certainly enhance the appearance of the entrance to the ... · short term agreements (less than 6...
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Chairman’s Report Page 2 Infrastructure and Improvements Report Page 3 Security Report Page 3 Legal Report Page 4 Aesthetics Report Page 7 Electrical Report Page 8 Final Comment Page 8 Plan – Greater Pinehaven Entrance Plan Page 9 Plan – Pinehaven Country Estate Entrance Plan Page 10 Adverts Page 11 - 13
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Dear Residents, It seems like just yesterday that I wrote to all residents in our previous newsletter, wishing everyone well for the New Year, and here we are, about to enter the 5th month of 2016 and half way into the 2nd quarter. As a member of Board, the first 4 months of the year have proven to be not only interesting, but also challenging in various aspects, with a number of hurdles been thrown our way, specially, the sudden announcement by Mogale City of their intention to relinquish their responsibility over the main substation, as well as the preparations for the commencement of the upcoming improvements to the access road and main entrance building, which should kick off in the very near future, to mention but a few. As we prepare for the upgrade and improvements to the entrance, it goes without saying that access in and out of the estate will be hampered by construction, that may see delays being experienced into and out of the estate, so we as the Board urge all residents to please be patient during the construction period, I am convinced it will all be worth it and it will most certainly enhance the appearance of the entrance to the estate. 2016 Has seen many residents depart, but it has also seen new faces and families move into the estate. As the Board, we do not always get the pleasure of meeting new residents and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new residents and their families, and we wish you a very pleasant stay in the estate. We continue to see some construction going on, with new homes being built, and existing homes being upgraded. Naturally, this is always a pleasure to see, as we see the estate being completed and becoming fully established. We understand that wherever there is construction taking place, there are also hazards that become a nuisance to other residents, but we urge all residents to exercise patience during these times. In closing I would like to thank the current Board members without them there is no way this estate would be managed as well as it currently is. The Board members have sacrificed their time, and their family time to offer the assistance and services where necessary, and for this, I thank you all very much. I honestly believe that the current Board members are the most approachable members I have ever worked with, and urge residents to familiarise themselves with the team, should any resident ever require the assistance of the Board. Thank you Ricky dos Santos Chairman [email protected]
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Dear Home Owner, Things are coming along slowly but surely in regards to the upgrading of our entrance, as well as the upgrading of the greater Pinehaven entrance. The plans have been drawn up, and we are now in the process of getting quotes for the various projects. We have had a few meetings with the hospital, to discuss a few issues, and we have also had the buy in of the surrounding complexes to contribute to the special levy. Unfortunately our time line for commencement of construction is out by a month, due to a few unforeseen factors, but as things stand at this moment, we plan to break ground mid-May, subject to the council approving the plans. Both plans are on page 9 and page 10 of this newsletter. Kind regards Jacques Botha Director: Infrastructure and Improvements [email protected]
Greetings All, Security within the estate has been working well as all our systems are fully functional at all times, SLA’s are in place with all our Service Providers. The old Cameras at the entrance of the estate have been replaced with latest technology available at a minimum cost to the estate. The SLA for the maintenance and upkeep of the system will be signed in the next couple of days. Should a resident require video footage for any reason, the estate will be able to go back 30 days from the current date. We urge you to react quickly should you require to view footage, as it rather time consuming going through video footage for a 30 day period. Should you have such a requirement, a date and time of the incident would help minimize the time taken to retrieve such footage. The Scanner upgrade to the estate has now been completed and we thank you for your understanding and patience during the implementation of the system. When unannounced visitors arrive at the estate, security will contact the resident to request permission for access, once the resident has pressed 9 on his cell phone an access code will be generated by the system and will be sent through to the visitor’s cell phone. The visitor will give the access code to the security officer, which will then be entered into the scanner and complete the scanner transaction process.
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The Board has asked our security contractor to provide information pertaining to offenders not complying with our House Rules, namely not stopping at stop streets and speeding within the estate. The Board has looked at systems to record speeds within the estate as well as to install cameras at the stop streets, but to purchase such systems is a huge capital outlay, another alternative is to ask Mogale Traffic Department to do random checks for such offenders in the estate. Mogale Traffic Department have indicated that they would be willing to do so. It is not the Board’s intention to generate funds out of these controls, our main concerns are for the safety of the children walking and cycling on the roads. We again urge all residents to make sure that you use reputable contractors when doing any form of alterations to your properties, as earlier this month a resident had an incident where the contractor stole a Cellphone. Fortunately the resident had CCTV cameras installed and the phone was recovered and the thief was subsequently arrested. All contractors working in the estate must make sure they have been registered on our systems, this can be done at the Estate Managers office. Regarding access control, we urge residents to issue their visitors with the correct codes, as there seems to still be some problems with visitors exiting the estate. Should you be expecting a visitor the resident must send PH 1 to 34481, this will allow the visitor to enter the estate and the exit within 24 hours. Should the visitor need to exit the estate after 24 hours of arrival the resident must only use PH when requesting the code, as this will only allow the visitor to exit the estate, should the normal PH 1 be used the visitor will not be able to exit the estate without having entered the estate and security would need to enter the code on the entrance turnstile prior to the code allowing the visitor to exit. This causes delays as well as backlog for people trying to exit the estate. Thanking you all for your support in the above. Please do not hesitate to contact Johan or myself either via email or telephonically to report any issues or concerns you may have with Security. Mark Oosthuizen Johan Kruger Director: Security Director: Security Cell: 082 746 0491 Cell: 082 787 2896 [email protected] [email protected]
Dear Residents, Things are quiet from the legal portfolio’s side apart from the normal levy collections, which are well in hand. As last time I thought I would give residents some legal information, which may be of practical use.
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INTEREST RATES “Interest” is the additional amount that a credit provider charges a consumer on the outstanding balance of a credit agreement,” explains the National Credit Regulator (NCR). I am often asked: “What is the maximum interest someone can charge me?” It is all regulated these days and will depend on the amount involved and the type of credit agreement. Each type of loan has a formula coupled to the repo rate. Short term agreements (less than 6 months) for less than R8000 are the highest – 5% per month (“Loan sharks” / cash loans). Medium term unsecured loans is 32.65% per year. Credit cards, overdrafts and the store cards issued by retailers, which are in essence credit cards have a maximum rate of 22.65%. Bond accounts stand at 17.65%. Herewith the formulas for calculating any interest rate, you just need the current repo rate. Maximum interest rates
Sub-sector Maximum prescribed
interest rate Total
Mortgage agreements [(Repo rate x 2.2) + 5%] per year
17.65%
Credit facilities (which includes credit cards, and overdrawn cheque accounts.)
[(Repo rate x 2.2) + 10%] per year
22.65%
Unsecured credit transactions (which includes student loans, payday loans, medical bills, and court-ordered child support.)
[(Repo rate x 2.2) + 20%] per year
32.65%
Developmental Credit Agreements:
For the development of a small business
[(Repo rate x 2.2) + 20%] per year
32.65%
For low income housing (unsecured) [(Repo rate x 2.2) + 20%] per year
32.65%
Short term credit transactions (which is a loan that at the beginning of the agreement does not exceeding R8,000; and in terms of which the whole amount is repayable within a period not exceeding six months.)(Loan sharks)
5% per month
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Other credit agreements [(Repo rate x 2.2) + 10%] per year
22.65%
Incidental credit agreements (Incidental credit agreement, for example, is accounts for municipal services, such as water or electricity, and sales of clothing where no interest is charged provided that the account is paid by a certain date.
2% per month
Source: National Credit Regulator, correct as of 8 May 2015. Any interest rate charged above the above rates are unlawful and any such credit provider can be reported to the National Credit Regulator. There are currently proposed regulations tabled that will lower the above rates substantially by about 30% of the interest rate itself in question. IN DUPLUM RULE The in duplum rule is a common law rule that provides that arrear interest ceases to accrue once the sum of the unpaid (accrued) interest equals the amount of capital outstanding at the time (and not the amount of capital originally advanced). "In duplum" directly translates to "double the amount". i.e. I owe you a R1000-00, the interest can never exceed R1000-00, no matter how long I owe you. Take note however, a Court has ruled that once a court gives judgement on an amount, the in duplum interest starts anew. Example: A owes B R10,000-00. B waits till the in duplum interest reaches R10,000-00 so now he is now owed R20,000-00. He now gets a civil judgement for R20,000-00. Now the in duplum interest starts again. At last he may owe R40,000-00, on an original debt of R10,000-00. Lastly, if a judgement is given, interest on the judgement runs at 10.25 %, unless the contract stipulates a higher interest, then the judgement amount will gather interest at that higher rate. I hope this has been helpful and informative Alan van Quickelberger Director: Legal Portfolio [email protected]
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Please note that the procedure for the submission of plans has been updated and the process that should be followed to get plans approved is as follows: 1. All building plans must be submitted to the Estate Managers office and the required fees
must be paid. Plans will not be considered for approval without payment of the relevant plan fees.
2. The following documents must be completed and submitted:
Three (3) complete sets of the plans as well as an electronic copy thereof.
Architectural Plan Approval Form.
Footway Deposit Form.
Neighbours Approval From signed by the neighbours agreeing to the alterations.
3. The process that will be followed for the approval is as follows: 3.1. Plans will be forwarded to the Architect appointed by the Board for scrutiny in
respect of visual appearance, design, and general compliance to the Architectural Guidelines.
3.2. Once the Architect has given approval in terms of the guidelines the plans will be returned to the Aesthetics Committee.
3.3. The Aesthetics Committee will inspect proposed buildings, if required, and then approve the plans (not longer than 14 working days).
3.4. The Aesthetics Committee will issue an authorisation certificate, which together with the plans must be handed to the local authorities when the plans are submitted for their approval.
3.5. Only once approval has been received from the local authorities (temporary or final) may the building commence.
4. Please note that the plans must also include;
4.1. Site plan 1:200 showing building lines. 4.2. Elevations and at least one section. 4.3. Colour Swatches. 4.4. Window and Door schedules on final copy.
5. All building plans must be approved by the Aesthetics Committee before submitted to
the local authority for final approval. To assist the Aesthetics Committee in respect of compliance, plans will be scrutinized by an architect appointed by the Estate.
6. Three complete sets of drawings must be submitted to Estate Manager’s office including an electronic copy which can be send to [email protected].
7. Should resubmission of plans be necessary, additional scrutiny fees, as provided for, will
be levied by the HOA.
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8. Once the Aesthetics Committee has approved the plans, they may be submitted to the local authority. Plans will not be accepted or processed unless approved by the HOA and properly certified on the plans as such.
There has also been a tendency lately to ignore the building lines when plans for alterations are drawn. It has always been 2 meters from the sides and the back of the property and 5 meters on the side facing the road. Please ensure you adhere to this at all times. Andre Wehmeyer Director: Aesthetics Committee [email protected]
Dear Residents, Agreement has been reached with the Body Corporates of the complexes in Pinehaven Township on the management and financing of our communal high voltage infrastructure. This agreement ensures that all pay their equitable share and that our savings remain ours. As residents of the estate we have already been contributing to our own rainy day fund for a number of years. In future part of this monthly contribution will be diverted to the communal fund so your monthly electricity bill will not be affected at all. The hailstorm at the end of last year damaged a large number of streetlights and some have been out of action for an excessive period of time because our insurance policy has not yet paid out. Payment is imminent so please bear with us. We will also institute a planned maintenance programme so that defective lights in our common areas are repaired without undue delay. Mark Goossens Director: Electricity [email protected]
The Board of Directors and our Chairman strive to ensure open communication between ourselves and the residents. Residents of Pinehaven are encouraged to email any comments or suggestions through. To place a small advert in the Pinehaven Newsletters at only R250.00, kindly contact Ruth. Ruth Blank [email protected]
JC Security are offering Pinehaven Country Estate residence/home owners a special rate of R299 Inclusive per month with no link up fee.
