What to check when buying property:

A buyer of property has rights and is legally protected by the Estate agency Affairs Board, and if the agent operates with professionalism and integrity, he or she will be registered with a body that represents their profession, such as the institute of Estate Agents, or similar.

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Interpret property info the right way

Jacques du Toit, property strategist at Absa, says in order to understand information about price growth, a good grasp of the factors that drive it is necessary. “Many factors can influence price growth. These factors relate to the property market and the household sector, which may include demand and supply conditions, initially driven by economic growth, inflation, interest rates, employment, household income, debt, the affordability of housing, etc.” He says the average price of houses in certain segments is calculated by dividing the total value of properties sold in a specific period in a specific segment by the number of those properties. “The overall average of middle-segment housing as defined by Absa – small, medium and large – is calculated by using the samples of each segment. It is thus a weighted average that is calculated.” Read the whole article

Home: Tips to greening your home

1. Be conscious and aware of your energy usage. Instead use gas heaters rather than oil or electric heaters. 2. Install a solar geyser or heat pump for long-term benefits. 3. Look at your window dressings like curtains and/or blinds to maximise internal insulation. 4. Install insulation on the roof where applicable. 5. Landscape home gardens according to the orientation of the building and existing window schedules. Plant evergreen or deciduous according to winter and summer months to create shade in areas where there are big windows that receive full sun in summer and in the winter months the leaves fall to allow the sunshine in; this will give you natural heating and cooling of the building. 6. Fit carpeting where there are tiles or use a rug to create warmth in cold areas. Recycle organic waste and use it in the garden instead of using fertilisers. These can be stored in summer to keep the temperature down. 7. Recycle waste. Recycleable waste that goes in...

Financial Advice That Can Do Serious Damage

Buying property is better than renting. A common refrain, even on the heels of the bursting real estate bubble, is that renting an apartment is "throwing money away" compared with homeownership and the ability it offers to build equity and wealth. As if staggering foreclosure rates and underwater mortgages aren't enough to make a different case, consider that it is not just mortgage payments to worry about. There are interest payments, property taxes, homeowner's insurance, furnishings, utility bills, maintenance and repairs to add to the mix. Treating a home as an always-appreciating investment is no longer a smart strategy, and those who base their ability to pay a mortgage on projected earnings, rather than current paychecks, may be dangerously optimistic. Resolutions That Will Save You Money Make paying off debt a priority. Reducing your debt and excising the interest payments and accompanying fees is usually a good idea. But paying down debt shouldn't derail ...

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