Are estate agents under threat?
And if so, where do the estate agents threats come from? What can estate agents do about it? At HouseCheck we are supportive of estate agents. Nobody likes to struggle. Let’s build bridges of trust together.
SA estate agents face winds of change
The home buying consumer gets the upper hand By John Graham Graham is executive chairman of HouseCheck and founder of the National Association of Building Inspectors of SA (NABISA) The winds of change will blow strongly through the estate agency industry during 2019. South African estate agents have traditionally represented sellers, not buyers, and […]
Property Practitioners Act passes in National Assembly
A new Bill with big implications for buyers, sellers and estate agents, the Property Practitioners Bill, was passed in Parliament yesterday. This bill follows the international trend of providing greater consumer protection. The bill closes the gap in providing protection to buyers of second-hand homes which The Consumer Protection Act failed to address. Sellers of […]
David vs Goliath – The Court of Public Opinion
A letter we addressed to estate agents on 20 November 2018 turned out to be prophetic. It pointed out that organisations need to act in a way that is seen to be just and equitable and if they do not do so they will face the court of public opinion. In this case Momentum Insurance […]
Will FNB kill off the estate agency business
Will FNB kill off the estate agency business On Wednesday 31 October 2018 FNB dropped a bombshell when it announced a new addition to their banking app that allows clients to list properties on their Nav Home Feature. Prospective Buyers and Sellers can talk to each other via the chat function in the app to arrange […]
How agents can prosper in a buyer’s market
How agents can prosper in a buyer’s market For the first time since 2008 South African estate agents are now confronted with a definite buyer’s market. This means that, because there are now far more sellers than buyers, home buyers are becoming very picky and are driving asking prices down. So, as an estate agent, […]
Does the sellers declaration protect the buyer?
Does the sellers declaration protect the buyer? The Consumer Tribunal set up in terms of the consumer protection act issued a judgment in 2014 that clarifies the rights of sellers and buyers in a second-hand property transaction. In case number NCT/12984/2014/75(1) (b) CPA the applicant sought relief from the first respondent (the estate agent), the […]
Property investors negotiate around emotional buys
Property investors negotiate around emotional buys Emotion is very often the main motivation for buying a family home. On show day buyers fall in love with the kitchen, the garden, or the proximity of the home to schools and shops and make a buying decision based partly on emotion and partly on the maximum bond, […]
Home owners not adequately protected by legislative requirements
Home owners not adequately protected by legislative requirements Properly anchoring the roof to the walls in fundamental for structural soundness. Yet there appears to be a loophole in the legislative requirements which may leave home buyers exposed. HouseCheck was recently commissioned to do a HouseCheck on two relatively newly built duplex units. When inspecting the roof […]
Home Buyers turning to online forums to vent frustrations
The following post on Hello Peter is representative of some of the ways that disgruntled buyers are turning to the internet and social media to vent their frustrations. In HouseCheck’s view, this real estate company handled the situation badly. Firstly they went into denial and hid behind “agent speak” and denied it was their responsibility to […]