate changes. How many times you’ll be paying the property if you just paid the bond amount. 2.36 times in my case, which means if I paid cash I could buy two of those places for the price of a bond How additional payments would affect your payment term. For example, my planned additional payment would shave 1