Budget Speech: Trevor Manuel: 2008 - 2009

Click here to VIEW LATEST BUDGET SPEECH 2009 /2010 - Just added

Howdy Folks: This is just a quick post to show everyone the updated and latest budget speech. Most people finding our website are hitting last years 2007/2008 budget speech and hence thinking that there's no change occurring in South Africa ;-)

So before any protests start here's a copy of the latest 2008/2009 budget speech by Trevor Manuel. It is really big, and if you'd like to download a copy you can download it from the Old Mutual Site (that's where I stole it, thanks Old Mututal)... http://www.oldmutual.co.za/markets/south-african-budget-2008.aspx

For those of you who'd prefer a brief highlight of the Budget Speech by Trevor, here it is!! Let us know your thoughts please!!

2008 Budget highlights - Trevor Manuel - South Africa

The economy and fiscal stance:

• GDP growth of 5 per cent in 2007, with growth averaging about 4.3 per cent a year over the forecast period.
• CPIX inflation rising to 7.1 per cent in 2008 before declining to 4.9 per cent in 2009.
• Gross fixed capital formation projected to rise from 21 per cent of GDP in 2007 to 24 per cent in 2010.
• Estimated consolidated national budget surpluses of 1 per cent in 2007/08 and 0.8 per cent in 2008/09, with projected surpluses over the three-year period.
• Real growth in consolidated government non-interest expenditure of 6.1 per cent a year over the MTEF.
• Government contribution to national savings projected to rise from 0.8 per cent of GDP in 2006/07 to 1.5 per cent in 2010/11.
• R60 billion to support Eskom’s capital financing requirements over the next five years.

Tax proposals:

• Total tax relief for individuals of R7.7 billion.
• Reduction in the corporate income tax rate from 29 per cent to 28 per cent.
• A simplified tax regime for small businesses.
• R5 billion in tax subsidies over the next three years for labour-intensive industries and industrial policy.
• An electricity levy of 2 cents per kilowatt hour.
• Fuel (petrol and diesel) taxes to increase, from 2 April 2008, by 11 cents per litre.
• A packet of 20 cigarettes will cost 66 cents more.
• A 750 ml bottle of wine will cost 12 cents more.
• A 340 ml can of beer will cost 5 cents more.
• A 750 ml bottle of liquor (spirits) will cost R2.17 more.

Spending on public services Additions to spending over the next three years:

• R33.2 billion for provinces mainly for school education, health care, welfare services and roads.
• R6.5 billion to municipalities for the extension of free basic services.
• R12.5 billion for social grants, including extension of the child support grant to children up to their 15th birthday in 2009 and lowering of the age of eligibility for men to receive the old age pension to 60.
• R9 billion in conditional grants for school building, HIV and Aids, hospital revitalisation and school nutrition.
• R8.2 billion for public transport, roads and railway infrastructure.
• R6 billion for housing, water and general built environment infrastructure.
• R2 billion for 2010 FIFA World Cup Stadiums and related infrastructure.
• R2.5 billion for industrial development and small, medium and micro enterprises.
• R2.6 billion for agriculture and land reform.
• R2.7 billion for information technology network infrastructure, police forensic laboratories and additional police personnel, and R2 billion for correctional facilities.
• R1.4 billion for higher education, research and knowledge development.
• R1 billion for programmes under the expanded public works umbrella.

WizardMan Out!

Buying a home as a foreign national in South Africa

It's a question that I get asked over and over again and for some reason have failed to post anything on it. It's also a topic that is not easy to find anything on?

I'm also pretty tired of estate agents informing clients incorrectly (I won't mention any names but you know who you are) and then leaving it up to us poor bond originators to sort out your dirty work!

SO HERE IT IS!

Scenario 1:

I'm non South African citizen living abroad looking to invest in South African Real Estate. What mortgage amount do I qualify for?

Non residents and Non S.A. citizens qualify for a 50% loan. The banks require a 50% deposit to be made from a non South Africa banking account upfront, prior to the loan being granted for 50%.

I'm a non South African citizen living and working in South Africa. What mortgage amount do I qualify for?

Non S.A. residents working and living in South Africa whether permanently or on contract (Depending on contract period - varies from bank to bank) qualify for loans of between 60% and 100%. The going rate and what we average is 80%. My Suggestion, is don't even apply for 100% loan if you can avoid it. Rather put a 20% deposit and your chance of getting the mortgage increases ten fold. DON'T EVEN BOTHER GOING FOR A MORTGAGE WITH TRANSFER AND REGISTRATION COSTS INCLUDED!!! YOU WILL NOT GET COSTS INCLUDED. Estate agents will try and convince you that this is possible, it's not!

The only time you can apply for costs in your home loan and you're a foreign national. This is not 100% guarenteed and the banks don't really like giving costs.

1. You have South African citizenship and you're a first time home buyer.
2. Your husband or wife is South African and you're a first time home buyer.

Make sure that before you believe what the Estate agent sells you!!!! That you do your homework first. Remember once you've signed that Offer to Purchase you're legally bound.

WizardMan Out!

VALENTINES DAY HOME LOAN SPECIAL!

JUST KIDDING!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO ALL!

XXxxxOO00OOxxxXX

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT - A Bond Origination Love Story

MORTAGE SA

Buys LOANLINK

and Gets it on as the Numero 1

Bond Originators in SA.

Wowee!!!!!

NOW THATS WHAT I CALL LOVE!!!!

2008 - LETS GET IT ON!!! Dont be chicken!!!!!!

Boy has 2008 kicked into gear.

At the end of last year things were looking really good!

Now - Panic, Panic, Panic - what a lot of crock.

What has scared everyone and stuck that negative nonsense into their souls!!!

Having to buy candles and parrafin lamps (Like ouma grootjie did!)
Having to check out Canada, Aussie or anywhere safe. Maybe IRAQ
High interest rates, markets crashing like zeppelins, NCA - Oh my G..!

Panic- Yes/ NO - Switch off the lights to save money for your one way ticket!!

C'mon folks stop panicking! This is not the first time there’s been doom, gloom and boom!(for the Capetonian's). Every few years the same thing happens. Guys weve survived wars, revolutions, we even through off the shackles of apartheid(Can I mention that word!! as a whitey). We experience huge economic growth and everyone is a property baron, developer or even better a lawyer!. We buy on credit, credit, credit things like homes, buy-to-let (Thanks Nedbank) and SUV's.

Now we are so pumped that the economy melts a bit as it overheats, and then panic, panic, panic - because the economy seems to be collapsing when in actual fact it’s simply making an adjustment back to a reasonable level.

It happened in 1989, when SA defaulted on its international loans and the stock market and Rand crashed, it happened in 1994 when the ANC took power and everyone thought war would break out, it happened in 1998 when interest rates hit 25% (you remember that dont you!!) and you couldn’t give away your house, and it happened with 9/11.

And guess what - were still here!!! hmmmmmmmmmmm

And as Alan says Quote " I think 2008 will be a tough year, but I also see it as a great opportunity to seize the day whilst everyone else is whinging and get a front-seat on the inevitable boom that we’ll experience in 2009, 2010 and beyond.

Make sure you make a mental note of everything that is happening now, because it will happen again and again, and if you don’t recognize the symptoms you’ll be suckered into the same negativity, and forget to look for the opportunities.It’s easy to be negative. Subconsciously, you WANT to be negative!

Whenever you open the papers they tell you about the goriest hi-jacking and the most corrupt politicians. Why don’t they dedicate more pages to the fact that Joburg is the world’s biggest man-made forest, Pretoria or Thswane according to Gwen (Our first lady) is the centre of SA investment, or to the corruption-free achievements of the vast majority of public officials?

Because bad news sells. Good news is boring.

SA still has the best weather in world! We’re lucky enough to possess a huge chunk of the world’s resources, i.e.: gold, platinum, coal, iron. The growth in India and China will continue to accelerate (India and China sign 10mil new mobile customers every month), and so will their demand for our resources. The government has already embarked on massive infrastructure projects (some of them a tad late, i.e.: electricity), and this will pump money into the economy.We are all lucky enough to be a part of the birth of a massive and all-encompassing industry. The Internet has and will continue to change the world. The enormity of its impact is up there with the wheel, electricity, TV, telephones, and possibly man’s greatest ever invention, coffee. Not only does it open up an entirely untapped world of commerce, but it is also the ultimate disseminator of information and news.

Apartheid would not have lasted 40 years if the Internet had existed! And you’re part of it! I’m looking forward to another year of complaints, issues, parties, roll-outs, billing runs, irate customers, happy customers, faulty elevators, cops winning battles etc, etc. The nice stuff makes me feel good, and the challenges remind me why we can beat the competition. " Thanks Alan

But I think what is even more important, if you are going to buy, buy now, property will increase later. 2008 is starting out to be a brilliant year and we should enjoy every moment of it.

So stuff the doom and gloomers - get solar heating gadgets, be part of the save energy campaign. Put your glass, paper and plastic in seperate binds. use your scraps as compost and grow your own organic beggies! Love your felloww sufferers oops I meant South Africans and lets show the world that we are not woozies we are TUFF!

Job Prospects Good for Property Market

A positive employment outlook is always a nice booster for both the South African property market and job prospects in S.A. Although an increase in employment does not necessarily mean a rise in property prices, it generally means an increase in the number of sales.

According to the Manpower employment outlook survey South African is amongst the country with the strongest first quarter hiring prospects in 2008. Several sectors, such as construction and finance, insurance, real estate and business services are continuing to benefit in hiring terms from infrastructure development and the build-up to the Soccer World Cup 2010 tournament to be help in S.A. South Africa's seventy biggest companies and members of business leadership SA, have now committed themselves to making skills development a priority in their business and to build closer relationships with educational institutions.

This is a big, bold and awesome move on their behalf, as this will ensure that there are qualified people to fill the new positions that are being created and in time will also enable even more people to purchase their own home.

Development in South Africa, it's a must. I'd like to see some ideas and stories from people out there? Give us your thoughts!!!

The A-Z on property jargon!

The South African Property Dictionary...

Have you ever stared at a piece of paper, which you know contains vital information, in complete disillusionment?

Have you have looked wide-eyed at a word that you have no idea what it means, and had that sinking feeling in your stomach that you are in for a joy ride that is going to be extremely confusing?

Well, I know how you feel, so here is some of that vital information, that you don’t understand, explained in “human terms”. Please note that this is not a full comprehensive list and that well be updating this list on a contstant basis.

Alienation of Land Act: This law is usually applicable to people who do not qualify for a home loan. It describes a property sale when the property is transferred into the buyer’s name at a later date.

Borehole certificate: This is generally needed on agricultural holdings, and you need a specialist borehole contractor to give you the certificate, it states that the borehole yields a certain amount of litres per hour.

Cession: This is a customer’s policy that is ceded to the bank. For example, Standard Bank would hold the cession, while Charter or Liberty Life would retain the policy document.

Domicile branch: The branch of the customer, where his/her home loan is.

Domicilium Citandi et Executandi: This is the physical address where the delivery of a legal notice will be accepted by a party to a written agreement.

Expropriation: This is when the local authority needs a portion or the entire property for its use. The bank needs a letter from the customer and the local authority, and an assessment has to be done on the remaining security.

Further advance: This is when you need more funds; you would register a further bond over the property.

Home Owner’s Comprehensive Insurance: This policy provides cover for certain loss or damages to the property.

Interim interest: Once funds are paid out of the home loan account, interest is calculated on a daily basis on the outstanding balance. The interest is debited to the home loan account at the end of the month.

Latent defect: This is a fault or flaw that is not immediately detected, or is hidden from view on inspection of the property.

Mandate: This is an agreement between the seller and the estate agent to market the property.

NHBRC: The National Home Builders Registration Council ensures that builders extend their commitment to customers by providing a five-year warranty. Make sure you use NHBRC certified builders.

Progress Payment Form: This is a form signed and completed by the customer as building work progresses. The assessor does an inspection and releases the retention accordingly.

Readvance: When you have repaid a portion of your home loan, you may borrow all or part of the loan amount.

Sole mandate: This is an agreement between the seller and the estate agent to exclusively market the property. Once the agent is allowed to market the property, he has sole rights.

Transfer fees: These comprise transfer duty, conveyancer’s fees and VAT. Transfer duty is a tax levied by the government on the purchase of immovable property and is calculated on the purchase price.

Voetstoots: This clause is always found in a sale document and means “let the buyer beware”. All defects must be mentioned to the buyer upfront. If there are any defects in the property of which the seller was unaware, the buyer will acquire the property with such defects.

Zoning: The local authority determines the purpose for which your property may be used, for example, residential or business. If your property is granted business rights, talk to your local authority as it may affect its saleability.

I hope this helps you to understand just a few of those difficult words that you may encounter in your journey in property or building.

CopyWriting By: Laiken Cullen
http://www.propertyloans.co.za/113/home-loans-jargon-explained

GOOD GRIEF DID THAT ACTUALLY HAPPEN!!!!!!

Excellent News - Interest Rates stay the same at 14.5% - well done Uncle Tito - I think you just saved the bacon of Thabo and the current ATeam with their current series of woes.

Quote "the Monetary Policy Committee has decided that it is appropriate at this time to leave the repo rate unchanged at 11 per cent per annum" Unquote

Ok so now is the time to take charge folks. Lets start clearing those bad debts - get some help now and take charge. - email the Debt Doctor

Also - remember the tips we mentioned re putting your salary into your bond access facility account - well start now - its the real deal.

I must say, politically that was the right move. Also it will hopefully stop the bleed and put some people confidence back into the Government.

Luv you Lots Tito!!!!!!