Fitzanne Estates

Fitzanne's Property Exchange, hosted Pearl Scheltema, keeps you captivated and intrigued as we provide you with the very latest news and insights to the South African residential property industry. Having conversations with property investors, industry experts, Sectional Title Scheme Executives and innovative stakeholders, we invite you to listen to their stories and make it your own.

If you’re getting a divorce in South Africa, there can be a lot of things at stake. Some people earn an income by owning multiple properties and worry about having to split those properties in a divorce. Fortunately, there are ways you can protect yourself as a real estate investor going through a divorce.

Protecting your property portfolio during a divorce can be tricky. You could find yourself in hot water if the court determines that you’re intentionally selling or moving properties into other accounts to avoid splitting them with your former spouse, so it’s important to evaluate your legal options.

In this episode of Fitzanne's Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema talks to Dilen Heerschop, Associate at Du Toit Burger Incorporated Attorneys, about estate planning, property law and divorce.

Historically, 44% of marriages in South Africa have resulted in divorce. Since lockdown, there has reportedly been a 20% increase in the number of new divorce applications. The family home is sometimes the most significant asset at stake for those unfortunate couples whose marriages ultimately fail, both financially and emotionally. Therefore, it is essential for any couple thinking about getting married—or for any married couple thinking about divorcing—to grasp what our law says about who gets what in a divorce.

A variety of factors will be at play here, all linked to the question of what “marital regime” applies to your marriage so the first question you need to ask is whether you are married in or out of community of property – and if out, does accrual apply?

In this episode of Fitzanne's Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema talks to Dilen Heerschop, Associate at Du Toit Burger Incorporated Attorneys, about property and divorce.

The increased quorum requirement of 80% vs. 33.3% and the inability to table such a resolution at an adjourned annual or special general meeting—which still requires the elevated quorum requirement—make it nearly impossible to obtain a unanimous resolution for the majority of Sectional Title Schemes.

At an annual or special general meeting, there is no way to reach such a unanimous decision with fewer members in attendance in person or represented by a proxy.

A request for consideration and approval of such a resolution may be made to the Community Schemes Ombud Service ("the CSOS") in accordance with section 6(9) of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act ("the STSMA"). The needed written permission of each owner inside the scheme is subject to the CSOS procedure.

In this episode of Fitzanne's Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema talks to Zerlinda Van der Merwe, co-founder of TVDM Consultants about this challenge.

In this episode of Fitzanne's Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema talks to Zerlinda van der Merwe, Founder of TVDM Consultants about a recent meeting between the DA Shadow Minister and the Chief Ombud.

Load shedding, which has become almost daily in South Africa due to the power crisis, has significantly disrupted everyone's lives. Countless business hours have been lost, productivity across all sectors has been impacted, time is wasted, frustrations are at an all-time high due to the traffic backlogs brought on by broken traffic lights, and families are unable to cook or take hot showers.

These and countless other issues are affecting both the consumer and the private sector, but what's worse is the potential impact that these power outages could have on the security of your home or place of business.

It is logical to expect South Africa's large criminal element to begin targeting areas that do not have power, therefore it is up to each and every one of us to ensure that our back-up systems are in place, whether it is for an alarm system or an electric gate.

In this episode of Fitzanne's Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema and Johan de Bruyn, Head of Operations at Mezuzah Security Services, share insights and practical tips that will enable Body Corporates and unit owners to maintain robust and reliable security practices during loadshedding.

When the owner of a property in a Sectional Title Scheme dies, the Master of the High Court appoints a trustee/executor to wind up their estate. This involves paying any outstanding debts, realising any assets, and distributing them according to the instructions contained in the deceased person’s will.

Ownership of the property remains with the deceased estate, and it is the trustee/executor who must fulfil any outstanding obligations that the deceased owner might have had as an owner in the scheme.

In the episode of Fitzanne’s Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema talks to Attorney Dilen Heerschop, about the role and duty of the appointed trustee/executor when it comes to property in a Sectional Title Scheme and the payment of levies, handling of tenants, maintenance and more.

Despite the economic downslide caused by COVID, property investment remains a profitable endeavor, especially with pent-up demand set to be unleashed in the wake of the lockdown.

Furthermore, a succession of interest rate cuts intended to boost the economy has resulted in the lowest lending rates for decades. If you’re looking to take your first step into the South African property market, now is a good time.

Are you thinking about investing in real estate to rent out or use as a vacation home for other travelers? It can turn into a reliable source of income. But how do you know if you’re ready to become a landlord? In this episode of Fitzanne's Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema talks to Louise Martin, CEO of Estate Living about the benefits of property investment, specifically in a Sectional Title Scheme.

It has become clear in recent months that many Sectional Title Schemes industry stakeholders were experiencing a host of challenges with the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS).

In this episode of Fitzanne's Property Exchange, Pearl Scheltema talks to Zerlinda Van der Merwe, Co-Founder and Director of TVDM Consultants and Willie Roos, CEO of Stratafin, who, together with Theresa Williams, a concerned Sectional Title owner and Trustee, took the initiative to get all the stakeholders together for a round table discussion. Zerlinda and Willie were able to speak to the Chief Ombud, Advocate Boyce Mkhize and the DA Shadow Minister of Human Settlement, Emma Powell, starting a conversation on the way forward.

The CSOS recently placed an advert for a Panel of Executive Managing Agents and subsequently formulated a Panel of Executive Managing Agents from the applications. According to CSOS, they have trained and educated all the panelists on the panel on their roles and responsibilities towards the body corporate.

In this podcast, Pearl Scheltema facilitates a panel discussion between key role players in the industry, namely Johlene Wasserman, Manager of Governance, Compliance & Enforcement, CSOS, Hendrik Hoffmann, Managing Director, Rise Property Solutions, Mari Van Rensburg, CEO, MEMS Properties and Willie Roos, CEO, Stratafin.

The panel discusses the CSOS mandate, the knowledge, experience, and suitability of the panel of Executive Managing Agents plus CSOS oversight and responsibility of these panelists and transformation of the industry. CSOS Panel of Executive Managing Agents (1).pdf — PDF (233.5 KB)