Guides

Buying a home in South Africa involves a handful of things almost nobody tells you until they matter. These pages are checklists: the questions worth asking, the document that answers each one, and the professional who can actually confirm it.

General South African property-buyer literacy only. This page is not legal, financial, tax, valuation, investment, property-condition or contract-interpretation advice, and it is not advice about your particular situation.

• How Nostoi keeps property guidance evidence-based

  The rules Nostoi holds itself to when it tells a South African home buyer anything: evidence or omit, never a valuation, and advice that is never influenced by payment.

  4 questions · last reviewed 28 July 2026

• What costs should South African home buyers budget for besides the purchase price?

  A checklist of the cost categories South African home buyers meet in addition to the price — what each one is, which document confirms it, and who to ask. Categories, not estimates.

  8 questions · last reviewed 28 July 2026

• Questions to ask before buying a sectional-title home in South Africa

  A due-diligence checklist for sectional title and body corporate schemes: what to ask, which document answers it, and who to ask. General literacy, not legal advice.

  9 questions · last reviewed 28 July 2026

• What to check at a property viewing before making an offer

  What to observe and what to ask at a South African property viewing — and which professional confirms it. Observations and questions only, never a condition assessment.

  8 questions · last reviewed 28 July 2026

• How to check that an estate agent is legally allowed to practise in South Africa

  In South Africa a property practitioner needs a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate to work lawfully and to be paid. How to check for yourself, and what that check does and does not tell you.

  4 questions · last reviewed 29 July 2026

These guides are written by Nostoi from its own research programme and checked against the primary sources named on each page. They are general information for South African buyers, never advice about a particular property or a particular person.