How and why the housing market changed.

I think this is the 11th hole where the thieves gain access by using the river.

Crime is a real concern to everyone living In South Africa and the housing market has changed accordingly.Homes that were the envy of everyone 20 years ago are no longer at the top of the list. I didn't realize that and learnt the hard way. Luckily I didn't buy , but rented first.You always hear people say rent in the area you like first and make sure before you purchase.

In the background you can see some of the houses that border the golf course.

I live in a suburb called Glenvista which is in the south of Johannesburg. I love the area as it is convenient and upmarket. There is a high percentage of Portuguese speaking people living in the area and most likely settled here after fleeing Mozambique before the civil war.

Note how they push the golf course as a selling point.This would be a beautiful home but I wouldn't touch it.

Anywhere else in the world you would love to have a house that backs onto a golf course except here. Imagine you have access to all the facilities and can go for walks in the evening after the last players have played through.I used yo have my putter ready most evenings and spend a couple of hours on the greens. Ideal and peaceful I thought and maybe others fell into the same trap. I am sure they did as when you fall in love with a house at a marked down price you are only too eager to sign and move in.

I laughed listening to this as the guy says relatively safe.

What no one tells you is why the house is so cheap. Properties struggle to sell for more than $200 000.They have all the bells and whistles, basically mansions anywhere else in the world. Four bedrooms is standard,with a study, lounge,tv room and entertainment area with a pool and possibly a bar. A perfect family home for most of us. The problem though is the golf course, what should be the selling point is now the negative.

A river runs through the middle of the course allowing access to the criminal element after dark. The management of the golf course doesn't care what happens. Personally I think it is their responsibility to secure their property, but they don't see it the same way.

Another unsellable that backs onto the golf course.The advert says just listed, but has been on and off for over 5 years that I know of.

Most Friday and Saturday nights it gets rather hectic if you are living with the golf course as your neighbor. Dogs barking letting you know there are people on the course followed normally by gunshots during the early hours. I could tell roughly where the criminals were by what dogs were barking.We lived on the golf course for 2 years and I was too tired and stressed to carry on. The houses either side of me were robbed 7 and 6 times respectively in the two years we were there.

This one even has a guard room at the entrance.

The only reason we were ok is I guarded the property and knew what was happening around me all the time. Some nights you just don't sleep and the crooks knew I was waiting for them. The one night I was running already before they threw a brick through the neighbors patio doors. They got away with nothing and managed to evade me as they could run faster.I think what warned them was me colliding with my glass sliding door at full tilt holding a baseball bat. I split my nose and had blood pouring everywhere and must have been a sight chasing them.

Some houses have some horrible stories from previous crimes and take longer to sell.One house took over 3 years to finally sell for nearly half the original price. I wanted to buy one on auction and had budgeted what I needed for security etc, but the idiot that bought it over spent by $100 000. He lived in another area and thought he could flip it quickly. The house is still empty 2 years later.I wont forget the exterior wall as I tested it and could push it over if i wanted to.It was a single layer of bricks and poorly built.

I will continue this in my next post. I hope you enjoyed reading this as it is a different way of living.

Image source youtube.com,cyberprop.com,sahometraders.com,golfcentral.co.za