Braamfontein Property Auction

A prominently situated commercial property in Braamfontein, comprising office, retail and accommodation, will be brought to auction during Auction Alliance’s Commercial Multiple auction to be held on July 26.

The property is situated on the De Korte and Melle Street intersection, a busy commercial strip, and enjoys excellent exposure to passing vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

The property hosts 2 buildings, each of which include ground floor retail accommodation and office space above. The first building extends over 2 stories, with retail accommodation on the ground floor and office space above.

The property also features a second double storey building to the rear, which includes ablution and storage facilities. The second building, a triple storey structure, includes a retail component on the ground floor and office, retail and storage facilities on the 2 upper floors.

Comments Michael Sacks of Auction Alliance, “With the overall perception of Johannesburg’s inner city areas changing significantly in recent years, Braamfontein has emerged as a prime investment area and rapidly transforming growth node”.

The auction takes place at 12pm at the Hilton Hotel, 138 Rivonia Road Sandton. For more information contact Michael Sacks on 082 825 2678 or email msacks@auction.co.za.

 

Desperate residents of complexes around Gauteng

Quinton Brown, the owner of Constantia Sectional Title Management, a company that managed the funds of about 500 body corporates in the province, is said to have arranged an overdraft for a deposit on his house by pledging several investment trust accounts as security for a bank overdraft.

This came to light during a briefing by the Estate Agencies Affairs Board yesterday in Sandton, Johannesburg, attended by about 400 cash-strapped victims of the alleged fraud.

It appears from court papers that the total shortfall in the management company's main trust account, into which all payments for municipal services were made, is about R20-million.

Brown allegedly used this money to buy a Ferrari and a Mercedes-Benz SLK, and to make payments to members of his family.

Last month, just before a court hearing involving the board and Brown, an agreement was reached that the management company's accounts be frozen and that it be barred from operating.

Court-appointed curator Lawrence Moepi will administer the accounts. Pasco Risk Management was appointed by the board to investigate the misuse of trust funds.

Responding to a question about the integrity of funds held in trust by the management company in "savings" accounts separate from the main trust fund - called "call accounts" - Moepi told the briefing that it appeared that "certain accounts have been pledged to Nedbank on an overdraft".

Brown allegedly used the R3-million overdraft to pay a R2.5-million deposit on his R6-million home.

According to court papers filed in the earlier application, Brown had selected call accounts that were placed on fixed-term deposits with banks because he "knew that these monies would not be available to the body corporates at short notice".

Cash-strapped owners have been left in the lurch because they are not able to sell their properties and they owe municipalities in Gauteng huge amounts that were not paid by the management company.

Keith Bateman, a property owner who is also responsible for a body corporate that owes the Johannesburg City Council R200000, said: "I would have liked to see Mr Brown arrested and taken to court."

He said property owners "have been chucked into a process we have no control over".

Another public briefing will be held in Pretoria today.

 

Jozi's inner-city renewal on track

Johannesburg's CBD, Braamfontein and Newtown nodes are showing significant evidence of inner-city renewal, with business sentiment and perceptions of the areas improving over the last couple of years. This is according to the research conducted by Broll, one of Africa's leading commercial property services group into the CBD and its immediate surroundings.

Huge transformation is underway in the Johannesburg CBD, Braamfontein and Newtown, fuelled by a number of new and re-developments, as well as the generally good accessibility to highways, rail and bus transport. The city can now be compared to many international cities, due mainly to the work of the City of Johannesburg. For instance, the Urban Development Zone (UDZ) for the City of Johannesburg, which covers an 18km² area east-west from Fordsburg to Jeppestown and north-south from Bellevue to the M2, has contributed R8 billion to Johannesburg's CBD.

The JDA has played a crucial role in these projects, aided by the Johannesburg Land Company. Not that the other areas are standing still. On the eastern side of the CBD, the expansion of Absa's head office by 50 000m² has had the side-effect of upgrading the area. Similarly, the gradual re-development of Newton on the western side of the CBD has attracted an influx of aspiring artists, musicians and actors. This has created what has become known as the cultural hub of Gauteng, and is supported by the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Council.

Gauteng province is also involved in this area, in the hope of attracting more creative industries and has upgraded the Nelson Mandela off-ramp and the Mary Fitzgerald Square to support this initiative. The latter project is funded by the JDA to the tune of R10 million and will be completed by end July 2011. A further 35 000m² of retail space, called the Potato Sheds, as well as the 7 800m² Majestic  office complex, of which The Majestic Hotel will be the last phase, are being developed in Newtown.

Braamfontein's redevelopment has centered around Wits University's students, with 20 buildings being converted into student accommodation over the recent years. However, Joy Coplan area specialist and commercial broker at Broll says, "Braamfontein stands a good chance of increased commercial development when the Gautrain station has been completed. Demand for space remains average, as do sales, but supply is on the increase and is not likely to change. Rentals vary from R65/m² in Newtown to R82/m² in Braamfontein. Most new leases are with government, which remains the main driver of additional take-up of space."

*Keke Khojane is the area specialist and commercial broker from Broll.

 

Braamfontein and Newtown nodes are showing significant evidence of inner-city renewal

Johannesburg’s CBD, Braamfontein and Newtown nodes are showing significant evidence of inner-city renewal, with business sentiment and perceptions of the areas improving over the last couple of years.

This is to according to the research conducted by Broll, one of Africa’s leading commercial property services group into the CBD and its immediate surroundings.

Keke Khojane area specialist and commercial broker from Broll, says that “huge transformation” is underway in the Johannesburg CBD, Braamfontein and Newtown, fuelled by a number of new and re-developments, as well as the generally good accessibility to highways, rail and bus transport.

The city can now be compared to many international cities, due mainly to the work of the City of Johannesburg. For instance, the Urban Development Zone (UDZ) for the City of Johannesburg, which covers an 18km² area east-west from Fordsburg to Jeppestown and north-south from Bellevue to the M2, has contributed R8 billion to Johannesburg’s CBD.”

The UDZ tax incentive is part of a national scheme to encourage inner-city renewal across South Africa. It offers tax allowances covering 100% of the total cost of property refurbishments over a period of five years, while new property developments can claim the allowance over 17 years.

A number of projects are currently either nearing completion or underway, and will continue to contribute to the transformation of the area.

This includes a joint Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) and Central Johannesburg Partnership (a private, non-profit company) project to establish City Improvement Districts, which have taken off particularly in Western Johannesburg, in the Fox and Rissik Street areas.

“CIDs are designed to improve services in specific areas. They are geographically-defined areas where property owners agree to pay additional levies for enhanced services, which usually include additional safety, cleaning and general maintenance of the area,” Khojane explains.

“In Western Johannesburg, which houses more corporate offices, landlords pay their CID levies more readily, and therefore the improvement in this area has been most pronounced.”

Various projects, including the development of Ellis Park, Joubert Park, Gandhi Square and the Braamfontein Corporate Precinct, the upgrading of Main Street, the Johannesburg Art City Project and research into the possible establishment of a fashion and garment manufacturing node have contributed to this transformation.

“The JDA has played a crucial role in these projects, aided by the Johannesburg Land Company, Khojane says. Not that the other areas are standing still. “On the eastern side of the CBD, the expansion of Absa’s head office by 50 000m² has had the side-effect of upgrading the area.

Similarly, the gradual re-development of Newton on the western side of the CBD has attracted an influx of aspiring artists, musicians and actors. This has created what has become known as the cultural hub of Gauteng, and is supported by the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Council.”

Gauteng province is also involved in this area, in the hope of attracting more creative industries and has upgraded the Nelson Mandela off-ramp and the Mary Fitzgerald Square to support this initiative. The latter project is funded by the JDA to the tune of R10 million and will be completed by end July 2011.

A further 35 000m² of retail space, called the Potato Sheds, as well as the 7 800m² Majestic  office complex, of which The Majestic Hotel will be the last phase, are being developed in Newtown.

Braamfontein’s redevelopment has centered around Wits University’s students, with 20 buildings being converted into student accommodation over the recent years.

However, Joy Coplan area specialist and commercial broker at Broll says, “Braamfontein stands a good chance of increased commercial development when the Gautrain station has been completed.

Demand for space remains average, as do sales, but supply is on the increase and is not likely to change. Rentals vary from R65/m² in Newtown to R82/m² in Braamfontein. Most new leases are with government, which remains the main driver of additional take-up of space.”

 

Pay Less Tax on your rental property

According to Paying Less Tax Made Simple 2011 by Ralf Metz, available from bookshops, Sars only allows you to deduct the following deductions against your rental income:

• "The interest on your mortgage bond or loan raised against the property;

• Rates and taxed;

• Insurance;

• Repairs and maintenance costs provided the property is in a lettable condition to start with and you entered into a lease agreement which requires you to make the repairs;

• Expenses incurred on the treatment of any timber against attack by beetles (this does not include sound-proofing against attack by The Beatles);

• Advertising;

• The cost of commission and rent collections;

• Electricity and water; and

• Depreciation of furniture if the property is let fully furnished."

The cost of improvements, reconstructions or additions to the property cannot be deducted as these expenses are of a capital nature, says Metz. Neither will a deduction be allowed for repairs, says Metz, if you repair a property which was previously let and which you now want to occupy and sell. To get a deduction you will need to make the repairs while your property is being occupied for trade, adds Metz.

Also worth noting is that there is a very fine line of distinction between repairs and maintenance on the one hand and improvement and reconstruction on the other. Each case will be assessed on its merits.