TheClassifieds Blog

Renting vs Buying a Home

Tara — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 07:53:28 +0000

As we get older and reach the big 3-0 (or at least get close to it), we start thinking perhaps it’s time to put down some roots. In other words, we think about growing up a bit. Part of this is perhaps getting married, having kids and buying a house. Owning a home isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be though and sometimes, depending on who you are and where you choose to live, renting could be better.

Here’s a list of some of the pros and cons of buying and renting:

Buying:

As long as you’re not breaking the law, you can do anything you want to your own property. Want that jacuzzi in the bathroom? Just go ahead and do it.
Property is a great investment in the long run. Considering what property prices were 10 years ago and where they are today, this isn’t difficult to figure out.
If you need money in a hurry and need to take out a loan from the bank, you can use your property as security.
By using your property as security for other financing, you could open yourself up to having your home repossessed should things go wrong.
If you need to get a home loan, the current financial situation will require you to have quite a substantial deposit – between 10 and 30% in some cases. For most people that’s an impossible amount of money to try and save – especially with our daily living costs rising all the time.
You have to maintain everything on your property and there’s no one you can pawn it off to.
Your home ends up being yours and yours alone. No one can tell you to move because they want to sell it on. In fact, it could be handed down from generation to generation and end up becoming part of the family.

Renting:

Forget the jacuzzi in the bathroom unless the owner decides he wants it there. If you’ve got an awesome landlord and they consider you a great tenant, there are few minor things they won’t let you do to enhancing living there. Major renovations though, well, that might make them uneasy.
You pay rent every month simply for shelter. After however many years, you’ll have spent hundreds of thousands of rands and not have the benefit of an investment that could appreciate over time.
By renting, you don’t own a huge asset such as property and won’t necessarily be seen as a safe bet for any financing you might require from the bank.
On the plus side, you don’t have the worry of losing your home because you used it as security in a financial deal gone wrong.
When renting a new place, you’ll need one or two months rent in advance as a deposit. This is an easy amount to get together in comparison to the deposit you may need for buying – and you get it back when you move, well, as long as you don’t break anything.
You’re not responsible for the maintenance of the property. If there is an electrical problem, the owner has to pay for it and sort it out. The burden of responsibility isn’t on your shoulders.
You may never feel entirely secure. You know you’re at the mercy of someone else’s whim and should they wish to sell the property, you may have to find somewhere new to live.

Those are just a few of the pros and cons that exist for both buying and renting. Think of them as bite sized points while you consider your next move. Of course there’s always the third option – rent to buy, although that doesn’t seem to be too popular a concept here yet, you could always see if you could talk your landlord into it

Is it safe yet? April Fools Edition

Tara — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:29:36 +0000

I will admit that I have been curled up in a little ball under my desk waiting patiently for this day to pass without incident. Although South African tradition dictates that jokes should only be pulled up until noon, some people will use the extra element of surprise and wait until 12:01 in the afternoon before setting their pranks off. In other words, it can be a terrifying day if you personally know a few pranksters.

If you don’t, at least you always have the media. Here are some great April Fool’s posted by our local media:

MWEB Uncapped ADSL to be discontinued – MyBroadband

‘Julius Malema in R100m bid for Swallows’ and ‘May the force be with you – after high school’ – TheSowetan

Benni joining Chiefs – Kickoff.com

Bad people live longer – TimesLive

Those are by no means all of the April Fools Jokes that were out there today but they were amongst the best we could find.

Now let’s get a little personal, did you pull any pranks today? Have any pulled on you? Tell us all about them! If anything, it’ll give us a good laugh before the weekend…and speaking of which, here’s hoping you have an absolutely fantastic one!

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5 Things homebuyers are looking for

Tara — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:44:21 +0000

Let’s be honest. It’s not the best day and age to be selling a house. If you look at the news today, there’s an estimated 50c petrol price increase coming next month while electricity rates are going up 25% on Friday as well. That would be all fine and dandy but the average person on the street is finding that their salary isn’t increasing at quite the same rate. In other words, it’s harder to sell right now. Unless of course you know what your buyers want.

We rounded up five things homebuyers are looking for this year when viewing a potential property, some of them, you’ll be able to cater to and some of them will simply allow you to spot someone who could end up wasting your time…or maybe you won’t use them at all and you’re just bored on a Monday afternoon.

1. Well Maintained Homes

That’s right. If you’re an obsessive compulsive DIY queen, it’s all about to pay off because buyers are looking for homes that will require the least amount of effort from them after the sale. While many people see the appeal of the fixer-upper, they simply don’t have the extra cash these days to indulge in one and therefore they want a home that is in pristine condition.

2. Rock bottom prices

Everyone loves these obviously, but now, more than in recent years, buyers are trying to get the best bargain possible and are not afraid to negotiate – no matter the starting price. Sellers should keep this in mind when setting their price because setting it low won’t necessarily mean people won’t try and undercut you.

3. Open kitchens

The cooking culture and everything that comes with it is immensely popular at the moment. People are rediscovering cooking as a hobby and the kitchen is becoming a more social place than it was for our parents when your mother who would have been mortified for someone to walk in and not see dinner already cooked. Now days we invite our friends over to help with that part while consuming a bottle of wine or two. That means that the pesky wall dividing the kitchen from the living areas isn’t being looked on favourably. People want the open flowing design.

4. Green friendly homes and materials

Never has it been more popular to be a tree hugger than right now. Our world is facing a multitude of threats and more people are trying to do their part in reducing their carbon footprint. If you can offer them a house made from recycled materials with solar heating, they’ll look at you with stars in their eyes.

5. Affordable luxury

I think this one is actually pretty self explanatory – everyone loves a bit of luxury, even if they’re trying to be green. If you can add affordable luxurious touches to a house, buyers may be more easily swayed.

Do you have any tips or suggestions of your own on this? Leave a comment and join the discussion!

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Is it a virus making your car sick?

Racy Rob — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 07:46:47 +0000

A few years ago, the biggest lasting “disease” a used car buyer had to be wary of was rust. One little spot of it when looking at a potential car could mean there were large ravaged area hidden from view. In this day and age with the advancement of technology used in our vehicles, there’s an all new threat on the horizon – and this one isn’t as easy to see. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Washington recently discovered that your car may in fact be in danger from malicious software.

Possible points of entry and weak points in your cars security net include built in Bluetooth systems, the diagnostic tools used at service stations and your beloved stereo system. The average Joe on the street will easily avoid the first possible issue, built in Blutooth isn’t a common feature on most affordable cars, however, how do you begin to avoid the other two? While it would be difficult to police the tools of all repair shops, you can at least do something about your stereo system.

The researchers found that they were able to add certain lines of code to an MP3 file which was then burnt to CD and loaded into the cars stereo. From here, the file behaved as a trojan horse by altering the stereo firmware, which in turn exposed various other car components to attack such as the door locks, engine, brakes and even the speedometer.

There’s no need to panic just yet though, this isn’t a problem you’ll most likely encounter for a little while, but it certainly is something to consider. Perhaps we should go back to using cassette tapes.

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Happy St Patricks Day!

Tara — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:27:29 +0000

A very happy St Patrick’s day from all of us here at TheClassifieds to all of you. Remember, on St. Paddy’s Day, everyone is Irish so I hope you are all wearing green, chasing rainbows and kissing suspicious stones. There are some other traditions that we think of when we think of the Irish, like enjoying a good beer, but if you’re going to partake in that, make sure to enjoy it responsibly!

Happy Holidays from TheClassifieds

5 Ways to create a winning Classified

Tara — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:30:59 +0000

Creating a classified advert seems like the simplest thing in the world. You simply tell people what you have to sell and include a little description right? Well, there’s a lot of competition out there and if you want a quick sale you have to use every weapon in your arsenal. Today, we’re going to give you some more ammo:

1. Check that spelling and grammar. Typos really do matter. People who view an advert with typos somewhat suspiciously and will be less likely to take action.

2. Include photos – recent ones. If possible, make sure they’re photos that you took. Getting an image off the internet may be more convenient but a lot of the time, people will be able to tell if it’s a photo you found or a photo you took and if they think it’s the former, they may think you’re a scammer and pass on by.

3. Include as many convenient contact methods as possible. Despite how technology has progressed, we’ve found that most people still prefer to contact a seller or business via telephone. Also, a landline number will also make you appear more trustworthy. Keep that in mind.

4. Check the date and take the season into account. A rarely thought of thing to consider is the idea of seasons and how they can affect your advert and your language. If you have a swimming pool company and it’s the middle of winter, you might want to try a more persuasive approach than you would in summer when people are actually looking to cool down instead of warm up.

and finally

5. Sound different. You need to differentiate yourself and your advert from everyone else out there offering the same product / service. Look at your product / service and think about what is unique about it and then use that. If all else fails, we’ve found humor always gives you an edge (and gets you a chance to be featured in our Best Of section)

Now take these hints, go place an advert and see what you can do! Have more tips to share? Leave a comment and let us know!

Best of the Weekend 7/3

Tara — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:08:25 +0000

Another weekend has come and gone and that means it’s time for the best adverts posted over the weekend once again. They’re all service adverts this week and, truth be told, could be used to make a pretty cool story. Really.

First up we an advert for Martial Arts classes for the kids in sunny Durbs. The cost of the weekly classes don’t look too shabby and they also promise to be non-contact classes so you can rest assured your child will not come home all bruised. Classes such as these are also a great way to teach discipline…and clearly I never had any

Then there is an advert for courier services based in Gauteng that promise to be fast, reliable and safe. I don’t know about you but I definitely think we could always do with some more fast, reliable and safe courier companies. Goodness knows the bigger names often don’t deliver on those promises. If you’re just starting up a Snaply store, it’ll be handy to know about as many companies as possible too!

Finally, our last advert for the week was a choice inspired by me having watched Lie to Me last night. It’s an advert for Polygraph and Lie detection services in Pretoria and Johannesburg. I always think these guys are beyond cool with what they’re able to do using a simple little machine. While they’re not completely foolproof, they are a good place to start when you want to find out the truth.

Hopefully a few of you will find those useful! Have a great week!

Snaply is LIVE

Tara — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:00:45 +0000

Head on over to www.Snaply.com and you can register your store NOW. We are LIVE baby and it feels so good!

It has been a long and sometimes painful journey, but at the end the rewards speak for themselves. Heads have butted, nights have been sleepless (mainly Jonathan working all hours) and more coffee has been consumed in the past few months than should be possible. At the end of it all, we’re left with Snaply and you know what? We’re proud of it, what it is now and what it could become in the future.

For those of you really late to the party, Snaply is an all in one eCommerce platform. What does that mean? Well, say you decide you would like to have an online store one day but you don’t know how to go about it or you can’t afford the options out there. What do you do then? That’s where we come in. We’ve built a system that allows for people with very little technical knowledge to open up an online store and start selling straight away – and we’ve made it affordable and suitable to anyones budget with packages ranging from a simple free option to the professional full featured option.

In other words, why haven’t you signed up yet? Seriously, even if you can’t think of anything to sell right now, go and sign up now to reserve your stores name!

Best of the Weekend 28/2

Tara — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:57:40 +0000

That was an absolutely fantastic weekend. It wasn’t my imagination was it? The weather was perfect and our neighbours never woke us up once. That counts as a brilliant weekend in my mind. And heading into a monumental week. I know that sounds like a terrible exageration, but it really isn’t. Tomorrow is the 1st of March which means we are, at long last, launching Snaply. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if this day was ever going to arrive. Time slowed down just to spite me for a while.

With this exciting occasion less than 24 hours away, it struck me that our best adverts of the weekend should have something to do with it all. We have three wonderful adverts chosen for you, each one chosen with the specific purpose of helping us celebrate – in a slightly odd way maybe

The Music: YAMAHA PSR E413 KEYBOARD

The keyboard is making a comeback, I’m telling you now. At 4 months old, this one is a total bargain. I know that because it has oodles of buttons I don’t even know the purpose of. You should definitely look into this, that way, you’ll know all the tunes for our next party.

The Refreshments: Candy Floss and Popcorn Machines for Hire

Who doesn’t love candy floss and popcorn right? Exactly. They are two very awesome snacks, not just flavour wise, but fun wise. And at least one of which I plan on munching tomorrow. The best part about these guys? They don’t only hire the machines out, they hire them out with operators so you don’t need to stand around for half the day trying to figure out how the machines work.

The Entertainment: DOG CLOTHING/GARMENTS, BEDS AND ACCESSORIES!

Wait, I know it sounds odd, but hear me out here. When you have a party with a keyboard providing the music and the refreshments being candy floss and popcorn, you can’t possibly have any average entertainment. Relax, before you try and shoot me. No dogs are involved in this idea of entertainment. I was thinking that we should take some of the accessories, perhaps the hair clips, and decorate the guys hair…and then make them sing the Mamma Mia soundtrack. Sounds like entertainment to me. At the end of the day though, whether you want accessories to torment someone or you actually want to dress your dogs up like a cow, then check this ad out, they have quite a few nifty things.

TheClassifieds Weekend Picks #1

Scam Alert: BidorBuy Phishing scam

Tara — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:25:38 +0000

Oh dear, it’s time for another safety reminder! Our very own auction giant, BidorBuy have once again been targetted by nefarious phishers. South Africans across the country have been receiving phishing emails which are made to look as if they are being sent by BidorBuy.

These reports come from the web security firm Sophos, who also included a screenshot of the offending email. As you can see, the email claims that the user’s account details have been stolen. They are then asked to click on a link to enter their account details on a seemingly normal page. This regular looking page however is a phishing page designed to lure people into sharing personal and potentially damaging information.

Image: Sophos Security

BidorBuy are in no way alone on the local front when it comes to being targetted by phishing emails. Banks are continuously targetted every day. If you receive any email asking for account information for anywhere, or perhaps even certain personal details, you should not proceed to click any included link. If you are concerned and wish to investigate further, you should visit the site in question manually, i.e. open up a browser and type in the web address. Once there you can check your accounts or contact the site to query whether or not the email is legitimate. 90% of the time, it won’t be but it doesn’t hurt to ask.