Edition 39 of 2004, Friday 15 October 2004

Dear Reader,

Soweto - South Africa's townships, for decades synonymous with poverty and violence, are emerging as the new market for supermarket chains hungry for more black shoppers. Since apartheid ended in 1994, many township shoppers have more money. Analysts say that while crime remains a threat to retail outlets, investors are willing to jump into the market in the prevailing low interest rate environment. "There's substantial money there," said retail analyst Evan Walker at investment company Andisa. "If you look at Soweto, that's about the size of the whole white population of South Africa in one area. There's a massive informal market, so there's obviously a potential for the larger chains."

For those who happen to own their own residence, the news that property prices have gone up by about 35 percent in the year to August is wonderful. Or is it? - Senior Executives can have their cake and eat it, Real Estate in South Africa.

This week we saw the biggest property sale ever in the Umhlanga and La Lucia Ridge nodes, the Standard Bank building in Umhlanga New Town Centre has been sold for 32,5 million rand.

And that is where we are going to stay, in Umhlanga Rocks, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Umhlanga means "Place of Reeds" in the Zulu language, referring to the beds of reeds that accumulate on the banks of the Ohlanga river a few kilometers north of the present, Umhlanga Rocks. Read more about Umhlanga Rocks in "Focus on".

In "Have fun" this week we look at "conveyancing", the meaning and what this job entail.

CyberProp greetings!
The editor

Senior executives can have their cake and eat it

For those who happen to own their own residence, the news that property prices have gone up by about 35 percent in the year to August is wonderful. Or is it?

You might be inclined to feel 35 percent richer but the extra wealth would only be realised if you sold the property and didn't want to buy another property.

One-stop living with everything the Net has to offer

If you're heading anywhere this festive season, make sure you start at www.tiscali.co.za. Whether it's to find holiday deals across South Africa and abroad, booking your travel arrangements online or simply getting in some early Xmas shopping without leaving the office, the Tiscali portal is one of the few local sites where content is king, and the world is at your fingertips.

"The South African consumer is becoming increasingly comfortable with the online environment, but good local websites with the best the Internet has to offer remain limited. The Tiscali internet portal offers you the world in one site; it gives our visitors unlimited options and can address every aspect of today's busy life," says Evan Milton, Chief Editor of Tiscali.co.za...

THE South African Institute of Architects says it is encouraging architects to unite and stamp out the practice of working on risk.

Working on risk is the practice where developers appoint architects to work on proposals for a development but do not pay them until the scheme goes ahead.

The body says there is a perception among developers in SA that architects always work on risk, but points out that other professionals such as dentists, doctors, lawyers and accountants do not.

Property owners who did not meet the 30 September property valuation deadline for Capital Gains Tax will be unable to use the market value of their property to work out the capital gain when they sell.

Jaco Grobler, managing executive at Absa Group Home Loans says this means that the South African Revenue Services (SARS) will then apply either the 80/20 principle or the time apportionment ratio...

Umhlanga means "Place of Reeds" . in the Zulu language, referring to the beds of reeds that accumulate on the banks of the Ohlanga river a few Kilometers North of present day Umhlanga Rocks.

The area used to be part of a coastal dune forest system many years ago and provided sanctuary to a multitude of bird and wildlife species of which many can still be found in bird, marine, and wildlife preserves in and around the area today..

View Properties in Kwazulu Natal | View Properties in Umhlanga Rocks

Kwazulu Natal- Umhlanga Rocks Bed: 5 Bath: 5.5 Garages: 4 Pool: Yes "Edge of the Sea" is ideally situated close to the main bathing beach and is surrounded by lush tropical gardens, with pool and water features, plus sea views, and has excellent security with 24 hour gate control. Ideal lock up and go.

Search for property in your area

What is "conveyancing"?

The process of passing legal rights in a piece of real property from one person to another.

When you buy or sell a home, in the background, dealing with the transfer duty and deposits, is a conveyancing co-ordinator.

I spoke to Carrie Sloan, a conveyancing coordinator, about the work she does and the qualifications needed to do it...

The real challenge for Estate Agents is to find a software application (programme) that supports all facets of the industry, cutting out the need to duplicate day-to-day work. CyberAgent answers to all the estate agencies needs.

This week we take a closer look at the "CyberAgent Sales Manager" module within the CyberAgent application.

The CyberAgent Sales Manager manages property sales as well as the calculation of commissions

• Existing property, seller and buyer information can be selected
• This module also makes provision for the capturing of the bank, bond and transfer attorneys
• The calculation of the commissions includes a selling agent, a buying agent and agency commission.
• Commissions are automatically calculated but can be overwritten
• A number of reports are available
• When a property is involved in a sale and the sale has not been closed, the property sales status can either be “Conditional” or “Unconditional”. This is done automatically. Once a sale is closed the listing status in the “Property Manager” change to Not listed and the buyer will become the owner of the property

If you would like to know more about the above features and benefits that CyberAgent offer, visit: www.cyberagent.co.za or email: sales@cyberprop.com

• Intel Celeron 2.4GHz
• 40Gb Hard Drive
• 128Mb DDR-333 Memory
• Stiffy Drive
• 56x CD-Rom
• Optical Mouse
• Multimedia Keyboard
• Stereo Speakers
• 15" CTX Monitor

SMS Charge: R3 per SMS

www.CyberProp.com

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