Monday Mar 30, 2009
Property Breifing
If you own an apartment or townhouse in a sectional title property, make absolutely sure your body corporate is competent and, if possible, get on to the committee yourself.
This advice comes from Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank.
"You have to protect your assets and this is the one way it can be done," says Steward.
"We have recently come across another case where a well-designed and well-built block of flats in a prime southern suburbs position has lost value because of inadequate maintenance.
"The reason is that almost none of the well-heeled investors or owner-occupiers were prepared to serve on the body corporate committee."
She says it is essential to carry out maintenance regularly with out any gap in the programme.
"The reason is obvious: not only will the property begin to look shoddy (and attract shoddy tenants), it will also be far more expensive to repair if you let it go downhill.
"Maintain and upgrade the property regularly and you will upgrade your investment."
According to new electrical installation regulations published in a recent Government Gazette (R242/31975 of March 6), from May 1 electrical certificates of compliance older than two years may not be used for the transfer of properties. The seller must obtain a new certificate before the transfer.
The notice says that from April 2010 developers will have to ensure that new developments with five or more units appoint a registered person, as defined in the General Machine Regulation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85/1993 or Approved Inspection Authority, to ensure compliance from commencement to completion of the project.
These requirements can been seen as a further method by which the Department of Labour will eradicate the non- standard electrical installation work being done by electrical installers including the issue of invalid certificates of compliance, says Peter Smuts of the Western Cape Approved Electrical Inspection Authority.
Call 021 987 3010 or visit www.wcaeia.co.za.
Weekend Property Supplement (Saturday Argus)
Posted at 12:26PM Mar 30, 2009 by Editor in Residential |
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