Conference for prop investors in July
The measurement and benchmarking of property performance has taken on a new urgency in the wake recent global challenges and South Africa's own changing dynamics.
This is the reason that the main drive of the 8th annual Investment Property Databank (IPD) conference in July, sponsored by Old Mutual Investment Group Property Investments, has been themed Changing Dynamics in SA Property. The focus is intended to enable investors who are interested in the various property sectors to make informed decisions to achieve maximum benefit.
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Sect. title: Impact of Retirement Act
In some cases the Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act, 1988 (the "Retirement Housing Act") may apply to a sectional title scheme established in terms of the Sectional Titles Act, 1986.
This can cause some problems for a purchaser who did not intend to purchase in a retirement housing scheme.
This happened in a recent case decided in the Supreme Court of Appeal in which the court sought to provide some clarity on the matter.
The Faerie Glen Renaissance Scheme was developed in terms of Sectional Titles Act. The body corporate (BC) of the scheme then sought to amend its management rules to bring them in line with the Retirement Housing Act by imposing an age restriction for the occupants. In order to amend the rules, the BC required a unanimous resolution.
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Interesting racial buying trends in data
South Africa's leading bond originator, ooba, on Tuesday said that the data it has collated around home loan applications over the past three years reveals interesting trends around the racial demographics of property buyers in South Africa.
The most notable of these trends is that the percentage of white applicants has been consistently less than the combined total of black and coloured applicants over the last three years.
According to the data the proportion of black applicants has risen steadily over the last few years, averaging 42% during 2009. This number has, however, dipped in the first four months of 2010 to 38%.
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Buy below your means
Experts agree that prospective home buyers must keep future interest rate increases in mind when they set a purchase price.
This is in light of predictions that interest rates will in all likelihood rise again during the course of next year, albeit only by a few percentage points.
Gerhard Kotzé, CEO of the ERA property group, says the Reserve Bank's decision to retain interest rates at the present levels is obviously welcome for home owners, but the long-term prognosis is that rates will gradually rise and property stakeholders should plan accordingly.
His views are based, in part, on comments by the Director of Standard Bank Home Loans, Funeka Ntombela, who was the keynote speaker at the recent ERA South Africa 2010 awards ceremony.
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Creating a workshop at home
Workshops come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing they all have in common is the need to be well organised.
Nothing is worse than an untidy, badly designed work area, where you not only have problems finding tools and equipment, but you also have difficulty manoeuvring the objects on which you are actually working.
Certainly, the most important first step when designing your workshop is deciding what kind of projects you will be tackling in it. An area that is suitable for small mechanical repairs, for example, may be entirely unsuitable for substantial carpentry. Also, since workshops often involve noisy jobs, the best place for them is an area that is set away from the main house, such as garages or outbuildings.
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