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Pringle Bay
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Name:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pringle_Bay Google count: Date: Historic
fact: Other interesting info: Where to stay:
7 years ago
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Bond Calculator
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Get your new qualification as soon as possible
COLUMN FOR PROPERTY PROFESSIONAL
June 2009
Get your new qualification as soon as possible
Wherever you go and whoever you speak to in the real estate industry these days, the major topic of conversation is surprisingly not the state of the economy, or even the banks’ unusually tough lending criteria, but the Department of Trade and Industry’s new education and training requirements for agents.
These came into effect last July and have already caused many people (including, hopefully, most of the fly-by-nights) to leave the industry for good, and bring the number of registered agents crashing down from 84 000 to 38 000 in the past two years.
They are also costing many of those agents who remain in the industry a great deal of time and money to obtain – at a time when things are particularly tight financially. In fact, the total training bill for those agents currently registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) can be estimated at close on R400m – and that does not include the fortunes spent by training providers on developing their learning programmes and course material for accreditation by the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SSETA)
Consequently, it is not surprising that recent moves by the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) to earn further income from those trying to get qualified has been particularly badly received.
The issue came to light a few weeks ago, when reports began to emerge of agents being told by the EAAB that the qualifications they were obtaining from certain training providers accredited by the SSETA would not satisfy Department of Trade and Industry regulations for registration by the EAAB. The effect of this would be that the agents concerned who had completed the NQF4 qualification or the RPL process through such a training provider would not be able to obtain a Fidelity Fund Certificate after the cut-off date of 2011 and would thus would not legally be able to practise.
It subsequently emerged that the EAAB was trying to make the purchase of its own 800-page textbook a prerequisite for agents’ new qualifications to be recognised. It also issued a directive to various training providers that the book was to be used exclusively as the basis for their learning programmes or their qualifications would not be recognised for the purposes of registration with the EAAB or qualifying for a Fidelity Fund Certificate.
This prompted a swift reaction from the SSETA, whose CEO Ivor Blumenthal has pointed out in two strongly-worded letters to training providers and estate agencies that:
* The EAAB has no authority to question the validity of estate agent NQF4 and NQF5 level qualifications offered by any training provider that has been accredited by the SSETA - which is the only organisation officially delegated by the SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to accredit real estate industry training providers.
* The EAAB has no authority to dictate any particular curriculum or learning material to any training provider that has been accredited by the SSETA, or is seeking accreditation. In fact the principle of the accreditation process is that the training provider must develop its own course material and learning programmes.
* The EAAB is not entitled to make the use of its textbook compulsory in order for estate agents to be registered or issued with a Fidelity Fund Certificate. The book in any case contains no reference to the curriculum design process inherent in the SAQA accreditation process, and nor has it been accredited as formal learning material for the new NQF4 and NQF5 qualifications for agents.
The SSETA, says Blumenthal, will be meeting with the DTI to resolve these issues, which it has already taken up with the EAAB, but in the meanwhile, agents should be very clear that as long as they have obtained their NQF4 qualification from a training provider accredited by the SSETA, that qualification will be a SAQA-approved national qualification.
He also says agents should disregard “any and all” indications that such qualifications will not meet the DTI regulation for EAAB registration, and urges training providers to continue their activities in terms of their original conditions of accreditation.
As chairman of the board of the Real Estate Chamber of the SSETA, I support the decision by the SSETA to also obtain a legal opinion on these actions by the EAAB, so that clarity can be obtained on the correct processes, and have also said that IEASA will continue to be involved in the process of searching for a solution.
As things stand, the IEASA regions around the country are strongly promoting the new qualifications and working with accredited training providers to ensure that members obtain the necessary training as soon as possible, in many cases with the aid of a SSETA bursary.
For new agents and those with less than a year’s experience, the route to qualification is quite simply an NQF4 course and an exam pass. For others, however, the process is a somewhat more complicated as it involves assembling the necessary material to obtain a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment and quite often some classroom time to fill in the “gaps” in the knowledge needed to obtain the new qualification.
Meanwhile, progress is also being made with establishing the unit standards for the NQF5 qualification for agency principals and the NQF7 qualification which may relieve agents with more than 10 years’ experience from having to go through the RPL process. The real bottleneck here currently is the lack of people qualified to moderate and assess agents at these levels, but we are confident that this will be resolved within the next few months.
*For more details about the new qualifications and training requirements, agents should contact their nearest IEASA regional office, or visit www.ieasa.org.za
(Received via e-mail from Anthony vd Riet)
June 2009
Get your new qualification as soon as possible
Wherever you go and whoever you speak to in the real estate industry these days, the major topic of conversation is surprisingly not the state of the economy, or even the banks’ unusually tough lending criteria, but the Department of Trade and Industry’s new education and training requirements for agents.
These came into effect last July and have already caused many people (including, hopefully, most of the fly-by-nights) to leave the industry for good, and bring the number of registered agents crashing down from 84 000 to 38 000 in the past two years.
They are also costing many of those agents who remain in the industry a great deal of time and money to obtain – at a time when things are particularly tight financially. In fact, the total training bill for those agents currently registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) can be estimated at close on R400m – and that does not include the fortunes spent by training providers on developing their learning programmes and course material for accreditation by the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SSETA)
Consequently, it is not surprising that recent moves by the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) to earn further income from those trying to get qualified has been particularly badly received.
The issue came to light a few weeks ago, when reports began to emerge of agents being told by the EAAB that the qualifications they were obtaining from certain training providers accredited by the SSETA would not satisfy Department of Trade and Industry regulations for registration by the EAAB. The effect of this would be that the agents concerned who had completed the NQF4 qualification or the RPL process through such a training provider would not be able to obtain a Fidelity Fund Certificate after the cut-off date of 2011 and would thus would not legally be able to practise.
It subsequently emerged that the EAAB was trying to make the purchase of its own 800-page textbook a prerequisite for agents’ new qualifications to be recognised. It also issued a directive to various training providers that the book was to be used exclusively as the basis for their learning programmes or their qualifications would not be recognised for the purposes of registration with the EAAB or qualifying for a Fidelity Fund Certificate.
This prompted a swift reaction from the SSETA, whose CEO Ivor Blumenthal has pointed out in two strongly-worded letters to training providers and estate agencies that:
* The EAAB has no authority to question the validity of estate agent NQF4 and NQF5 level qualifications offered by any training provider that has been accredited by the SSETA - which is the only organisation officially delegated by the SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to accredit real estate industry training providers.
* The EAAB has no authority to dictate any particular curriculum or learning material to any training provider that has been accredited by the SSETA, or is seeking accreditation. In fact the principle of the accreditation process is that the training provider must develop its own course material and learning programmes.
* The EAAB is not entitled to make the use of its textbook compulsory in order for estate agents to be registered or issued with a Fidelity Fund Certificate. The book in any case contains no reference to the curriculum design process inherent in the SAQA accreditation process, and nor has it been accredited as formal learning material for the new NQF4 and NQF5 qualifications for agents.
The SSETA, says Blumenthal, will be meeting with the DTI to resolve these issues, which it has already taken up with the EAAB, but in the meanwhile, agents should be very clear that as long as they have obtained their NQF4 qualification from a training provider accredited by the SSETA, that qualification will be a SAQA-approved national qualification.
He also says agents should disregard “any and all” indications that such qualifications will not meet the DTI regulation for EAAB registration, and urges training providers to continue their activities in terms of their original conditions of accreditation.
As chairman of the board of the Real Estate Chamber of the SSETA, I support the decision by the SSETA to also obtain a legal opinion on these actions by the EAAB, so that clarity can be obtained on the correct processes, and have also said that IEASA will continue to be involved in the process of searching for a solution.
As things stand, the IEASA regions around the country are strongly promoting the new qualifications and working with accredited training providers to ensure that members obtain the necessary training as soon as possible, in many cases with the aid of a SSETA bursary.
For new agents and those with less than a year’s experience, the route to qualification is quite simply an NQF4 course and an exam pass. For others, however, the process is a somewhat more complicated as it involves assembling the necessary material to obtain a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment and quite often some classroom time to fill in the “gaps” in the knowledge needed to obtain the new qualification.
Meanwhile, progress is also being made with establishing the unit standards for the NQF5 qualification for agency principals and the NQF7 qualification which may relieve agents with more than 10 years’ experience from having to go through the RPL process. The real bottleneck here currently is the lack of people qualified to moderate and assess agents at these levels, but we are confident that this will be resolved within the next few months.
*For more details about the new qualifications and training requirements, agents should contact their nearest IEASA regional office, or visit www.ieasa.org.za
(Received via e-mail from Anthony vd Riet)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Study Guides for the NQF level 4 qualification for Real estate practioners are now available
They are available from the EAAB at R 490 (incl VAT).
They look impressive - at this point I would say well done to those that made it happen!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Zimbabwe here we come: The thin edge
Geoff Doidge, the minister of public works, did not want to lose momentum with the Expropriation Bill, which was withdrawn from the parliamentary process in September, he said on Friday. My question is "What effect is tthis going to have on investors?"
Work would continue on the legislation and the consultation process would be reopened.
Doidge acknowledged arguments that the bill was unconstitutional, but "some of the legal opinions I have been reading indicate that it is not unconstitutional", he said. My view is that the use of force to achieve social objectives were wrong during the Apartheid era and are wrong for our current democracy. Any deviation from that should be avoided.
Doidge, a former house chairman of the national assembly who was appointed minister a month ago, said the reworked bill would be put to Nedlac, the government, labour and business negotiating chamber. He hoped to forge a consensus on the legislation, between the Nedlac partners.
The legislation was sent back to the government by the national assembly's public works portfolio committee because there had not been sufficient consultation and the committee had concerns about unconstitutionality.
The land affairs department says the legislation is needed to fast-track land reform because land acquisition costs are rising exponentially as the 2014 deadline for transferring 30 percent of arable agricultural land to the previously disadvantaged draws closer.
South Africa has redistributed about 5 million hectares of the 25 million hectares so far.
Doidge expected the legislation, which was first tabled in April and became subject to some stormy hearings in June, to come before parliament again after the elections next year.
The original Expropriation Act of 1975 regulates only the expropriation of land for public purposes, while the new bill suggests the addition of the expression "in the public interest". What happened to the willing buyer willing seller concept? Force should not be used - it could be the spark for farm invasions and other Zimbabwe like abuses.
It sets up an expropriation advisory board operating at national and regional levels, according to the Sabinet Law website.
The chief justice should appoint a panel of judges to adjudicate disputes, Doidge said.
Work would continue on the legislation and the consultation process would be reopened.
Doidge acknowledged arguments that the bill was unconstitutional, but "some of the legal opinions I have been reading indicate that it is not unconstitutional", he said. My view is that the use of force to achieve social objectives were wrong during the Apartheid era and are wrong for our current democracy. Any deviation from that should be avoided.
Doidge, a former house chairman of the national assembly who was appointed minister a month ago, said the reworked bill would be put to Nedlac, the government, labour and business negotiating chamber. He hoped to forge a consensus on the legislation, between the Nedlac partners.
The legislation was sent back to the government by the national assembly's public works portfolio committee because there had not been sufficient consultation and the committee had concerns about unconstitutionality.
The land affairs department says the legislation is needed to fast-track land reform because land acquisition costs are rising exponentially as the 2014 deadline for transferring 30 percent of arable agricultural land to the previously disadvantaged draws closer.
South Africa has redistributed about 5 million hectares of the 25 million hectares so far.
Doidge expected the legislation, which was first tabled in April and became subject to some stormy hearings in June, to come before parliament again after the elections next year.
The original Expropriation Act of 1975 regulates only the expropriation of land for public purposes, while the new bill suggests the addition of the expression "in the public interest". What happened to the willing buyer willing seller concept? Force should not be used - it could be the spark for farm invasions and other Zimbabwe like abuses.
It sets up an expropriation advisory board operating at national and regional levels, according to the Sabinet Law website.
The chief justice should appoint a panel of judges to adjudicate disputes, Doidge said.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
The questions and the answers
Clive,
I need to come across a bit more convincing on the following issues – can you help?
What is the current status of the level 5 qualification for principals.
Are any materials available relating to the level 4 qualification. Where can I get information relating to FAIS for example? (the content relating to the other Unit Standards also, if available).
I heard that the professional designation examination is going to be removed as a compulsory requisite to practice as an Estate Agent – is that true?
==================================================================================
Dear Charl,
Many thanks for your e-mail, the contents of which have been noted. I would advise as follows:
1. The SSETA is presently in the process of preparing the necessary RPL instruments and facilitator, assessor and moderator guides for the NQF Level 5 qualification. Once these have been completed the EAAB will be in a position to commence the writing of the study material for the National Certificate: Real Estate, as it has done with the NQF Level 4 material. The SSETA has undertaken to expedite the process to ensure that the NQF Level 5 qualification is up and running as soon as possible.
2. The Study Guide for the Professional Estate Agent: NQF Level 4 has now been finalised and the printing of this comprehensive work (which runs to 800 pages) has commenced. It is hoped that the work will be available for sale to estate agents, RPL candidates and learners by 1 April 2009. The unit standard dealing with FAIS is fully dealt with in the work.
3. It is amazing how these strange stories start. There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that the PDE is going to be removed. An examination such as the PDE is, in fact, essential for any profession and it is hoped that the first PDE for non-principal estate agents will be held on 18 June 2009. The removal of the PDE as a requirement for estate agents would, in any event, require an amendment to the education regulations by the Department of Trade and Industry and this is certainly not on the cards.
I do hope that this assists you.
Kind regards,
Clive
Clive Ashpol HonsBA, MBL, LLB, LLM
Education and Training Department
ESTATE AGENCY AFFAIRS BOARD
If you can help me to be able to answer these questions I will appreciate it.
I need to come across a bit more convincing on the following issues – can you help?
What is the current status of the level 5 qualification for principals.
Are any materials available relating to the level 4 qualification. Where can I get information relating to FAIS for example? (the content relating to the other Unit Standards also, if available).
I heard that the professional designation examination is going to be removed as a compulsory requisite to practice as an Estate Agent – is that true?
==================================================================================
Dear Charl,
Many thanks for your e-mail, the contents of which have been noted. I would advise as follows:
1. The SSETA is presently in the process of preparing the necessary RPL instruments and facilitator, assessor and moderator guides for the NQF Level 5 qualification. Once these have been completed the EAAB will be in a position to commence the writing of the study material for the National Certificate: Real Estate, as it has done with the NQF Level 4 material. The SSETA has undertaken to expedite the process to ensure that the NQF Level 5 qualification is up and running as soon as possible.
2. The Study Guide for the Professional Estate Agent: NQF Level 4 has now been finalised and the printing of this comprehensive work (which runs to 800 pages) has commenced. It is hoped that the work will be available for sale to estate agents, RPL candidates and learners by 1 April 2009. The unit standard dealing with FAIS is fully dealt with in the work.
3. It is amazing how these strange stories start. There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that the PDE is going to be removed. An examination such as the PDE is, in fact, essential for any profession and it is hoped that the first PDE for non-principal estate agents will be held on 18 June 2009. The removal of the PDE as a requirement for estate agents would, in any event, require an amendment to the education regulations by the Department of Trade and Industry and this is certainly not on the cards.
I do hope that this assists you.
Kind regards,
Clive
Clive Ashpol HonsBA, MBL, LLB, LLM
Education and Training Department
ESTATE AGENCY AFFAIRS BOARD
If you can help me to be able to answer these questions I will appreciate it.
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In the streets of Johannesburg.
