Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa March/April 2020 | Page 14

COVER STORY
estimates that the title deed backlog for RDP properties
built prior to 2014 currently stands at 511 752. These
properties were given to beneficiaries, but no title deeds
were registered and handed over. At the same time, there is
a backlog of 351 470 title deeds on newer properties.” provide escrow services or call a human for dispute
resolutions during a black swan event. It is impossible to
hack / cheat and the best of all is that they are free. This
can enable seriously complicated real-estate commerce.
Properties might have thousands of owners with a
democratic, transparent governance system,” adds de Jager.
“In its essence, a blockchain
allows people to embed trust
inside software. By using
smart contracts, absolute
trust can be artificially
created between two parties” Blockchain technology is still new and de Jager believes
that there is still a long way to go for it to reach its full
potential. But there are certain use-cases which investors
can utilise now already. The first and most obvious is
payments. Using cryptocurrency as means of payment
is perfectly legal and it has many advantages, especially
when dealing with foreign currency. There are virtually no
transaction fees and it settles immediately. Simple smart
contracts can also be used to store paper contracts, manage
rental payments.
It is brilliant to see South Africa leading the way with
tech trends, especially in a way that will benefit the entire
country and make the lives of the unfortunate better.
Perhaps it is the way to complete freedom for the country
and the entire Universe. SOURCES Blockchain Academy, SESO Global, CAHF
“Overall, this pilot project is an excellent initiative. It is well
known that our deeds registry suffers from slow conveyance,
high transaction costs, legal inconsistencies and fraud. All of
these can be removed with blockchain
technology. But perhaps the biggest
advantage of blockchains are that they
intrinsically remove barriers to entry. It
has the ability to open the industry to
anyone who is interested, regardless of
race, religion, age or social class,” says
de Jager.
Conveyancing in the property sector
It’s all about trust. Several lawyers work
with government, agents and bankers
to ultimately achieve one goal which
is to provide trust that the asset is
indeed removed from the seller’s name
and registered in the buyer's name in
return for a payment.
“The fact that so many humans are
responsible for maintaining this trust
creates many side-effects, including
illiquid conveyance, slow price
discovery, opaque due diligence, high
transaction costs, legal inconsistencies
and fraud," says de Jager.
"Replacing trust in humans with
smart contracts will enable instant
conveyance. These contracts can even
validate FICA / AML requirements,
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MARCH/APRIL 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
CAREL DE JAGER De Jager facilitates a wide
range of blockchain related training courses
and presentations. He also delivers customised,
industry-specific training to audiences of various
levels.