Higher interest rates, the National Credit Act and a general slow-down in the economy have together resulted in many people being reluctant to sell their homes and upgrade to more expensive properties.
"We have found that people very often fear that they may not be able to afford the better home to which they aspire - or that they will not qualify for a new bond in terms of the new National Credit Act," says Greg van der Reis of Rawson Building and Renovations.
So - what are people doing instead of buying new homes?
In a fair number of cases, says van der Reis, they opt to upgrade their existing homes - and this, he says, makes excellent sense because good alterations and improvements almost invariably add more than double their cost to the ultimate value of the home.
Rawsons, says van der Reis, have received so many requests for help in this type of operation that they have decided at last to set up a special division to handle this work.
The new division, to be called Rawson Building and Renovations, will be headed up by van der Reis himself. He has had five years with the Rawson group, has a degree in quantity surveying from the University of Pretoria and has lectured at CT and the Cape Technikon in various building and architectural subjects.
Van der Reis says that the announcement that Rawsons will be diversifying in this way has been met with a 'great' reception.
"It is quite clear to us," he says, "that the public has a deep-rooted distrust of what are sometimes rather condescendingly referred to as 'bakkie builders'. Many people have on occasions seen their alterations and improvements finished late and the quality has often left a great deal to be desired. In some cases the entire budget has been used up before the job was finished and the builders have actually walked off without completing their work. The public, therefore, want to deal with a firm that has been around for some time, has national brand status and, above all, has a reputation that it will fight desperately to defend. We are registered with the NHBRC and are members of the Master Builders Association and our credentials and experience are known and accepted."
The new division, says van der Reis, will offer a full building service from the planning stage (including getting the plans approved) to small alterations, electrical, plumbing, tiling and similar trades, landscaping and irrigation. It will also be prepared to tackle one-off homes from the start to the finish, possibly even including the purchase of the site.
Through their many associates in the financial world, it will usually be possible to arrange finance at competitive rates and this, says van der Reis, will be an important part of the new exercise.
Van der Reis stresses that with 2,000 homes already built by Rawson Developers and Home Builders they have the in-depth experience needed for this type of work. They will employ their own building teams and/or sub-contractors with whom they have already established long-standing relationships.
The new division is aiming for a turnover of R20 million in its first year and expects to increase this figure steadily thereafter.
"There is absolutely no doubt that this is what the market has been waiting for," says van der Reis, "and the good news is that due to our buying power our prices will be very competitive. We aim not so much to make a quick buck as to build up a client list of people for whom we work regularly on their entire property portfolios." We have proved over the years that word of mouth referrals are worth a thousand adverts!
For further information contact Greg van der Reis at greg@rawson-developers.co.za or telephone number 021 658 7134.
