Archive for June, 2009
Rawson Developers have purchased one of Rondebosch’s landmark buildings, the three storey Porter House in Belmont Road. The seller was the Imperial Motor Group. The price paid has not been disclosed, but Paul Henry, the MD of Rawson Developers, has revealed that with the proposed conversion and additions to the existing building the total cost of the new project will be in the region R65 million. Further details will be released shortly.
Contact Paul Henry at Rawson Developers on 021 658 7100 or email paul@rawson-developers.co.za.
A member of Rawson Properties’ staff who returned from a short stay in the UK said, on reporting to Rawson’s MD, Tony Clarke, that the UK property press is saying, “almost word for word” exactly the same as SA press on property matters – and, he adds, as in SA, those companies now propagating a more optimistic view are, as here, accused of “trying to talk the market up”, even though there is now clear evidence that the bottoming out phase has been reached. (more…)
South Africa is unlikely to see another residential property boom in the foreseeable future and a full-scale revival in residential property is probably two to three years off, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of Rawson Properties – but, he adds, the turnaround point and the beginning of the upswing have already been reached and several encouraging signs are now already evident.
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The whole question of the condition of a property that is to be rented, or has been rented and is about to be vacated, can be highly contentious, says Errol King, Rawson Properties franchisee for Muizenberg, and, he adds, precautions have to be taken to ensure that both the landlord and the tenant meet their obligations. (more…)
The recessionary conditions in SA have resulted in more and more homeowners renting out parts of their homes (i.e. one or more rooms) to supplement their incomes, says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties, and, he adds, there is a growing demand for this type of accommodation.
“In our group,” he said, “we see this demand coming from students (property in the “Academic Mile” from Mowbray to Wynberg has proved to be one of the best possible investments), from visitors (who increasingly opt for the peace, privacy and cheaper price of a home rather than a hotel) and from those who, regrettably, have lost their homes this year as a result of redundancies, bond payment defaults and the like.”
Clarke added that although the renting out of rooms is now most evident in the disadvantaged areas such as Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, (Ivan Neethling, Chairman of the Western Cape branch of the Institute of Estate Agents has said that in some homes designed for a maximum of six people, up to 15 are now living) the trend is also evident in the affluent areas such as Constantia where singles in particular welcome this type of extra income.
Clarke warned that those going this route should take note that
• accommodating paying guests (or a second family) in a home could invalidate the property’s insurance policy.
• in some cases, especially in gated communities, this could be against the Homeowners’ Association regulations – or, where it is permitted, the regulations could limit the number of people allowed to live in a home.
• similarly, municipal byelaws often put limits to the number of people permitted in a home (this is often calculated on the number of bathrooms).
• the Receiver of Revenue might see this as a business (which it is) and not only demand income tax but also work the revenue into the Capital Gains Tax if the house is sold.
Those going this route, said Clarke, should take care to avoid “a tenant from hell”.
“This sort of lease is often drawn up by the homeowner without the help of an agent, who would be familiar with the criteria for assessing a tenant – and who knows how to check his track record as regards behaviour and payment. Let homeowners take care: on any long-term lease, even one for just a few weeks, your peace of mind and that of your neighbours could be at risk. Check the tenant out thoroughly and do not accept any statements unless they are backed up by reputable referees.”
For further information contact Tony Clarke on 021 658 7100 or email tony@rawsonproperties.com.
A recent court case has shown how absolutely essential it is for a tenant in a retail/commercial centre to understand in full the conditions under which he signed his lease.
Drawing attention to this case, Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties, said that a pharmacist had bought an existing pharmacy in a mall complex and had then signed a lease in which, as in the previous owner’s lease, he was guaranteed that his would be the only retail of its kind in the centre. <!–more–>
To his dismay, he then found that the supermarket in the centre had a pharmaceutical division which offered stiff competition and which also had exclusive trading rights in its lease agreement.
The pharmacist accordingly took the landlord to court for breach of contract pointing out that the previous pharmacy owner had also had an exclusive trade clause in his lease.
On examining the documentation the court found that all three contracts, i.e. the two with the pharmacists and the one with the supermarket, had exclusivity clauses.
In the circumstances, said Clarke, the court was forced to stick to the accepted maxim, “He who is prior in time is stronger in right” and ruled in favour of the supermarket being allowed to continue to sell pharmaceutical products. Had the pharmacist not obtained a new lease but simply held onto the first lease (signed prior to that of the supermarket) the court would have ruled in his favour.
“Exclusive trading rights,” said Clarke, “are beneficial for specialised businesses such as real estate agencies, liquor stores, cinemas or photo shops but this case shows how vitally important it is to check that no other tenants have the same agreement.”
In certain cases, e.g. a food hall, said Clarke, businesses could actually benefit from being clustered together with rival operations but this is the exception rather the rule.
Property trend analysts are impressed that in the first week of April mortgage loans granted in the US were 77% up on the April 2008 figure.A similar, though not quite so spectacular, rise was recorded in the UK for the same period. (more…)
