National laurels for West Rand agent
Top West Rand agent Anette Rautenbach has just been named as a double winner at the Chas Everitt International property group national awards ceremony.
Honoured as the winner of the award for the highest number of sales in the past 12 months, she then went on to also claim the laurels as the group’s top metro agent of the year.
Anette Rautenbach
Chas Everitt West Rand
In addition, she was named as the top listing agent in the Gauteng region, and one of the top three listing agents in the country.
The West Rand office was also honoured at the ceremony as one of the top three origination offices nationally that had generated the greatest amount of new home loan business for the group’s mortgage origination partner Betterbond.
“Anette and the rest of the West Rand team have delivered an outstanding performance over the past year, and we are very proud of their achievements,” says group MD Berry Everitt. “They have faced the difficulties of an uncertain market with dedication and determination and it has paid off handsomely.”
National Honours for Chas Everitt Western Cape agents
Elmarie Van Huysteen
Leading Stellenbosch estate agent Elmarie van Huysteen has just been named by the Chas Everitt International property group as its national top agent in a non-metro area.
In addition, the group’s West Coast franchise has been named as the national top performing non-metro agency.
This follows a recent regional awards ceremony where Elmarie was honoured as the top non-metro agent in the Western Cape, having achieved more than R30m worth of registered sales in the past 12 months, and the West Coast office took home the regional top non-metro agency award.
Also at this ceremony, three Southern Suburbs agents were named by Chas Everitt International as its top performers in a Western Cape metro area. They are Shanaz Sity-Herskovitz and the partnership of Marion Bolton and Sally Gracie.
The Cape Town Northern Suburbs franchise was honoured as the top metro office in the region, and also as the top origination office, having generated the greatest amount of new home loan business for the group’s mortgage origination partner Betterbond.
“All these agents and offices have delivered outstanding performances over the past year, despite the difficulties they faced in an uncertain market,” says group MD Berry Everitt. “We are very proud of their achievements and we salute their dedication and determination.”
The “option to buy” route may be something to consider
There are several good reasons to pay a deposit when you buy a home, among them the fact that you will have a smaller bond repayment to make each month and that you will save a mint in interest over the life of your home loan.
However, with property prices and interest rates at their current lows, many buyers who feel they can comfortably afford a monthly loan installment really don’t want to wait until they have saved up a deposit before getting into the market.
So what should they do, especially when most banks are still very sticky about granting 100% bonds?
“Well, one answer is to rent a home now from an owner who is prepared to give you an option to buy it later at a pre-agreed price,“ says Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group.
“And this is not so unlikely as it sounds. Remember, many homeowners are only renting out their properties at the moment because they have not been able to sell, and there are those who would be very happy to have the prospect of a sale at the end of a lease, and rental income in the meanwhile from financially-sound tenants who also have an incentive to keep the property in good repair because it is going to become their own.”
Writing in the Property Signposts newsletter, he says the advantage of such an arrangement for the prospective buyer/ tenant is that the contract will usually provide for him/ her to buy the property at a pre-agreed price at the end of the lease or sooner – thus fixing the price while allowing sufficient time to save up a deposit.
“In addition, landlords looking forward to a sale at the end of the lease period might charge a lower rental or perhaps even allow a portion of the monthly rent to be offset against the agreed purchase price, providing the tenant with a ‘readymade’ deposit at the end of the lease as long as he/ she goes through with the purchase.”
Source: Chas Everitt International Property Group http://www.chaseveritt.co.za
Handling problematic tenants in a Sectional Title scheme
One of the thorniest issues in sectional title (ST) schemes is what to do about tenants who regularly flout the conduct rules and make things unpleasant for other residents.
“From the trustees’ point of view,” says Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group, “the problem is that they can’t deal with such tenants directly. The tenants are not members of the body corporate and their only contract is the lease agreement with their landlord, that is, the owner of the unit they occupy.
“And this means that neither the trustees nor the managing agent can evict the troublesome tenants. All they can do is warn the landlord that his tenants are breaking the rules and then, if matters do not improve, start imposing fines for each breach.”
What is more, he notes, these fines will be for the account of the landlord, because ST Management Rule 69 clearly provides that landlords are responsible for the conduct of their tenants.
“However, even if the fines are mounting up and the landlord would like to evict the tenants, the legal procedure that has to be gone through to do so can take a long time, and involve him in even more expense. And if the landlord happens to live in the same complex as the disruptive tenants, things can get very awkward.”
Writing in the Property Signposts newsletter Everitt says, however, that there is one precaution that landlords can take against such a situation, and that is to make sure that there is a clause in their lease agreement stating that the tenants will be financially responsible for any fines they cause to be imposed by breaking the conduct rules – which must also form part of the lease agreement.
“ Such a clause – similar to those providing for the recovery of outstanding municipal charges for water and electricity supply – may well make tenants think twice about breaking the rules and, at the very least, should ensure that the landlord doesn’t lose out financially when they do.”
Why you should insist that your buyer has been pre-approved
At this point in the South African property market cycle, it is particularly important for home sellers to work with agents who will only bring them offers from pre-approved buyers.
The reason, says Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group, is that while there is plenty of buyer demand at the moment due to low home prices and low interest rates, many properties are still being “sold” three and even four times until a buyer can be found who does actually qualify for a home loan.
“This is a cause of unnecessary anxiety and possible financial stress for home sellers, and can largely be eliminated if your agent makes sure that a potential buyer has been pre-approved before writing an offer to purchase.
“It is also important for all parties to understand that pre-approval, often with the assistance of a mortgage originator, is not the same thing as pre-qualification.”
Writing in the Property Signposts newsletter, he explains that when buyers are pre-qualified for a home loan, it just means that they have been given an estimate of how much they should be able to borrow, based on basic information they have provided to a lender about their income, finances and credit record.
“The lender may not even pull a credit report during this quick evaluation and it does not take the buyers’ individual financial situation into account, so the main benefit is to the buyer, who now has a general idea of what price range of homes he or she should be looking at.”
Pre-approval, on the other hand, carries a lot of weight in the real estate industry, says Everitt. “In order to obtain pre-approval for a loan, the potential borrower must provide the lender with all sorts of detailed information and documentation including bank statements, salary slips and tax returns. The bank will also carefully check the applicant’s credit history, ability to pay a deposit if required and, in terms of the National Credit Act, his or her ability to really afford any monthly home loan payments without hardship.
“Once this process has been completed, the successful applicant will receive a letter from the lender confirming that he or she has been approved to buy a home for a certain amount.
“And while that obviously benefits the buyer once again, it is also of tremendous benefit to the home seller. Receiving an offer from a buyer who has been pre-approved in this way provides welcome assurance that he or she does actually have the financial resources, and backing, to go through with the transaction.”
Chas Everitt flag now flying in Polokwane
Two top agents have joined forces to launch the Chas Everitt International branch in Polokwane, the bustling capital of Limpopo.
They are Lynn Paul and Vincent Raphulu (see picture), both of whom spent several years working for other “big name” estate agency groups but recently decided to acquire the Chas Everitt Notebook® licence for Polokwane and work for themselves.
“The Notebook business model is perfect for start-up operations like ours,” says Vincent. “It is affordable but at the same time gives us access to the business support systems and marketing channels of a major national real estate company so we can guarantee that our clients’ properties get the widest possible exposure to potential buyers.
“And we really feel that with this sort of backing we will soon make a major impact on the Polokwane market.”
This market, he says, is increasingly active, especially in the R500 000 to R1m price range, which is currently attracting large number of first-time buyers.
“Some of these buyers are relocating here from the surrounding rural areas, but most are government employees who have been renting but have now decided to buy their own homes. And the majority of these buyers receive State housing subsidies, which makes it easier for them to get home loans.”
Relatively high rentals are driving many of the current sales in Polokwane, says Lynne, because there is a shortage of rental stock in some sectors, “but there is also a growing awareness that now is a good time to buy property – before prices and interest rates start to climb once more.
“In addition, Polokwane is thriving, employment opportunities are increasing and the population is growing, so that even new developments coming onto the market here are selling our quickly. It is thus a great time to open a new estate agency here.”
Chas Everitt International head of franchising Barry Davies says the Notebook® concept was specifically devised to enable top agents and independent principals to operate under the strong national brand and gain access to the Chas Everitt business systems, websites, marketing material and training courses at a much reduced entry and operating cost.
“It is most appropriate for those working in single suburbs, rural areas and smaller towns and cities where the sales volumes may not be large enough to justify the cost of establishing and maintaining a full franchise branch, but property sellers still deserve top-notch service and the benefits arising from our national and global marketing strength as a group.”
Chas Everitt earn “preferred agency” status for Boschenmeer Golf Estate
The home owners’ association (HOA) of the prestigious Boschenmeer golf estate near Paarl has appointed the onsite Chas Everitt International office as its single “preferred agency” for the next two years.
“This is a real feather in our cap,” says Chas Everitt International MD Berry Everitt. “Boschenmeer is one of the top golf estates in the country and we are very proud of what has been achieved by Reon and Jaco Van der Merwe, owners of our Notebook® licence for the estate.”
Reon van der Merwe, a 25-year veteran of the real estate industry, is a specialist in marketing golf and lifestyle estates who decided a couple of years ago to focus exclusively on Boschenmeer and established his Chas Everitt office on the estate, which is in the winelands of the beautiful Paarl/ Franschhoek valley and bisected by the Berg River.
He explains that the preferred status awarded by the HOA gives his agency exclusive rights to sales leads passed on by the HOA, and also means that it is the only company allowed to erect sale boards at the gates, distribute marketing material in the estate and advertise on the Boschenmeer website.
“It also covers homes to let on the estate and we are also very excited at the prospect of adding some of the exceptional homes here to our rental portfolio.”
Boschenmeer, which is 140ha in extent and boasts a 27-hole golf course designed by David Frost, contains some 520 homes, separated into different nodes to suit different lifestyle requirements.
Incorporating elements of Tuscan, Victorian and Cape Dutch styles, these homes range from two-bedroom townhouses to spacious family houses and impressive mansions, many of them offering spectacular views of the Drakenstein mountains as well as the fairways.
Home prices start at around R1,4m and facilities on the estate include a high-tech golf academy and driving range, a state-of-the-art club house, a pool and floodlit tennis courts as well as conference facilities. Security is excellent, and the estate is within easy reach of Cape Town as well as the many excellent schools in Paarl.
Contact: Reon van der Merwe on 021-863 0099 / 082 896 2747 or visit www.chaseveritt.co.za
Top Johannesburg estate agency joins Chas Everitt
Johannesburg Southern suburbs real estate maestro, Jacques Bronkhorst, has elected to convert his long standing and top-performing agency to the Chas Everitt International brand.
A former winner of the national Property Professional of the Year award (2005), Jacques first made his name in Johannesburg’s new south through his own high-profile agency, Pulse Realty, which he started in 2002, before deciding to join another national group in 2007.
“And now it’s time to move on and grow again,” he says, “and my team and I are really excited about becoming part of Chas Everitt International . This group has a great national infrastructure in place and provides outstanding support to its franchisees, agents and clients. It is also way out in front when it comes to the application of new real estate technologies and in particular the use of online marketing.”
Berry Everitt, group MD of Chas Everitt International, responds: “We are absolutely thrilled to have Jacques on board as a new franchisee, as we have admired his talent, determination and achievements for many years. His agency is undoubtedly one of the market leaders in the southern suburbs and we have no doubt it will be a valuable addition to the group.
“More importantly, Jacques shares the family values expressed in our vision and mission, and through him, our brand will be expanded into this area with the utmost integrity.”
In addition to the new branding, there will be a few other changes at the agency in the next few weeks, including the return of Greg Simpson as manager. “Greg was here at the start of things, when we were still Pulse Realty, and in the past few years has added outstanding real estate training skills to his portfolio, so it will be great to have him back and it will enable me to spend much more time doing what I really enjoy, which is selling homes,” Jacques notes.
The agency, resplendent in its new signage, will however continue to serve real estate buyers and sellers right across the new south and in Alberton, including areas such as Glenvista, Bassonia, Mulbarton, Meyersdal, Brackenhurst and Brackendowns.
This is an active market at the moment, says Jacques, with sectional title units popular among first-time buyers starting from about R550 000, cluster homes available at prices from R1,3m and large suburban homes selling in the R1,5m to R1,7m range.
“It is still difficult for many buyers to access finance, and a significant percentage of sellers do still need to rethink their asking prices, but both buyer enquiries and sales numbers are on the increase and we are confident that with the backing of our new franchisor, 2012 will prove to be a very successful year.”
Get your Property on the ‘Net” to maximise your chance of selling
If your agent does not advertise your home widely on the Internet, you are quite simply losing out on the best chance you have of selling it.
“This is very clear,” says Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group, “from the latest statistics released by the US National Association of Realtors (NAR) following its 2011 survey of more than 80 000 homebuyers.
“The results showed that while prospective homebuyers used multiple sources of information in their search for a property, far and away the most used sources were the Internet (88%) and estate agents (87%).
“What is more, the majority of home seekers (35%) went to the Internet as a first step in the search process, visiting property portals more than individual real estate company websites. Only 21% contacted an estate agent first, while 8% began by driving around their preferred areas looking for home for sale.”
Even more telling, he says, is the fact that 40% of the homebuyers surveyed by the NAR said they had found the home they actually ended up purchasing on the Internet, while 35% said they had found their property through an agent. Thus only 25% found their homes by other means.
“And although such exact statistics are not yet available for SA, we believe the preference for Internet searches is very similar, although print advertising does still have an important role to play here because easy and regular access to the Internet is somewhat less widespread among prospective buyers.”
Meanwhile, a just-released study by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) shows to what extent buyers are still driving the market, despite a lack of access to finance.
Entitled “The Great Recession and Attitudes Towards Homebuying”, the study reveals that almost 80% of US 
households think that now is a good time to buy property, even though the country is battling high unemployment and slow economic growth, Everitt notes. Home sellers, on the other hand, are very negative about the market, with only 7% believing that this is a good time to sell.
“The study also shows that the positive sentiment towards home buying is particularly strong among young, well-educated households and attributable mostly to low home prices and low home loan interest rates. And once again, we believe we have a very similar situation in SA, with lots of demand evident and a significant increase in sales only being curtailed at the moment by the difficulties many prospective buyers are experiencing in obtaining home loans.
“This suggests that sales will spike as soon as SA consumers have completed the process of cleaning up their credit records and cutting their debt loads, which many have already been doing diligently for the past few years.”
“Pooling together to purchase property
Interest rates are low. Prices are low. Affordability is up, So why aren’t consumers and investors snapping up properties at a rate of knots?
“Quite simply, because most of them haven’t got the cash to pay the sizeable deposits the banks still require in most cases before they will approve a home loan – let alone enough to buy properties outright,” says Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group.
.“However, there is a way to take advantage of the current buyers’ market in which cash is king and that is to pool resources by forming an investment group with a few friends or colleagues.”
Writing in the Property Signposts newsletter, he says that with a group of 10 people, for example, you could each contribute R12 000 to make up a 20% deposit on a R600 000 home (on which there is no transfer duty) and obtain a R480 000 bond.
“The monthly repayment on this, at current interest rates, would be around R4320 a month, and your group should be able to let the property to cover at least this.
“And gearing the purchase in this way would mean that if the value went up just 3% (R18 000) in the first year, you would each stand to make a 15% ‘return’ on your initial investment of R12 000, minus your share of the municipal rates, any levies, and upkeep.”
Everitt points out that there aren’t many places where you could safely invest your money to do better than that, but says you do need to make sure to have an attorney draw up a formal agreement for the group, and to enlist the help of a knowledgeable estate agent to find suitable properties to buy.
For more information visit http://www.chaseveritt.co.za
