With such tough financial times at present, more and more people are finding themselves in debt or financially strained. Failure to pay home loan instalments can lead to the involuntary sale of one’s home – but this last resort and a lifetime filled with debt can be avoided as there are schemes to support people who find themselves in difficult financial situations.

According to Richard Gray, CEO of Harcourts Real Estate South Africa, “It is so important for those individuals facing financial pressures to know the options that are available to them. Harcourts works in partnership with a number of banks which aim to assist such individuals and lead them out of debt.”

Reaching the stage where an involuntary sale or sale of execution is mandatory can be devastating. It involves a legal process by which the Court grants the bank authorisation to sell their client’s property in…

As a landlord, one of the worst situations to find oneself in is with a problematic tenant that does not comply with the terms in the signed lease agreement. There are many reasons for wanting to get rid of tenants, such as causing major damage to the property, staying on the property after the lease has expired, continuously breaking rules of the contract, but the most common reason for wanting to evict a tenant is due to late or no payment of rent money.

There are a number of laws within South Africa that govern rental agreements, including the Rental Housing Act (Act 50 of 1999), Laws of Contract, common law, Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the Constitution. However evicting such tenants is not a simple process, and there are certain do’s and don’ts dictated by law that all landlords should be aware of in order to follow the correct…

Data recently released by Harcourts Real Estate South Africa revealed that the growth of the national franchised real estate company has far exceeded that of industry standards.

“In the past two years we have experienced phenomenal growth, which is especially significant at a time when many real estate groupings are shrinking, and the industry as a whole has declined quite considerably,” explains Richard Gray, CEO of Harcourts.

Whereas the residential property industry reported a growth of only 5% year-on-year in 2011 compared to 25% in 2010, Harcourts has experienced a year-on year growth of 27% in 2011 and 45% in 2010. “Furthermore, Harcourts’ aggregate sales growth in the last 2 years is a staggering 87%,” confirmed Gray.

The value of residential transactions nationally increased from R151 billion in 2010 to R158 billion in 2011, which represented an increase of 7000 property deals in 2011 from…

Once the elation of buying a new home has worn off, the reality of the monumental task of relocating all your belongings from one residence to the next can be rather daunting. With all the packing and planning that comes with such a change, it can be easy to forget to do essential tasks that are necessary for the change of address.

According to Jan Myburgh, General Manager of Harcourts Real Estate South Africa,
“Moving houses is far more complex than simply packing your possessions into boxes and sending them to the new property. A useful tip to those planning on moving in the future is to work from a ‘Moving Checklist’. A methodical weekly checklist will help to establish everything that needs to be done before the big day arrives. ”

Examples of important tasks that should be done well in advance are things such as the…

As one would give their appearance more attention than usual when going for an interview, one’s home deserves the same attention when preparing to show it to potential buyers. In effect, this viewing closely resembles an interview and therefore the property has only one opportunity to make a good first impression. With an estimated 50% of property sold before the potential buyer even enters the home, this first impression had better count.

According to Jan Myburgh, General Manager of Harcourts South Africa, “Our agency has some simple presentation tips that we feel are beneficial to share with clients when putting their homes on the market. By following these useful guidelines it will ensure that their home is presented to its best advantage, which will ultimately lead to its successful sale.”

As the exterior is the first contact that the potential buyer will have with the home, this area needs…