(Industry) JOHANNESBURG (July 23) - Property24 today announced in a company press release the acquisition of a rental management system, which the company plans to add to its current software offering for estate agencies.
With high interest rates, less affordability and NCA requirements having taken their toll on the residential property market, many potential buyers are deciding to rent rather than buy for the present. Sellers are finding it difficult to get their asking prices, and in many cases are letting their properties instead of keeping them on the market.
These factors, according to the release, have resulted in a national demand surge for rental properties. Prospects of defaulting tenants and the difficulty of eviction have made owners nervous, and many landlords choose to make use of a rental agency as opposed to letting privately. The agency manages the marketing of the property, the rental application and the lease agreement, collects and disburses the rental and oversees the condition of the home for the duration of the lease period.
“The task of rental agents is a difficult and very responsible one,” says Christo Wiid, General Manager for Real Estate Services at Property24. “Taking on the management of someone else’s property is a daunting task requiring a significant amount of administration. However, the impending launch of our new rental management system will help ease the situation for rental agents.”
Requiring no software installation, the system is fully web based and is accessed via a standard web browser, including Mozilla and Firefox.
The new system is aimed at rental agencies, and includes a fully-fledged bookkeeping function compatible with most accounting software, such as Pastel, AccPac etc. Other options include the listing and management of an infinite number of rental properties, a comprehensive reporting system, automatic backup of data and a detailed history of all information for each property including tenant profiles.
“Agents will be able to maximize their profits, have better control over their listings and feature all their rental properties on Property24 automatically,” says Wiid. “The system is secure and password controlled, inspection reports can be completed online with photographs, and requests for repairs to properties can be submitted online. We can even have a reminder sent to the owner when it’s time for an escalation in the rental price.”
The rental management system will complement Property24’s stable of real estate packages and will be available after the official launch in early September.
(Consumer) CAPE TOWN (July 23) - The 72 hour clause, says Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank, is still “something of a mystery” to those who are selling or buying properties for the first time.
Hard hit property market calls for a pause in rate hikes
(Mortgage) JOHANNESBURG (July 23) – Questionable CPIX statistics strengthen the case for maintaining or even decreasing interest rates at the next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in August. Such a move would ease pressure on bond repayments for hard hit hom
(Residential) JOHANNESBURG (July 22) – The combination of uncertainty on interest rate adjustments, inflationary fears, negative sentiment fuelling emigration, and the remnants of the National Credit Act (NCA) implementation continue to haunt the country’s residential
Constitutional Court rules on building plan approval
(Legal rulings) DURBAN (July 22) - A far reaching judgment concerning the manner of approval of building plans by a local authority was handed down by the Constitutional Court on 13 June 2008, which Durban attorney David Warmback says, has great importance in the town pl
(Hotels and Leisure) BALLITO (July 21) - A proposed R20bn resort development near Tugela River Mouth on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast will spur investor interest in this increasingly sought-after stretch of coastline.
(Gauteng) PRETORIA (July 21) – Pretoria’s inner city suburbs such as Sunnyside, Arcadia and Central have really benefited from a concerted effort to rejuvenate properties in the area.
Differentiating between personal and communal insurance
(Sectional Title) JOHANNESBURG (July 21) – Purchasing property within a complex or block of flats promises a host of advantages – security, close neighbours and a body corporate – but it remains the owner’s responsibility to differentiate between personal and communal insu
(C and I) JOHANNESBURG (July 21) - With a focus on retail and industrial contracts, building contractor Grinaker-LTA, part of the JSE-listed Aveng Group, has doubled the size of its KwaZulu-Natal business in the last year, according to a company media release.
(Awards) CAPE TOWN (July 20)- Port Elizabethan Jacoba (Kobie) Potgieter is the new Nedbank Property Association Property Professional of the Year for 2008.
(Awards) KNYSNA (July 17) - (Pezula Private Estate, the high-end residential development in Knysna on the Garden Route, has been awarded Best Property in South Africa and Best Development in South Africa.