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Open Mandates
"Open" does not mean "good"
My mother always insists that, if she ever sells house again, she’ll only grant an open mandate.
No matter what I tell her about the dangers of open mandates, she won’t budge in her determination. And there are many home owners out there who feel the same. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if this article on open mandates don’t convince you either.
Continue Open Mandates »
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How to negotiate commission
Commission negotiations can be brutal
The agent’s fee is something everybody (except for the real estate agent) loves to hate. Unless the real estate agent performs a service far beyond the norm, I doubt you could find any buyer or seller who’d wish to pay his/her real estate agent MORE commission than is absolutely necessary.
Informed buyers and sellers know that real estate agency commissions are negotiable, but few people know HOW to negotiate a better agent’s fee. In this article, I discuss how to negotiate real estate agents’ commissions. It gets a bit detailed, but the devil’s in the detail, as grandad used to say! Learn more about How to negotiate commission »
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The problem with shareblock
In October last year Property 24 reported that the National Credit Act was responsible for shareblock sales along the Durban beach front plummeting. Is this still the case? I can’t seem to find more articles along the same line, so maybe not? I don’t know. But I’d love to hear from readers with share block property about their experiences! See The problem with shareblock »
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State of the property
Anyone who has been keeping an eye on residential areas in South Africa can tell you that the South African real estate market is a whole lot slower nowadays than a year or two ago. For Sale signs stand on sidewalks for months – some seemingly sprouting seedlings in the meantime – without success. See the full State of the property »
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Contentious Expropriation Bill
In South Africa, as in other countries in Southern Africa, ownership of land is an emotional issue. But land is also a financial issue. And when money and emotions collide with legislation that is unfair, or even simply perceived to be unfair, things can turn ugly quickly. See more of Contentious Expropriation Bill »
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Discussion