With a recent update, MyProperty aims to show potential home buyers the true total monthly costs for home ownership, factoring in things like rates & taxes and utility costs.
In the above example, we show the total monthly costs for a house for sale in Faerie Glen, Pretoria.
Although the typical home loan repayment here is only R13,220, additional monthly costs including rates & taxes, levies, and utilities including electricity and water costs bump the total up to about R18,883.
This estimate is now displayed under the purchase price of the property for quick reference. It creates a little more transparency when looking for a home, as most buyers only focus on the listing price as primary search criteria. You are able to adjust the utility cost (e.g. set electricity cost and water consumption and factor in things like home maintenance or security costs) which is then saved on your profile and re-used between properties. This should help you better compare properties in an area as rates & taxes and levies can vary considerably in some cases.
In the example above, the repayments on the R1,390,000 home is actually less than the R1,370,00 home simply due to lower taxes & levies.
MyProperty founder, Adriaan Grové, notes that the development team is currently in the process of releasing more updates, including factoring in things like building insurance. "Fact is, building insurance is only looked at during the bond registration process and will differ from area to area too. In most cases, buyers choose the default building insurance provided by the bank, while there may be more cost-effective options around. For this reason, we are busy creating a new financial services division within MyProperty to assist home owners. Buyers will soon be able to compare building insurance, home loan costs and other items that impact their wallet. "
