Broadway Update October 2009

Good afternoon Broadway Investors

 

It is hard to believe that it will be 2 years in December.

 

Broadway has had a few problems in this time but nothing that had been out of the ordinary for the CBD building:

·         Managing agent problems (building maintenance, levies arrears)

·         There have been ongoing developer issues (not uncommon with new developments)

·         Student as tenants (the units are usually empty over December)

·         A few Bank repo’s went through this year.

 

The care taker at the building, Benjamin, is great and has been an assert insuring that the building is well looked after.

The security also seem to have the building under control.

The Bridge Diner is up and running and although it had a slow start things seem to be picking up nicely.

The buildings laundry is up and washing on the 14^th floor.  

 

Next year should be a great year with world markets already starting to recover. We are going to start our marketing of units for next year at

 

o   Penthouse at R6000

o   1 beds at R4850

o   Studio/bachelors at R4500

 

We have had a few landlords that have repainted and cleaned up their units ready for January and they look great.

We used a Sirius Construction for the work, repainting is about R1200 depending it’s a studio or one bed.

 

 

Let us know if you had any questions

Online Problems FNB

How dependant we become on technology

 

We are sure that you know (either from experience or you heard it on the news)

 

FNB is having trouble with their online banking, this has made it impossible for us pay anyone from the comfort of our office.

 

We have had to make a trip to the bank, not want we wanted to do but some thing that has to be done.

 

Very often in life and business we are faced with things that we don’t really feel like doing.

 

Successful people and companies are good at getting the crap things done; it is not because successful people like these things more than most.

They know that getting it done is more important than moaning about it.

Options for Colosseum electrical

Is it possible to put in prepaid meters?

 

Electrical meters will be very tricky in sectional title building like Colosseum. The electricity comes into the building in a bulk supply and is then allocated by Trafalgar to the units. We will follow up on our side and see what can be done.

 

One way that we can see it being done is that all the owners agree to have prepaid meters installed into all the units. The cost of the council meters are about R3500, so this is going to be a really big hurdle for most of the owners, especially the ones that are still battling to get tenants that the rents that they want.

 

Keeping an eye your electrical bills

It is not always plain sailing in property

If you feel that there is a problem with the electrical reading make sure
that the readings are correct, have your tenant or managing agent

Confirm the electricity readings for each of the Electricity charges and
check them against your invoice.

Don't be afraid to ask for a breakdown

If a body corporate letter explains that there are additional electricity
charges for communal use, find out if the charges apply if the unit is
vacant

Make sure that the body corporate explains how the invoicing is charged.

Very often electricity is dated, be aware some time the back dating can be
as much as two months,

This can be very confusing for the tenant that get a high electricity bill
in September (where he was away or it was very hot and he never used the
heater once) for his use in July.

Bridgeview News

On the 27th September 2009 at approximately 04h36, there was an incident of break-in on site.
The control room received a panic signal from Bridgeview and the armed reaction officer was dispatched with a back up. On their arrival, they made contact with the guard Alain G2119 and Bongani G1993 and
they have arrested two guys that had broken into unit 323 and stole 2 laptops, they broke the window and gained access into the unit. The police were called and the suspects were taken away by the police.

The landlord's responsibility is to ensure that the property is in a reasonable good condition

Question
 
My new tenant complained that a switch wasn't working and insisted I bring in an electrician. The electrician told me the tenant hadn't turned on the switch. Who pays the call out fee in a case like this?

Me or the tenant? Can I deduct this amount from the deposit?

Answer

The landlord's responsibility is to ensure that the property is in a reasonable good condition to live in before letting it out, says Mike Spencer, Realestateweb.co.za guest columnist.

The tenant is responsible for keeping it in good order. If the tenant fails to turn on the electricity switch and gets the landlord to call an electrician, the tenant must therefore pay for the call out. Spencer says the landlord ought to send the tenant an account and insist the tenant pays it.

My advice for landlords is not to deduct it from their deposits because when they move out, and there is not enough funds in the deposit to cover the outstanding repairs or unpaid rental, it becomes a problem for the landlord, says Spencer.

He adds that landlords should always have a written lease that sets out clearly the responsibilities of the tenant. The landlord can also let out the property through a good managing agent who will have list the tenant's responsibilities in the lease and would ensure that the landlord fixes what they should and the tenant does what is expected of them.

Extensive checks should be done on prospective tenants before a property is let out to them. Get rid of problem tenants as soon as possible, he says.

Spencer says it is important for a landlord to inspect the property together with a tenant when they move in or move out. This will assist the landlord in cases where the tenant asks the landlord to fork out money for a call out when in fact they were at fault in the first place. He says a landlord should make a note of all repairs attended to during the course of the lease. -denise@realestateweb.co.za

 

Develop a network

Experienced landlords find their properties in a variety of ways. Some hunt for foreclosures, making friends with city hall clerks or bank employees who know which properties are about to be sold. Some run ads in local newspapers. Others work with real estate agents who keep their eyes peeled for possible buys.

 

Regards,

BRUCE THOMSON

Blue Label Real Estate Solutions
2 Ashley Lane Rivonia 2028 South Africa
Cell 083 262 3867 Fax 086 660 0969

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