A Roundabout Experience – Cape Town Car Rental

In my personal opinion the best way to travel is by car. So when my friend, Greg, and I decided to go on a trip down to Cape Town we decided that car rental would be the first on our ”must-do” list. We opted for a small hatchback to zip around on our trip from Cape Town to Hermanus and back to the Cape winelands. On the road… We wanted to go to Hermanus for two reasons. First and foremost to go visit my old and dear friend Michelle, and secondly for the Whale festival. The drive from Cape Town to Hermanus is beautiful. Scenic views as you drive Sir Lowry’s mountain pass filled with flowers, then small farmhouses and the occasional shop where you can buy some of the fresh farm produce that you would never be able to get in the city. So we stopped at Aunt Millie’s Farm Stall. Known for her fresh home cooked pies we of course couldn’t resist stopping for a bite first. While sitting in the car savouring one of Aunt Millie’s notorious pies, we were surrounded by the most breath-taking view around us. Back on the road the excitement of seeing an old friend and the fact that I was on the open road again was exactly why I loved driving through the countryside. Being on the open road always gives me a sense of freedom which you don’t experience much when living in the city. There’s nothing rushing you to simply get from A to B, but taking your time to appreciate what most people just take for granted in their rush. Road tripping is not about the destination, but the journey. A whale of a time… When we eventually reached Hermanus we were greeted with what I despise most, traffic. Tourists like us coming to town for the Whale festival. Luckily it wasn’t too hectic, unlike rushour traffic in the big cities. After we had found parking we waited at the local pub for Michelle to come and join us. She soon joined us and we toasted to the good life. After catching up a bit we moved down to the beach front for some whale watching. Every year the whales migrate down to the Cape waters for their breeding season, giving us much entertainment as they do their bit of showing off. The whales get up close in the bay and each view of a tail or a fin causes much excitement for everyone watching them from the shore. How lucky one feels to be part of what must be such a little part of their lives. After much time spent simply enjoying the view of the whales we moved on to the festivities that were happening in town. There were flea markets and beer gardens, children playing around with painted faces and balloons, and music playing on the speakers for everyone’s enjoyment. The atmosphere was infectious, everybody seemed happy. Continuing our journey… After spending two more days in Hermanus, catching up with Michelle, sharing jokes and more whale-watching, Greg and I were soon on the road again. We took the long road back towards the Cape winelands. I was quite the happy snapper when Greg was driving. I was taking a lot of photos, but being the amateur photographer I am, it almost felt like an injustice to the beauty of the winelands. You can’t really capture the essence of what you experience when looking at such breathtaking views. We stopped at what seemed like every little shop on the side of the road, taking our time to simply enjoy the splendour surrounding us. We took every dirt road and steered clear of any highways. We didn’t set schedules and didn’t book any accommodation beforehand, because this is not what a road trip should be about. It is about enjoying whatever comes your way and being spontaneous!

Source: Ezine Articles

Cape Town Property

Cape Town Properties

There is always a risk you take when buying property as an investment. It is true that people are using property as an investment opportunity, and there has always been a history of property making great profits for many individuals and businesses. However, buying property for investment purposes is a risky business, and lots of planning and plenty of research are required to ensure that your chosen investment will eventually give you a return on your cash.

Around the world, property prices have risen sharply in the last few years, making investing in property an attraction to many people. However, there has been such a large rise in property values, that there is cause for concern that property prices may either stabilise or even plunge. These are the risks for people investing in property. In Cape Town, we have also seen a sharp rise in land and house value, and now with South Africa hosting the football World Cup 2010, this may be a great time to invest.

South Africa has seen many changes over the last few years – the fall of apartheid and a new face for what is now a relatively young new democracy. The investment opportunities in South Africa and primarily Cape Town are great. Cape Town is a city where locals appreciate a good strong infrastructure and enjoy many natural attractions, such as incredible setting of land and water and climate. In addition, with the up-coming 2010 Football World Cup, the city is preparing for what may be a lucrative and successful sporting event, hopefully increasing the value of land and housing in Cape Town.

So, if you have reached a time in your life where you find yourself financially able to make property investments, or if you are a foreigner who finds the currency conversion profitable and attractive, consider Cape Town as an investment opportunity. Although property experts and property investment companies cannot predict the future of land value in Cape Town, many people are investing and have experienced rewards.

Therefore, property investment is always risky, and property investment will be a gamble to see if you can make your money back with a profitable return. However, the property investment climate in Cape Town, South Africa does look to be a promising option for those who are trying to find the perfect investment opportunity. If you think this might be an option for you, take the time to research on the internet, or even contact a reputable Cape Town investment property expert – where you can get valid, professional, and experienced investment property advice.

Source: Ezine Articles

Cape Town Property

Rent! Buy! Huh?

Cape Property Guide

Article Source: http://property.iafrica.com

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:13

The renewed debate surrounding property ownership versus lifelong rental is totally inadvisable according to Gerhard Kotzé, CEO of the ERA South Africa property group.

“Right now the pendulum favours rental, more out of economic necessity than choice. In the long-term, however, there’s no question that property ownership makes more sense financially and in many others ways.

“The property market, like all other markets, goes through cycles and invariably when there is a downtrend commentators emerge from the woodwork suggesting that rental-for-life is a better option than ownership of property.

“Essentially their argument is that if you redirect the monies you would have channeled into a home loan towards other investments such as the stock exchange, for example, your ultimate returns would be better.

“Yet no evidence other than theoretical calculations is provided by these pundits to back up this theory whereas historically solid research proves that, over time, property outperforms other major assets including the stock exchange, gold and bank deposits.”

Moreover, he says, the benefits of property ownership include:

• Capital gains — it’s widely accepted that home ownership is the best form of wealth creation for the average South African.
• Financial discipline — the contractual obligation the home owner has towards the lending institution ensures that bond payments receive priority at month end as opposed to a voluntary savings or investment plan.

For many property is therefore essentially their best form of ‘pension’ as it can be parlayed into a retirement nest egg at the end of their working life, typically by downsizing and investing the balance or renting out a portion of a large home to generate income, says Kotzé.

There are also numerous peripheral benefits — the ability to borrow against the equity built up in a property, the improved creditworthiness of the owner and security of tenure arguably being uppermost.

“The downsides of property ownership, if there really are any, include higher bond repayments when interest rates go up, the possibility of ‘negative equity’ where the market value of a property is less than the outstanding bond for a while, the ongoing costs of maintaining the property in good repair and the relative illiquidity of home ownership compared with readily saleable investments such as shares.

“Ultimately, however, who would wish to reach retirement age without security of tenure and be at the mercy of landlords and ever increasing rentals while your income level at best remains static? Therein lies the real fallacy of the pro-rental-for-life lobby.”