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Swimming pool laws: shape up or fill up
RealEstateWeb - South Africa

Joburg's anti-drowning legislation - fair or foul for property owners? Lawyer explains who is liable, rules.

Shaaheda Khan, Associate at Deneys Reitz Inc, tackles the new draft swimming pool by-laws for the City of Johannesburg, which have resulted in contradictory views being expressed by pool owners regarding practicality if implemented.

This article will briefly highlight the contents of the by-laws and various views expressed.

Existing privately owned swimming pools
Within ninety days of promulgation of this by-law, every Johannesburg resident who presently owns a swimming pool will be required to advise the Council thereof. A swimming pool will not be able to be maintained or used, unless the pool is registered, and a permit is issued by the Council. Owners will be given a two year grace period from date of promulgation to obtain the permit.
Real Estate Web

Selling property: private sale vs estate agent
Realestateweb - South Africa
Property attorney gives some tips on different selling methods.

Savings in commission are an incentive to sell a home privately but the decision of whether or not to use an estate agent should be carefully considered.

While commission savings are attractive, estate agents are often able to secure a better price for you than you are able to by yourself as, amongst other benefits, they have access to an existing buyer base.

Private sellers most often have little or no skill or experience in negotiation, marketing, financial or legal implications surrounding the sale of a house.

When making the decision to sell privately or not, also consider the demands on your time commitment, your knowledge of the real estate market and advertising costs.
RealEstateWeb

Auctions reflect positive reaction from rate cuts
RodneyHayter.com - South Africa
The first signs of the recent interest rate cuts of 2,5 percentage points is having a gradual, but positive effect on Centurion's townhouse-dominated market, according to Nic van den Berg, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Jowic, whose observations are based not on private sales, but on recent local real estate auctions.

A key market pointer from his observations of auctions is that the average knock-down prices on homes in March were 10 to 15 percent higher than in the previous two months, which he attributes to the 2,5 percentage rate cut since December now filtering through to buyers pockets.
RodneyHayter.com