ZDFin News

Julia Everts Stronger Partnerships, Stronger Schemes: Why collaboration is the foundation of financial stability? Financially stable sectional title schemes do not happen by accident. They are built through intentional collaboration, shared responsibility, and a unified commitment to long‑term sustainability. In the sectional title environment, every decision — from levy recovery...

Matthew Dean A well‑run Community Scheme is not built on luck — it is built on consistent maintenance, responsible decision‑making, and a management team that refuses to cut corners. If you live at a complex, you will know that maintenance is critical. On a larger scale the building may need...

Nina Bulteel The ugly duckling of communal living in South Africa. When one thinks about purchasing a property to call “home”, many seem to be gravitating towards community-living. The pros seem to be endless, right? Better security; at times, it is more affordable to purchase a unit compared to a...

Taylor Noble The promise, and the peril, of AI-generated information in Community Scheme management. Artificial intelligence has arrived in the sectional title industry, and it is not leaving. Managing Agents are using it to draft correspondence, summarise financial statements and prepare meeting packs in a fraction of the time. Trustees...

Danielle Binneman Smart levy collections can protect the financial health of a Community Scheme. Levy recovery is more than a back‑office function — it is the financial heartbeat of every Community Scheme. When arrears are not managed strategically, the entire body corporate feels the strain. In levy collections, one size...

Taylor Noble Governance failure may trigger the crisis, but the calibre of the partners appointed determines the outcome. When Community Schemes fall into distress, the conversation often centres around governance failure and rightly so. Poor oversight, weak financial controls, and delayed decision-making can quickly destabilise even well-positioned buildings. But governance...

Amdené Viljoen Effective arrear levy management is essential for the financial stability of every Community Scheme. Levy payments are fundamental to the proper functioning of a Community Scheme. A correctly calculated and approved budget provides for the day-to-day operational expenses of the Community Scheme, while also ensuring that adequate provision is...

Michael Schaefer Amid the noise of automation and AI, the true north of property management endures: skilled professionals navigating human complexity with insight and care. In an ever changing and uncertain environment where calls for ‘automate’, AI’, ‘quicker’, ‘faster’ and the like reverberate through company boardrooms, departmental and industry gatherings,...

Benefits Of Appointing an EMA    Junaid Mally (ZDFin)   Is it beneficial to a Scheme to be run by volunteers, after hours and without compensation: A dive into the benefits of appointing an Executive Managing Agent in a Sectional Title Scheme In a previous article published by our office...

Matthew Dean (ZDFin)   While you may have heard about a “Managing Agent” in the property industry and in particular regarding Sectional Title Schemes; more recently you may also have heard of the term “Executive Managing Agent”. One may see the two concepts as being similar or even the same;...

Let's Get Phsycial (6th June 2024 - Johannesburg)   These videos were recorded at the last LET'S GET PHYSICAL event which took place in Johannesburg on the 6th of June 2024. In these videos we hear our Michael Schaefer, the founder of ZDFin, share some of his thoughts about the...

Specialist finance company ZDFin has over 50 years of experience in property and financial management. They offer superior financial products that address a wide range of challenges, and which can be tailor-made to suit one’s Scheme.  To read more about this story, click on the story below: https://everythingproperty.co.za/finance-company-zdfin-adds-value-to-community-schemes/?fbclid=IwAR2hJTyvSPVXu0SkPEMBQpAGmkcf1lgBjITHXO33k0OP2xhgem0XhGJGbpk...

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...

With the 1st of September marking meteorological Spring, a lot of us will be eagerly awaiting the warmer weather to come, but with this, come the annul rains in most parts of the country. At this stage in the year, we can only hope that most schemes have their AGM’s...

In August we celebrate women and all that they do in our industry, in our lives, in our society and our families. ZDFin can confirm with, absolute certainty, that the sectional title industry is dominated by intelligent, hardworking and well-rounded women who are the key ingredient to the success of...

Written by Shirley Baillie of S Baillie and Associates  With the increasing challenges being thrown at those working in the Sectional Title industry, it can rightfully be said to be a taxing genre in which to work. Challenges include a poor economy which is putting financial pressure on owners in...

Hosted by TVDM Consultants on 11 May 2023. Are you aware of the different financial options available for your scheme?...

By now, most in the industry would have heard that yet another managing agent has been recently forcibly closed due to alleged fraudulent activities and mismanagement, leaving their clients, they being schemes, high and dry. Tragically, it also seems that those against whom this alleged fraud was perpetrated were incorrectly...

The economic crunch in South Africa has put multiple schemes, this being bodies corporates, share-block companies, and homeowners’ associations,  under heightened financial pressure. It is in times like these that it is vital that schemes partner with trusted service providers to assist them to navigate these challenging times. Scheme executives...

The economic crunch in South Africa means many schemes, bodies corporates, share-block companies and homeowners’ associations, are under intense financial pressure, primarily as a result of escalating levy arrears within schemes. ZDFin, a team comprising of Financial and Property Management experts, have first-hand experience and understanding that that levy arrears...

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...

“We’re incredibly pleased to have had solid growth in 2022 and ended on a stronger note than at the start of the year,” says ZDFin CEO, Michael Schaefer. “Celebrating two years in a new business that has been so impacted by the challenging economy and many of the infrastructural issues...

Key to the ZDFin offering is how we tailor-make solutions to maximise the smooth running of Sectional Title Bodies Corporate, Home Owners’ Associations and Share Block companies. With one or a combination of financial or management products, such as project finance, specialist collections, levy and/or debtor finance or Executive Managing...

If you missed it. A recap of the EMA Matrix discussion from the Pearls of Wisdom Seminar....

According to The South African Institute of Valuers, an Exclusive Use Area (ESA) is: ‘an area of the common property that is set aside for the exclusive use of one owner of a unit in a building. Typical of this would be a garden area, a carport, a storeroom, balcony...

“Tax season, AGM’s and seasonal maintenance are the triad of annual requirements that keep Bodies Corporate and other Community Schemes on track and ‘financially healthy’, year in and year out,” says Michael Schaefer, CEO of specialist finance company ZDFin. “There’s no doubt that the more organised a scheme is, the...

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). Brought about with the changes in legislation that came with the ‘new’ Sectional Title Schemes Management Act (no8 of 2016), an EMA is ‘an external individual...

Accountability is an essential part of whether an EMA really works for a scheme. The EMA is required to manage the scheme with the required professional level of skill and care that would be required from Trustees and is Is liable for losses suffered by the scheme, should the EMA...

South African business has been through a torrid time over the past two years and almost every one now has a covid story or two woven into their company narrative. “We’re incredibly thankful to have come through this period, stronger than when we started,” says Michael Schaefer, CEO of ZDFin....

It’s understandable that it may be difficult for owners to hand over the reins to a third party and often there is a limited understanding of what a difference an EMA could make to the scheme and owners.  Asking questions and getting trustworthy information from professionals in order to gain...