GOOD DEEDS?
Category Residential Property News
Let’s take the land issue, and look at it differently. Very differently. What can we, as South Africans, do to better the world for all South Africans. Listen to this…
Land claims, expropriation, compensation…all highly emotive words and concepts. The good news is that, according to those really in the know – including Minister Jeremy Cronin (keynote speaker at the South African Property Owners Association – SAPOA – annual convention), it’s unnecessary and undesirable to amend the constitution.
But that still leaves the issue of land, who owned or owns what, how to create a ‘fair and equitable’ distribution, and the mechanism whereby this can be achieved. No simple task, but while that issue is juggled, there’s another associated channel which is far simpler, far more achievable. Home ownership – that’s the way to empower South Africans, in particular, empower them economically. Listen to this great initiative.
TITLE DEEDS
A title deed is legal proof you own a property. You can then use that to raise finance against your asset, you can bequeath it to family, and so on. Currently, statistics show between 5 and 7 million homes in townships across South Africa with no title deeds – that’s 20 million people living in their own homes…with no legal claim to them.
Don’t shout about the current government’s ineptitude. Twenty-two years ago, legislation gave everyone the right to own their own homes, yet most occupants still don’t have title deeds to their properties. These could be RDP type homes in townships, or even homes people have built themselves. Most are owned by municipalities, and the occupant is essentially a tenant. That home can legally be taken away from him.
WHY NO TITLE DEEDS?
Simple. Most people cannot afford them. Pensioners, unemployed, single parent households, they simply don’t have the money.
THE DRIVE FOR TITLE DEEDS
The Free Market Foundation – FMF - (http://www.freemarketfoundation.com) is the brains behind this title deeds initiative, believing that home ownership is probably the best investment one could make in national security and the long-term development of the country.
The title deeds projects is called KHAYA LAM – which means ‘my home’ – and it aims to secure the property rights of between 5 – 7 million previously dispossessed families in South Africa by giving them the title deeds to their homes. The Khaya Lam goal? A 5000 title deeds drive.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
The Khaya Lam project has cut the titling cost by two-thirds to R2 250. ONLY R2250.
The FMF became directly involved in the titling process and turned to South Africans and philanthropists from outside South Africa for funding. The Khaya Lam Land Reform Project was set up to carry out the task. The cost of titling a modest house with an average value of R100,000 is advertised at about R6,500. The current Khaya Lam cost is R2 250 (which includes the cost of all the administration, fund raising and titling costs).
That gives a family living in a municipal rental home in a poor community an asset of a R100 000* (current market value). That’s life altering.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Donate. Any amount. You don’t need to contribute R2 250…anything will go towards securing ownership of a property for a family.
Fund raising? Yes, of course – recently FMF partnered with Private Property in order to assist millions around the country to obtain home title deeds. They collaborated on a fund-raising golf day, and Wakefields put up their hands. The fund raiser provided sufficient funds for 30 South Africans to obtain title deeds to their homes.
The property industry believes in property ownership, not simply as means to wealth, but also about having a stake in the country, about the pride which comes with that, about the sense of belonging and inclusion.
Wakefields CEO, Myles Wakefield says, “We, as a fourth generation family business, understand about the inestimable value of family, a home, and legacies. We believe that this initiative can make a world of difference to so many South Africans, and ultimately, the more South Africans who own their homes, the more inclusive and cohesive our society. As a business – and family – which believes wholeheartedly in the multiple-layered values of property ownership, we were delighted to play our role and contribute. This is something all South Africans can do.”
Author: Anne Schauffer
