REAC urges increased investment in real estate
| Tuesday December 3, 2013 16:02
He said during a full council meeting that ends today that owing to the country's recurring droughts, livestock rearing is no longer viable.
He said most Batswana are not aware of the existence of REAC, which was established in 2003. He said that they are currently touring the country to sensitise people about their organisation.
'Most Batswana have been selling their houses, and renting them out to others without registering with us first. That is against the law and if found doing that, they will be charged P15,000 or three years imprisonment or both,' he said. Mooketsi said REAC was established following many cases of people being cheated by fly-by-nights who claimed to sell real estate. He said that there are cases where a person can sell a house four to five times.
'This law is helpful as it protects the owner of the estate from being cheated by a buyer or a person renting the house,' he said.
He added that the law also protects the buyer or person renting the estate not to be cheated or abused by the owner. He said many times people are evicted from estates they rent or have bought because of the absence of a formal agreement between the buyer and the seller. 'If you want to sell your house or farm, you should do it through registered estate agencies or valuers who would evaluate the house and price it and sell it accordingly. We want this to be done by well-trained people who have registered with us, not just anyone,' he said.
Mooketsi said they also go around teaching people the importance of having a lease for their properties so that they can be protected and have ownership rights to their estate or land.
'Most Batswana survive on renting some of their houses and should register with us and be able to pay tax. It is against the law for one to receive rentals without paying tax,' he said.
He said that over the years people have been taking licences from councils to sell their farms but it is against the law. He said councils are not permitted by law to issue such licences and that such customers should be referred to REAC.
'The Registrar of Companies has been working well with us, and we hope that, as the council, you will support us too. The business of real estate is booming in the city of Francistown and we want to advise people before they can get into trouble,' said Mooketsi.
In their comments, councillors expressed concern that poor people who survive by renting their houses would be hard hit, were they to be compelled to register with REAC, as they would not be able to pay estate agencies to advertise their properties.