Fitzanne Estates

In partnership with the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), the My Clean Green Home design competition called for professionals and students to develop a home that demonstrates sustainable living in action. The winning design from Team Mahali, is an innovative, modular ‘house in a box’ covered by an overarching tree-like structure made from upcycled and locally available materials. The...

We've made considerable progress in the last ten years, and women are increasingly being integrated into diverse professions across the property sector in South Africa. However, ensuring that women are represented in high levels within the sector remains a serious concern. Although progress is sluggish, the wheels of gender equality and diversity in the property sector in South Africa are moving....

South Africa's electricity supply has been inconsistent for more than a decade, with state company Eskom compelled to use load-shedding on and off to avoid overloading the grid. This has put enormous strain on the energy-dependent economy, as well as lowering household quality of life. With no end in sight to the power outage, South Africans are turning to alternative energy sources, and solar is...

The Youth In Property Association (YIPA) is focused on transforming the property sector by increasing the active participation of young people through its Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship initiatives. In this podcast, Pearl Scheltema interviews Zahraa Parker, YIPA Vice-Chairperson to find out a bit more about what the organisation does, what its objectives are, and what some of the chall...

The Protection of Personal Information Act’s deadline for compliance is here and came into effect on 1 July 2021. This deadline brings forth significant changes to the administration of community schemes, particularly when dealing with member’s or other stakeholder’s Personal Information. All scheme executives, in this case Trustees, have a statutory and common law fiduciary obligation to act in g...

Property ownership potentially exposes one to a spectrum of taxes such as income tax, capital gains tax (CGT), secondary tax on companies (STC), donations tax, estate duty, transfer duty or value added tax, stamp duties and municipal rates. Which taxes you have to pay, how much and when, depend on the manner in which you deal with your property and, to a large extent, on the way in which you struc...

Description: March marks the grim anniversary for the first COVID-19 lockdown we embarked on a year ago. It’s fair to say that nothing has been quite the same since – including the real estate landscape. As with any industry, performance is driven by supply and demand. According to TPN this lies at the centre of the current rental market upset, with a clear case of oversupply versus muted demand....

As we await the National Budget Speech later this month, many investors and roleplayers in the real estate industry are holding their breath to gauge the year ahead. A tumultuous 2020 left many feeling hesitant and we’re seeing a strong sense of cautious optimism as we head towards the new financial year. At the core of many investors’ concern is the expected impact of continued lockdowns and cost...

With load shedding back, many of us are looking to install solar power to keep our households ticking over. A lot of buzzwords are thrown about, like hybrid and off grid – most of us don’t know what these are, and what would best suit a particular need. Pearl Scheltema interviews Kyle Bohnsack, Managing Director of Blockpower, a solar photovoltaic (PV) installer, to find out why you will not only...

Pearl Scheltema interviews Mike Addison, co-owner and founding director of Addsure, a registered financial services provider. The sectional title claims process is often misunderstood, leading to unnecessary conflict and unpleasantness. Pearl and Mike discuss the process to bring about a better understanding of this process in order to help manage the expectations of trustees and owners.

Given the amount of time that individuals have spent at home over the last few months, it begs the question: Does our physical space also play a role in our mental health? Pearl Scheltema interviews Jacques van Embden from property development firm Blok on how the increase in working from home intersect with mental health. A UK publication recently explored the mental health issues associated with...

Pearl Scheltema interviews Ria Furriel, King Price’s community insurance partner. For a growing number of sectional title developments, estates and retirement villages, automated claims management systems are saving time, money and headaches by allowing all claims to be logged electronically, authorised instantly by the insurer, and jobs scheduled with an approved service provider for immediate re...

The state of the residential rental market in South Africa Johette Smuts Payprop Pearl Scheltema interviews Johette Smuts, Head of Data and Analytics of PayProp Capital, an automated payment and reconciliation platform specific to the residential rental industry. They discuss the PayProp Rental Index, how the residential rental industry has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the main facto...

Pearl Scheltema interviews Michael Schaefer, founder and CEO of ZDFin, a specialist finance company providing smart solutions for Sectional Title Schemes. Many Sectional Title Schemes are still challenged in raising adequate reserves to fund large maintenance and capital projects, which may or may not form part of their 10-year maintenance plans and Pearl and Michael discuss how ZDFin’s solutions...

Pearl Scheltema interviews Michelle Dickens, the Managing Director and co-founder of TPN Credit Bureau. TPN is South Africa’s biggest credit bureau specialising in the collection of rental payment profile information. Property investors are experiencing increasing property expenses and low or even negative escalation and Michelle provides practical advice for investors in protecting their investme...

Pearl Scheltema interviews Johlene Wasserman, Manager of Governance, Compliance & Enforcement and Training at CSOS, the Community Schemes Ombud Service. They discuss the powers of CSOS, processes to follow when it comes to disputes and the duties and rights of community schemes under the provisions of the CSOS and STSM Act.

Pearl Scheltema interviews Pepi Kruger, an Associate Principal (Property Consultant) at one of South Africa’s largest financial institution, a certified commercial property practitioner, property investor and trustee. They discuss levy collection in Sectional Title Schemes, specifically highlighting strategies during the national lockdown, as well as the value of a Managing Agent in their role of...

Pearl Scheltema interviews Izak Du Pisanie, a Director at LDP Attorneys who specialises in High Court and Magistrate’s Court litigation, Sectional Title Law and Community Schemes matters, debt collection and general litigation. They discuss some of Izak’s recent legal experiences brought about by the national lockdown and subsequent defaulting tenants. Izak also touches on the importance of a Mana...

Pearl Scheltema, CEO of Fitzanne Estates, carries a wealth of knowledge about the property world. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, there is not much Pearl hasn’t seen when it comes to managing properties. In this episode, Daphne Thomson, Marketing Manager at Fitzanne Estates, chat to Pearl about her career, her challenges and successes, and advice to other women entering the...

Pearl Scheltema interviews Lloyd Munday, a successful real estate investor with a large portfolio of full and sectional title scheme properties, about the impact the South African lockdown has had on him as landlord and investor. They discuss strategies for recovering rental arrears and Lloyd offers some great tips for new investors on how to break into the property market and become successful.