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Controversial land paper release delayed

Written on July 20, 2010 by admin in Content

Controversial land paper release delayed
http://www.realestateweb.co.za/realestateweb/view/realestateweb/en/page310?oid=62660&sn=Detail

PRETORIA – The Department of Land Affairs and Rural Development has held off on submitting its Green Paper on Land Reform to the relevant cabinet clusters, saying that it was still reviewing some aspects of the draft policy document. Earlier media reports stated that the document was to be submitted to parliament on Monday, July 19.
It is speculated that the green paper will stir angry debate and resistance from especially commercial farmers. Although the draft is not yet available for public review it is suggested that it will restrict the amount of land that individuals and companies may own. Foreigners may also be prevented from owning land in South Africa unless they are married to South African citizens. Further the state may have the right of first refusal when a property owner decides to sell their land.

Posted via email from SA Home Loan News

Banks declare fall in repossessed houses

Written on July 19, 2010 by admin in Content

Banks declare fall in repossessed houses
http://www.fin24.com/PersonalFinance/Property/Banks-declare-fall-in-repossessed-houses-20100718

The number of houses that banks have had to repossess owing to mortgage defaults has declined, but there seems to be no pattern regarding price categories of most of the repossessed houses, South Africa’s largest banks say.

At Nedbank the average price of houses taken back is between R350 000 and R400 000, with very few exceeding R1m while at First National Bank (FNB) most of the repossessed houses fall in the price range R800 000 to R900 000. Dwellings on which large mortgages have been granted are a problem at Absa, the country’s largest retail bank says. Nedbank currently has 1 800 repossessed homes, but these comprise less than 1% of its total home loan book.

At Absa, the number of repossessed houses represents less than 0.01% of all home loans. Standard Bank declined to comment. The banks ascribe the decline in the number of repossessed houses to their efforts to help homeowners to either keep their houses or sell them.

(via Instapaper)

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Consumer Protection Act will affect property marketers

Written on July 19, 2010 by admin in Content

Consumer Protection Act will affect property marketers
http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/consumer_protection_act_will_affect

Consumer Protection Act will affect property marketers
Another senior member of the Cape estate agency fraternity has found it necessary to warn staff that when the Consumer Protection Act comes into full force on 25th October this year, property marketers will find themselves “in a new ballpark”.
Talking to all Greeff Properties agents, Simon Raab, Southern Suburbs manager, warned them that, as the aim of the new Act is to promote a fairer, more accessible and more sustainable marketplace in which the less well informed and less educated clients are better protected, they (the agent) will have to take it upon themselves to ensure that sellers and, more particularly, buyers, have fully understood the meaning of the wording and legal effect of such wording contained within all mandate agreements and contracts into which they have entered.

(via Instapaper)

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Hawks arrest two in sub-6% home loan scheme

Written on July 17, 2010 by admin in Content

Hawks arrest two in sub-6% home loan scheme
http://moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page292525?oid=496484&sn=2009+Detail

JOHANNESBURG – The elite Hawks crime-fighting unit has arrested two kingpins in the Arctogen home-loan scheme. The scheme was first exposed on Realestateweb last month.
Arctogen and its predecessors, Quickvest and PKA Financial Services, have sparked hope and disbelief in Cape Town with their offer of home loans fixed at an interest rate below 6%. To date, no loans have been granted, and, as Realestateweb reported earlier this month, the company has some not-insignificant regulatory and funding difficulties to overcome.
Lending credibility to the scheme is Cape-based property attorney and Seeff licensee Peter Fritz Sonnenberg, who describes himself as Arctogen’s “bond registration attorney”. Sonnenberg has for months been assuring clients, and, more recently, Realestateweb, that he has “every expectation” of receiving funding for the loans.
The Hawks arrested apparent Arctogen boss Ian McCabe and his business partner Denver Geyer on Thursday. They are currently behind bars in Mitchell’s Plain. Their bail hearing is due on Monday. It is not known what allegations or charges form the basis of their arrest. Sonnenberg says the charges, as he understands them, “relate to the use of the name ‘PKA’”.

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Residential property fund on cards

Written on July 17, 2010 by admin in Content

Residential property fund on cards
http://www.property24.com/articles/residential-property-fund-on-cards/11972

Investors will soon have the opportunity to gain exposure to the residential property market without the hassle and risk often associated with direct buy-to-let investments.
Pam Golding Properties (PGP), boutique financial services company Stone Edge Capital and property management group JHI have recently created a joint venture with the aim to establish the first housing fund of its kind in South Africa. The fund, which will be structured as an unlisted variable loan stock company and known as Stone Edge Property Fund, is likely to be up and running within the next three months.

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Is virtual staging ethical?

Written on July 16, 2010 by admin in Content

Is virtual staging ethical?
http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/is_virtual_staging_ethical

“We are seeing these effects and others enabled by photo-editing software more and more, and I am really not sure such practices are ethical. It is regarded as misleading marketing to “doctor” photos of a property for sale when they are placed in print advertising, so why should it be allowed on property websites?”
At the very least, says Everitt, the fact that photos with a listing have been altered and are only representative should surely be disclosed – as is the case with the architects’ impressions often used to market off-plan developments.

This is why it is very important to view and assess the property you intend to buy before signing anything. I don’t think it is wrong to make the pool appear blue instead of green for example, but it should be mentioned somewhere that with a little TLC the property can look that way. Without a disclaimer of some sort I am against the virtual staging. Since there is currently no law against it… Well, you have been warned.

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Mortgage guarantee fund ‘liberates’ buyers

Written on July 12, 2010 by admin in Content

Mortgage guarantee fund ‘liberates’ buyers
http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/mortgage_guarantee_fund_liberates_buyers

Developers should be jumping for joy at the prospect of thousands of new home buyers recently “liberated” by the introduction of a state mortgage guarantee fund, says RealNet chief executive Tjaart van der Walt.
“The fund is specifically intended to give the banks more confidence about granting home loans to people earning R3 500 to R9 000 a month – and there are thousands of salary-earners, such as police, teachers and nurses in this bracket who were previously shut out of the market.
“However, there is a limited amount of stock available that would be affordable for such buyers and that should spur developers into action. At current interest rates, people earning R3 500 a month, for example, could probably only afford bonds of around R108 000. Assuming they pay a 10 percent deposit, that would mean they could possibly buy properties costing around R118 000.”

(via Instapaper)

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HSBC Hires Lazard For Possible Nedbank Offer

Written on July 10, 2010 by admin in Content

Exclusive: HSBC Hires Lazard For Possible Nedbank Offer
http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinman/Post:1a5a5a34-4c82-415f-bcb0-d32aceb51644

For the last four weeks South Africa has been the focus of the world’s attention as the host of the football World Cup.
It appears to be drawing the gaze of a number of the world’s biggest banks, too. I have learned that HSBC is in the early stages of assessing a bid for Nedbank, one of South Africa’s biggest banking groups.
HSBC has appointed Lazard, the investment bank, to advise it on a possible takeover deal that would cost it several billion pounds. Nedbank is majority-owned by Old Mutual, the London-listed banking and insurance group and has been widely touted as a takeover target for many months.

(via Instapaper)

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Article: Buy-to-let to remain unattractive

Written on July 8, 2010 by admin in Content

Buy-to-let to remain unattractive
http://www.property24.com/articles/buy-to-let-to-remain-unattractive/11855

Gilmour says that according to figures from First National Bank, buy-to-let activity has decreased markedly over the past five years, with the proportion of investors in this sector decreasing to less than 10% of total sales in the first quarter of 2010. This is the lowest level on record, compared to reported figures as high as 20% in the boom years.

(via Instapaper)

Sent from my iPhone

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How to Maintain Distant Property

Written on July 8, 2010 by admin in Content

The age-old Afrikaans adage “ver van jou goed, na aan jou skade” (far from your possessions, close to your damage) holds some venerable wisdom for property owners, but technology could change that.

However, advises Harcourts Africa CEO Martin Schultheiss, there are steps you can take to avoid being disappointed and/or ripped off if you want to improve or do maintenance work on your holiday home or rental property in a distant town, especially now that technology allows for instant communication and the transmission of photos and diagrams.

via property24.com

A good article to read if you plan to buy property for rental purposes.

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