It is without question that purchasing a home as a first-time homebuyer is a daunting and often intimidating process. In the past, I often found myself reaching out to a varying number of real-estate agents in the hope that they would take me on, with all my insecurities about the great financial undertaking that it is and show me the way. Years went on, and often times there wasn't much of a follow-up or my enquiries were simply limited to that.
It wasn't until I reached out to Nomphelo Mntu (herein after referred to as Noms), when firstly, my enquiry became something more. She, immediately organized to visit my family home, which I had loosely shared an intention to sell in a conversation we were having, and thus my path towards a new home acquisition began. Within a week, the house had been put on the market and I was now searching for my dream home. What stood out to me the most during this time is the amount of sharing of 'step-by-step' information by Noms in order to convey exactly what would and needed to take place. The attention to detail that she possessed and shared, I simply could not emphasize the level of ease and comfort it brought to not only to myself but my family as now new sellers and buyers of property. Suddenly this elusive world of home ownership began to unveil and unravel itself, thanks to the guidance of Noms.
Similarly, it did not take long to realize that this was a passion-project for Noms and the ability to facilitate this process meant a lot to her. I also, quickly, learned that the value and confidence she was able to place in me, as a first-time buyer was immeasurable. It equipped me with all the right information, including the fine print, from which I was able to access my own esteem to believe that the home I had desired for the past 5 years was well within my reach and with that an offer was made. This was the first great victory, as Noms had the ingenuity to submit an offer that was below asking price at the time. It turned out her assessment was on the mark as the seller accepted and we were well on our way. Things seemed to move rapidly and this was probably the most surprising of the entire process. Having Noms as my real-estate agent meant that I was at a one-stop-shop, where all my property selling and buying needs were taken care of. From finding a buyers, a reliable, trusted and experienced bond originator, liaisoning with the banks and even the legal representation.
The most commendable part of this entire process has to be the fact that she had to do this with a remote client in, myself. At the time, I lived in South Korea where I had resided for 12 years, so every bit of communication and documentation had to be done across international waters, and of course, vastly different time zones. As if that hadn't been enough of its own challenge, a month into our process, we were hit by the stark reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, we had to ground some of our processes, due to the Deeds Office coming to a temporary closure as well as our Conveyancing Attorney offices. Yet, throughout that entire process, Noms kept me informed and encouraged me to continue with the sale, at times when I wasn't even sure buying was the best thing to do given the uncertain time we found ourselves in. She was able to guide me towards considering the great value she had negotiated earlier in our process and with all the confidence she had already instilled in me, I knew best to listen and follow her advice.
Needless to say, we stuck it out and I am proud to say, I am now the proud first-time homeowner of a beach and river front property at the tender age of 35 years old. Something I had dreamt of since I was a young girl. A true dream come true. This process has changed my life and that of my family and Noms was able to hold all of our lives and fate in her hands with such grace and dedication to get us to this point. She is a true gift to the Real Estate industry and if she can do this for my family, I know she is doing it for other families, too. I can't imagine a better way to use one's time than making people realize their life long dreams. I am forever grateful for the work she has done for my family, and truly bringing the most positive change in our lives.
