With over 30 years of experience in the banking and home loan industry, my hope it is share what I have learnt over the years with my blogging community, inspire conversation around the subject and in the process discover unique insights into this ever changing environment.
This title is the best of three so far. I’m trying not to use the acronym, COVID-19 for the Coronavirus disease or its virus’s code: SARS-CoV-2. The latter is ominous and is an abbreviation for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome which when coupled with 3 times the degree of contagion, is the essence of this problem […]
This a very short blog. In my humble opinion, the Budget was good. For property, it means: Less transfer tax with property less than R1m zero-rated. More money in the pockets of people who may be 1st-time homebuyers. The tax entry threshold has been increased to R83000 and lower-income tax rates have been reduced. The […]
I’m grateful to a friend who let me have this newsletter this morning [11 February 2020]. I am very reluctant to copy articles into my blogs but there are times that I simply cannot do justice to a critical subject about our property industry like an expert has done. I have often referred to JP […]
I had the pleasure of attending a Pam Golding function in Hermanus. In greeting Andrew, I complimented his Mother who was the Founder of Pam Golding Properties over 40 years ago. An outstanding lady and businesswoman who drove a powerful ethos into Pam Golding estates over her many years. I believe she also oversaw the […]
News is everywhere at the moment. When I worked, I read a lot but in a very restricted sense: Business, Banking and Academics. It was more than enough to be conversant and skilled. Now, I read on two or three platforms and then try to piece together some coherent trend that may be of interest […]
Every now and again, I use this platform to “talk psychology”. I have many friends who send me stuff on Whatsapp and email, some of which is so appropriate for the time. I read it, try to memorise it but in the end, I just enjoy it by appropriating it into my season of life. […]
2020 It has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it? “20/20” is the famous saying for sight and for fore-sight. I knew 40 years ago that I would be 65 years of age in 2020. It wasn’t important then; just a notion. But, here I am today at 9 0’ clock in the evening punching […]
It must be the spirit of Christmas that drives me to write this last blog for the year. I have just read the December 2019 report produced by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace entitled: Nuclear Enrichment: Russia’s Ill-fated Influence Campaign in South Africa. It is the story of the association that nearly cost our country […]
2019 will go down as one of those years we would like to forget. I’m always reminded as I say that that things could have been worse. A defeat of Ramaphosa in December 2017, just 2 years ago, would have made the last month of Eskom look like a kiddies’ sleepover in comparison. Eskom would […]
On Tuesday I flew to Joburg for business. Boarding my usual redeye Kulula flight, I was struck by the SAA plane parked next to us. The stairs were pulled up but not engaged and the pilots’ windows were frosted by early morning dew. Obviously, that plane was going nowhere and that had been so for […]