South African Property Market 2008

So with tonight being the last night of 2008 it's time for the SA Property Market 2008 prediction :)... Sounds like fun, lets see how accurate we are. For those of you sitting at home waiting for some new BLOG posts, lets hope this keeps you somewhat, entertained.

Roundup of 2007
There's been some major changes and impacts in the South African Property market over the last 12 months. We've seen the rise and fall of some of South Africa's supposed fraudulent bond originators especially the story of Rudco Finance which the SA Property Team followed extremely closely. I just want to say though, that it's great to finally see South Africans standing up for their finances. It seems gone the days where fraudsters would just walk over us. A good positive to take into 2008.

Of course, who could forget the introduction of South Africa's National Credit Act. This amazing introduction by the government and financial lending boards has brought a stop to the reckless lending of credit. There was a stage when South Africans were in such financial debt, and didn't realise it. Well, we do know. And financing your property is no longer as easy as filling in a form.

We of course had the lovely problem of inflation, which after reading the Sunday Times news paper this morning does not seem to have been fixed yet. South Africa, under immense pressure, with an inflation rate sitting at around 6% is now feeling the brunt on our home loan interest rates. Interest rates have increased 4.5% over the last 6 months with talk of another 0.5% increase in the next quarter.

So after writing this article, I've decided that instead of predicting 2008's behaviour, I'm going to leave you with some tips, especially for the youth, and those looking to invest in property for the first time, in South Africa, and wherever you may be!

Tip 1 - Don't over expose yourself with too much credit! Credit is good, but make sure you have at least one account with a reputable store like Edgars.

Tip 2 - Don't buy property to your limit. I know we all want that 3 bedroom house in Clifton, but start small and work your way up! A site like myroof.co.za or privateproperty.co.za are great sites, no need to pay estate agent commission fees either.

Tip 3 - Use a reputable bond originator and someone whose a GOOD and RELIABLE financial advisor! - See Wizard Home Loans.

Tip 4 - If you're in Debt already and you are listed, make use of services such as The Debt Doctor, who provides free financial advise to those who can't afford to pay for it.

IF YOU WANT A GREAT BOOK WITH GREAT ADVICE - Buy the Suze Orman book advertised on this site - http://www.wizardmidrand.com/home-loans/debt/debt-doctor.html.

So that's that folks. Have a wonderful New Years and be SAFE!!!!

WizardMan Out for 2007!

THE TURNING OF THE SCREW - A TITO PRODUCTION

So in this movie old Tito Mboweni played by Basil Fawlty announces - a 0.5% increase in the repo rate pushing up benchmark prime and mortgage rates to 14.5% - and the whole cast and audience whoops with delight!!!! YES, YES, YES.

So Basil took the spirit out of Christmas shopping for many borrowers ...laughed the News24 audience.

Polly the analyst asked our knucklehead Manuel if the majority of his analyst friends also expect this to be the end of the tightening cycle???? Manuel said he asked his buddies at Lehman Brothers and the answer was, QUE!!! You guessed it, no-one really knows.

SO, thank heavens for good old SYBIL, level headed, slightly cloudy but, sensibly she thinks that having spoken with her close, close friends over tea at ABSA that with inflation taking its leap into our lives and with some belt tightening we will see house prices on average continue to dip and yes, the end of the increase in interest rates cycle is doomed! Doomed, did you hear what I said BASIL.

The End!!!

Have a safe and blessed Festive Season folks!!!!!!!

U.S Property Bubble Burst - Mortgage Lenders Take Strain

For the sake of those who don’t understand the American property market "bubble burst", I thought of summarizing it as I understand it;

A few years ago the interest rate in America was 1% per annum, therefore, money was cheap and people could easily pay two bonds. But, instead of buying two properties, they took out second bonds equal to more than the 150% of the value of the property, making the bonds much higher than the values of the properties.

The institutions that granted these 150% bonds (known as subprime mortgage lenders) were exceptionally devious, they knew that this bubble would burst(It's happened before), but they saw a money-making opportunity and took the gap.

These devious American mortgage lending institutions carried out huge marketing campaigns and granted as many 150% bonds as they could, they then immediately sold their debtors books to other institutions who were extremely greedy. Some of the greedier mortgage institutions sold the debtors books over again and even syndicated them. The inevitable then happened;

The US Federal Reserve started pushing up interest rates.

Today the interest rate is more than 5% and that means that people are now paying more than 5 times as much on their mortgage bond repayments. The people that did not initially fix their interest rates cannot afford this and have stopped paying(U.S. in serious debt). Selling their property is not a solution, as they cannot get a high enough price to settle the bond. The company that now owns the debtors book is going bankrupt and the investors who bought share in these companies are losing billions.

The investors in the rest of the world HAVE panicked and sold all the shares they have causing some of the worlds biggest loans companies to go bang.

Dear South African’s and Mr President …. our property market is very healthy and we are not in the same bracket as America. Our banks unwillingly give us 100% loans and our interest rates would have to increase five fold to 67.5% so the chances of that happening are probably zero… don’t be put off…keep buying property in South Africa and make sure you can afford it and make sure you do your home loan through Wizard MIDRAND.

2007 season coming to a close!

It's time for me to do a bit of an early round up for the year. It's been a year of excitement and passion and LOADS of fun. It's been a year that's taken Wizard Home Loans into new and exciting grounds and I'm glad that I was a part of this. Wizard Midrand's website is officially in the top 10 home loans sites on the South African web right now and along with our very own South African Property BLOG we're now a major force to be reckoned with. With the help of the Wizard Staff this BLOG has swiftly become one of the leading property and finance portals on the South African BLOGOSPHERE.

There are a couple of sites and people I'd like to mention here. Amatomu, thank you! You guys have really helped generate alot of traffic and alot of responses to my posts. In fact at one stage the 5 hits a day I was getting from Amatomu was the most traffic I was getting from any site other than Blogspot ;-)... Viva South African blogs.

I did thank a couple of people earlier on in the year by sending them a hamper but I thought I would say thanks to the lot of them again for their continual support:

1. South Africa BLOG - http://www.southafricablog.co.za/
2. RLDaly - http://rldaly.wordpress.com/
3. Cape Town Daily Photo - http://www.capetowndailyphoto.com/
4. CharlNet - http://charlvn.za.net/
5. Property Loan - http://www.propertyloans.co.za/
6. Live The Life - http://www.actionsport.tv/wordpress/
7. Wildlife Property South Africa - http://wildlifepropertyinsa.blogspot.com/
8. Webtrepreneur.co.za - http://www.webtrepreneur.co.za/

I good old thanks to all the BLOG sites out there that's I've left out. Maybe a little more push from your side next year and we'll send you something ;-) who knows!

This is something I've been wanting to do on this BLOG for a while and that's mention a ULTRA special thanks to Mr and Mrs Wizard Midrand (Pictures at the top of this post if you're wondering) for giving me the opportunity to take Wizard online and bring a new dimension into their business, p.s. and for paying for my flight to the Las Vegas Webmaster World Conference :)))))

These two people are amazing directors, fathers, mothers and an inspiration to not only me but everyone that comes into contact with them. They are my driving force and my guides. It's because of him that my other ventures:

http://www.ivolution-seo.com/
http://www.homesouthafrica.com/
http://safari-travel.blogspot.com/
http://southafrica.amagama.com/

have all started up. (keep posted ladies and gents there's loads coming on board next year).

So to Mr Green. Thank you and I look forward to next year!!!!

Finally a good old thanks to all my loyal readers. Thank you for making this BLOG one of the most successful property BLOGS of the year. Have a blessed year and a great festive season.

WizardMan Out!

First Time Home Buyers

Don't bite off too much house...

The age old method of home loan affordability could lead you to disaster and we're finding more and more queries and complaints about affordability and first time home buyers getting themselves into debt. Here's how to get a better idea on what you can afford.

I was going to start this off by saying "20 years ago..." but it's not, it's not even 6 months ago that first-time home buyers were encouraged to maximise their profitability and put all their investments and savings into a massive house. Stretch yourself and buy that R2,000,000 apartment. Hey, for first time buyers back then it even made sense.

Lets face it folks, today, it's asking for SH!T, pardon my french.

Here's what's changed in 20 years (or more) since your parents bought their first house:
Inflation. Price increases in the last 5 years meant you could count on hefty annual raises.

It's no longer just you. A generation ago, single-income families were more common. If the breadwinner lost a job, the other spouse could go to work to save the house. With more than one person both needing salaries to cover you first time loan, there's no one on the sidelines to take up the slack - Get those kids working man.

Fortunately though, these days it's very difficult to purchase a house if you can't afford it with the credit act in place and rightly so. In the long run, especially if interest rates decide to jump up again, it's going to save you alot of heart ache.

Over the last 5 days I've received hundreds of emails from first time home buyers that are now feeling the brunt and the pain of having over capitalised on their property investments and with interest rates on R2 000 000.00 bonds sitting at 12%, you've got to be earning a lovely salary to afford those repayments every month. That's excluding your monthly living expenses, kids, entertainment, food etc...

What we're finding is that people have so badly over capitalised that they're now in the predicament where they're having to sell their properties for 20% less than what they bought them for i.e. they're making a loss! PLUS they're in debt. Just, remember, if you don't know what you can afford, you can't count on your real estate agent, a mortgage loan officer, your friends and family or an Internet affordability calculator to know what you can really afford. These tools are there for first time buyers, make use of them. That's a decision you have to make yourself after reviewing your finances, your future obligations, your goals and your gut.

Is anyone here in the same predicament, has anybody got some stories, solutions for us to read about. Please share you comments and stories with us.

U.S. Subprime Mortgage - Boom or Bust for S.A. Home Loans Markets

I'm assuming that most of the people that read this BLOG are either Property Guru's or Financial Barons so if I talk about the U.S. Subprime Mortgage problems that have been going on for the last month or two you're most likely up to date.

If not take a quick read through: Economist.com

The question that's been on everyones minds is; Will the U.S. Subprime mortgage lending crisis effect South Africa's mortgage market? Personally, I don't think so and so far it hasn't. If anything we've been one of the few fortunate countries that haven't been affected. We're fortunate enough in South Africa, that our securitization mortgage market is alot smaller than our bank lending market. Their are very few companies in South Africa that use securitization as a means of supplying funding i.e. SA Home Loans, Eagle Bond Originators, Rudco Finance and now Integer Bond Originators but there's still alot of scepticism amongst South Africans and the majority still prefer using the major banks.

If anyone has experienced the dip in either the U.S. market or if anybody thinks this is still yet to affect us please comment below.

WizardMan Out!

Real Estate Search Engine

Been doing alot of surfing lately and I came across another great site.
Unique in it's own way, Ahyer.com! is a completely FREE real estate search engine listing site. Their technology is unparalleled and leap years ahead of Trulia which by the way has been really unsuccessful.

With Internet search engine marketing and optimisation being such a forefront in real estate and mortgage these days you want a serious bunch of online tecchies helping you out!

Ahyer.com has been very successful in countries such as Malaysia, The Philippines and The Caribbean and are hoping to continue their success in South Africa. Although their forms seem to be a little longer than most, don't be put off, it helps eradicate junk spam and will enable your real estate searching and selling experience become a pleasure vs a burden.

Could Private Property be on their way out?

Check them out Ahyer.com

Help build awareness - The Financial Blogosphere

I came across a unique and very different site the other day! It's a Financial Blogosphere Site. The sites and the posts are hand picked and the top 10 posts from every BLOG are personally added to the sites reader.

It's relatively new so it has a couple of features that could do with some fixing up, but try it out folks, it's great, and a lovely resource for all.

Congrats guys, it's always nice to know that there are people out there, willing to help clean up the Blogosphere!

Check it out, it's definately worth it http://www.ourcommunitypower.org/blogreader/is.php

WizardMan Out!

South African Property Neighbourhood Watch - Property Blogging

VIVA THE BOKKE & FORZA FERRARI! Sorry, I've been screaming that for the last two days so I needed to post my joy online for all to see! What a weekend for sport and nerves, in fact it was so good I've woken up happy and smiling and ready for work on a Monday. Let me tell you, that doesn't happen too often! Anyways, well done John Smit and well done Kimi Raikonnen. Two new world champions crowned in one weekend...

Moving on, I've had quite a few requests from international readers to start writing posts about the suburbs in South Africa and it's surrounding regions. People say that it's the one thing that's lacking on the web and in South African sites. I did some searching on the net and it's true, if you search for suburbs and for real estate investing in South Africa there's nothing. So how are international investors meant to know what the good area's the not so good area's and the up and coming area's in South Africa are...

Think about it, if you're relocating, what questions do you ask.
Things to do while in town!
Things to consider when moving to town!
With 50% - 60% of the market that's currently buying being Internet savvy, it's an area that's missing. So I'm going to try start and trend and hopefully all you real estate and property bloggers in South Africa will help me out!

So it's going to be the start of a new series of BLOGGING articles called "South African Property Neighbourhood Watch". Stay tuned, it's going to be a thriller!

WizardMan Out!

3 ways to save on agent commissions

You want more cash in your pocket at the end of the day! So where can you save money when purchasing or selling your property! Lets start with 3 methods to cut costs when using estate agents.

Gone should be days of paying 7% commission to agents. It's firstly a rip off and secondly it's costing you a fortune! Well lets show you how to save some cash.

• Negotiating down your agent's cut


• For Sale by Owner - Private property sales


• Going "HANS" Solo

Negotiating down your agents fee's
Most real estate agents take a commission of roughly 2.5% to 3%. Their total cost anywhere between 6% and 8% of which the difference is paid out to the companies and parties involved in the sale. RIP OFF! However as more and more smaller agents and online businesses start coming into the fold real estate agents are becoming more and more susceptible to discount "chat". Taking reductions in their commissions. After all, we know they're earning too much money, lets take some of that cash back.

• To get that commission reduced: Ask a couple of agents in the area for a estimate of what the current property rates are in the area


• Chat to each agent, control the meetings you have with them as they're known for putting you on the spot even though it's your place you're trying to sell. Tell them how much you are expecting to make from the sale of the house and ask if they will lower their commission to the percentage you want. Even if it's 1% commission drop, you're saving alot of money.

Remember, if your house is in the upper end of the market, you're going to stand a better chance and you might be able to get a good 2% or 3% drop in commission rates.

For Sale by Owner - Private property sales
With sites such as Private Property and MyRoof and millions of other free list site popping up on this ever expanding WWW :) who needs to pay real estate agent commission fees?

Private Property charge a once off listing fee, and as far as I know HomeSouthAfrica and MyRoof offer free listings.

Going "HANS" Solo
Well what more can we say about going "HANS" solo. You saving R30 000 - R40 000 commissions. Remember though, that you going to need time to sell it, put it on show and remember to clean your house people... This is not always the easiest route to take but if you've got someone whose permanently at home it's easier, if not (Get your unemployed buddy to stand in and buy him a couple of beers)

That's the end of my 3 tips to saving money on agent commissions

Could you manage an interest-only loan?

Incredible deal isn't it?

So incredible that it's sounds like it's not real?

So great that it allows you to free up money every month. It drops your monthly installments and you can afford WHOLE lot more house.

Now interest only loans this may be the perfect investment opportunity for those that know how to handle their finances. If you're a good personal financial advisor and you don't buy more mortgage than you can handle, I say go for it.

If you're not, I say contact a mortgage broker that offer normal home loans and don't be silly.

So what's the catch and why the advice, you may ask, well, lower monthly installments, ZERO equity for years and then BAM BAM BAM, monthly instalments to floor mother Russia.

You see interest only loans allow you to pay interest only, for a period of x years depending on the lender. The problem with this is that once those x years have passed by all those monthly payments you missed out, get added to your monthly installments once the interest portion is paid off! YOU SEE! WHOPPER OF A MONTHLY INSTALLMENT THEN KICKS IN!

Here's how it might work for a 5 year interest only loan:

• Your payments would be fixed for the first five years at a certain interest rate - lets say, 10%.


• For the next five years, you still might pay(depending on your options) just interest on the loan, but the rate would be variable and could increase by 1 percentage point every year, up to a rate of 15%.


• In the 11th year, the rate remains variable, but the loan requires you make both principal and interest payments.

So the interest only loan is really for the investor who's looking for a quick in quick out option and is looking to sell his place before the 11th year or before the interest + loan payment option kicks in. Just remember though, that by choosing your interest only option, you're giving up the chance to fix yourself in with a good low interest rate and you could be kicking yourself in the teeth if you're not careful.

WizardMan out!

Debt Consolidation- Online Debt Consolidation Forum

Was browsing the net this weekend looking for some good debt consolidation sites and came across a great little community. Now although it's not a South African site, debt consolidation and debt in general is a worldwide phenomena and it's always nice to read about other peoples problems that relate to yours.

It makes you realise that not only are you sharing this problem with a person, but you're sharing it with millions and millions of others...

So take a look at the Debt Consolidation Forum who specialise in Credit Card Debt Consolidation and sign up! It's a great community and well trusted amongst the Internets Debt circles.

Let me know what you think of them...

WizardMan out!

SA Homeloans - CEO - Simon Stockley - Integer

Integer Bond Originators

After a long time away from South Africa, one of the founders on mortgage origination, the first man to bring securitisation into the home loans market and the ex CEO of SA Homeloans Simon Stockley has come back with a new product on the S.A. market - INTEGER.

What is this product and is there something new that Simon Stockley is bringing into the South African mortgage market, check out the interview on MoneyWeb with Integer's CEO, Simon Stockley.

Is it the end of SA Home Loans?

Has anybody used Integer bond originators?

Home Loan Interest Rate Increase - AGAIN!

I don't like starting Friday's off with bad news, so let's start off by saying;

"THE BOKS ARE GOING TO KICK SOME SERIOUS ASS ON SUNDAY!"

Unfortunately that's not the reason for my article. It's with some regret that the home loan interest rate has increased again. We now have a home loan interest rate of 14%.

This is due to the reserve bank increasing the repo rate by 50 points but it really saddens me and I'll tell you why. Food prices are going up, petrol prices are going up and the reserve bank has the cheek to say that the reason they're increasing interest rates is because they want to curb consumer spending. Well you know what, why don't they worry about curbing our damn food prices instead worrying about how much people are spending on luxury items and every day goods...

Sort out the actual problem and let our interest rates be for a while.
DO you know that the interest rate increase has jumped from 10.5% in 2005 to 14% in 2007. That's big man, and it's making it very very difficult for entry level investors and buyers to get into the property market.

On the flip side though, for those of you using your home loan access facilities as your bank account, it now means you're earning an extra 0.5% interest on your money.

Come S.A. lets tackle the actually problems at hand first before making people pay more for MAJOR EXPENSES!

Harpooned on the Whale Watch!!

So I finally went to Hermanus to see the whales!!!! Absolutely delightful and one of the 101 things to see before you die.

However, our accommodation adventure started out as a disaster but ended up brilliantly and the aftermath was a disaster again, I felt like Captain Ayob vs Fawlty Towers thanks to my adventures with Misty Beach Hotel in Hermanus.

Like most new age travellers and more senior members of the public, we use our staff to assist us in booking online for our travels and so we booked through the Internet about 3 weeks before our whale watching expedition and the pictures on the Internet were ever so sexy, luxurious and can you imagine ......

" member of the Portfolio Collection 2002-2004
Welcome The Misty Collection is a group of luxurious accommodation establishments including a Guest House and Hotel in Hermanus Western Cape, South Africa. The impressive lodgings are situated in the best land-based whale watching destination in the world - Hermanus.
Accommodation at our hotel and guest houses offers you absolute luxury, comfort and tranquility; and five star service." BOY WERE WE EXCITED

lying in your soft downy bed , sleeping late and looking at the whales humping oops jumping in the sea below these cliffs.

So we arrived having driven from the airport and on arrival were told that our room was not yet ready and please to explore the town for a while and on our return we could check in. All seemed friendly and looked fine and like great school kids, knowing we had accommodation sorted as we had paid our deposit and given an imprint of our credit card, we went to look for Moby Dick. What bliss and heaven.

Boom reality bit like a rash in wet tennis shoes,in the name of Misty

Beach On our return there was a new young lady in reception whose first response was, please sign for the balance of your stay. Being totally serened out by the whale frolicking, I half hearted mentioned that my reservation stated somewhere that the balance was to be paid on departure in which she insisted that management required payment in full before we checked in. Zoze are ze rules!!!!!!! Hitler insisted. Well like a real pillock I signed and thought a great snooze and shower and lets get on with it.

Somewhere along the way, this beautiful boutique hotel had grown an evil brother and a small annex known as the luxury heritage suites - What a dump. Grey old sheets and pillowcases that were frayed in a rickety cheap(Antique) 4poster bed with my old grandma's furniture (I had wondered where that got to when she passed away a 100 years ago) and a a lounge that had a riempie bench on placed about a kilometer away from a TV that looked like the one that was bought from cash converters. Oh yes, there was a view of the sea as well,however you needed to look from an angle and through another house first....boy I felt like Moby Dick being harpooned just when I thought I had won the good fight.

Well, we knew they had made a mistake and, looking at the brochure (There was the same picture we had seen online) we went to rectify this obvious error. Hitler was waiting for us.

"Can't you even read whats told to you online:, she said. "You booked through the internet. Surely you knew that this was the Luxury Heritage Suite and not the Honeymoon Suite", oozed from those succulent young lips. I cannot help you(He -He, she must have thought, they have already paid in full, this aint my problemo).

We said we will not be fooled and wanted our money back and guess what she said, "I cannot help you but my manager will, but he is not here and will only be back on Monday, he will assist you" and boom that was that. WELL WE GRABBED OUR BAGS AND TOLD HER TO REFUND US AND LEFT - Thank God, what a terrible, terrible hotel room. And I still have not seen the honeymoon suite. I'm scared Hitler will force us to get remarried again, first. What an obnoxious, bad mannered receptionist. At least we weren't subject to being force fed a whale or whipped and tied to one of them!!!!!!!!!

We ended up staying at the magnificent Birkenhead Boutique Hotel and were treated like never before, as we expected to be, these guys were the best tourist friendly bunch I had ever met.

Well know one even knew we were gone, no phone call nothing and of course no refund from our Friends at Misty Waves. In fact we felt like the corpse in Fawlty towers where Basil tried to cover us up or they must have hoped due to us being a bit older, we might have died from natural causes instead. They probably have closed off the room like in Alfred Hitchcocks, Mrs Bates motel so that it gets left to cobwebs and spiders and eventually another weary traveller who unsuspectingly loves grey sheets and frayed pillow cases.

So the Manager, finally responding to my email requesting a refund has now to date given me back R 375.00 against my payment of R 1,500.00 and treats me as if I'm doff!!!! for which I should be ever so greatful, kowtow and kiss his feet and say a million hail Mary's

They will not take responsibility for any other online booking deal except if done by their hotel, yet they allow everyone to advertise for the. In fact they wont even take responsibility for their staff, so I'm not surprised. Surely we understood that the words Luxury Heritage Suites and the words Honeymoon suite did not mean the same. Even though the picture is uncapped and surely we understood that we should do as we are told and that ....blah blah blah What a bunch of unprofessional miserable people.

Who cares if there are online mistakes. Who cares about tourists that are unhappy, surely they should. That is their bread and butter. I intend going back to Hermanus every year for the whales, my children and their friends, friends and family and my overseas connections will and what do you think Ill tell them......don't get harpooned my friends - when you arrive check your rooms first, don't get Hitler'd by bossy and uncool receptionists and stay somewhere else.

Unless they upgraded you to the Honeymoon Suite- but first make sure you're married!!!!!!!!Fat chance! Thanks Misty Beach

6 Ways to Better Manage your Household Debt

Happy Monday to all... For those of you who've been watching the rugby, I hope you all feel as terrible as I do today. I think I'm officially beginning to get old! Thank goodness this rugby thing happens once every 4 years!

Anyway, I have a great little debt management tip article to post today courtesy of Absa Home Loans Department.

6 Ways to Better Manage your Household Debt

• Draw up a monthly budget of all income and all expenses and stick to it.
• Speak to your creditors about alternative repayment arrangements. Most will be happy to help you.
• Always pay your essential expenses first, like electrical and water bills etc.
• Try to settle high-interest accounts first
• Don't make emotional, impulsive purchases - especially not on credit.
• Shop around for bargains and cheaper prices

WizardMan out!

Credit Cards

Good afternoon to you all. It's been ages since we've written some good articles and I'll be honest with all the public holidays and long weekends, well, we've just fallen behind. No excuse though and I plan on making it up this week with a post every day! We've decided that this week we're going to have some great debt saving tips and financial advice tips from some of the leading bank and mortgage originators...

A special thanks to the Debt Doctor who's provided us with some great expert debt saving tips and techniques.

With the amount of credit cards on offer right now, it's tough trying to choose the right one. It really pays to investigate and check which credit cards offer the benefits and rewards that suit your needs.

Don't be fooled by the colour of the credit card. It's called marketing and it's a great way to sell an expensive and costly item. Think about it, GOLD associated with wealth, so lets get a gold card why don't we... Don't be fooled. All they do, is show that you don't have enough cash in your account to spend. Stop living on credit.

Get the card with the lowest annual card fee, or why not get one with no fee at all. Bank charges need to be checked and we need to watch the interest rates charged. This is the most important cost other than the annual card fee. Try get the lowest rate possible. Argue with the banks. Fight for your rate. If you get a good rate on your mortgage and overdraft facility why should you not get the same discounted rate for your credit card.

Pay the balance owing at the end of the month. Avoid getting caught in the minimum monthly payments option. This will start to climb and before you know it, you'll be stuck with massive debts.

Another thing to watch out for is the loyalty and rewards programs. Valuable, MY ASS! They're a marketing and sales gimmick and although you may get something in return, it's not going to get you out of debt when you're in the DWANG!

So keep your eye out, and watch you credit spending.

After all, all we want is a DEBT FREE SOUTH AFRICA for ALL!

Top 4 Legal Pointers when Buying Property

Before you buy, ask a conveyancer to check zoning regulations and title deed conditions so you know what your new neighbours are allowed to do. If you lose your view or find a business loading zone right next door, you have only yourself to blame.

If you are a first time buyer and wondering whether to buy in your own name or set up a cc, company or trust, remember that under the SARS regulations for capital gains tax, you now face 50 per cent tax liability on the nett capital gain when selling a property registered in a trust, cc or company, as opposed to 25 per cent as an individual.

If you buy into a sectional title and want to extend your unit, you will need the approval of the members of the body corporate before you go ahead.

If your neighbour at the end of the street paints his double-storey facade a lurid pink, there is nothing you can do. Grin and bear it!

101 Posts! Wooohooo

Ladies and Gentleman, oldsters and youngsters we've hit 100 posts.
Actually 101 posts so I'm a little upset that we missed the 100 post celebration but what the hell. Who am I to complain.

Anyway, just wanted to say thank you for the ongoing support.

And keep on reading.

WizardMan Out!

Buying Property from a Developer!

People love this. Don't you want to buy from the developer. It'll save you thousands and thousands of rands, and often it does. but "Buying Property from a Developer" is it all that grand?

What the developers love to do, and it's a quick and sure way for them to sell their properties off plan is that they build one or two units. This way they have a sure way to show them off or as estate agents like to say put them "on show". You then see this great opportunity to buy "off plan". What falls into your lap now should you go for it is the following;

1. The responsibility to ensure that the time scale is realistic
2. He is a reputable developer
3. Checks are made on his credentials
4. Whether or not the developer is using a builder
5. Ensure you establish exactly what the development includes

A marketing tool that the developers use is the fact that "transfer duties are not payable". What the purchaser does not realise is that the developer is registered for VAT. and the VAT amount is included in the selling price. e.g. The purchaser buys for R600 000.00. This price includes VAT @ 14%. The purchaser is under the impression that he ahas bought a house that is worth R600 000.00 and wants to re-sell it for R660 000.00. He is not able tot get that price, because the house is actually worth R530 000.00 plus VAT.

Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying that buying off-plan is bad, just keep your eye out. There are some pitfalls.

I found a great article on the Top 10 pitfalls when buying from a developer. Read on here...
http://www.persfin.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=709&fArticleId=2495516

If you're interested in buying land for development. I have a list of developments currently for sale from Rawson Properties. For more information please contact the WizardMan

DEVELOPMENT LAND

ANDEON
2.04 Ha No Application corner stand R1.350 mill
10.50 No Application close to New Township establishment R9.00 mill
38 ha No Application adjoining New Township Establishment R22.0 mill

AMANDASIG
BEST BUY! 8.50 Ha Nice view No Application R8.50 mill +- 4.5 ha can be develop due to green belt Can get 25 to 30 units p/ha. Unique! All nestled against Magalies
15.9 Ha No application – R 9.500 mill –will loose portion due to green belt
2.1 Ha zoning in process, EAI in 1 months time– R6.250 mill

CLARINA
3.2 ha - Nestled between developments
Last land available in Area!! R10.5MIL

CHANTELLE
4.20 Ha – Zoning in process R 8 Mill
4.66 Ha – No application R9.5 Mill
7.00 ha – Prime Spot No application R23 mill

DERDEPOORT
3.5 Ha No application N1 front R7.500 mill
3.7 Ha No application N1 front R9.00 mill

HEATHERDALE
Best Buy! 5.2 Ha – No application R8.2 mill – will get 40 unit per ha
I need an urgent offer here currently offer on table of R7.8mill with 10% deposit &guarantees in 30 days!
2.2 Ha No Application Prime area R3.950 mill
6.1 Ha No Application close to schools R7.800 mill
2.1 Ha Zoning in Process 92 units R7.000 mill
1.38 Ha No Application in First Ave. R2.100 mill- need urgent offer! She wants R1, 850 nett – will get 40 units per ha offer can be subject to zoning period allowed 8 months
2.20 Ha No Application - Good location R5.20 mill
4.40 Ha Adjoining Pieces – Prime location R12.0 mill
6.00 Ha Adjoining Pieces - Prime location R15.0 mill
9.00 Ha Adjoining Pieces – Prime location R13.0 mill

HEATHERVIEW (above Brits Road)
2.10 Ha Zoning 25 units p/ha R6.50 mill
5.10 Ha No Application R10.500 mill

HESTEAPARK
22-ha Res1 143 stands on 5.4 ha, Res3 -40 u/ha 9 stands – 7.4 ha
Special Zoning 4 stands 2.3 ha, Special –offices /G- house1.1 ha
Streets/parks 4.6 ha R49 mill

PTA MOOT AREA
PRIME! PRIME! PRIME
Over looking PTA CBD!
Ideal for High Density – High Rise Flats etc
6 ha - No application - Price R21 mill neg

KARINPARK
OPPORTUNITY
4.2 Ha No Application can apply for 100 units / ha!!! JV will be considered! R15MIL

ONDERSTEPOORT
2.9 Ha - No application -On busy Lavender Road R4.9MIL

MIDRAND
25 ha - Last in this Class!
Zoned 25 - 30 units / ha
Opposite luxury developments
Electricity will be available! R57MIL

STRYDFONDTEIN - PTA NORTH
Next to new Developments
127 ha Adjoining pieces From R850k / ha
51 ha - Zoning in Process R65 mill

THERESAPARK
1.5 ha In Town Application 60 % coverage 3 story’s R5.90 mill
3300 sqm - zoning in place Res3 - 2 stories- 9 units R2.4 mill

WILLOW BREA
2.10 ha Zoned 41 full title stands or 55 sectional title units R6MIL

WONDERBOOM AH
Good buy!!
2.2 ha earmarked for Light Industrial R3.5MIL

PTA - NORTH
Half & Full Burger stands
Various stands available from R395K to R3.8 mill
Ideal for flats - zoning 10 to 30 units

INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL

ROSSLYN
4.3 Ha Zoning in Process R6.80 mill
4.4 ha Zoned 25 000 m² Factories Services done by seller R8.80 mill
28.0 Ha Next to New Township Establishment Rights in Place
Industrial 1, Wholesale, Garage & Convenient Store
With Car Wash, Butchery, Bottle Store & General Dealer. R22. Mill – make an offer!!!

SILVERTON
Industrial park – R130 mill Good Yield! Strong Tenants!
Letter of Intend Needed for Appointment & Info!

LOW COST HOUSING LAND

SOSHANGUVE
130 ha – Zoning in process. R75MIL

SOSHANGUWE
86.33ha – Township establishment already approved but the rights lapsed, new application in. Mineral rights held by Johannes Hoolboom by Noterial Session 134/1903-5. Geo-
Tech has been done. No land claims R15MIL

PTA NORTH
8.5ha – 5min drive from shopping centre. AGRI zoned. Potential – Medium Cost housing, River frontage Central location. R9.8MIL

HEATHERDALE
2.1HA agri Potential 60units/ha. R4.5MIL

HEATHERDALE
6.12ha AGRI Services very close, Surrounded by various developments, Potential Sectional Title. R6.8MIL

RANDFONTEIN
120ha + 600ha AGRI, ROD, Geotech, EIA done on 120ha – 600ha formalities because of surroundings. Potential Medium cost housing, community facilities, business opportunity, RES component: Single res stands, semi-detached units, 2 story stack flats. R45mil

ATTRIDGEVILLE
20.3HA to develop –Very good soil (SCALIE up to 70m deep), little earth works, good location, easy accessibility to main roads / public transport almost completed ideal for affordable housing development. Suitable for shopping Centre. R4.5MIL


RANDFONTEIN
+-24ha Development land neighboring golf course, across the road from high school – tranquil vicinity –finalization of township establishment in progress rezoning approval expected within 6 months. EIA approval in place. Excellent location close to Highways, home lake station, rand gate shopping centre, Robinson private hospital\, ideal for town house and cluster development, lake facing full title stands.
Potential 658units. R55 500 000.00

Rudco First NCR Now Scorpions!

Rudco Finance in the dwang again! Firstly, they were under investigation by the NCR, now they've been handed over to the Scorpions!

This makes me happy, a happy happy prson. What this means is South Africa is no longer taking CRAP from anyone. It also looks like we now have a governing body that's helping us fight corruption amongst the business ranks. Well done people. And congratulations to all who helped fight this fight.

To follow our news check out previous Rudco articles:

Rudco Home Loans 6%
Rudco under investigation

Also please check out the new article about Mortgage Fraud and Silvertale Investments

As soon as I get the Pretoria News this morning I'll publish the article for you all.

WizardMan Out!

Mortgage Fraud and Scandals! Watch Out People.

MORTGAGE FRAUDSTERS

You know when you wake up in the morning on the right side of the bed, with a bright big smile on your face and ready to take the world on without even blinking. You open up your mailbox and you've got a couple of leads and you decide to call one of them, and within 5 mins of listening to this guys story you want to cry...

Well it happened to me yesterday. It actually upsets me so that people get caught in these traps and schemes and loose thousands if not millions of rands. Well, I'm sick of hearing about them and I've decided to write about the story of Justin Peens and Silver Tale Investments CC. I hope to GOD that this story reaches the people it should reach and that it makes such a RA RA around South Africa that these people get caught and sent to jail!

Here's his story:
In February 2007 I went to a place called Silvertale Investments to apply for a mortgage and to consolidate all my existing debts. The lady I spoke to whose name was Suzanne, said she was very eager to help us. Very professional about the way they did things, she checked out our monthly income, did an affordability study and said we qualify for a mortgage of R1,300,000.00.

We proceeded and gave her all our documents, Copy of ID, Salary Slip, 3 months bank statements, and copy of our marriage certificate. We were also told that we need to put down a initial payment of R500.00 as an admin fee(See the Rudco under investigation article for other stories). We did just that. At first we were going to buy a farm with my family, but after a month she told us that the seller of the farm did no longer want to sell and that we should look for something else.

My wife and I decided that we would take out the mortgage of R1,300,000.00 and buy a house in Rustenburg instead. We started looking and low and behold we found the house of our dreams for R920,000.00. We signed the offer to purchase obviously having the mortgage secured for 60 days with Dolmcilum Estate Agents. A Mrs Lea De Kock the same day went to Silvertale Investments to hand the contract over to Suzanne and was informed that the mortgage should take 2 weeks provided our debts were settled. We gave them a list of all the debts and we received a pre-approval.

We then asked when we would get money to pay off the debts as we were really cash strapped and we had a baby (Little Emma) on the way. One of Suzannes co-workers said not too worry, all we needed to do was pay R50.00 to each place that we were indebited to and everything would be sorted out (maybe trying to convince them that starting a payment would clear your debt). Two weeks later we still had no reply. We went to see them again and we were told that an evaluation on the property needed to be done and that there was a fee of R750.00. Two weeks went by and the house was still not evaluated. Finally after 4 weeks they did a evaluation on the house.

A week later we got the final grant for the mortgage which said the money would be paid over in 7 - 14 days. On the 21st August my contract on my Offer to Purchase expired and now I'm in crap with them to as they're wanting to charge me a cancellation FEE. We called and called and called and every time we left messages no one called us back. We went to go see Suzanne from Silvertale Investments and she told us the file was at Head Office for payments.

Last we heard she went off to head office in Cape Town to see what the hold up was and when I called Venter Eiendomme the receptionist told me it was all a SCAM and FRAUD. Silvertale Investments CC was a fake company! Now I'm blacklisted with every bureaus in South Africa and I'm still trying to buy a house...

When I read this story people it really upset me.
Apparently there were 3000 people caught in this Mortgage Fraud scam and I'm glad that I heard about this.

People I urge you to spread the word of this story. I'm going to publish the names of the people and telephone numbers in involved in this scam for the world to see and read.

PLEASE PEOPLE, HELP OUT HERE. GIVE US YOUR STORIES. WRITE YOUR COMMENTS AND LETS STOP THIS FRAUD CRAP.

All I can say is, watch out Silver Tale Investments and everyone involved, I'm going to do my utmost to get your asses kicked!

FOR A DEBT A CRIME FREE SOUTH AFRICA FOR ALL!!

Lea De Kock Estate Agent - 078 131 8976
Venter Eiendomme - 082 909 9585
Johan Spamer - 082 351 1316 (Applied for Loan)
Deon Cockren - 072 998 6880 (Received Final Grant)

Bond Originators - Is Extinction on it's way?

DYING DYING - NEVER, Alive and kicking man!

Questions I've heard frequently in recent weeks:

Are bond origination services feeling the brunt of the NCA?
Is it the end of the road for the bond originator?
Will banks take over the bond business?
When will bond originators cease to exist?

To be totally honest, I think it's the beginning! And please stop bringing all this negative energy into my SPACE people, it's not good for business ;-)

Really though, what I do think is that South Africa is going to sift out the little originators from the big originators. I believe that the bond originators that did no prepare for the changes the National Credit Act was going to bring to this country and home financing will be the ones and are the ones that are taking heat and feeling the strain. It's thrown a spanner in the works and they don't know how to deal with certain issues...

One reason I firmly believe bond originators will stay around and continue to be the number one source of bonds for banks in South Africa is due to the fact that so many real estate companies own a share in the bond market. For example Pam Golding and Mortgage SA. The reason they separate the two is so that Real Estate agents can focus on selling property while the bond originators can fight for weeks with banks to get bonds through :-). Yes, believe it, there's always a fight!

The fact is, if you can't afford a place, you will not get a BOND. If you can afford it, you'll get one! That's how it should've been from day one! That's how, I HOPE, it will stay!

What do you think???

Is the end near, or is it the beginning of a NEW ERA IN ORIGINATION!

A DEBT FREE SOUTH AFRICA FOR ALL!

Standard Bank Further Loans Special

Levelling Off in House Prices - YEAH!!!!!!!

The growth in the median house price declined relatively sharply to 5.7% year to year in August from 10.4% year to year in July, signally a levelling off in house price growth.

This means that, even though with all the other financial factors in place, house prices continue to climb, albeit very slowly, this could change quite simple when and if any further tightening of monetary policy at the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting in October, which is seen by many as a strong possibility, will change the financial environment and thus the outlook for the housing market going forward.

C'mon TITO help us out here man.

Well this can mean its time to buy your dream house as the prices are more realistic.

Seriously, we think the inflationary control measures are fine and we can see that we are at the peak of interest rate hikes and should within the next 12 months see the downward trend come into place.

This together with decent prices could really spark some interesting property times.

TITO, thanks. Lets go downwards sooner. We want to see a 10% interest rate again and at least compete with everyone else in the world and get our slice of action

Rudco Under Investigation!

FURTHER MORE TO THIS ARTICLE NCR HAVE LAID DOWN SOME RULES AS TO RUDCO'S BUSINESS PRACTICES SEE http://www.ncr.org.za/press_release/Rudco.pdf

Rudco, Rudco, Rudco, oh what are you people doing! Firstly, never screw with peoples money it will always bite you in the ass! Secondly, trusting a company with what is most likely going to be your single biggest investment in life into a company that has no SOLID financial backing, SILLY!

As you may or may not have heard, RUDCO are now under investigation. Much like their predecessors FINBOND who themselves were given a good scolding years back when they decided to charge people for bond origination services, when this clearly went against all credit regulators and laws...

According to Moneyweb "On Thursday the NCR announced that it had found Rudco had contravened a number of provisions of the National Credit Act (NCA), and its predecessor, the Usury Act. One of the major contraventions of the law was Rudco's policy to accept payments for loans before they had even been granted.".

I don't want to be the one to say this, but, I TOLD YOU SO! It was inevitable! Unfortunately though, there are those people who have now found themselves in a bit of a predicament should Rudco's doors close down.

If you find yourself in a sticky spot or you need some Free Financial Advice, please don't hesitate to contact Wizard Home Loans on 012 341 2223.

WizardMan Out!

THE DEBT DOCTOR ! Relieving the pain of debt

IS THIS WHAT YOU SEE AT THE END OF THE MONTH!!!!!

The horror of spiralling debt........

Let the DEBT DOCTOR help you!!

Cut your credit card facility by 50% immediately, then by another 50% and then when paid off chuck your credit card away. This is a killer

Pay your accounts early - this will look after your interest payments and your credit rating on the whole.

Do not pay debt with debt - unless you really know what you are doing.

Save cash to buy those funny things - retail accounts are great, until you have to pay them.

ALWAYS ask for discounts - from attorneys, doctors, clothes shops, Spar, Checkers EVERYWHERE

Draw cash from your own banks ATM and don't do it often!!!!!

Plant your own veggies!!! - Its mentally good for you and is cheaper to manage and healthier..and just great fun - A windowsill can produce a lot of fresh goodies!

Check out your credit record - regularly If your on, Get off!!!

Speak to your bank always. Standard, Absa, Nedbank, FNB all of them - they are very human folks. They can help you save.

Listen to Suze Orman - One very switched on person - and gorgeous!!!

Read Helena Wasserman articles....Excellent stuff

TAKE CHARGE TODAY..its where it all starts

HEAVEN IS ON OUR DOORSTEP!!!!

INVESTMENT OF THE MONTH AUG 2007

I recently went to Dullstroom and visited Walkersons who are selling awesome freehold stands for development.

Firstly, it was amazing - must be the best fly fishing address around.

Secondly, Trish Kennedy from Zest Properties was just a 10/10 person. Thanks for not only carting us around but sticking us to a delicious lunch at Walkersons was great.

Pricey??? You could say so, BUT you have awesome positions, magnificent views and without doubt some of very best fishing rivers and dams available.

Not much left to choose from as this deal is almost sold out.

DEFINITELY WORTH A LOOK MR INVESTOR!!!

Manage Your Debt Responsibly

Hello all... So good to see that people are still reading the SA Property BLOG, and we're proud to say that it's now the number 1 portal and information station for all South African property and finance related information.

Seen as the only ongoing and exciting news in the world of property right now is the national credit act I though we'd put together a little list on how to manage your debt responsibly. We get endless phone calls and email from people asking us about credit issues that they have, and personal loan debts and it's quite sad to see that so many people are in the financial dilemma's that they're in...

So once again in an effort to help South Africa become and debt free society here's the TOP 10 yes TOP 10 debt management tips and hints that help people Manage Their Debt Responsibly.

• Avoid Making Impulse Purchases - If you don't have the extra cash to blow, avoiding blowing it. Instant gratification is all fine and well but it ain't that great when that bill arrives and you realise you can't afford it


• Speak to your creditors - When you're in financial SHIT, speak to your creditors, tell them the predicament you are in and come to a mutual agreement and understanding, even if it means dropping your monthly payments. Missing payments will affect your credit ratings.


• Get credit only from Registered Credit Providers - Stay away from loan sharks unless they are registered.


• Always make your monthly repayments by your due date - NEVER MISS EDGARS ACCOUNT REPAYMENTS. These guys will list you in 2 ticks...


• Pay off your credit - Any extra money that you have at the end of the month, use to pay of your credit. If you have, put this cash into your bond account. At 13.5% interest you won't get better rates anywhere else.


• Kill your small account first - Alot of people say kill the loan with the highest interest rates first (normally your bond account) but I'd suggest killing the smaller ones quickly, thus reducing the amount of accounts to pay off.


• Moving Debt - Don't move short term debt to long term debt to increase your monthly cash flow, your interest rates will increase


• Don't stand surety for anything unless you can handle it - This is a killer. People sign surety for other people without realising that they become responsible for repayments should the other person for whatever reason not be able to pay. WATCH OUT!


• Live within your means - Don't over commit.


• Know your credit ratings - Check yourself out at least once a year. You can get a free credit check on your birthday from the credit bureaus. Otherwise Wizard can get you credit checks for a price of R125.00. See Credit Checks for more information

For a DEBT FREE SOUTH AFRICA!

WizardMan Out!

Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 3

Feedback has been awesome. Thank you all for the input and advice so far.
If you looking for the previous chapters see:
Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 1
Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 2

Lets get cracking...

Sectional Title Register

This topic covers the definition of a register, the application for opening of the register, its legal effect on the real property and real rights involved.

1 Description of the sectional title register

When the scheme is registered and the land register closed, a sectional title register is opened. In this register a copy of the sectional plan is kept and all the documentation lodged for the opening of the register.

All rules, scheme notices and other body corporate documents are kept in the register for the scheme. There are two files in each sectional title register, one has all the sectional plans and the other has all the documentation.

2 Applications for opening of sectional title registers – section 11(1)

In terms of section 11(1) of the Act a developer may, after approval of a draft sectional plan by the Surveyor‐ General, apply to the Registrar of Deeds for the opening of a sectional title register and the registration of the sectional plan.

3 Effect of registration of sectional plan

Section 13 of the Act deals with the effect of registration of sectional plans:

• the buildings and the land shown on the plan are legally divided into the sections and common property shown on the plan;
• the plan, together with all the supporting documents filed for the opening of the register, are deemed to be part of the title deed for each unit in the scheme;
• the sections and common property are subject to any servitudes which burden or benefit the land shown on the plan as well as to any conditions imposed by the developer on opening the register; and
• any mortgage bond, lease or other limited real right which previously burdened the land is converted so that it burdens the sections and common property shown on the plan.Section
This topic explains what a 'section' is and gives examples, it explains how the boundaries of a section are determined and covers the implied servitudes that operate as between sections and between sections and common property in the scheme.

Section

This topic explains what a 'section' is and gives examples, it explains how the boundaries of a section are determined and covers the implied servitudes that operate as between sections and between sections and common property in the scheme.

1 Description and definition of a section

A section is the area of air, brick and mortar that is exclusively owned by the owner of a unit in a scheme. A section is defined in section 1 of the Act as follows:
'section' means a section shown as such on a sectional plan;

2 Explanation of a section

A section:

1. Is exclusively owned (as opposed to the common property which is owned in undivided shares), but is still subject to various servitudes and access rights in terms of the Act;
2. Is defined as extending to half the depth of walls/ floors/ ceilings et cetera;
3. Is measured by floor area ‐ the nearest square metre and to the mid‐ line ('median line') of its boundaries;
4. Is shown on sectional plan ‐ look for the solid lines that indicate the boundaries of sections; and
5. May include an adjoining open area, e.g. balcony or terrace, or a built‐ up backyard or noncontiguous parts of the building like a garage numbered the same in the cellar of the building.

Visualise a typical cavity wall made up of two single‐course walls built on the same foundation and tied together. If this is the boundary of your section then the material you own extends to the mid point of that wall.

The paint covering inside, the inside plastering, inner course of bricks and half the air‐space are your responsibility. The body corporate is responsible for the other half of the cavity, the outer course of bricks and the outside plaster and any exterior paint covering.

Windows and doors set into the outside walls of sections do not define the boundaries. Whether the material which makes up the door or the window is part of the section or part of the common property is decided by reference to the walls that surround them.

3 Implied servitudes of support and access

In section 28, the Act provides for servitudes of support and access. The purpose of the servitudes of support is to keep the physical structure of the building intact since the building with its walls, floors and ceilings form the basis of sectional ownership. Without a building there can be no sectional ownership.

Therefore the structures of the sections below must support the structures of the sections above them (servitudes of subjacent support) and the structures of the sections or common property adjoining a section must support that section (servitudes of lateral support).

These servitudes are reciprocal with the one being supported and simultaneously lending support to the other. The purpose of the servitudes of access is to ensure that all the facilities in the scheme work properly. Therefore wires, pipes and ducts serving different property should be allowed to pass unhindered through the various sections.

Each section is automatically subject and entitled to:

• a servitude for vertical and horizontal support of the section by the common property and by any other section which can receive/give/ such support;
• a servitude for the passage of water, sewerage, drainage, gas, electricity, garbage, heated or cooled air and other services, including telephone, radio and television services, through any pipes, wires, cables or ducts that exist on or under the land or in the building.

These servitudes are deemed to be incorporated in the title deeds of the owners.
By reason of these servitudes the body corporate is entitled to have access to each section and the exclusive use areas during reasonable hours to maintain, repair or renew any part of the building or any pipes, wires, cables or ducts.

References:
Sectional Title Online Property Searches - Deedsearch - http://www.sto.co.za
UCT - University of Cape Town - http://www.uct.ac.za
Acts - Acts Online - http://www.acts.co.za

Once again thanks all...

INTEREST RATE OK NOW WHERE!!!!!

Interest rate hikes?? WE NEED A BIT OF MAGIC TITO!!!!

13.5% it is - up 0.5%


Im listening to online feed as we speak on SABC news newsfeed


So Food increases is a BIG BIG problem, affecting us all

NCA - an impact thats defintely changed to 21,5% in June to private sector loans.

The JSE has tanked over 4% as global markets roiled amid a credit scare, with one UK economist calling it "pure panic". I agree totally.

Interestingly, the bank's Monetary Policy Committee meeting is taking place against the backdrop of worrying jitters on international financial markets prompted by worldwide credit concerns. Emerging markets, including South Africa, were not spared by this volatility, with the Johannesburg Securities Exchange closing in the red and the rand weakening to a four-month low. This bodes well for South Africa in the medium term, but it could be a rough ride in the short term.

0.5% Thats it Rate today is 13.5%

Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 2

Welcome to SA Property Blogs second part of our Free Online Property Course. Still dealing with the massively popular area of Sectional Title here's part 2...

Sectional Title Part 1

Sectional Plan

This topic looks at the definition and purposes of a sectional plan:

2 Description of a sectional plan

The main aim of a sectional plan is to show the division of the land and the buildings comprised in a sectional title scheme into sections, common property and exclusive use areas.

The sectional plan will be the legal source for discovering the exact boundaries of sections, the common property and exclusive use areas.

3 Features of a sectional plan

Section 5(3) of the Act requires that a draft sectional plan must:

• show the boundaries of the land (the sheet showing these boundaries is known as the 'block plan'and is normally sheet No. 2);
• give the name of the scheme;
• include a scale plan of each storey in the buildings;
• define the boundaries of each section and give each one a number;
• show the floor area (measured to the median line of the boundary walls of each section), correct to the nearest square metre, and the total of the floor areas of all the sections;
• show any exclusive use areas.
  

3 Boundaries of and between sections

Sub‐sections 5(4) and 5(5) deal with section boundaries which are defined on the sectional plan as follows:

• the common boundary between any section and another section or common property is the median line of the dividing floor, wall or ceiling, as the case may be.
• the boundaries of a section shall be defined‐
• by reference to the floors, walls and ceilings thereof, or as may be prescribed;
• in respect of a part of a section (such as a stoep, porch, balcony, atrium or projection) where boundaries cannot be defined as above but which are appurtenant to a part of that section which can be defined in terms of that paragraph as prescribed.

Notes:

1. 'median' means 'middle'
2. 'median line' means 'line drawn along the centre/middle point'
3. 'appurtenant' means 'belonging to, adjunct to, appended or annexed to'
4. ‘prescribed’ means prescribed in the regulations to the Sectional Titles Act

Definitions:
stoep ‐ a terraced veranda in front of a house;
a porch ‐ a covered approach to the entrance of a building;
a balcony ‐ an external balustraded platform with access from an upper‐floor door;
an atrium ‐ the central court of a Roman‐style house; and
a projection ‐ an additional part of a section which protrudes from the section.

References:
Sectional Title Online Property Searches - Deedsearch - http://www.sto.co.za
UCT - University of Cape Town - http://www.uct.ac.za
Acts - Acts Online - http://www.acts.co.za

Here concludes Part 2 of South Africa Online Property Course.