WELGEVONDEN BULLETIN JULY 2016

Transcription

1 WELGEVONDEN BULLETIN JULY 2016 (Photograph: Paul Roux, Welgevonden Estate) PAGE 1

2 From the Editor / Van die Redakteur Welkom by die winter 2016-uitgawe van die Welgevonden Bulletin. n Groot deel van die winter is reeds agter die rug en ons sien uit na die lente wat wag. Maar moenie te gou praat nie. Het ons nie al geleer dat Moeder Natuur die gewoonte het om ons hier aan die einde van die koue en nat maande met n verlengde winter te verras nie? Dus, moet nog nie daardie snoesige komberse wegpak nie. Hou die kaggel aan die brand en geniet die warm nuus wat ons in hierdie uitgawe van die Welgevonden Bulletin bring. In this bulletin we ve included a warm welcome to Herman le Riche, Welgevonden s new estate manager. We have news about a community initiative to keep our owls warm and safe in custom-made owl boxes and we have an update on Welgevonden s property market that will warm the hearts of property owners. Our local pizza provider shares pizza news to warm the tummies and even our DIY section on how to keep those computers going has something to do with being warm and how to avoid getting hot under the collar! Enjoy reading about this and more, in this, the winter edition of the Welgevonden Bulletin. PS: And if our winter-themed photographs leave you cold, do not despair, our colourful spring edition will make up for it! Johan du Preez PAGE 2

3 Contents Next AGM P4 Patrysen Valley An Update P5 Biometric Registration Owl Boxes P6 P7 A division of GLOVent Solutions chandi@glovent.co.za Focus On The Estate s Constitution And Rules Meet Our Newly Appointed Estate Manager Die Eiendomsmark P8 P10 P12 ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Contact our sales team Tel sales@glovent.co.za Prima Pizza Techie s Tips P16 P17 Photographs by Johan du Preez (Unless otherwise credited.) Next issue: October 2016 Disclaimer: This emagazine is produced to provide updates and useful information to Welgevonden Estate owners and residents. It is produced by GLOVent Media, a division of GLOVent Solutions, on behalf of the Welgevonden Estate Home Owners Association. Although every effort is taken to ensure accuracy of content, Welgevonden Estate HOA and/ or the Publisher cannot be held liable for any inaccurate information. Welgevonden Estate HOA and/or the Publisher may not agree with all opinions expressed in this publication.

4 Annual General Meeting Welgevonden Home Owners Association s next AGM will take place in September this year. Details will follow soon. PAGE 4

5 UPDATE Patrysen Valley The Patrysen Valley development adjacent to Welgevonden (please see the diagram) had been discussed at the most recent AGM and was also reported on in the October 2015 Welgevonden Bulletin. Excom is on an ongoing basis in contact with the developers for clarification on matters and to ensure cooperation in the best interest of both parties. Two main points of concern exist. The first is a proposed access road from Hendrikse Street in the vicinity of the Stone Square complex to Patrysen Valley. According to the plans, this road will cut across a section of the Welgevonden dam on its eastern side. The second point is the increase in traffic that this development will bring to the greater Welgevonden and Cloetesville area. Excom will call for a special general meeting when all the information is available to inform its members on the detail of the project. At the meeting members will also be asked to give Excom a mandate on how to proceed. PAGE 5

6 BIOMETRIC REGISTRATION AT A GLANCE WHO MAY REGISTER? DOCUMENTS REQUIRED COST VALIDITY Home owners and their family members Tenants Domestic workers Note: The home owner/tenant must accompany the domestic worker for registration and reregistration. ID; Application form ID; Application form; Copy of the rental contract None R40,00 per person ID; Application form R20,00 per person One year For as long as the person owns the property One year, or the expiry date of the rental contract (whichever comes first) Contractors (longer than three days on site) ID of each employee; Application form R20,00 per person For the duration of the contract, maximum one year Registration takes place at Welgevonden Estate s R304 entrance: Mondays to Fridays from 08:00 16:00 / Every second Saturday of the month from 08:00 12:00 We are continuously evaluating and upgrading, where necessary, the requirements for biometric registration in order to attain the highest possible level of security on the estate. We ll inform residents should any of the requirements change. PAGE 6

7 Owl Boxes Recent sightings of owls in Welgevonden Estate created quite an excitement. This motivated a resident to come up with a proposal to install owl boxes on the estate and, together with other residents, raised an amount of R800 towards the project. Delighted with this community initiative, Excom undertook to match the amount to install even more boxes. The estate manager is currently doing research to make sure about the requirements and positioning of the boxes, upon which he will get the ball rolling to have boxes installed. PAGE 7

8 Focus on the Estate s constitution and rules In this regular section where we highlight content of Welgevonden Estate s constitution and rules, we focus on the rules pertaining to the keeping of pets. PAGE 8

9 ESTATE CONSTITUTION AND RULES CONT. 18. Keeping of Pets No more than two (2) dogs and two (2) cats may be kept on any one erf without the written permission of Excom and on such conditions as it determines A poisonous, exotic or other undomesticated pet, poultry, pigeons, aviaries or livestock may not be kept on an erf or in any structure erected or placed thereon A pet must be neutered, spayed or similar and must be regularly inoculated A pet must wear a collar fitted with a tag indicating the contact details of its owner A dog may not roam the estate, and must at all times be tended and kept on leash when it is not on the erf of its owner: Provided that dogs that are commonly regarded as ferocious must, in addition, be muzzled A pet may not be allowed to create a nuisance or cause a disturbance to residents in the estate A pet may not be neglected by, for example, leaving it to fend for itself or failing to provide it with sufficient shelter, nutrition or veterinary attention No person may inflict physical cruelty on a pet or subject it to violence The excrement of a pet deposited inside the erf on which it is kept must be removed at least once a day, and must be removed immediately when it is deposited on a communal facility or another erf. Breach of the above rules may lead to a fine of R500 per rule. PAGE 9

10 NEW Estate Manager Herman le Riche, Welgevonden Estate s newly appointed estate manager, certainly has all the check boxes ticked when it comes to being qualified for this key position. With 20 years of managerial training and experience in the insurance industry, a good stint of running his own handyman business focussing on building, maintenance and landscaping projects and, more recently, having been the estate manager at the upmarket Bel Aire Winelands state in Somerset West for the past five years, certainly qualify him to take over the responsibility of managing Welgevonden Estate. PAGE 10

11 NEW ESTATE MANAGER CONT. His Welgevonden experience thus far - Herman is excited about his Welgevonden experience thus far. It is such a beautiful estate with an abundance of green areas where residents can enjoy the outdoors, he says. Add to that the remarkable and pleasant vibe created by young families and older people alike when I see and meet them on the estate, I start to understand why Welgevonden has become such a favourite residential destination, he adds. Herman s priorities - Herman s immediate priorities are to get to know the owners and residents by name, to put procedures and systems in place to make it easier to respond to and rectify matters that need attention, and to further improve on and maintain the high level of security already in place on the estate. I m here to have a positive impact, he says. As estate manager it is my responsibility and as a person it is my custom to do so. He believes in the importance of running the estate according to its rules. It is expected of owners and residents to know the estate rules. Applying and living according to the rules means that there can be no misunderstanding, misinterpretation or doubt about estate matters, he says. Herman s profile - Having grown up on a farm in the Kimberley district and having the benefit of experience from various positions in his working career, Herman has learned that there is no substitute for hard work and attention to detail to make a success in life. He believes in proper communication, in handling conflict in a constructive manner, and he enjoys working with and interacting with people. He s happy to walk the extra mile and prefers to offer solutions, rather than only identifying problems. But this granddad of two beautiful granddaughters also believes in taking time out. He loves nature and spending time in the Boland mountains. Back home he s a keen bonsai grower and nurturing these miniature trees, according to Herman, clears his mind completely from life s everyday stress. His message to owners and residents - Herman makes it clear that interaction between him and Welgevonden s owners and residents are of utmost importance to be successful as the estate manager. Please allow me time to settle in and to get to know you personally, he asks. This will enable me to get a thorough understanding of the detail of the job and to create a mutual understanding between me as estate manager and Excom, together with the owners and residents that I will be serving. And looking at the estate map on the wall in Herman s office with quite a large number of addresses filled in with the names of residents that Herman has already met, then it becomes clear that this rather no-nonsense man certainly is someone who puts his money where his mouth is. PAGE 11

12 WELGEVONDEN EIENDOMSMARK Huiseienaars neem nie noodwendig elke dag kennis van wat in die eiendomsmark aan die gang is nie. Daarom het ons by twee van die talle kenners in ons omgewing gaan aanklop om te hoor watter woelinge daar in die Welgevonden-eiendomsmark is. PAGE 12

13 EIENDOMSMARK CONT. Droeks Malan, Seeff Eiendomme, Stellenbosch Alles raak duurder, so ook die heffings in sekuriteitslandgoedere. Welgevonden Landgoed, wat histories die goedkoopste heffings in sy eiendomsklas gehad het, het mettertyd ook n groei in heffings gehad wat sommige eienaars bekommerd gemaak het oor die waarde van hul Welgevonden-belegging. Die feite van die saak wys egter dat hierdie eienaars geen rede tot kommer het nie. Die laagste prys vir n eiendom was verlede jaar R vir n tweeslaapkamereenheid. Vanjaar het die onderste grens opgeskuif en daar is onlangs n tweeslaapkamereenheid verkoop vir R , voordat dit eens in die oop mark geadverteer kon word. n Basiese, drieslaapkamereenheid met n erf- en huisgrootte van ongeveer 140 vk m, wissel tussen R en net oor die R2 miljoen, afhangende van die eiendom se ligging en toestand. Die verkope van huise hoër as die boonste kerf van R3 miljoen (R3,6 miljoen was die maksimum) is ook aan die toeneem. Waar daar altyd heelwat migrerende kopers van Gauteng was wat in Welgevonden Landgoed wil koop vanweë die beter sekuriteit, is daar nou ook kopers wat hulle eiendomme in die dorpsgedeelte van Stellenbosch vir dieselfde rede wil verruil vir kleiner eiendomme in Welgevonden. Welgevonden Landgoed bied steeds die mees stabiele groei in verkoop- en huurpryse met n konstante aanvraag. Eiendomme verkoop en verhuur vinnig, met die minimum of geen gekibbel oor pryse (gemiddelde gaping tussen vraprys en verkoopprys is tans 2,4 %), terwyl daar meer onderhandeling met eiendomme in die dorpsgedeelte van Stellenbosch geskied. Die gevolg is dat vandag se koper sal betaal vir sekuriteit met n toesluit-en-ry-leefstyl, selfs al moet hulle met n bietjie minder ruimte tevrede wees. PAGE 13

14 EIENDOMSMARK CONT. Antonie Goosen, Meridian Realty, Stellenbosch I always get excited when talking about our beautiful estate, where I have resided and worked for the past 12 years. What a privilege it has been to see our estate grow into the vibrant community it is today. In terms of property prices, Welgevonden Estate is doing exceptionally well. In 2014 no less than 73 houses were sold at an average price of R At that stage the least expensive property sold went for R and the most expensive for R In 2015 the average price increased by 8.9% to R The volume sold was slightly less at 68 houses, with the least expensive property selling for R and the most expensive property for R This year, we re experiencing tremendous stock shortages on the estate. Buyers are therefore in competition with each other, which leads to positive growth. Currently we are aware of 21 properties that have sold thus far (the real number will be more as there is a lag in data from the Deeds Office from where we draw this information). What is however clear at this stage is that the average price is increasing substantially. Based on the figures available at the time of writing, there has been an increase in the average price of homes within Welgevonden Estate of 17.4% year on year to R ! This is the first time we have experienced double digit growth within our estate since the 2008 crash in property values. The least expensive property sold this year went for R while the highest price at the time of writing was R At the same time it is important to take note that around 62% of all properties sold, were above R2 million. PAGE 14

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16 STONE SQUARE PRIMA PIZZA It s hard to say no to a good pizza especially during our chilly winter evenings. Jacques Nel from Prima Pizza in Stone Square whose pizzas have recently been rated by Neil Pendock in the Sunday Times as the best wood-fired pizzas in the Boland, says that they roll and prebake their pizza bases in the oven daily. This is to ensure that they are fresh and ready for toppings to be added later on for final baking, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes in the wood-fired oven. These baked pizza bases are also sold to the public who wish to try their hand at pizza making at home. For those who wish to do so, Jacques has a few tips: Apply the tomato sauce to the entire base as any uncovered edges will burn. Do the same with the mozzarella cheese since it also acts as insulation during baking. Precook any watery toppings such as chicken and bacon to remove excess moisture, because moisture will prevent the base from rising further during final baking and will make it soggy. Pizzas with fresh vegetables such as green pepper, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms need to bake longer as these toppings contain a lot of moisture. Turn the oven to its maximum heat as pizzas should be baked quickly. According to Jacques you can put just about anything on a pizza. Be adventurous, he says. And if you wish to use your own dough and roll your own bases, remember to allow enough time for the dough to rise, use enough flour during rolling and roll the base as thin as possible, he adds. Jacques is happy to allow those who are unsure, to prepare their pizzas and bake them in his pizza oven. Why not give it a try? It sounds like fun! PAGE 16

17 TECHIE S TIPS Below and in upcoming editions of the Welgevonden Bulletin we ll be featuring tips from our local computer wizards at Stone Square IT Fusion to ensure a happy and lasting relationship with one of our closest companions our computer! PAGE 17

18 TECHIE S TIPS CONT. Keep it cool! - Due to their small, cramped cases and tiny vents, laptop or notebook computers are prone to overheating. Unfortunately, using your laptop on your lap or on top of a blanket while snug in bed can seriously choke ventilation and cause serious harm to the CPU and motherboard. To help keep temperatures in check, opt for a lap desk or a laptop cooling pad that won t conduct heat or block your laptop s vents. Backing up the often ignored essential! - Constant movement puts computer components at risk, and because of their portability, laptops suffer a lot more wear and tear than desktops. All of that on the go use increases the risk of hard disk (HDD) failure and the subsequent, often permanent, loss of your valuable data. Therefore, make sure you back up your data as a matter of routine, whether you re using a laptop or a desktop computer. Even set reminders to make sure that you do not forget about this important activity! Keep in mind that not all data is stored in My Documents on your computer. For instance, data is stored in a.pst file located in a Windows System folder, which is sometimes hidden. It s therefore advisable to let a computer specialist assist you with the initial setup of your backup if you re not sure how to go about it. You can use services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or any of the other popular cloud storage solutions, which will do the legwork for you in the background. Of course, you can also transfer the files onto a memory stick with enough capacity or an external hard drive just to be safe. However, backing up to the cloud can be done seamlessly and as part of an automated routine. Keep in mind that an external hard drive is still a mechanical device which functions more as a transfer device than a backup device. Cloud backup can also be retrieved from anywhere in the world, as long as you have internet access. PAGE 18

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