More loan applications for affordable township home
FFNB’s statement that prices in former township areas have been appreciating faster than in former white suburban areas, has been noticeably reflected in the rise of home loan applications from buyers in these areas according to Mike van Alphen, national manager of the Rawson Finance, the Rawson Property Group’s bond origination division, who says this year they've seen a 20% increase in applications of home loans for affordable housing, that is property priced below R600 000, and the indications are that this is set to continue.
Van Alphen says the FNB House Price Index for former townships in the six major metro regions, rose by a strong 17% year-on-year up from a revised 13.7% in the previous quarter. This, as FNB pointed out, was a significantly higher figure than the 7.4% recorded for the major metro house price areas.
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Industrial space in demand despite stagnant economy
Industrial space has outperformed its commercial counterparts (office and retail) in the past year or so in terms of rental trends, demand and vacancy rates.
“This is despite the fact that overall there is muted investment in the commercial property space at the moment as many businesses adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach due to the unstable rand, labour issues, a poor general economic outlook and political instability in the country,” says Chris Renecle, MD of Renprop.
The national vacancy rate for industrial property is at around 3.5%, according to the SAPOA Q1 2015 Industrial Vacancy Report, and it is anticipated that the 2014 trend of reasonable rental returns and fair capital growth will continue for the foreseeable future. The report also noted that the industrial sector’s base rental has continued to grow well above inflation, which it says shows further proof that the demand is outstripping supply. “This is possibly one of the reasons driving the spec development of industrial warehouse space by the larger property funds recently,” he says.
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Minimise Capital Gains Tax when selling property
Many homeowners, while aware of the fact that they are likely to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the profit made when a property is sold, legislated in 2001, might not be aware of the ways in which the tax liability can be reduced according to Laurence van Blerck, property sales agent at Knight Frank Residential SA, who says with the rising transaction costs of selling and buying property, higher interest rates and increasing costs of moving, it is in the seller’s interest to try and save wherever he or she can.
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We made an offer and the seller lied to us!
A Property24 reader asks:
We put in an offer to purchase in March on a property with tenants. We were assured by the estate agent that the tenants’ lease contract ended 30 June 2015 and they’d be out on or before that date. On the day of signing, the agent did not have a copy of the lease agreement (after numerous requests beforehand) because he “could not get hold of the owner…”
After signing the Agreement of Sale – which clearly stated that the tenants’ lease agreement was until 30 June 2015 – we queried in July why they had not moved out of the property yet, before went ahead to sign final transferring papers. The agent then referred us to the transferring attorneys, after which we were told telephonically to sign the papers in the meantime, and that the tenants will be out in the weeks to come as they were handling the situation. We obviously refused as we knew that something was not right. After once again requesting a copy of the lease agreement, we were told by the transferring attorneys that we may not see the lease contract, as this was confidential.
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Selling your home: wood borer clearance certificate
There are many different reasons why a person might want to get a home inspection, like ensuring that their house is clear of wood-destroying organisms, which are also known as WDOs according to Anthony Potgieter, director of Leap Pest Control, who says a trained and experienced inspector can spot a WDO infestation by using a visual-only examination. Although termites tend to be the main focus of these types of examinations, there are other culprits that homeowners should be aware of.
These include wood-destroying fungi and beetles. Termites like drywood termites and subterranean termites tend to form large colonies that infiltrate the home. By penetrating the baseboards of the foundation of your home, they begin to chew through the wood, causing a significant amount of damage to your property. By having a thorough WDO inspection, you can ensure that your home is free and clear of these organisms, and you can get a clearance certificate that says so.
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How to choose the best offer for you home
In any town or suburb where the demand from prospective buyers exceeds the number of homes for sale, it is usually only a matter of time before property sellers start to receive competing offers to purchase, and have to decide which of them to accept or reject.
And while this may seem like a good problem to have, the decision might not be as easy to make as you think, because selling a home is often about more than just the money, says Shaun Rademeyer, CEO of BetterLife Home Loans.
“What if you received an offer for considerably more than your asking price, for example, provided you were prepared to move out and give the buyer occupation by the end of the month? You might not be willing, or able, to accept it.”
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