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I IIssue: September
2005 I Editor: Berry Everitt I |
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Your Area Specialist:
Chas Everitt International
sales agents have all the latest market information
regarding local property values at their fingertips
– and are committed to the highest standards of personal
service when it comes to selling your home. In addition,
the Chas Everitt International property group offers
you, the homeowner, the best possible exposure for your
property in both national and international markets.
So if you are thinking of selling your home, call your
nearest Chas Everitt International office today for
the name of your local area specialist - or visit www.everitt.co.za
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Every month the Property
Signpost Newsletter will be issued to all our
subscribers, filled with real estate information to
help you make an informed decision, whether you are
buying or selling a property.
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Contents
1. Welcome By Publisher
2. Property Still a (very) Sound Investment
3. Time
to Make a Manual
4. Cuddly Chas for Children on the Move
5. Choose
Your Franchise With Care
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1.
Welcome By Publisher
The celebrations to mark the 25 th
Birthday of Chas Everitt International continue –
and our clients are the ones getting the presents,
including the totally commission-free transactions
that are up for grabs in our “Zero Percent” campaign.
This runs until the end of November,
and means that any home seller who gives Chas Everitt
International a 90-day sole mandate or mandate renewal
between now and then stands a chance to win a “Zero
Percent ” transaction. In other words, they will not
be charged any commission when we sell their property,
or will have their commission refunded if they have
already paid it by the time we do the prize draw.
We will be giving away 25 of these
Zero Percent prizes to clients around the country,
and while the specific value of commissions obviously
depends on the sale price of the property, every winner
will have had the same benefit in terms of the hours
of professional time we put into every sale, as well
as the superior marketing and technological techniques
we are able to bring to the transaction after our
25 years in the real estate industry.
Now that's a prize really worth
winning, so good luck to all our home seller clients.
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2.
Property Still a (very) Sound Investment
Insurance companies have arguably been the biggest
losers in the property boom that has swept the world
in the past five years, as private investors not only
steered their money out of equities but also out of
retirement and other policies to get into bricks and
mortar.
They have also fallen victim to the growth, worldwide,
of consumers' determination to feel more in control
of their own financial destinies. So they are no doubt
pleased at the slowdown in property price growth,
and the return of many short-term investors to the
stock markets.
This shift should not, however, be interpreted to
mean that property is no longer a good investment
– and should certainly not be portrayed that way by
insurers or their brokers, especially if they are
doing so just to steer clients towards their own investment
products.
In South Africa, especially, residential property
is and will remain a sound investment for years to
come. There are of course certain social and political
risks to take into account, but these apply to the
whole economy, not just property.
Meanwhile, our economy continues to grow at more
than 4 percent a year, and the middle class continues
to expand through BEE. Consequently, the market for
housing is growing, with the number of homeowners
in the formal market conservatively estimated to quadruple
from some 900 000 currently to around 4-million by
the end of this decade.
And there are surely not many sectors that can offer
potential investors expansion on that scale – or the
prospect of continued real price growth underpinned
by a steady excess of demand over supply for the foreseeable
future.
Of course home ownership for most people is primarily
about family and not about investment potential and
capital growth. They have an asset they can live in
and use as collateral, and any real (after inflation)
growth in value is a bonus – which in the current
market they would receive if prices rose by even a
measly six or seven percent.
As it happens, however, prices are still rising by between
15 and 20 percent in most areas – which translates into
real value growth in most cases of 10 to 15 percent
a year and would certainly appeal to many of the small
investors that seem to be the chief targets, currently,
of the insurers' campaigns to discredit property.
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3.
Time to Make a Manual
There are just a few days left for
homeowners or investors whose property is registered
in the name of a closed corporation (CC), partnership
or trust to comply with the Promotion of Access to Information
Act (PAIA) – or face a possible jail term.
The original deadline for compliance
with the Act was two years ago but although it was extended,
an amendment has since been passed making it a criminal
office for any private organisation with business interests
not to publish an “information manual” by 31 August.
Such organisations include property-owning
companies, CCs, partnerships or trusts - even if they
only own one residential property - as well as every
Sectional Title body corporate. The information they
must make available includes the identity of the organisation
and the owners / shareholders; an explanation of what
the organisation does and what records are kept, and
the procedure to be followed by anyone wanting access
to its records.
A copy of each manual must be submitted
to the SA Human Rights Commission, and a copy must be
kept at the organisation's office. It is no longer necessary
to publish it in the Government Gazette.
There are currently plans to exempt
small businesses from the Act's requirements, but there
are no indications yet if such an exemption will be
in force before the deadline or how organisations would
qualify for exemption. It would thus be prudent for
organisations to comply now anyway.
Guidelines on how to compile a manual
are available on the commission's website and help for
property owners and investors is also available from
Chas Everitt International at the TOLL FREE No. 0860
104 355 or on www.everitt.co.za
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4.
Cuddly Chas for Children on the Move
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Entries are
pouring in for our Chas Bear colouring-in competition,
which is also part of our 25 th Birthday celebrations
and in which the entrants stand a chance to win one
of our adorable Chas Bears. The competition is open
to all children aged between 4 and 12 and entry forms
are available at all the group's offices countrywide
or from Chas Everitt International agents. The competition
runs until September 9, and entries are being judged
in three age categories.
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Each office
will hold a children's party during September to award
a Papa, Mama and Baby bear, respectively, to the winner
of each category. Meanwhile, Chas Bear continues to
look after our youngest “clients” by providing cuddly
companionship and reassurance whenever they move to
a new home.
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5.
Choose Your Franchise With Care
Besides being the brink of spring,
this is also the time of year for matriculants to
start thinking about what they're going to do when
they leave school. Or for those about to graduate
to think about what comes next.
And although jobs are being created
in our growing economy, the prospects in big companies
and corporations are, not to put too fine a point
on it, not great for the newly-qualified. What's more,
low inflation means that the salary growth prospects
for those already employed are currently not great
either.
So it is not surprising that increasing
numbers of school-leavers are looking for ways to
be self-employed, or that franchising is attracting
record numbers of qualified, experienced business
people intent on writing their own cheques.
For both groups, real estate is an
excellent choice, being an industry that fosters initiative
and entrepreneurial spirit, and where the financial
rewards are directly in proportion to the individual's
own commitment to training and hard work.
But, and it's a big but, not all real
estate companies are created equal, and people looking
to enter the industry really need to do their homework
before choosing an agency to work for or buying a
franchise.
Potential franchisees, in particular,
need to look beyond the sales hype and slick presentations
to what they are really being offered in return for
their money. The whole point of buying a franchise,
after all, is to have access to proven systems, training
and branding that will make your business instantly
competitive, and thus profitable much sooner than
if you just set up on your own.
In addition, we believe, potential
franchisees should also be looking for all the items
contained in the Chas Everitt International Franchising
“bill of rights” (see www.everitt.co.za
), including real area exclusivity, fair dealing
and full disclosure.
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