Chronicle Editor
Marshal Ndlela
MARKET failure erupts when the market is left in the hands of an invisible hand. Government plays a role as a central authority to enforce fair play and protect the customers. It is the role of a responsible Government to protect its citizens from the jaws of business bears and crocodiles. Without exception, the property industry or market of Zimbabwe requires new, fresh and progressive regulatory reforms.
The current regulations are not in line with Vision 2030, they are retrogressive. The property risk has risen and poses a serious threat to investment, growth and development of a nation.
The current regulatory system is blurry, vague and unclear, thereby giving room to criminals to masquerade as property agencies or sellers. Several complaints of wrong sales, untitled properties, unregistered agencies, fake property marketing, rent seeking pricing and speculative tendencies have been the order of the day in the Zimbabwean property market.
In order to achieve a prosperous Zimbabwe, citizens (domestic investors), should be protected at all costs. A reputable, accountable, responsible and legal mandated regulatory body should be established or the current one should be reformed.
Registration of estate agencies
Estate agents should be professionally trained and qualified with an accredited qualification (certificate in property selling). The course can be a six months course that should entail property marketing, customer care, negotiation skills, property law, introduction to property finance and compliance.
The above modules will help our estate agencies to be able to professionally manage and conclude a property deal and satisfy both parties.
Registration of property conveyances and notaries
The current framework involves lawyers to help draft contracts and facilitate the legal framework of the property transfer. There is a need to introduce a certification of lawyers who can carry the responsibility of enabling a property transfer of ownership and conveyancing
λ To avoid bogus deal conclusion, conveyances will help with any type of purchase or sale of property, process of property transfer and holding the money paid till the tittle deeds are transferred to the new owner. A six months course also can be introduced to cover property law, conveyancing etc to interested lawyers who want to pursue a career in property law.
Offering property clearing certificates
There are several properties with unsolvable issues pertaining to lack of regulatory guidelines in acquiring a property. It has even extended to rural or traditional leaders selling land without the adequate paperwork, enforced urbanisation in the rural areas and so on. In our approach to resolve this, it is advisable that every property sale should be accompanied by a property clearance certificate. Meaning that there is a need for empowering the regulatory body with a property disputes and resolution committee that shall assist in properties with unresolved issues.
A property clearance certificate will assist in ensuring that the property is eligible to be sold and it is in good standing for effecting a sale .
Enforcing regulations
The regulatory body should have the capacity to enforce property law and compliance in the property industry and Zimbabwe at large. The inspectorate unit should be given the mandate to inspect the market compliance on all platforms where the marketing, advertising and selling is being conducted by the players in the market. This will help to root out fraudulent property developers, agencies and owners that are flooding the market on a daily basis.
Registration of property developers
The current property regime has opened doors for corrupt, unethical, rent seeking and speculative business scavengers with the help of some elements in our local authorities unscrupulously making money from selling undeveloped land to desperate Zimbabweans. This should come to an end with immediate effect. The land is being sold at exorbitant and unfair prices to consumers.
Guidelines on property sale processes
The current market is so unethical such that a seller can decide to pull out of the deal without notice or because of a better offer. It is more of an auction system that still puts the consumers at risk of losing their property deposit or agency fees . There should be a specified time, where the seller or buyer cannot easily or willy-nilly march out of the deal. Failure to offer guidelines will continue breeding corruption, theft and abuse of consumers.
In conclusion, there is no economy that will grow by hurting and choking off the local investment (domestic investment). The Second Republic needs to prioritise this sector and help enable an efficient, smart, and professional property market. Housing sales are part of consumption and they are long term. They can be viewed as an investment which propels economic growth and helps alleviate poverty in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the property market cannot be allowed to be so informal, unprofessional unethical and corrupt. Neglecting the market will cripple the economy and continuously breed derivatives of corruption and speculation tendencies.
As researchers and financial experts, we have developed a keen interest in providing a one stop solution to this problem. Our solution will eradicate the current property risk, fraud, disinvestment in properties and speculative tendencies.
Online Reporter