Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December / Jan 2016 | Page 11

PROPERTY ALERTS

The
Bad

The
Good

Thely
Ug

Entering the property
market is more
affordable now

Durban N2 upgrades
rouse toll road fears

Landlords beware homeowner evicted
from own property

T

P

I

he average home purchase
price among first-time buyers
has climbed steadily over the
past two years from R612 000 to
R652 000, and yet, it has become
more affordable to enter the
property market according to Shaun
Rademeyer, CEO of BetterLife
Home Loans, who says for one, the
average percentage of the purchase
price required by the banks as a
deposit on first-time purchases has
shrunk from 8.4% to 6.8%.
He says this translates to a cash
saving of around R9 000. “Secondly,
the transfer duty threshold was raised
earlier this year from R600 000 to
R750 000, which translates into
further savings for most first-time
buyers of up to R4 500. And thirdly,
wages have generally risen faster than
house prices over the past two years,
so monthly home loan instalments as
a percentage of income have grown

smaller.”

www.reimag.co.za

lans to upgrade two major
interchanges on the N2
south of Durban have raised
suspicions that Sanral still hopes to
toll local motorists and commuters
to subsidise the stalled N2 Wild
Coast Toll Highway Project.
Environmental
consultants
acting for Sanral held two “public
open days” in Durban recently
to outline plans to upgrade
the Isipingo and Adams Road
(eManzimtoti) interchanges.
The projects involve increasing
the height and width of two
overhead interchange bridges to
allow for future widening of the
N2 south of the city.
Sanral has denied there is any
link between the Durban upgrades
and the Wild Coast toll plan, while
the eThekwini Municipality has
confirmed that it has been in talks
with Sanral, which would fund
the bulk of the project, with some
financial contribution by the city.
The toll plan is on ice pending
a court challenge by Wild Coast
residents and behind-the-scenes
government discussions on how to
fund a new, shorter route between
Durban and East London.

n a bizarre twist of events, a
homeowner has been evicted
from her own property, in terms
of order of eviction handed down in
the Springs Magistrate’s Court on
28 August in favour of the tenant
who had occupied the property
during the previous year. Landlords
faced with non-paying tenants are
sometimes deeply frustrated and
feel further financial pressure due
to the accumulating expenses of
the property. The law is very clear,
however: a landlord must follow due
process through the courts to secure
an eviction order.
Understandably, landlords are
frustrated due to the average three
month process and the cost of an
eviction order. The landlord took it
upon herself to boot the tenant out
of the property. Notably, this was
not the first time he had defaulted
on his rental, partially paid or paid
late. On top of that, the electricity
meter had been tampered with on
three different occasions, resulting
in a bill of R12 675.20 in municipal
reinstatement fees. The landlord
accessed the property on 28 August
and promptly moved the tenant’s
belongings into the garage and
moved her own possessions back.

DEC/JAN 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

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