Buying a sectional title property involves far more than paying the bond. Jonathan Kohler, CEO and Founder of Landsdowne Properties, explains how levies, municipal charges, utilities and maintenance costs can add thousands of rands to monthly expenses and why buyers should calculate the true cost of homeownership before signing an offer.
A 100m² sectional title apartment in Bryanston can carry a monthly cost pack of about R4,000 to R7,000 or more before the owner has paid one rand toward the bond.
In Claremont, a similar two-bedroom apartment can generally carry about R4,200 to R7,000 or more in levies and municipal accounts before the bond is paid.
In KwaZulu-Natal’s coastal nodes, the number can be higher. In anonymised Landsdowne-managed examples, a comparable Umhlanga apartment can carry monthly holding costs of about R6,500 to more than R11,500, while Ballito can range from about R3,500 to R7,000, depending on the scheme, amenities, consumption and municipal billing.
These figures point to a problem buyers still underestimate: the bank may approve the bond while the full monthly cost of the home remains largely untested.
