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Knowing the difference between the property valuation types
South Africa - PropertyWheel
With the easy access of available information, comes the risk of misinformation and disinformation sending DIY knowledge-seekers on a wild goose chase.

The property industry is far from immune to the impact of incorrect or misleading information says Schalk van der Merwe, franchisee for the Rawson Properties Helderberg Group. In fact, one of the most vulnerable areas is also one of the most critical to property owners: valuations.

“Most people are aware of the importance of keeping an up-to-date and accurate valuation of their properties on hand” he says. “This isn’t just for sales purposes, it is also vital for things like monitoring investment growth, assessing the potential for improvements and making sure you have adequate insurance coverage.”

“What very few people realise, however, is that there are actually different valuation types and methods designed to give the most useful feedback for each of these cases. Without understanding the difference between these valuations, it is easy to be misled into thinking your property is worth more or less than it actually is on the open market.”
PropertyWheel

A look at the effective cause requirement with estate agent commission
South Africa - de Rebus
In terms of South African law of agency (Basil Elk Estates (Pty) Ltd v Curzon 1990 (2) SA 1 (T)), before estate agents can be entitled to a commission for successfully finding a purchaser of the property of their principal, they must first prove on a balance of probabilities that they are the effective cause of the sale. It is against this backdrop that in this article I discuss the effective cause requirement in depth by analysing how South African courts have interpreted the requirement. Furthermore, I discuss the statutory requirements in the Estate Agency Affairs Act 112 of 1976 (the Act) that estate agents must comply with in order to successfully claim commission.

Eloff DJP in the Basil Elk Estates case stated that the primary determinative issue of whether an estate agent is entitled to a commission for a successful sale of the property is whether the estate agent was the ‘effective cause’ of the sale. What is important to establish is that South African courts, as seen in cases such as Barnard & Parry Ltd v Strydom 1946 AD 931, have continuously echoed the fact that the estate agent who introduced the buyer to the property first, or who succeeded in closing the deal, is not necessarily the effective cause of the sale. All the facts and circumstances must be weighed to determine which estate agent’s efforts were the causa causans of the sale (Basil Elk Estates). Thus, an estate agent must prove that their efforts were the causa causans (effective cause) of the sale in order to successfully claim a commission.
De Rebus

Facebook users to be targeted with properties matching their likes
UK - Estate Agent Today
A new tool which identifies preferences of Facebook users and then targets them with ads for appropriate homes on sale, is to be offered to members of The Guild of Property Professionals.

The Facebook users need not have given any indication they want to move home, but the tool - called Hooked - will attempt to match the Facebook users with the types of individuals already registered as prospective purchasers sitting on agents’ databases.

Although these ‘lookalike’ Facebook users have not suggested they want to move, the fact that their social media characteristics are like those of buyers registered on agents’ databases will be sufficient for Hooked to identify appropriate properties and display them.

“From this information, Hooked builds a lookalike audience on Facebook. Hooked then looks at the agent’s website and sees when a new property is listed. The system will automatically create a bespoke advert for the property on Facebook and serves it to the lookalike audience” explains Guild chief executive Iain McKenzie.
Estate Agent Today

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