Most Recent Living Articles
HOW TO CHOOSE LIFE COVER FOR YOUR BOND
Applying for a home loan is an exciting time in any person’s life. Preoccupied with your new beginnings, the last thing that comes to mind is what will happen in the event of your untimely death. But, while you might not be thinking about it, the financial institution with whom you’re dealing certainly will be. WHY DO I NEED IT? Life cover is the assurance most financial institutio
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TIPS FOR BUILDING AN ECO-FRIENDLY HOME
We’ve come a long way since the days of Asbestos ceilings and long-drop toilets. In the modern building age, we now have recycled rubber roof tiles and water-saving flush mechanisms. Those building a home from scratch today have the opportunity to build an entirely eco-conscious home from the ground up. ENLIST AN ECO-SPECIALIST In general, the whole process of building can be incredibly
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HOW TO AFFORD A HOME LOAN ON A SINGLE INCOME
Being on the market is never easy. But, if you stay focused, you won’t be on the market for long – well, at least not when it comes to property. Many believe that owning property on a single income just is not possible. But, the over 40,000 single females and over 35,000 single males who have already purchased property across South Africa in 2018 will beg to differ. While it might b
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A MODERN APPROACH TO MEETING THE NEIGHBOURS
There are many reasons why it could be helpful to befriend your neighbour; one of the most important these days is to find out whether the electrical outage was caused by local load shedding or simply by forgetting to pop in your voucher code earlier that evening. But, now more so than ever before, making contact with the people who live next door can be a tricky endeavour. People tend to keep to
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SIGNS THAT YOUR TENANTS IS GETTING HIGH IN YOUR HOME
While most news stories paint a very scary reality about the prevalence of drug-abuse in South Africa, the truth is that there is actually very limited accurate data from which to draw these conclusions. However, according to a study conducted in 2012 by Anti Drug Alliance South Africa, 5.8% of their 57,809 national respondents reported using drugs on a daily basis, with ecstasy and cocaine being
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BEST SUBURBS FOR THE OUTDOORSY HOMEOWNER
For the active outdoor enthusiast, knowing which suburbs offer the safest and most scenic walking / cycling / running routes nearby often plays an active (excuse the pun) part in the purchasing decision. According to the Victims of Crime Survey 2018, over 65% of the estimated 280,526 incidences of robbery away from home occurred in a street in residential areas. So, apart from natural bea
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SHOULD I REPLACE MY GRASS WITH ASTROTURF?
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who prefer hardcopy novels over e-readers and vinyl over iTunes. For the purists out there, artificial grass will never make the cut. But, overlooking any subjective feelings on this matter, could installing artificial grass have any effect on the resale value of a property? In general, artificial grass usually has a more positive than negative
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WHEN SHOULD I EXPECT MY ADULT CHILD TO MOVE OUT?
Approximately one in two 18-34 year-olds live at home with parents. As a parent, that means you have a 50/50 chance that your teenager is going to end up living with you for much longer than you might have expected ... THE REASON BEHIND THE DELAY The discrepancy between entry-level salaries and the rising cost of living is one of the largest contributing factors for this delay in leaving the n
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3 BUDGET-FRIENDLY WAYS TO ENTERTAIN FROM HOME
Out of the 261 working days this year, most of us are eagerly anticipating those few December leave days that we’ve worked so hard for. Unfortunately, many of us forget to think ahead and ensure that money has been set aside to allow us to make the most of the holiday season. If you happen to find yourself in this same hopelessly undersupplied boat sailing towards holiday bankruptcy, here ar
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WHEN TO CALL THE COPS ON YOUR NEIGHBOURS
Dealing with neighbour disputes is an unavoidable part of life unless, perhaps, you choose to live on a remote small holding for the rest of your life. Sometimes these issues cannot be resolved no matter how diplomatic, polite and reasonable you might have been when approaching the issue. Luckily, the law is there to help you during these times. Below are the legal grounds on which you may appr
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SHOULD I TRAVEL NOW OR PUT DOWN ROOTS FIRST?
Advances in travel technology have made it that much easier to quench human nature’s insatiable thirst to explore. And, South Africans are taking full advantage of this fact. According to Stats SA’s Tourism and Migration Report of November 2017, the total number of South African residents who left and returned to the country is on the increase. For South African residents, the volume o
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HOW TO FOLLOW UP ON LATE PAYMENTS
You’ve screened the tenant thoroughly and their credit check returned a glowing review. You even built a clause into the rental agreement that stipulated that any late payments would accrue interest payable on the following month’s rent. And yet, your tenant is still late on his/her payments. What is a landlord to do about this? The reality is that every landlord will likely have to
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