New Broom for a New Summer Recent Developments
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Issue 17 | October 2013 www.kelderhof.co.za New Broom for a New Summer SALES UPDATE “Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen Sales to date 314 to quiet people. For those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air Completed Houses on Site 117 and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool gives you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year. Summer just opens Houses Under Construction 55 the door and lets you out.” - Deb Caletti No. of Debit Orders Signed 160 Recent Developments As a general view, construction of houses has substantially increased to the extent that we now have 55 houses under construction and 117 completed. Sales are flourishing with 4 “turnkey houses” sold in the last month at prices from R1.58m to R1.85m as well as 2 plots. So, interest in Kelderhof is now at unprecedented levels. All of this is good news for Home Owners in that greater activity on the building side encourages interest and fuels demand. In turn demand reduces stock and increases prices. Having said that, during this developing stage, a balancing act has to be performed in order for people to live peacefully and comfortably whilst allowing construction to go ahead as quickly as possible. I have been on the warpath as far as builders’ discipline is concerned, have held a meeting with all builders and will now be issuing fines for contraventions of the rules and builders’ code of conduct. Your ears and eyes will be much appreciated in this respect and please don’t feel shy in coming forward however petty or silly it might seem. Purchase one of our architect-designed homes that we will build for you. Benefit from the better finance that's available from most banks on a property that is completed. Why wait to have your home built for you if it already exists! Move in sooner and start enjoying the Kelderhof lifestyle. Contact Harcourts on 082 820 4845 or 021 843 3163 to find out more and purchase your home at Kelderhof today. INTRODUCTION FROM RODDY WAKEFORD, THE NEW ESTATE MANAGER I wouldn’t describe my arrival as a baptism of fire but my first meeting at 8am on 1st October was a Board Meeting at Percipient’s offices in Westlake. Dressed in my best bib and tucker and disarmed with a certain amount of trepidation, I was greeted by the Trustees who were not similarly dressed by the way, and I have to say that the meeting was conducted in a relaxed atmosphere and a thoroughly professional manner. And that has set the tone for my experience to date. First impressions are important and my experience dealing with Home Owners, Contractors and the Developer has been relaxed so that everyone feels confident in expressing themselves and professional in that the tasks are analysed, minds applied and decisions Roddy Wakeford taken. Take that first impression a little further and my Kelderhof Estate Manager observation is that the entrance is impressive; tough and impenetrable with the dominant gabions but softened with colourful, indigenous landscaping. The right balance for an estate which should be secure on the outside and aesthetically pleasing on the inside. However, there are also a number of areas which create the wrong impression and which I am addressing immediately. For instance, building contractor discipline appears to be slack at the moment; rubble and rubbish scattered over several plots, sites not secured, sand and dirt allowed to spill onto the roads, litter strewn against our fences and so on. The parks need a bit of TLC as well with one or two dead and dying trees. I am keen and enthusiastic on the “green” front and will certainly keep a close watch and eye on all things environmental. I have found our security company Xone (don’t try and click it Xhosa style it’s pronounced Zone!) helpful, proactive in coming up with solutions, communicative and more than capable of providing the comfort we need from the resources available. Our day to day link is Noel Hans with whom I meet every morning and who is a first class operator. I meet the Operations Director along with other representatives every fortnight and I have also pledged with Croydon to put together a sort of CPF which will meet to discuss security and risk management on a quarterly basis. You will all have received a recent notice about how we handle access to the estate but adjustments and improvements can always be made but we will not compromise on protecting residents. I’ve made a point elsewhere about my history and aims during my tenure as your Estate Manager but for the purposes of this publication, perhaps it is worth repeating. I seem to have gained many years experience in this particular world having consulted to Leopard Creek and White River Country Estates in Mpumalanga, managed De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate in Stellenbosch and latterly Kyalami Estates in Johannesburg. I also consulted to Vipingo Ridge in Kenya. Personally, I enjoy the challenges of an estate in its infancy and my satisfaction lies in ensuring that what you bought into is delivered as far as lifestyle is concerned, that the developer’s concept is brought to fruition and perhaps most importantly that your properties realise their true potential in terms of value. On the family front, both my wife Nicky and I are English but have lived in South Africa for nearly 24 years and I have to admit failure with Afrikaans for which I apologise but I will be able to greet you! I have 4 children; 2 older and 2 young lads who are at Rhenish Primary in Stellenbosch and who are becoming increasingly more difficult to beat in any sports arena. I am a keen golfer and member at Somerset West Golf Club, play hockey for Somerset West Masters and Western Province (over 55’s!) squash at Van der Stel in Stellenbosch and social tennis. On the more cultural front I am an avid reader of books, newspapers and current affairs journals as well as having a great affinity with the bush and birds in particular. Finally, I enjoy people and communicating with them, therefore I hope to meet you all at the upcoming SGM and regularly keep you in touch with matters of the Estate good and bad! Jéan van Marcke What a great chap he is and what a great job he has done on the Estate in the past. I have found Jéan extremely helpful in the handover process and he continues to be so. He doesn’t need to help out but he has gone out of his way to ensure as smooth a transition as possible and he obviously feels a strong affinity with Kelderhof because he is here to stay using his considerable skills as a building contractor with Percipient Property Solutions. He has asked me to thank you all for being so cooperative during the last three years during what was a challenging and exciting growth period at Kelderhof Country Village. And just to add to that, I know that you would want to wish Jéan the best of luck in his new position and equally thank him for all his hard work and dedication to this marvellous estate. Nicole Arnold Nicole Arnold who has been an unwavering and utterly delightful, helpful and constructive trustee has decided to make a career change and the poor girl has to relocate to Gauteng! Sadly, she will no longer be a member of the Board of Trustees but we would like to thank her for her loyalty and support to the team and wish her well with her future endeavours. Johan Grobelaar Johan Grobbbelaar is a young retired gentleman, a former lecturer at Maties in telecommunications amongst other technical specialities and now consults. He has kindly agreed to step into the space vacated by Nicole Arnold. We obviously welcome him, will very much appreciate his input on the IT and communications side as well as appreciate his reputation for being an excellent “people’s person”. GENERAL ESTATE NEWS Speeding The curse of all estates together with reckless driving and the reason why we all end up with calming devices like speed humps or sleeping policeman as they are otherwise rather ghoulishly named. We have just put in another three speed humps and together with the existing ones, we hope that this will calm drivers down to a certain extent. Why anyone sees the need to take risks on the estate, goodness only knows but if we, and this includes you, can turn the driving philosophy around to slowing down on the roads and taking time to enjoy the estate and see what is going on around us at 35kmph, then the place will be a more content and most importantly, safer place to be. Fun In The Sun Now that the outdoor season is upon us, take full advantage of the parks where the smaller residents can delight the crowds with antics on the jungle gym! Hopefully the weather will pick up after what seems to have been an interminable winter. It’s also nice to see so many of our residents making use of our Facebook page and I hope you are finding it fun and informative. If you are still not connected please let Claudine know and she’ll send you the link. IMPORTANT UPDATES ON PLANS & PROJECTS PABX The Trustees have approved the purchase of a PABX system which will provide better communication between the guardhouse and residents.