• Tidy as you go
• Spend 15 minutes a day tidying up it can make a difference
• Think before you buy and become a concious consumer
• Make a list of all your clutter hot spots and prioritise what needs sorting first
• Start small – one drawer at a time and the the rest of the room
• Categorise your clutter – Set aside a drawer or box for gift wrap, ribbons and stationary, a shelve for fabric, etc
• Make family members accountable and responsible for their own things. Set aside one afternoon every six months to help your children sort their belongings and throw out what they don’t need
• Consolidate your memories – Set aside a box or trunk for each family member and use it for school reports, albums, cards and keepstakes
• Be honest – if you don’t like it pass that unwanted gift on to someone else who will appreciate it
• Don’t sweat it you are creating a home not a showhouse

A little bit more about it:

They come to us from Japan where they are very common. QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone).

They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone. You may soon see QR Codes in a magazine advert, on a billboard, a web page or even on someone’s t-shirt.

Once it is in your cell phone, it may give you details about that business (allowing users to search for nearby locations), or details about the person wearing the t-shirt, show you a URL which you can click to see a trailer for a movie, or it may give you a coupon which you can use in a local outlet.

The reason why they are more useful than a standard barcode is that they can store (and digitally present) much more data, including url links, geo coordinates, and text.

The other key feature of QR Codes is that instead of requiring a chunky hand-held scanner to scan them, many modern cell phones can scan them.

Article by Homedezine

“This extension is pivotal for those affected estate agents who have yet to be certificated as required by the Education Regulations,” says Thami Bolani Chairman of the EAAB. “While the new educational dispensation, which aims at professionalizing estate agents, continues to receive widespread support from estate agents and consumers alike, the EAAB now believes that it was over-optimistic in anticipating that some 37 000 estate agents would be able to upgrade their qualifications in a period of only three years.”

More than 12 000 practicing estate agents have already either been certificated against the required real estate qualification or have been exempted therefrom on the basis of previous tertiary qualifications obtained from South African institutions of higher learning.

The numbers of estate agents approaching accredited education providers for training is growing all the time as the reality of the new professional estate agency environment is acknowledged. Bolani expressed his confidence that, “By granting this extension, it is likely that all estate agency practitioners who wish to remain in the real estate sector can be accommodated.”

For more information contact:
Ms Portia Mofikoe
Acting Executive: Stakeholder Relations and Education
Estate Agency Affairs Board
083 4490 883 or 083 993 6120
Tel: 011 731 5662 or Portia.mofikoe@eaab.org.za

• Removal confirmed
• Insurance arranged

Before you go have you disconnected these services/addresses:

• Newspaper
• Telephone
• Gas & Electricity
• Water
• Mnet & Dstv

Have you given information of your change of address to:

• Post office
• Bank
• Receiver of revenue
• Motor licensing
• Hire purchase suppliers
• Insurance company
• Life insurance company
• School
• Municipality
• Clubs or benefits societies
• Publications or subscriptions
• Account stores
• Relatives & friends
• Dept home affairs
• Church
• Other deliveries

Have you also:

• Defrosted the refrigerator
• TV aerial dismantled
• Anchored the drum of the washing machine
• Disconnected the stove
• Disposed unwanted goods
• Disposed old medicine
• Tightened liquid jars
• Returned borrowed goodies
• Get your items back
• Doctor/Dentist referrals
• Drained the fuel from lawnmower etc
• Kept aside valued items

Failure to do so is a criminal act and can lead to a jail sentence or a heavy fine. Proof of ‘hot’ money or any other irregularity is not essential. The agent is under obligation to pass on any suspicious details he has to FICA and leave further investigation to them. If he neglects his duty in this respect he is likely to be held responsible for aiding and abetting a criminal act.

An addendum to the FICA (Financial Intelligence Centre Act) makes it essential that certain businesses receiving a cash payment of over R25,000 have to verify the identity of the payer (if necessary checking with the related bank and the South African Police) and have to inform SARS of the transaction.

The revised act states that attorneys, motor dealers and casinos are to be diligent in this respect.

The amendments to the act are aimed at preventing ‘hot’ or dubious money from being laundered via a property or other transaction.

The term cash transactions, includes the receipt of domestic and foreign notes and coins as well as travelers’ cheques, but it excludes cheques, electronic fund transfers and bank transfers for the simple reason that in these transactions the source can usually be easily traced.

South African estate agents are expected to be particularly diligent when it comes to checking on the details surrounding any cash payments of R25,000 or higher.

Estate agents complying with the ruling are expected to do so by electronic report and must establish with FICA their login details.  Each branch of an agency is required to get its own login credentials with FICA and to report without going via its head office.

The following tips by various security companies will be helpful when creating your priority list:

• Alarm system will double the value with visible light of activating alarm
• Boundary wall with spikes.
• Electric fence with one entry point (automated gate)
• Lights in dark spots especially around the entrance of your home
• Burglar bars and security doors essential
• CCTV camera especially if you cannot see the entrance from the inside of the house
• Garden beams

Do remember the look of your home when installing this security systems, careful not to make your home look like a prison, this will chase buyers away, not attract them. This can be camouflage by the various new modern options available to enhance the style of your home, rather than just another fixture. Spend some time to find the most suitable and attractive security measures for your home and you will enjoy peace of mind and add value to your home.

Invoices, receipts and manuals for the security measures installed can be hand over to the new buyer for his convenience and future reference.

Enjoy the summer season!

Buyers if you buy a property from an auction or financial institution please check this documentation. Open a new water and electricity account immediately and keep all documents and signed offer to purchase as well as confirmation letter from transfer attorney of transfer of property onto your name.

You can draw up your own will but there are many legal formalities which must be complied with for the wil to be valid. if the will is rendered invalid application for rectification can only be done by the High Court and a very costly process.

A single will is made by only one person and any one can make a single will irrespective of their marital status. A joint will is made by 2 or more persons, amd mostly made by married couples or partners in common law relationships.

The South African law give you freedom to leave your assets to anybody you choose. But the Maintenance Surving Spouses Act entitles a spouse who has not been adequately provided for in the will of her/his predeceased spouse. Spouses who are married in community of property have a right in law to one half of the net value of the joint estate.

in case of maintenance obligations towards spouce in divorce order when terminated the marraige a provision can be made in the will to cover this liability not to cease on your death. If no provision has been made the former spouse will be entitled to lodge a claim against your estate as a creditor and will have to be settled from your assets. If there is insufficient liquidity in your estate to meet the claim, immovable and /or movable property may have to be sold.