SHEPPERSON'S FIRST LAW

 Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Atterbury to list its property fund in Q4 Could sell five regional shopping centres to Vukile. JOHANNESBURG – The Atterbury Group plans to list its property fund on the JSE  in the fourth quarter of this year. According to Morné Wilken, chief executive officer of the fund – currently called Atterbury Investment Holdings – the reasons for the proposed listing is twofold. “It potentially will create more liquidity for our shareholders, because in an unlisted company – although it is public – it is more difficult to trade,” he says. It will also make it easier for the company to raise money for its huge development pipeline, such as the R3bn Mall of Africa in Waterfall, in future. Louis van der Watt (pictured), chief executive officer of the Atterbury Group, says the fund’s gross assets is valued at around R12bn. Depending on the gearing, the market cap of the fund could be around R6bn during its initial listing. Atterbury is still co

Protector probes R85m housing mess in Tshwane The office of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has confirmed that she is probing the multimillion rand housing development in Saulsville, where millions were paid for housing units that have failed to meet building standards. The Pretoria News reported yesterday how a budget of R85 million was spent to construct 104 units as part of efforts to eradicate hostels in the area, but they still remain unoccupied as a certificate of occupation has not been issued because of the poor condition of the housing units. Allegations of corruption involving local councillors have also been made by residents in relation to the list of people to live in the units when they are finally ready for occupation. According to residents, people who had not lived in the hostels before were poised to move in when the units were completed, posing a potentially volatile situation at the hostels. Political parties have also called for the Gauteng local gover

 Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Ratepayers can't pick and choose parts of bill to settle, says judge Ratepayers may not withhold payment of their rates because they feel they are not receiving a satisfactory service, but they may refuse to pay when they are not receiving a service at all. In a complex judgment on Friday, the Constitutional Court dismissed an application by a group of ratepayers who withheld payment because they were dissatisfied with the services. Olga Rademan, a member of the Moqhaka Ratepayers and Residents' Association in Kroonstad, declared a dispute with the Moqhaka municipality in June 2008. She and other members withheld payment of their rates and taxes in protest against poor service, but paid for electricity, water, and other services. The municipality disconnected her electricity in August 2009. After her electricity was disconnected, Rademan brought an application in the Kroonstad Magistrate's Court, which ruled that the muni

A number of Articles came out today about the state of lending in SA. The Article below emphasizes the importance of the housing market to the overall health of the economy.  However, there are also two Articles on Moneyweb detailing the problems experienced by banks in lending and, in particular, the impact of Basel III on their ability to lend. The first article entitled South African banks tighten lending can be found HERE :  The second article, which relates more to unsecured lending and is entitled How big of a problem is unsecured lending for banks? ... can be found HERE .   Click HERE to visit us on Facebook    'Housing inertia hobbling economy' The South African economy would not recover unless there was a recovery in the housing market because building was an engine for growth and wealth creation, BMI-Building Research Strategy Consulting principal consultant Llewellyn Lewis said yesterday. However, mortgage advances in current values dropped 57 p

Here is the latest Article on Moneyweb relating to the long-running saga of Sharemax. All you need to know is contained in the following paragraphs from the Article: Nova Property Group has been in existence for over a year but there has been no word on when its financial statements might be published. These financial statements should provide investors with an idea of Nova’s financial health and thus the likelihood of eventual repayment of their debentures, or, if they selected shares, what these shares might be worth. Because it is a public company, Nova’s financial statements should be available, on request, from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Earlier this year, Moneyweb made a request to the CIPC’s disclosure division for copies of Nova’s financial statements. On February 26, 2013, CIPC informed Moneyweb that no financial statements were on record for Nova.   Sherlock Holmes famously said " when you have eliminated the impossible, w

I really like Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa because (at least from an outsider's perspective) he appears to be trying to do things for my City.  In addition, he is articulate and can therefore generally clearly express the intended outcome of his Council's plans. HOWEVER , in this case I think that this is a hare-brained scheme and probably a waste of money. Virtually every day I go to the Deeds Office in the City Centre.  I used to have a monthly parking in a parking arcade but for the last year or so, I rely mostly on finding something on the streets surrounding the Deeds Office.  It is noticeable that for some inexplicable reason, the Council has already converted a fair percentage of their metered street parking into "no-stopping zones"! CRAZY! Now, they are building the BRT Route and Skinner Street is down to one or two lanes and we can see the effect of road closures on traffic flow.  This is temporary but gives a clear indication of what the effect will be

 Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Basel III rule changes will prove positive for property buyers For many months, interest rate concessions on home loans have been virtually unheard of, and many borrowers have been able to secure loans only at one or two percentage points above prime. But now things are set to ease somewhat, says Rudi Botha, chief executive of mortgage originator BetterBond. This is thanks to a decision by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ( BCBS) to change some of the new capital reserve requirements for banks that were due to be implemented in 2015. These liquidity rules, proposed in 2010 as part of the Basel III plan to help banks survive financial crises, were widely felt to be too stringent for banks in emerging or developing economies like South Africa. Nonetheless, financial institutions in those countries had begun preparing for their implementation by raising their lending rates, says Botha. "However, earlier this year the BCB

 Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Betterbond figures show improvement in home loan approval rate The extent of the improvement in the residential property market over the past two years is clearly indicated in the latest statistics from mortgage originator BetterBond, which show that home loan approval rate has risen from 61 percent in March 2011 to 69 percent last month. During the same period, the average home purchase price paid by BetterBond clients has fluctuated, hitting a low of R780 000 last January and spiking at R960 000 last August. But it has generally also shown an upward trend, to reach R905 000 last month, compared with R786 000 in March 2011 (a 15 percent increase). However, BetterBond chief executive Rudi Botha notes that the average deposit percentage required by lenders has varied little over the past two years, with the result that the average home loan amount approved has risen from R700 000 in March 2011 to R738 000 last month. "Obviously

 Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Chance to air Pretoria CBD road closure gripes Businesses and other stakeholders opposed to the partial closure of a number of streets in Pretoria's inner city will this week be given an opportunity to have a say on the matter. Member of the mayoral committee responsible for economic development and planning, Subesh Pillay, will host a workshop at the Pretoria City Hall on Thursday. The workshop is aimed at providing further details in connection with the Tshwane Metro Council's Operation Reclaim. The project entails the closure of several streets and the relocation of a number of taxi ranks in the inner city. The streets which are to be partially closed are Lilian Ngoyi (Van der Walt) between Pretorius and Madiba (Vermeulen); Sisulu (Prinsloo) between Madiba and Pretorius; and Helen Joseph (Church) between Du Toit and Thabo Sehume (Andries). Final approval for the partial closure of the streets has been granted by the

 Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Affordable property is key to wealth creation, says study The provision of affordable housing in the so-called gap market in South Africa not only resulted in improved welfare and social cohesion, but was also an important facilitator of opportunities and wealth creation, according to a new study. The research, conducted by a team led by UCT associate professor Francois Viruly, found that those who obtained homes in this sector moved beyond viewing them as a mere shelter but saw them as an asset, and the appreciation in the value of these assets stimulated entrepreneurship, job creation and access to higher levels of education. Soula Proxenos, the managing partner of International Housing Solutions (IHS), a global private equity investor that pioneered the financing of affordable housing projects in South Africa with a total value of almost R8 billion to date and commissioned the research, said housing in the affordable sector enable

 Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Tshwane switches to prepaid electricity for all properties The City of Tshwane is doing away with meter readers as it intends to shift all electricity users in the city to pre-paid meters within the next two years. Not only will consumers have more accurate consumption figures and no more electricity bills, the city will save more than R5 billion in billing, administration and debt collection fees. Yesterday, the city launched the R7bn Security of Revenue Project which will see the installation of 800 000 pre-paid smart meters in every household, business and public building at no cost to the consumer. Jason Ngobeni, city manager, said the smart meters would give the power back to the people. "People will be able to control their own electricity consumption," he said. Consumers can control the amount of money spent on electricity each month because they can choose how many electricity units to upload. There will be no

I have posted this because it has long been a source of irritation for me.  Although I virtually never stride the passages of the Magistrates Court anymore, on the rare occassions that I find myself there, the prefab offices squeazed into the "new building" to accomodate the activities that used to be housed in the "old building" are an eyesore and inadequate for the efficient dispensing of justice. Three years later and they are nearly in a position to issue the construction tender.  You must be kidding!?! I understand that it is a heritage site BUT ... three years later and they have not even issued the tender yet (let alone granted the tender and commenced/completed construction). Anyway, let's hope that the delay results in a beautifully restored building much like they achieved with the Palace of Justice (on Church Square) about 10 years ago. Gareth Shepperson  Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Pretoria court to receive a facelift after

I have posted this because it has long been a source of irritation for me.  Although I virtually never stride the passages of the Magistrates Court anymore, on the rare occassions that I find myself there, the prefab offices squeazed into the "new building" to accomodate the activities that used to be housed in the "old building" are an eyesore and inadequate for the efficient dispensing of justice. Three years later and they are nearly in a position to issue the construction tender.  You must be kidding!?! I understand that it is a heritage site BUT ... three years later and they have not even issued the tender yet (let alone granted the tender and commenced/completed construction). Anyway, let's hope that the delay results in a beautifully restored building much like they achieved with the Palace of Justice (on Church Square) about 10 years ago. Gareth Shepperson  Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  Pretoria court to receive a facelift after