Watch this video to see how Annemarie Stander, a rental agent at Terblanche Properties in the Garden Route, assisted a client in urgent need of a rental property.
Letting agent saves the day for happy client
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Tag Archives: property
The importance of professional property management
What difference will a professional property manager make to your residential community scheme? Annetjie Terblanche, head of property management at Terblanche Properties, explains.
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Listing photo bloopers
When you’re thinking about hiring an estate agent to help you market and sell your home in the Garden Route, it’s probably a good idea to ask to see listing photos of homes they’ve represented in the past. A true real estate professional will go the extra mile to make sure there are plenty of high-quality, detailed photos to help market your home online.
At the minimum, the photos should be well-lit, the homes should be tastefully presented, and the photographs should appear to be taken by a professional. Less than that, and you might want to consider looking for a new agent.
There are, of course, major red flags you’ll want to look for in sample listing photos. Consider some of the following:
- No owners sunbathing in the pool in Speedos.
- No attic rooms cluttered with personal massagers and ashes/dust.
- No master bedrooms with lingerie models lounging in a red velvet four-poster bed.
- No bathroom shots in which the photographer appears in her bra in the mirror.
- No pics featuring the owners engaged in questionable activities in the background.
- No creepy dolls by the fire place.
- Seriously, no creepy dolls anywhere, not even in the living room!
- No stains of murdered bodies on the bare floors.
Now, it may sound like we’re joking, but we’re being 100% honest when we say these are flaws seen in actual listing photos represented by real agents. What’s more, we can prove it.
See every single one of the above listing photo disasters in this slide show:
http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2012/03/05/what-not-to-do-when-selling-terrible-listing-photos/
Incredible, isn’t it?
Please, whatever you do, be sure to hire an agent who takes their listing photos seriously. After all, you home is your largest investment! We’d be glad to treat it with the respect it deserves. Let us help you market your home the right way.
Send a mail to Terblanche Properties today to see how we can make your home stand out from the crowd.
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All listings now also on Property Junction
Property Junction
Properties listed on our world-class website, are now also fed to the new and exciting South African property portal, Property Junction.
This is great for sellers in the Garden Route who want to list their properties for sale with a company who is able to give the best exposure to their properties. Buyers will also get access to a much wider variety of properties when they search. Property Junction is part of the Avusa Media stable and is bound to be a very busy and useful website for sellers and buyers alike.
Here below is a screenshot of a property listed on Property Junction:
A property advert on the Property Junction website
Terblanche Total Property Solutions are constantly improving and expanding the property marketing services available to our clients. Just over two months ago, we announced that many listings on our website would also be fed to Private Property. Coupled with our already-existing property marketing offering, sellers will enjoy excellent exposure for their properties for sale.
Contact us today to discuss a tailor-made marketing plan for your property for sale.
Video tour – Hartenbos Heuwels house
Thinking of getting a place in Hartenbos? Consider this beauty.
The large family home is situated on the sea side hills of Hartenbos Heuwels, the popular holiday mecca in the Garden Route region of the Western Cape, South Africa. It is a short drive to Hartenbos beach with all its attractions and entertainment facilities. The Langeberg Mall and the N2 highway are just as close by.
The current owners had built the home only a few years ago, and they have looked after it lovingly. As a result the property is in pristine condition and the face-brick finish offers a low maintenance, solidly built family structure. You will be able to move into the home as it stands immediately with no major renovation or maintenance required.
The home is situated on a large stand and boasts a beautiful indigenous garden. There are a number of contemporary rock features and rest areas to be found throughout the large garden. With the water restrictions recently lifted in Mossel Bay, this will offer a delightful weekend activity to those with green fingers who love to potter in the garden. If you are less inclined to while your hours away in the garden, the garden can be maintained easily.
Check out the full listing with photos on our website.
Update to the proposed Property Rates Amendment Bill
The Ministry for Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) came out with a very welcome media statement yesterday, 18 July 2011. This was in reply to the public outcry regarding the wording of the proposed Property Rates Amendment Bill tabled on 9 June 2011.
Property owners and the property industry as a whole can sigh a collective sigh of relief again. It will still be possible to own two or more residential properties without having to pay commercial tax rates on the second and third (and further) properties owned.
The quick response by COGTA must be welcomed. The property market is in the beginning stages of a recovery, which should be nurtured. Unnecessary distractions such as these are unfortunate.
The full media statement is quoted below:
“The draft Municipal Property Rates Bill was gazetted for comment on 9 June. We are keen to hear from the public on the Bill. The last date for comments is 22 July.
Deputy Minister Yunus Carrim says “We understand, especially in these difficult economic times, and with increases in the cost of municipal services, that house-owners are anxious about property rates. But contrary to media reports on the draft Bill, people who own more than one residential property will not have to pay commercial rates on their additional residential properties. The intention is to ensure that guest-houses, bed-and-breakfast establishments, small hotels and the like pay commercial rates. If necessary, we will amend the draft to make this clearer before submitting the Bill to parliament.”
The draft Bill is in response to complaints from the public and some municipalities over the years about the lack of clarity of aspects of the original Act and difficulties in implementing it. There was widespread consultation on the draft that has been gazetted. Public hearings were held in April last year in all the provinces, and were attended by stakeholders such as ratepayers’ organisations, agricultural unions, business chambers, state owned enterprises, community organisations, traditional leaders, municipalities, and individual ratepayers.
“Essentially, the Municipal Property Rates Act is being amended to make property rating simpler, more transparent, more uniform and easier to implement,” says Deputy Minister Carrim.
The only policy shifts in the Bill are:
- Properties used for trading in and hunting of game will be regarded as agricultural property and subject to rates in the interests of equity and fairness.
- There needs to be greater uniformity across municipalities in rating houses owned by recipients of old-age pensions and disability grants
- Aspects of public service infrastructure will be excluded from property rates because of their contribution to the country’s developmental needs.”
The property recovery is driven by Generation X
Things are looking up in the property world. Generation X will lead the property market to recovery in the US and in SA. A more positive sentiment has returned to the market in the US as well as in South Africa, especially among professionals who can afford to take advantage of the current market conditions. This sentiment is echoed by our own property professionals.
A report by an American company, John Burns Real Estate Consulting, revealed that of the 10 000 buyers and potential buyers they surveyed in 27 metro areas throughout the US, between 85% and 89% said that they felt now was a good time to buy a home and most felt optimistic about a new home purchase.
There has been a marked increase in activity in both the local and international property markets in the first quarter of 2011; however recovery in the global market continues to be slow as countries are experiencing different rates of recovery depending on the various economic policies they have in place.
In the US market, for example, the unemployment rate has reduced and the US stock exchange has rebounded massively since 2009. Positive property statistics have been reported with an increase in transaction volumes, especially in existing home sales and there continues to be a strong demand for distressed properties.
As with the case in the US, South Africans are currently seeing more realistic property pricing and are experiencing the lowest interest rate in the last 38 years. This has had an influence on the market and has contributed positively to the increase in property transactions. Added to this, realistic house prices and interest rates have also opened up the property market to people who could not afford to buy a house five years ago.
Around the world the Generation X population, which consists of adults between the ages of 31 and 45 who are generally well established in their careers, are looking to get their foot in the property-ownership door. According to real estate experts, these potential property buyers are most likely to decide that given the current market conditions, now is a good time to purchase a property. The Generation X market segment makes up 32% of the property-buying population in the US. While they are not the largest population-buying group, they are definitely the most active. In contrast Baby Boomers in the US, who make up 41% of the property-buying population, are still trying to make up losses in their savings and investments due to the recession conditions of the last few years and are more cautious in their buying decisions.
Statistically the population demographic in South Africa looks slightly different; Baby Boomers make up a much smaller percentage of the population than Generation X. Between the years 1950 and 1965 there were 13,5 million births in South Africa (Baby Boomers) compared with the 18,74 million births (Generation X) between 1965 and 1985.
However, when it comes to buying population, South Africa has many similarities to the US. According to John Loos, FNB Home Loan Strategist, the most noticeable increase in the property market buying share in South Africa was among the Generation X group who made up 28,1% of the total purchases in the first quarter of this year. This is compared to the Baby Boomers whose buying share increased to 21.17% of the total purchases in the first quarter of this year.
Younger buyers have also made their mark on the property market recently and it seems that Generation Y will not be outdone by their predecessors. Loos says that information from Deeds Office data on individual transactions revealed that in the last four quarters, 15.3% of first time buyers were under the age of 30.
When one looks at coastal nodes like Mossel Bay, Hartenbos, Great Brak River and Little Brak River in the Garden Route, one has to remember that they are very popular areas among retirees. Despite this, however, some of the most recent properties sold by our property consultants were purchased by Generation X buyers. Mossel Bay has a vibrant industry with employers like PetroSA employing many Generation X’ers.
Overall market confidence has improved and we have seen a higher number of first time buyers in the first quarter of 2011 than during the last quarter of 2010. It is clear that it is the younger professionals who are leading the property market recovery both in South Africa and abroad. Although we may still have an interesting road ahead of us in terms of full market recovery, things are definitely looking up for property markets around the world.
A view from the top
Looking for a place to call your own in Hartenbos? Do you want the great family home close to the sea? Are you looking for space, views and low maintenance?
Check out this video of this wonderful home in Hartenbos Heuwels. For more information, read this. Contact us today to arrange a viewing
New Hartenbos property professionals
We are excited to announce the arrival of two new property professionals in our Hartenbos office. Braam and Marelize Fourie are originally from Johannesburg, but lived in Botswana more recently. They now live in the most beautiful place on earth, Mossel Bay, specifically Great Brak River with their two sons, Bryan (14) and Dylon (12). Marelize says they are “very fortunate to be part of such a wonderful town that has retained its values over the years.”
Braam and Marelize got married in 1995 and lived in Johannesburg for many years. Marelize has an international secretarial diploma and Braam has a national diploma in police administration. He had been a member of the South African Police Service for several years before he became part of the initial team at Monte Casino and later as a Surveillance Specialist. In 2000 he founded his own business in the building industry. Marelize had worked as a legal secretary for many years before she threw her full weight into their own businesses.
In 2007, Braam and Marelize moved to Botswana as their businesses expanded. However, by mid 2010, they were yearning to come back to South Africa. They made the decision to move back to the Garden Route to be with their family for the first time in many years.
At the beginning of March 2011, Deon Terblanche offered them the opportunity to head up the Hartenbos office of Terblanche Total Property Solutions. Braam and Marelize accepted the opportunity with open arms and say they “are proud and privileged to be part of such a dynamic and successful team and are looking forward to the future.”
Braam and Marelize will be working as a team and will cover residential sales and rentals and holiday rentals in Hartenbos, Little Brak River, Tergniet, Reebok, Fraaiuitsig, Glentana and Great Brak River. Please call Marelize on 0826291999 or mail her at marelize@ttps.co.za for more information. Braam is available on 0714111960 or braamf@ttps.co.za.
What can you expect when selling your home
Property sellers, this is for you. Check out the Slideshare presentation below with information on the process of selling your home. It will tell you what to expect from the process and what your property professional will do to make it a breeze.
