South African Property - Home Loans for Africa

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4

6 Ways to Better Manage your Household Debt
2007-10-08 15:02:00
Happy Monday to all... For those of you who've been watching the rugby, I hope you all feel as terrible as I do today. I think I'm officially beginning to get old! Thank goodness this rugby thing happens once every 4 years!Anyway, I have a great little debt management tip article to post today courtesy of Absa Home Loans Department.6 Ways to Better Manage your Household Debt Draw up a monthly budget of all income and all expenses and stick to it.Speak to your creditors about alternative repayment arrangements. Most will be happy to help you.Always pay your essential expenses first, like electrical and water bills etc.Try to settle high-interest accounts firstDon't make emotional, impulsive purchases - especially not on credit.Shop around for bargains and cheaper pricesWizardMan out!

Credit Cards
2007-10-01 03:36:00
Good afternoon to you all. It's been ages since we've written some good articles and I'll be honest with all the public holidays and long weekends, well, we've just fallen behind. No excuse though and I plan on making it up this week with a post every day! We've decided that this week we're going to have some great debt saving tips and financial advice tips from some of the leading bank and mortgage originators...A special thanks to the Debt Doctor who's provided us with some great expert debt saving tips and techniques.With the amount of credit cards on offer right now, it's tough trying to choose the right one. It really pays to investigate and check which credit cards offer the benefits and rewards that suit your needs.Don't be fooled by the colour of the credit card. It's called marketing and it's a great way to sell an expensive and costly item. Think about it, GOLD associated with wealth, so lets get a gold card why don't we... Don't be fooled. All they do, is sh...
More About: Credit Cards , Credit , Cards

Top 4 Legal Pointers when Buying Property
2007-09-19 11:07:00
Before you buy, ask a conveyancer to check zoning regulations and title deed conditions so you know what your new neighbours are allowed to do. If you lose your view or find a business loading zone right next door, you have only yourself to blame. If you are a first time buyer and wondering whether to buy in your own name or set up a cc, company or trust, remember that under the SARS regulations for capital gains tax, you now face 50 per cent tax liability on the nett capital gain when selling a property registered in a trust, cc or company, as opposed to 25 per cent as an individual.If you buy into a sectional title and want to extend your unit, you will need the approval of the members of the body corporate before you go ahead.If your neighbour at the end of the street paints his double-storey facade a lurid pink, there is nothing you can do. Grin and bear it!
More About: Buying , Property , Legal , Pointers , Prop

101 Posts! Wooohooo
2007-09-19 10:50:00
Ladies and Gentleman, oldsters and youngsters we've hit 100 posts.Actually 101 posts so I'm a little upset that we missed the 100 post celebration but what the hell. Who am I to complain.Anyway, just wanted to say thank you for the ongoing support.And keep on reading.WizardMan Out!
More About: Posts

Buying Property from a Developer!
2007-09-18 14:34:00
People love this. Don't you want to buy from the developer. It'll save you thousands and thousands of rands, and often it does. but "Buying Prop erty from a Developer " is it all that grand?What the developers love to do, and it's a quick and sure way for them to sell their properties off plan is that they build one or two units. This way they have a sure way to show them off or as estate agents like to say put them "on show". You then see this great opportunity to buy "off plan". What falls into your lap now should you go for it is the following; 1. The responsibility to ensure that the time scale is realistic2. He is a reputable developer3. Checks are made on his credentials4. Whether or not the developer is using a builder5. Ensure you establish exactly what the development includesA marketing tool that the developers use is the fact that "transfer duties are not payable". What the purchaser does not realise is that the developer is registered for VAT. and the VAT amount is incl...
More About: Pert

Rudco First NCR Now Scorpions!
2007-09-14 08:34:00
Rudco Finance in the dwang again! Firstly, they were under investigation by the NCR, now they've been handed over to the Scorpions !This makes me happy, a happy happy prson. What this means is South Africa is no longer taking CRAP from anyone. It also looks like we now have a governing body that's helping us fight corruption amongst the business ranks. Well done people. And congratulations to all who helped fight this fight.To follow our news check out previous Rudco articles:Rudco Home Loans 6%Rudco under investigationAlso please check out the new article about Mortgage Fraud and Silvertale InvestmentsAs soon as I get the Pretoria News this morning I'll publish the article for you all.WizardMan Out!
More About: Pions

Mortgage Fraud and Scandals! Watch Out People.
2007-09-13 09:47:00
MORTGAGE FRAUDSTERS You know when you wake up in the morning on the right side of the bed, with a bright big smile on your face and ready to take the world on without even blinking. You open up your mailbox and you've got a couple of leads and you decide to call one of them, and within 5 mins of listening to this guys story you want to cry...Well it happened to me yesterday. It actually upsets me so that people get caught in these traps and schemes and loose thousands if not millions of rands. Well, I'm sick of hearing about them and I've decided to write about the story of Justin Peens and Silver Tale Investments CC. I hope to GOD that this story reaches the people it should reach and that it makes such a RA RA around South Africa that these people get caught and sent to jail!Here's his story:In February 2007 I went to a place called Silvertale Investments to apply for a mortgage and to consolidate all my existing debts. The lady I spoke to whose name was Suzanne, said she was ...
More About: Watch , People , Fraud , Mortgage Fraud , Scandals

Bond Originators - Is Extinction on it's way?
2007-09-10 15:37:00
DYING DYING - NEVER, Alive and kicking man!Questions I've heard frequently in recent weeks:Are bond origination services feeling the brunt of the NCA?Is it the end of the road for the bond originator?Will banks take over the bond business?When will bond originators cease to exist?To be totally honest, I think it's the beginning! And please stop bringing all this negative energy into my SPACE people, it's not good for business ;-)Really though, what I do think is that South Africa is going to sift out the little originators from the big originators. I believe that the bond originators that did no prepare for the changes the National Credit Act was going to bring to this country and home financing will be the ones and are the ones that are taking heat and feeling the strain. It's thrown a spanner in the works and they don't know how to deal with certain issues...One reason I firmly believe bond originators will stay around and continue to be the number one source of bonds for ban...
More About: Bond , Extinction , Origin

Search Engine users overlap! [Digg]
2007-09-06 08:21:00
Large number of users found overlapping between search engines!
More About: Search , Search Engine , Digg , Engine , Users

Levelling Off in House Prices - YEAH!!!!!!!
2007-09-03 03:13:00
The growth in the median house price declined relatively sharply to 5.7% year to year in August from 10.4% year to year in July, signally a levelling off in house price growth.This means that, even though with all the other financial factors in place, house prices continue to climb, albeit very slowly, this could change quite simple when and if any further tightening of monetary policy at the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting in October, which is seen by many as a strong possibility, will change the financial environment and thus the outlook for the housing market going forward.C'mon TITO help us out here man.Well this can mean its time to buy your dream house as the prices are more realistic.Seriously, we think the inflationary control measures are fine and we can see that we are at the peak of interest rate hikes and should within the next 12 months see the downward trend come into place.This together with decent prices could really spark some interesting property times.TITO...
More About: House , House Prices , Yeah , Prices

Rudco Under Investigation!
2007-08-31 16:22:00
FURTHER MORE TO THIS ARTICLE NCR HAVE LAID DOWN SOME RULES AS TO RUDCO'S BUSINESS PRACTICES SEE http://www.ncr.org.za/press_release/Rudco .pdfRudco, Rudco, Rudco, oh what are you people doing! Firstly, never screw with peoples money it will always bite you in the ass! Secondly, trusting a company with what is most likely going to be your single biggest investment in life into a company that has no SOLID financial backing, SILLY!As you may or may not have heard, RUDCO are now under investigation. Much like their predecessors FINBOND who themselves were given a good scolding years back when they decided to charge people for bond origination services, when this clearly went against all credit regulators and laws...According to Moneyweb "On Thursday the NCR announced that it had found Rudco had contravened a number of provisions of the National Credit Act (NCA), and its predecessor, the Usury Act. One of the major contraventions of the law was Rudco's policy to accept payments for loan...
More About: Investigation , Tiga

Manage Your Debt Responsibly [Digg]
2007-08-30 08:39:00
TOP 10 yes TOP 10 debt management tips and hints that help people Manage Their Debt Responsibly.
More About: Digg

Manage Your Debt Responsibly [Digg]
2007-08-30 08:39:00
TOP 10 yes TOP 10 debt management tips and hints that help people Manage Their Debt Responsibly.
More About: Digg

THE DEBT DOCTOR ! Relieving the pain of debt
2007-08-30 03:55:00
IS THIS WHAT YOU SEE AT THE END OF THE MONTH!!!!! The horror of spiralling debt........Let the DEBT DOCTOR help you!!Cut your credit card facility by 50% immediately, then by another 50% and then when paid off chuck your credit card away. This is a killerPay your accounts early - this will look after your interest payments and your credit rating on the whole.Do not pay debt with debt - unless you really know what you are doing.Save cash to buy those funny things - retail accounts are great, until you have to pay them.ALWAYS ask for discounts - from attorneys, doctors, clothes shops, Spar, Checkers EVERYWHEREDraw cash from your own banks ATM and don't do it often!!!!!Plant your own veggies!!! - Its mentally good for you and is cheaper to manage and healthier..and just great fun - A windowsill can produce a lot of fresh goodies!Check out your credit record - regularly If your on, Get off!!!Speak to your bank always. Standard, Absa, Nedbank, FNB all of them - they are very human folks...
More About: Pain , Debt , Doctor , The D

HEAVEN IS ON OUR DOORSTEP!!!!
2007-08-23 11:03:00
INVESTMENT OF THE MONTH AUG 2007I recently went to Dullstroom and visited Walkersons who are selling awesome freehold stands for development. Firstly, it was amazing - must be the best fly fishing address around.Secondly, Trish Kennedy from Zest Properties was just a 10/10 person. Thanks for not only carting us around but sticking us to a delicious lunch at Walkersons was great.Pricey??? You could say so, BUT you have awesome positions, magnificent views and without doubt some of very best fishing rivers and dams available.Not much left to choose from as this deal is almost sold out. DEFINITELY WORTH A LOOK MR INVESTOR!!!
More About: Heaven

Manage Your Debt Responsibly
2007-08-23 00:36:00
Hello all... So good to see that people are still reading the SA Property BLOG, and we're proud to say that it's now the number 1 portal and information station for all South African property and finance related information.Seen as the only ongoing and exciting news in the world of property right now is the national credit act I though we'd put together a little list on how to manage your debt responsibly. We get endless phone calls and email from people asking us about credit issues that they have, and personal loan debts and it's quite sad to see that so many people are in the financial dilemma's that they're in... So once again in an effort to help South Africa become and debt free society here's the TOP 10 yes TOP 10 debt management tips and hints that help people Manage Their Debt Responsibly.Avoid Making Impulse Purchases - If you don't have the extra cash to blow, avoiding blowing it. Instant gratification is all fine and well but it ain't that great when that bill a...

Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 3
2007-08-20 16:43:00
Feedback has been awesome. Thank you all for the input and advice so far.If you looking for the previous chapters see:Sectional Title - Online Prop erty Course - Chapter 1Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 2Lets get cracking...Sectional Title RegisterThis topic covers the definition of a register, the application for opening of the register, its legal effect on the real property and real rights involved.1 Description of the sectional title registerWhen the scheme is registered and the land register closed, a sectional title register is opened. In this register a copy of the sectional plan is kept and all the documentation lodged for the opening of the register.All rules, scheme notices and other body corporate documents are kept in the register for the scheme. There are two files in each sectional title register, one has all the sectional plans and the other has all the documentation.2 Applications for opening of sectional title registers – section 11(1)In terms of ...

INTEREST RATE OK NOW WHERE!!!!!
2007-08-16 15:25:00
Interest rate hikes?? WE NEED A BIT OF MAGIC TITO!!!!13.5% it is - up 0.5%Im listening to online feed as we speak on SABC news newsfeedSo Food increases is a BIG BIG problem, affecting us allNCA - an impact thats defintely changed to 21,5% in June to private sector loans.The JSE has tanked over 4% as global markets roiled amid a credit scare, with one UK economist calling it "pure panic". I agree totally.Interestingly, the bank's Monetary Policy Committee meeting is taking place against the backdrop of worrying jitters on international financial markets prompted by worldwide credit concerns. Emerging markets, including South Africa, were not spared by this volatility, with the Johannesburg Securities Exchange closing in the red and the rand weakening to a four-month low. This bodes well for South Africa in the medium term, but it could be a rough ride in the short term.0.5% Thats it Rate today is 13.5%
More About: Interest , Interest Rate , Eres

Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 2
2007-08-13 13:33:00
Welcome to SA Property Blogs second part of our Free Online Property Course. Still dealing with the massively popular area of Sectional Title here's part 2...Sectional Title Part 1Sectional PlanThis topic looks at the definition and purposes of a sectional plan:2 Description of a sectional planThe main aim of a sectional plan is to show the division of the land and the buildings comprised in a sectional title scheme into sections, common property and exclusive use areas.The sectional plan will be the legal source for discovering the exact boundaries of sections, the common property and exclusive use areas.3 Features of a sectional planSection 5(3) of the Act requires that a draft sectional plan must:show the boundaries of the land (the sheet showing these boundaries is known as the 'block plan'and is normally sheet No. 2);give the name of the scheme;include a scale plan of each storey in the buildings;define the boundaries of each section and give each one a number;show the floor...
More About: Chapter , Chapter 2

BUYERS OF LAND BEWARE - TAX TRAP AHEAD!
2007-08-13 13:19:00
THE TAX COP IS WATCHING YOU!!!!!From 1 October 2007, buyers of immovable property are required to withhold "advance taxes" (for CGT - Capital Gains Tax) where the seller is a non-resident.ALL buyers where the purchase price is R2m or more should now establish whether the seller is a resident or non-resident - not doing so could land you with a hefty liability to SARS.If you fail to withhold the tax, you become personally liable for it.Having to double pay between 5% and 10% of the purchase price will be extremely painful.The scale varies according to whether the seller is a natural person, company or trust.The percentages are as follows:- 5% for a party who is a natural person;- 7.5% for a party which is a company; and- 10% for a party which is a trust.It can also be hard to determine whether or not a seller is a "resident" for tax purposes, so you would be well advised to have the sale agreement professionally checked to ensure that it contains clauses to safeguard your position, i...
More About: Land , Beware , Buyers , Trap , Ahead

Sectional Title - Online Property Course - Chapter 1
2007-08-10 12:22:00
As promised here comes the first of our new Free Online Property Courses. An initiative by Wizard Midrand home loans.SchemeThis topic looks at the concept of a 'development scheme'. It covers the underlying definitions, the approvalprocedure, building compliance and residential tenant protection.1 Sectional Title SchemeA sectional titles scheme comes into being when conventional land and buildings are 'developed' under the Act as a 'scheme', or 'development scheme'. This happens when a developer decides to divide the land and the building(s) on the land into sections and common property by opening a sectional title register for the land and the building(s).At this stage the entry in the land register for conventional land is endorsed to the effect that the land is included in a development scheme under the Act and no further entries are made in the land register.2 Approval procedureSection 4 of the Act covers this aspect. A developer who wants to develop a sectional title sc...
More About: Chapter 1 , Chapter

SA Property - Free Property Courses Online!
2007-08-07 00:07:00
Happy Tuesday morning to you all... Why am I so happy you may ask yourselves, well firstly my website is finally averaging over 100 hits a day. I know it doesn't sound like alot but I'm ecstatic.Secondly I found out that Thursday is a public holiday in South Africa, which means SA Prop erty gets to play golf of Thursday morning. Wooohoooo....Thirdly, after much debate and chatting with the powers at be, SA Property will be putting together the first FREE ONLINE PROPERTY COURSES. This will include manuals and course material for South African property buyers, South African property sellers, South African mortgage originators, South African property attorneys and anybody else interested in property laws, regulations and the like.It's an initiative that I hope will make SA Property Blog the number one Property BLOG in South Africa for good informative material and real estate related news. If there's anything you'd like me to add or would like us to discuss please feel free to comm...
More About: Free , Online , Pert

How To Beat Google To Tech Talent - Forbes.com [Digg]
2007-08-03 13:01:00
To get ahead of the search specialist's recruiting juggernaut move fast and have an open mind.
More About: Google , Tech , Forbes , Digg , Beat

Property Site tells users where to find Property!
2007-08-01 13:00:00
Your Property woes are gone. Finally, an initiative, maybe even a world first from the owners of Gravity.co.za, South Africa's first property search engine.An article from the owners of Gravity.co.za..."For quite a while we've wanted to provide our users with an area-type search feature where they could see, at a glance, all the houses in a particular area/within a given radius.Most real estate property sites overseas would probably implement it as a map, but since South African agents don't provide street addresses for their listings and reliable street/area information biased towards real estate (e.g. that include estates, brand new road and suburbs that are continually appearing) is not really available, map searches are not an option.There just seemed no way we could get something useful out until we suddenly realised that we had hundreds of thousands of users who had been telling us exactly what suburbs they thought were relevant to them. South African users are pati...
More About: Site , Find , Users , Tells

The GUERILLA HANDBOOK for MORTGAGE ORIGINATORS
2007-07-30 15:53:00
BY NOW YOU MUST BE AS CONFUSED AS THE MAN NEXT DOOR. MAYBE YOU HAVE BEEN DRINKING THIS TEA."This Morning when we drove down the road, we saw 7 garages open on to the street each with a new Mortgage Origin ator or better known as a Bond Originator offering a new service,where do they come from?"...a confused Lena LeftyWhen I received this mail I knew we needed to do some explaining.Firstly, there are 100's of new bond originators on the market and everyday a new one seems to pop up and offer some FABULOUS new deal , but there is a reality out there. There are the guys who founded this industry with years of seriously great experience and there are the OTHERS who feed off the rest. Then there are the estate agents who have also set up their own deals with banks and of course there are the BANKS themselves who also want a slice of the action - CONFUSED??? I'm not surprised.So who are the real guys and whose next in line etc?Well the original guys on the block with most experience all ...
More About: Guerilla , Handbook , The G

Home Loan Referrals! 0.35% Commission!
2007-07-26 11:46:00
Wizard Midrand are starting a new online HOME LOAN REFERRAL campaign. With a selection of banners to choose from Wizard Midrand are offering home loan sites and South African property sites the chance to start generating income for themselves.Wizard Midrand will offer 0.35% commission for any successful bond applications done through their site. If you're an estate agent or run a property site Wizard Midrand offer extremely good commission structures too...If you think it's sounds pathetic let me give you an example:You bring in 5 bonds of R 500 000.00.That's going to make you R8750.00 extra PER MONTH!Bring in 10 of those averaging R 1 000 000.00 a bond which by South African standards seems to be your average bond will make you R35 000 per month. It's a no brainer people...If you're interested contact Steven on steveng @ gmail.comBANNERS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING SIZES:120 x 240120 x 60120 x 600125 x 125250 x 250350 x 60
More About: Home , Loan , Commission , Home Loan , Refer

Foreign Investors - Buying Property In South Africa
2007-07-26 09:49:00
NEWS NEWS NEWSI LOVE NEWSCall me weird but I just love picking up the paper and finding a property related article, specifically a property related article that's worth blogging about.Today's lucky winner is the Pretoria News.Property in South Africa still open to foreign buyersThere's been alot of talk about adding restrictions on the foreign ownership of property in South Africa . According to the Pretoria News the reason there's been such escalations in the price of property is because of the foreign investmentors that have been pouring into S.A. over the last 5 years.Is that true, partially, they bring money in, they're willing to pay more so property prices jump up! However, lets think a little about this, NCA being released, new credit laws, interest rate hikes, they're all BIG BIG BIG contributors to the property price escalations. Personally i think it's someone who's blaming foreigners for the average price of a house on the Pam Golding website sitting around the R1 ...
More About: Buying

COME TO LUNCH I WANNA BUY YOU!!
2007-07-20 14:41:00
I have to laugh, the phone calls from the kiddos on the block to entice us pure mortals (bond originators) who work our butts off to make this industry great as it should be...is getting fast and furious! Be careful guys! WHOSE PLAYING YOUR TUNE!!The folks who want a bigger marketshare, without having to work for it are after your slice of the business in the bond origination market...with offers to die for. I already feel like Victor Matfield except my offers are a bit more local but I still feel like a hooker in the scrum(You know what I mean)Rumour Mongers are trying to JIVE US ALL SO WATCH OUT!!! If the rumours were true I would be standing on the street corner with a new sign:No Money, No wife, No Bond Origination Work, No NCA assistance. Grass is Greener on the Other Side No Alliance or Mortgage Works available HELP!!Well Stuff the Bull! July figures are on target, business is great and Mr and Mrs offers of greatness - Go Get A Job - I've got mine!!!!!
More About: Lunch

Splitters and drop a bombs and parking salaries for BONDEES
2007-07-20 01:02:00
Recently I was asked by question from Alex on an earlier article so I thought I would share this as you need to step up your creative juices. It is your money after all. Change your own spots.....be the bankerYes splitters and bomb drops and parking your salary all end up towards a similar end result. Either easing your home loan payment load or playing bank yourself and using your home loan account as a kind of savings account. The banks in general prefer to MANAGE your money for you, but of course at a service cost.The key to all of this is DO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO ANY ADDITIONAL MONEY PAID INTO YOUR BOND ACCOUNT.SO instead of splitters etc try to stay away from stop orders etc. Instead turn your bond account into your current account.Make sure you have Internet access to both your bond account and your current account. If you can link them together even better so.Then make sure your salaries or income is paid into your bond account on a monthly basis. AT month end transfer the total...
More About: Parking , Split , Litt , Drop , Bombs

INVESTMENT CLUB, SYNDICATION, FRACTIONAL OWNER, SHARE BLOCK UHMMMM!! Time t
2007-07-19 09:33:00
SO where to now! I love this property business and I know there has to be a new way of doing old things. The NCA has me slowing my pace down, but I KNOW I WANT MORE, but I'm being limited. My risk is up there somewhere, I have the bucks and am earning well and will continue to do so, so how do i buy more property. Where do I buy and what is going to give me a decent return on my investment. TIME TO PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP!Traditionally, we bought, we fixed and we built - and we were the proud owners of our own little nest!BUT, we carried the costs, the expense, the risk ALL OF IT!!!Time has come for us to share the load and their are some very cool ways of doing it;Investment Club sFractional OwnershipSyndication Share Block (Uhmmm heard of this many times)Hell man! there are many ways to go ahead and once again start having property fun. All we need to do is forget the doom and gloom keep our eyes on the pennys and.....be different and step out of your comfort zoneSO what is it: Le...