South Africa

I have a few questions:

Has anyone invested over there?

Hoe stable is the property market?

Where is the best location for investment?

Many thanks

Gecko said:

I have a few questions:

Has anyone invested over there?

Hoe stable is the property market?

Where is the best location for investment?

Many thanks

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The market is volatile, the currency is volatile and the country may be politically volatile.Great place to holiday but I wouldn't touch any property investment with a barge pole.

This is off the top of my head, but as far as I know there was a law brought into south africa a few years ago that affects foreigners taking money out of SA that they have made via investment property, ie in other words you cant take the money out. Now you need to confirm this but unless something has changed in the last year, im pretty sure its not the place to invest. My apologies if im wide of the mark, but make sure you investigate before you make any decisions

I invested in SA prioperty in 2005 and I would advise you to be very careful. About half way through 2005 the property market dipped. In the short to medium term I just cannot see you making money from SA property. In some areas property fell sharply.It fell in Cape Town but not that much, however, most overlook the currency factor which is critical. The Rand can fluctuate wildly. I bought forward at R8 to the €. The rate is currently R11.4 to the €. If I sell now at the original purchase price I drop approx. 40%. Not a great investment! Yes you can take your money of of SA if you sell plus your profits after CGT has been deducted @ 10%. But your money will stay behind if you did not first establish your status as an NON RESIDENT by opening a NON RESIDENT account in a SA bank. This is incredibly important and do not rely on the word of the SA bank official. Ask them for a letter stating that your a/c quoting number etc. is NON RESIDENT. The staff in banks are prone to make blunders so beware. The proposal within the last 2 yrs that foreigners should not be allowed repatriate their money was shot down for rear of discouraging foreign investment dont worry about that one! Western provence - idylic, no pollution,clear air wholesome food the way it was - go there - rent dont buy!

Are you going to go with "armed response unit" for your property? If so I recommened ADDC.

Overthebar said:

go there - rent dont buy!

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I think that this might apply to most places. I rented a one bed apartment in Marbella last year. I see on the owners website that you can rent this apartment over the winter for £185 per week. I am sure if you asked for a few months rental, this price would even drop further. Not bad and without the hassle of ownership.

I travel (with work) quite frequently to SA and while I have spent most of my time in Johannesburg, I have travelled round the country a fair bit.
Being honest, I would not buy there - the security / personal safety situation is bad and in my opinion is getting worse... I have been going there on and off since 2000 and in my opinion it gets worse every year. Currently I'd say the police have lost control of many urban areas - and many of the rural areas are lawless.

I've countless SA colleagues who've told me absolute horror stories about incidents that happened to them or their friends / family. I lived there for 5 months and I knew alot of people who were victims of crime during that period.
When you add the currency fluctations and their current president to the mix I can only conclude that I wouldn't buy there.