Longer lives change retirement

A number of socio-economic factors have driven the traditional model of retirement to change drastically over the last decade and retirement village developers are following suit to accommodate the changing needs of retirees.“People remain socially and economically active much longer than a couple of decades back and therefore it has become increasingly important to develop places of retirement which fulfil the needs of both socially active retirees as well as those in need of physical care,” says Jaco Rademeyer of Jaco Rademeyer Estates in Port Elizabeth.

With facilities such as a community hall, around-the-clock medical services and security remain focal aspects of retirement developments, Rademeyer says increased life expectancy is also changing the traditional type of ownership within retirement villages.

“Sectional title ownership is fast replacing the traditional life right concept as the preferred choice of ownership in retirement villages,” says Rademeyer who has been marketing a number of new retirement village developments in the city.

Liesel Greyvenstein of Greyvenstein Nortier Attorneys says in Port Elizabeth life rights allow the owner to use the unit for the duration of his/her lifetime, but the actual complex retains ownership. Where the concept of life rights is operative, buyers must be 50 years or older in terms of the Retired Persons Act and only the buyer is allowed to occupy the unit. No transfer duties are applicable as there is no title deed registration.

“With sectional title ownership transfer duties have to be paid but the buyer gain an asset and thus sectional title ownership provides a higher level of financial security,” she says. Greyvenstein says another positive aspect of sectionalised retirement village properties, says is that any one can buy a unit, though occupants should be at least 50 years of age.

“It is becoming a trend amongst younger investors to buy a sectional title unit in a retirement village and to let the unit to a person qualified by the Retired Persons Act to live within the village. This type of investment forms a solid base when planning for retirement,” Rademeyer says.

Financing is another major drive-force behind the increasing popularity of sectional title ownership amongst retirees. Banks do not finance life right ownership with a traditional mortgage bond and cash is needed to buy into this type of scheme, while sectional title ownership can be financed by a mortgage loan.

“People tend to live longer now than twenty years ago and though some banks insist that home loans should be paid up by the time the mortgagee reaches the age of 65, financial institutions are becoming more lenient about the age of applicants,” says Manda Zwiegelaar of Mortgage SA.

She says the focus is more on the ability to service the bond than the age of the home loan applicant. “A shorter period of repayment will be required, depending on the age of the applicant.”

In Port Elizabeth, the need for retirement accommodation, especially in the middle-segment of the market, is on the rise, says Rademeyer. “The latest trend is to revamp existing traditional old age homes to include facilities which accommodate social interactive needs as well as top frail care services and a high level of security.”

In one such development, the Louisa Myburg Retirement Village in Kabega, Rademeyer sold 35 life-right units, priced at R299,500 in a record time early last year followed by the release of 75 units in the AGS Kabega Park Retirement Village which are priced from R339k for bachelor units to R699k comprising of two bedrooms, a bathroom, single garage and a small garden.

“Plans for more such developments in the Westering area are in the pipe-line for early next year,” says Rademeyer.

- Mariana Martin, East Cape Property Guide.

Lanseria airport gets upgrade

Departure and arrival halls at Lanseria Airport outside Johannesburg are being upgraded to cater for increased passenger volumes and security requirements for scheduled operations, as the airport expands to help relieve the pressure at OR Tambo airport.Transport minister Jeff Radebe giving a written reply to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance’s Stuart Farrow, said that because of the difference in scale of operations and capability to handle large aircraft, it is unlikely that Lanseria will significantly reduce the need for airport expansion at OR Tambo.“Whilst Lanseria is in the process of expanding its current infrastructure, it is expected to continue to fulfil a complementary role, rather than a full scale alternative facility,” Radebe said.

He said that customs services are available at the airport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (10 officers), and that immigration services are also available 24 hours a day 7 days a week (12 officers).

Scheduled international air services flying from there go to Mozambique - to Vilankulos, Inhambane and Maputo.

Kulula.com flies to Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and George, with 34 flights a week from 29th October 2007, increasing to 42 from 17th December 2007.

Non-scheduled freight operators also use the airport flying Ilyushin76, Boeings 738/727 and Antonov 32 aircraft.

- By Michael Hamlyn, I-Net Bridge 

Foreign owners debate needs caution

A government report proposing limitations on foreign ownership of land in South Africa met with unexpected opposition from ANC MPs last week, prompting the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) to call for circumspection and far more consultation on the matter before any proposals are finalised.“This week’s opposition by ANC MPs to the foreign land ownership report highlights the urgent need for government and the private sector to come together and think very carefully about the implications of these proposals,” says Neil Gopal, CEO of SAPOA.

As the voice of the commercial and industrial property industry in South Africa, SAPOA has for some time been advocating that foreign land ownership limitations would in all likelihood be detrimental to the economy.

“Foreign ownership of land in South Africa is in fact negligible. But this whole debate fosters uncertainty and caution on the part of international investors,” Gopal said.

He adds that restricting foreign land ownership could potentially backfire, causing a negative impact on investor confidence that would far outweigh any potential benefits to South Africa.

Furthermore, SAPOA believes that singling out any specific types of investors - or types of properties, for that matter - would pose a serious threat to investment in South Africa.

“Appropriate land policy should apply equally to South Africa and foreign investors alike,” says Prof Francois Viruly, SAPOA director and Wits University professor.

“Such a land policy would strike a balance between an enabling property investment environment and the achievement of South Africa’s socio-economic objectives.”

SAPOA intends to continue to play an active and vocal role in taking the foreign land ownership debate forward to ensure that the interests of the property industry are protected.

“These proposals affect all sectors of the property market – direct investment, listed property, as well as both residential and commercial property,” says Gopal. 

Domestic’s room: How vital is it?

South Africa has long been a nation of nannies and domestic workers.It’s one of the fundamental differences of life here as opposed to living in Europe and the USA, where all but the wealthy do their own housework and children grow up away from home in a variety of school institutions.

Ours is a country that boasts comparatively spacious properties and a reasonably affluent middle class, and yet it has a less-than-impressive tradition of confining its child carers and domestic workers to quarters that are often small, sparsely fitted and dingy.

Despite the promulgation of new legislation pertaining to domestic workers, and rising house prices which have elicited a flurry of renovating and upgrading, there seems to be little attention being paid to upgrading servants’ living conditions. Yet, says Charlie van Antwerp of Express Construction in Gauteng, the humane factor aside, correctly done renovations with good finishes can really add value to a home at the end of the day.

For Letsie Coetzee, principal of Realty 1 International Property Group in the Lynwood area of Pretoria, there is little to indicate that home owners are upgrading their domestics’ quarters alongside their own. “Wow, I am so relieved that domestic quarters are finally getting some much-needed publicity,” she says, leaving little doubt that living conditions aren’t improving significantly – at least where she sells.

There’s undoubtedly been a surge in renovating in her area, but from what she sees on a daily basis, most domestic accommodation tends to be in a poor state.

According to Letsie most prospective buyers who include domestic accommodation on their list of must-haves are disappointed – and some even shocked - when they see the general state of the rooms. “Faced with little choice, they usually have to factor improvements to the servants’ quarters into account when working out their budget for improvements. As a result, they often reduce their offers in an effort to make it more affordable.”

Nicola Featonby-Smith and her husband, Bryan, relocated from Durban to Johannesburg at the end of 2006. Prior to this, they spent weekend upon weekend looking at potential homes.

As the owner of a PR consultancy, she says the first thing she looks at in any prospective venue is the bathrooms. “The bathrooms give a good indication of the hygiene levels of a hotel. I believe the same is true for houses, which is why I always insisted on looking at the servants’ quarters. These said volumes about the seller and certainly influenced our purchase.”

She adds pointedly: “Personally, I’d be too embarrassed to put a home on the market if I expected my housekeeper to live in poor conditions.”

Shopping in the northern suburbs made it even more shocking to Nicola that the vast majority of “stunning” houses had sub-standard servants’ accommodation.

“I wasn’t prepared for the state of rooms that the housekeepers live in. For instance, one of the most expensive homes we looked at in Forest Town was stunning and beautifully renovated, but the maid’s room was dark and dingy and the gardener was only given a door-less, outside toilet.”

It’s her belief that the better employees are treated, the better they will treat the family and its pets. Needless to say, the house they finally bought has a great servant’s flatlet. It’s a nice size, with plenty of natural light, built-in cupboards and carpeted. It also boasts a separate kitchen and a separate tiled bathroom with bath, toilet and basin.

“It doesn’t take a lot of money to do things like replacing curtains or giving it a coat of fresh paint,” she says.

For Letsie, the most meaningful improvements would be installing bigger windows, tiling bathrooms properly, and fitting a separate shower or bath rather than having the shower directly over the toilet. She also believes domestic workers should have their own, separate kitchenettes. “These employees are essential for working families and should be treated with the respect and appreciation they deserve,” she says, firmly in agreement with Nicola’s sentiments.

Charlie van Antwerp, whose company Express Construction is regularly called upon to do renovations, sees a lot of domestic quarters. He suggests working on a rough budget of around R70k for a unit that comprises a bathroom, kitchenette, bedroom and small lounge.

Among the real shockers that he regularly comes across are dark rooms with cracked walls and showers that pour freely over the toilet. Often in extreme cases of dilapidation, many are not even livable, he says.

He gets a kick out of renovating these places, with one particular upgrade standing out clearly in his memory. This was for a home in Lonehill, where he was requested to increase the servant’s living area by 36sq m so as to be able to include a kitchen, lounge, bedroom and fully-fitted bathroom.

“The nice thing about doing these types of alterations and renovations is that they are major selling points. Not only do they add value to the property but they also attract a wider pool of buyers,” he says.

Lyon Pretorius, CEO of Assist2sell Property Group, has seen a definite improvement in the quality of servants’ quarters in the last couple of years, with the ratio of good to bad being 50/50. Buyers are definitely more committed to buying homes with decent servants’ facilities and homeowners are spending money on revamping the bathrooms and putting in electricity, in his experience.

However, servants’ quarters are not a pre-requisite for his buyers anymore, and upmarket buyers in particular tend to employ live-out servants. “The days of nannies and full-time, live-in servants are rapidly coming to an end. People are becoming increasingly self-reliant and having fewer children, who also tend to leave home earlier, all of which is contributing to the dearth of the live-in domestic worker.”

As a result, there is a distinct and growing trend to convert these buildings into flats which can then be let to secure an additional income stream. Alternatively, he points out, servants’ quarters are being used as storerooms, home offices and cottages for guests or family members.

Terry Dicks, principal of Acutts Bedfordview, says good servants quarters in her operating area comprise about 20%, with 80% being below standard and even bad in many instances.

She says the more expensive homes tend to have better servants’ quarters, although adding that demand for this type of facility is dropping. “With people leading a more lock-up-and-go lifestyle, there is less need for sleep-in servants. As a result, they are buying with a view to utilising servants’ quarters for other purposes.”  

– Ingrid Smit