Press Release

Managing a community scheme is no easy task requiring extensive knowledge of legislation governing community schemes, financial understanding, mediation and organisational skills, and the ability to handle various responsibilities and personalities simultaneously. In this article, we will explore a few examples of how the appointment of an Executive Managing Agent...

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - “Moving into 2023, we continue to look for business growth opportunities and to expand our national footprint.  The opening of a Cape Town office headed up by Amdene Viljoen, will go a long way to meeting the growing demand in the Western Cape, for smart financial...

Do we or don’t we ...is a question many sectional title schemes ask themselves when it comes to appointing an Executive Managing Agent (EMA). Michael Schaefer CEO of ZDFin, believes the question you should rather be asking is whether your scheme is being managed with the care and consideration it...

“There was little inspiration to be had from last week’s State of the Nation Address (SONA 2022), especially insofar as it relates to the residential property sector,” says Michael Schaefer CEO of specialist finance company ZDFin. “Perhaps the one positive take-out is the growing acknowledgement of the central role of...

Media Release January 2022 UTILITIES MANAGEMENT MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE Deteriorating and unstable supply of electricity from ESKOM and the unreliable delivery of services by collapsing municipalities country-wide, has exacerbated the move by consumers towards alternative, more sustainable, smart energy solutions.  Increasingly the implementation and management of suitable utility tools...

Media Release December 2021 CHALLENGING YEAR... BUT SIGNS OF RETURN TO NORMALITY EVIDENT “It’s been a tough, challenging year to be sure,” says Michael Schaefer CEO of specialist finance company ZDFin, “however, we have seen a late, but strong demand for finance over the last few months.” “The emergence of...

Media Release August 2021 WOMEN IN THE PROPERTY BUSINESS...COMING OUT TOPS! The past year has been a year like no other.  The impact of the covid pandemic on the workplace and women in particular, is staggering.  A recent survey by Deloitte Global, of 400 women across nine countries, showed a...

Michael Schaefer and the ZDFin team have been hard at work since starting ZDFin at the height of the Covid lockdown in June 2020.  In the year since it launched, ZDFin has expanded now boasting a national footprint and simultaneously built up a growing loan book ,“and we haven’t even...

‘We’re delighted to announce that ZDFin has been appointed as executive managing agent (EMA) for a 53-unit scheme in Hyde Park, Johannesburg,” says ZDFin CEO Michael Schaefer. “Further to our business strategy, we see a glaring opportunity in the market that is crying out for skilled, dedicated and experienced management...

As the hazy days of Summer begin to disappear, homeowners around the country, particularly those in community schemes, such as bodies corporate and home owners’ associations and the like, are being reminded of the all-important matter of ‘seasonal maintenance’.  Not a popular subject of discussion, but vitally important in order...

The economic fallout from Covid-19 has been devastating and as South Africans tighten their belts the government would do well to give as much practical relief as it can. There are a multitude of meaningful interventions that Finance minister Tito Mboweni can make when he outlines his budget in February....

Specialist Property Finance Firm Finds Advantage in Adversity Entrepreneurs solve problems, which is why Michael Schaefer has been a busy man since he launched ZDFin at the height of the Covid lockdown. “The business has been phenomenally received,” says Schaefer, “mostly because it answers the dire need for specialist finance...

Media Release 7 October 2020 NEW SECTIONAL TITLES SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT - A MIXED BLESSING FOR SA COMMUNITY SCHEMES “It’s four years since the revised and amended laws were enacted and many property owners are still coming to terms with the requirements of the legislation especially with regards to the...

Media Release August 2020 SPECIALIST RESIDENTIAL FINANCE COMPANY LAUNCHED It is a massive market in South Africa and it is ridiculously underserviced, but it is also highly complicated. It is the business of bodies corporate and community schemes and Michael Schaefer has just launched ZDFin, a specialist property finance business,...