Feb
2009
With the soccer world cup of 2010 drawing ever closer a lot of foreigners are starting to ask the question: "Can foreigners buy property in South Africa?" I'll start off with the simple answer and then explain it in terms of the Aliens Control Act 96 of 1991. The simple answer is that yes, foreigners can buy property in South Africa. If the foreigner does not intend to live in the property he or she will not need any permit to buy the property. The picture changes however it the intent of the purchase is to live in the property. Under these circumstances, in terms of the Aliens control act mentioned above (and this is the difficult bit) foreigners may buy or rent immovable property only if the foreigner has a permanent or temporary residence permit.
More and more foreigners are starting to register on MyRoof.co.za to buy property. The feedback is that the floor plans offered by MyRoof.co.za makes it a lot easier for the buyers to visualize the properties they're viewing online. We expect a big influx of foreign investment in the property market in 2010 as a result of the soccer world cup being hosted in South Africa. A lot of expats are also registering on the website, viewing properties for sale in good old South Africa and even buying property for their return or for family members they left behind.
