I think it is safe to say that stake holders in the real estate industry including estate agents, mortgage originators, conveyancers and mortgage lenders have all been experiencing a terrible July 2007 as a consequence of the implementation of the National Credit Act (NCA).

Surely role players in other industries would have experienced the tightening grip on their sales figures and turn overs as well, but nobody probably knows exactly what the real impact has been in monetary terms so far.

Over the short term, we definitely expect fewer transactions across all industries in which consumer borrowing is a necessity. What makes matters even worse in our industry is the fact that conveyancers have been experiencing difficulty in getting property transfers and mortgage bonds registered at the Deeds Offices due to Civil Servants’ strike actions.

As we have stated before, we are satisfied that the new NCA is aimed at protecting the best interests of the consumer and many of us probably have lots of sympathy with the striking Civil Servants, but we also serve the consumers and we also have to earn an honest buck.

I hope you have noticed that, for a change, we have not been complaining about possible interest rate increases and possible downward trends in the house price index. We have not forgotten about these possibilities, but we are definitely not going to sit and brood about temporary hiccups which fall outside our immediate control.

As a network of entrepreneurs who have been in operation for the past 49 years through our country’s ups and downs, we are still very positive about the South African property market and although the challenges mentioned here above are real, that is all they are - challenges. We do not expect a “crash” of the property market and although things might seem a little depressing at present, we have decided to focus on other aspects of our business, preparing ourselves for the next upswing in the real estate industry.

On a national basis, we have been investing a great amount of time and energy into our network. Preparing our agents to live up to the AÏDA Code of HONOUR and empowering our franchisees to manage their businesses more efficiently. Although we have had to do a little house keeping, we have many prospects to be exited about and countless reasons to be grateful for. We have surrounded ourselves with good business partners and we will be facing the challenges head on.

Our brand has been trusted and loved amongst all South Africans for many years and due to our consistent behaviour and continued service delivery over the years, our customers have consistent expectations. In order for us to remain dependable over so many years in the face of an ever-changing market place, we have had to evolve, ensuring we keep up with the inevitable changes. The changes mentioned above might appear to be “new” in many respects, but these changes in AÏDA’s working environment have always been present.

We are not going to get despondent. Rather we choose to seek out the great new opportunities within each challenge that presents itself. Randall R. McBride once said: “Success will not lower its standard to us. We must raise our standard to success.” I want to sign off by quoting James Allen, leaving a message for all AÏDA estate agents: “Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts inevitably bring about the right results.”

One of the credit provider’s most important statutory duties is to furnish the consumer with a pre-agreement statement and quotation, prior to conclusion of an agreement, as provided for in terms of Section 92 of the National Credit Act, 34 of 2005 (“the Act”). This Section states that a credit provider must not enter into an agreement with a consumer unless the credit provider has given the consumer a pre-agreement statement and quotation, which sets out the principal debt, the proposed distribution of that amount, the interest rate and other credit costs, the total costs of the proposed agreement and the basis of any costs that may be assessed, if the consumer rescinds the contract.

For a period of five business days after the date of which a quotation is presented, the credit provider must, at the request of a consumer, enter into the contemplated credit agreement, at an interest rate or the credit cost that is at or below the interest rate or credit cost quoted, or is higher than the interest rate or credit cost quoted by a margin no greater than the difference between the respective prevailing bank rates on the date of the quote and the date the agreement is made.

This Section does not apply to any offer, proposal, pre-approval statement or similar arrangement in terms of which a credit provider merely indicates to a prospective consumer a willingness to consider an application to enter into a future credit agreement generally.

The quotation gives the consumer an opportunity to consider his intended agreement and to compare other credit, in order to search for “cheaper credit”. The quotation therefore contains the financial details of the agreement and the most important rights and obligations involved.

A credit agreement may be regarded as reckless, in the event that the credit provider conducted an assessment, but concludes an agreement despite the fact that the information available indicates that consumer did not generally appreciate or understand the risks, costs or obligations involved. If the court declares the agreement reckless, the court may set aside all or part of the consumer’s rights and obligations or suspend the agreement. If the court sets aside the consumer’s obligations on the ground of reckless lending, it naturally means that the consumer does not have to perform those obligations at all, whilst if an agreement is suspended (and not set aside), the consumer need not make any payment and no interest, fee or charge may be debited, whilst the credit provider’s rights are unenforceable. When the suspension ends, the parties’ rights and duties “revive”, but interest, fees and charges may not be recovered for the suspended period.

The AÏDA clothing range, which we launched at our recent convention at Emperor’s Palace, Johannesburg, is fast becomming the talk of the town. Members of the AÏDA family are now able to place their orders.

An order form can be downloaded from our intranet in the Corporate Identity Collateral section.

All the contact details for the supplier, Cam Clothing, are at the bottom of the order form. Kindly fax order forms to Johan van der Walt at Cam Clothing. Please ensure that all fields are completed.

A catalogue is available online along with the order form to assist with making choices.

Deliveries will take approximately 3 weeks upon receipt of an order.

We welcome any feedback in making our clothing range more functional, however please note that no changes to the ‘design’ of the clothing are permitted as it presents a unified AÏDA.

For queries, please contact Charlene Van Onselen:
Telephone: (012) 682 9600
Email: charlene@aidasa.co.za