"After nine years of living in London, my South African husband persuaded me to move back to his home country. We were due to be based in Jo'burg and decided to find a bolthole in Cape Town to escape the pressures of city living. Several months before moving, we took a week's holiday in Cape Town and employed the services of Space SA. We didn't realistically hold out much hope of finding anywhere in such a short time but Darren had really done his homework and came up with a stunning array of properties. The real challenge was deciding which one to go for! We were pleasantly surprised when Darren managed to complete the deal before we flew back to the UK, negotiating on our behalf with tenacity and good Irish humour. We were certainly glad he was on our side!"
Claire and Rod Finn
"After visiting Cape Town several times and falling in love with area, we knew that we wanted to buy property there. But....the thought of going through the whole process from thousands of miles away was quite daunting.
Once we discovered Space we realised that was exactly what we were looking for....excellent, professional help and advice to get us through the minefield of buying property in a foreign country.
From the very first contact, Darren talked us through the process and was always available to answer the myriad of questions that we had.
We soon settled on the area that we wanted to buy in...Hout Bay...and once we'd discussed exactly what we were looking for with Darren he put together a portfolio of properties, all of which fitted our requirements and all of which gave us much to discuss.
When we decided to make an offer Darren handled the negotiations, and we eventually got the property for an excellent price.
We're absolutely delighted both with the property we have and with the service we received from Darren and everybody else at Space....we honestly can't recommend them highly enough if you decide to buy in this wonderful part of the world.
I may even buy him a beer next time we visit. You can't get a higher compliment than that from a Scotsman."
Mr and Mrs K Ross, The Hague, Netherlands.
"Moving country can be a daunting experience, especially to the other end of the world. However SPACE helped make our transition a much smoother one than expected! Sue assisted us in finding a fabulous priced house to rent in a lovely area really close to our children's new school (a splendid bonus)! In addition to this she contributed a wealth of experience of Cape Town by advising us on where to shop for our needs in setting up home, doctors, hospitals, sights to see for us and the children and buying a car, just to name a few! Sue is also very encouraging and did her best to plug us into a network of work and social contacts, making Cape Town much easier for us to settle in."
Lameen and Lili Abdul-Malik, UK Nationals moved from Vienna, Austria to Cape Town Dec 2009
"We came upon Spacesa.com during a web search using the key words "moving to South Africa". We are very happy we chose the service offered by Sue and Darren. Relocating two doctors with two teenage boys and a ten year old girl from Norway to South Africa may easily turn into a stressful adventure for anyone. Thanks to Sue and Darren's experience and professionalism it went smoothly. They know your needs and how to communicate during all phases of the relocation process. This makes you feel secure and confident. The accommodation they suggested for us was perfect. The premises fulfilled all our demands, located in a nice and secure neighbourhood as well as nearby the schools and place of work. The school-finding service was creditable. Finding the special care unit at St. Joseph's Marist College for our oldest son was a scoop - thank you Sue!
The process of relocating our family was done professionally with efficient communication, reliability and a lot of work to comply with our needs. We will gladly recommend Spaceca.com to everyone who is making plans of moving to Cape Town."
Mathilde (11), Øystein (16), Eirik (18), Elin & Stein Harald, Tromsø, Norway.
"Vi fant Spacesa.com ved søk på nettet med søkeordene "flytte til Sør-Afrika". Vi er veldig glade for at vi valgte den servicen som Sue og Darren kunne tilby. Flytte en familie bestående av to leger, to tenåringsgutter og en 10 års gammel jente kunne fort blitt en meget slitsom prosess for alle, men det gikk over alle forventninger ved hjelp av Sue og Darren sin ekspertise på dette området gikk hele prosessen uten problemer av noe slag. Huset de fant til oss ligger i et trygt område av byen, med hyggelige naboer, gangavstand til skolene til ungene og muligheter for trening i nærområdet. Når det gjaldt å finne skoler til ungene så gjorde Sue en formidabel jobb, spesielt til vår eldste sønn som trenger litt ekstra oppfølging. Klassen har har vær en del av i 5 månder nå er unik, det gjelder rektor, lærere, klassekamerater og ikke minst aktive foreldre. Tusen takk - Sue.
Vi vil alltid kunne anbefale Spaceca.com til alle som har planer om å flytte til Cape Town."
Hilsen Elin Richardsen og Stein Harald Johnsen m/barn, Tromsø, Norge
"Dealing with Space was a pleasure from start to finish. From the fast response rates and excellent home profiling, we only viewed properties that were realistic candidates. In addition to this, the assistance and local knowledge given meant that we got an objective opinion 100% of the time, and a great deal on our new home. I feel that working with Space, helped to mitigate any potentially costly mistakes and misunderstandings... For any person individually buying in and around Cape Town their fees, are indeed, money well spent."
Mat & Ali Demery, new owners of 60 Atlantic Beach Drive, Melkbosstrand.
"For some time now I've wanted to buy a holiday home abroad and Cape Town with it's beauty, sunshine, beaches, restaurants and right time zone fitted the bill perfectly. Despite having friends who live in the city I really needed someone to carry out the hard work of finding a property and guiding me through the buying process and I simply didn't have the time or experience. I found Space SA on a web search and Darren and Sue's service has been perfect for my needs. Darren was able to find a selection of very good quality properties within my budget for me to view on my time strapped trip to Cape Town. I was really impressed with Darren's knowledge of the property market and the quality of the apartments I viewed with him. So impressed in fact I quickly decided to put in an offer on a beautiful 2 bed penthouse apartment in De Waterkant as soon as I returned to the UK. Darren secured me a very competitive offer and then put me in touch with a great foreign exchange bureau and a fantastic lawyer who I continue to use and would happily recommend to any one. I felt I could call Darren and Sue about any issue that popped up along the way and even though the buying process is now over, I still use Space SA for advice. It's great to know that there is a team in Cape Town who will help with any issues that may arise when I am 6 thousand miles away.
The apartment is now fully furnished and I have just returned from a trip to Cape Town with my parents who have already booked their next trip to Cape Town this coming Christmas and New Year. It's been a life long ambition for me to have somewhere in the sun to escape from the drab British winters and with Space SA's help it's mission accomplished!"
Emma Crosby, Sky News. London, UK.
"Darren and Sue McDermott have managed and co-ordinated all aspects of the purchase of our new home in Cape Town, South Africa. Throughout the process, which at times became very ‘drawn-out’ and ‘fraught,’ they were extremely professional and helpful.
From the beginning of our search, they spent a considerable amount of time and effort, clarifying with us exactly what we required and expected. This involved detailed discussions and emails between the U.K. and Cape Town before we arrived in South Africa to view the possible options. They asked many questions to establish what our particular family situation was and why we were considering the purchase, as well as our budget, to give them an understanding of the type of people we were and to inform their ‘search’ of the Cape Town property market before we arrived.
When we arrived, they had arranged a very detailed information pack of their 8 short-listed properties which met our criteria. This was not standard estate agent ‘blurb’, the pack contained their own views and extensive photographs of each property – highlighting the issues and specifications we had provided initially. The day we spent viewing the properties was extremely well arranged - no time wasting and we saw all the properties in a single day. It saved a considerable amount of time and we were still able to enjoy our holiday! All the properties we viewed we liked! However Darren and Sue had arranged the viewings so that each house appeared to be better than the last! Inevitably, we made an offer on the last house which was undoubtedly our ‘dream home’
The negotiations were difficult, but superbly managed by Space. We made a number of bids before there was final agreement. The house was on the market for R4 950 000 and Space was able to get agreement to R4 550 000 - a saving of some R400 000. All the subsequent mortgage arrangements in S.A were professionally arranged through brokers arranged by Space.
The property is now managed in our absence by Space and they provide an excellent service to co-ordinate home improvements and arrange maintenance for the garden and building.
We are absolutely delighted with our new home and very grateful for all the help we have received from Darren, Sue and Serena”
Mr and Mrs T Pons, Returning South Africans
“To say SPACE over-deliver actually feels like an understatement. We’ve moved internationally 3 times and we’ve never come across a relocation agent that even gets close to their service. They are one of the key reasons that we lived through an almost painless and stress-free move and are very happy and settled now. They were part of the process even before we’d made our decision to come, giving us practical guidance and information on Cape Town. Then they helped us get set up for the move, putting lots of things in place and prompting us to organise ourselves, so that when we actually arrived, it felt like dotting the “i”s and crossing the “t”s. If these guys were paid by the hour, then we’d be broke and they’d be millionaires!
We couldn’t recommend SPACE highly enough for their mixture of efficient, thorough professionalism and personal thoughtfulness and warmth. They were reactive, but also stayed one step ahead at every stage and used their knowledge to filter out and screen us from unnecessary hassle. They were even there with champagne when we got here and even brought toys for our 2 year old to borrow whilst we were in temporary accommodation – you couldn’t have got a nicer or more useful welcome!
My final word would be on the school-finding service, which again, was thorough, personal, thoughtful and fantastic – giving us choice, whilst narrowing it towards our brief. If we ever move again without Sue and Darren I just know we will be disappointed, because they seem to be one of a kind.”
Mr and Mrs Finn, who moved from Dijon France to Cape Town.
“As far as we are concerned Darren and Sue make the ideal team. From our initial discussions with Darren about our requirements – which were not very specific to say the least - to Sue’s help in getting tenants into the house, everything was remarkably smooth and we can thoroughly recommend their services.
We only had a very short time to look for properties, a long weekend at the end of August, but Darren had lined up a wide range of properties for us to view. After choosing a house with both mountain and sea views we had to return to England. Darren helped enormously in the buying process and was always on hand to give advice on a system we knew little about. By November we were the proud owners of a house in Hout Bay. When the tenants and their furniture moved out, after a five year stay, the house was in need of some re-decoration. This is where Sue and her team came into their own. They organised decorators, for the pool to be cleaned and a gardening company to revamp the outside space. By February new tenants had signed a contract.
We would thoroughly recommend the services of SPACE, who made what could have been a very difficult process from 6000 miles away, a stress free experience. Thanks for everything ....”
David Cryer and Stephanie Halford, U.K.
“Wir sind für 3 Jahre geschäftlich nach Kapstadt gekommen. Da wir nur einen 5-tägigen preview trip hatten, um uns Häuser und Schulen anzuschauen und da wir vorher noch nie in SA waren, war das recht knapp. Sue hat diese 5 Tage optimal vorbereitet und uns überall hin begleitet. Auf Grund ihrer Erfahrung konnte sie uns sehr gut beraten sowie die richtigen Fragen stellen, sowohl in den Schulen als auch bei den Hausbesichtigungen, so daß wir nach kurzer Zeit eine sehr gute Vorstellung hatten von dem was wir wollten. Zurück in Deutschland hat uns Sue weiter unterstützt mit dem Mietvertrag und den Schulformalitäten, beides ist nicht zu unterschätzen. Wir sind jetzt schon einige Monate in Kapstadt und habe uns gut eingelebt, genießen das schöne Haus und den Pool und unser Sohn fühlt sich mittlerweile sehr wohl in der SA Schule. Auch hier hat uns Sue immer wieder mit guten Ratschlägen geholfen. Vielen Dank !”
Familie Schauer, Melkbosstrand.
“Moving abroad as a family can be a very daunting experience and we consider ourselves fortunate to have come across Space SA on the Internet. From the very beginning we received a very courteous and professional service. Viewings were arranged for a number of properties in a quick and efficient manner. Ongoing discussions were held which helped us make the necessary changes in order to be able to find the perfect property. Indeed the service did not end there and I still feel very comfortable consulting Space SA about any other incidentals that I had not envisaged. I would highly recommend using this company to anyone looking for property to rent or buy. Space SA represents exceptional value for money and consistently good service.”
Mr and Mrs Young, from the U.K..
“We decided to move to South Africa on our way back from Cape Town in 2003, for a complete lifestyle change. We therefore contacted Sue and Darren by internet around March 2007: we realized it was necessary to have somebody in Cape Town to help us making our dream come true.
We met Sue and Darren in August 2007. Their professionalism, their excellent knowledge of the property market and of all legal aspects of running a company in South Africa , as well as Sue's perfect practice of French were essential for the achievement of our project.
We purchased an existing Guest House in Hout Bay, a mere 20 min from Cape Town city center, which is ideal for us.
We see Sue and Darren very often, they are now our friends!”
Patrice and Denis, France
Le Marais Guest House
Hout Bay
www.le-marais.co.za
“Nous avons décidé de déménager en Afrique du Sud en rentrant de voyage en 2003 et de changer totalement de style de vie. Nous avons contacté Sue et Darren aux environs de mars 2007 car nous avons réalisé qu'il nous fallait un agent sur place pour nous aider à réaliser notre rêve.
Nous avons rencontré Sue et Darren en août 2007. Leur professionalisme, leur excellente connaissance du marché immobilier local, ainsi que de l'ensemble des aspects légaux liés à la création et au fonctionnement d'une entreprise en Afrique du Sud ont été essentiels à la réussite de notre projet. En outre, Sue parle couramment français, ce qui n'a pas manqué d'être un avantage, notamment lors de la négotiation!
Nous avons trouvé la propriété idéale a Hout Bay, à environ 20 minutes du centre ville du Cap.
Sue et Darren sont maintenant devenus des amis, et nous les voyons régulièrement!”
Patrice et Denis, France.
Le Marais Guest House
Hout Bay
www.le-marais.co.za
"Buying a holiday home abroad involves many questions,
such as where to look for, whom to trust, what to
be careful at, not to mention all the technicalities.
So I felt I really needed someone who would make
me feel comfortable when dealing with all these
questions. Sue and Darren McDermott have been perfect.
They made it an exciting experience to find exactly
what I had been looking for and helped me with the
nitty-gritty, so I could concentrate on what really
matters: being delighted with my new holiday home!
I am very grateful to them for the very professional
and competent manner in which they helped me through
the process from the beginning to the end."
M. O., Switzerland, owner
of a holiday home in central Franschhoek
"Acheter une maison, c'est aussi beaucoup de démarches et d'interrogations... Vais-je trouver la maison de mes rêves ? Où chercher ? A qui faire confiance ? Quelles sont les formalités ? A quoi faut-il penser en achetant à l'étranger ? Avec Sue et Darren McDermott, j'ai trouvé la réponse à toutes ces questions et j'ai pu me concentrer sur la seule chose qui compte vraiment : le bonheur d'avoir trouvé la maison de mes rêves ! Ils ont fait preuve d'un grand professionnalisme et ont su me soutenir du début à la fin, ne ménageant aucun effort pour trouver exactement ce qu'il me fallait.
Si c'était à refaire, je n'hésiterais pas !"
M. O., Suisse, propriétaire
d'une maison de vacances au coeur de Franschhoek
“We decided to look for a property in
Cape Town, without having been there! After surfing
on various real estate pages on the web, Darren
and Sue´s Space SA appeared. The Space SA
case stories were quite interesting and we wanted
to explore what they could facilitate for us –
a Danish family who wanted a property with a rental
income for some years and at the same time the potential
to become our second home later on.
The initial contacts by phone helped us to sharpen
up the profile – which in the beginning could
be anything from a flat downtown Cape Town, to a
villa in the suburbs. Actually the most difficult
part for us was to decide the profile of the property
– but with Darren´s knowledge of the
market matched and with our budget, it became clear
that we needed to look for a 3-4 bedroom house with
pool in either Tokai or Hout Bay areas.
Our trip to Cape Town was planned for March 07,
and a few days before departure we received a presentation
on 6 possible properties which perfectly matched
our expectations. We spent half a day viewing houses
and narrowed it down to 5 properties for second
view, where one stood out as the perfect one. The
offer was made, and before the end of the week,
we had an agreement with the owner to buy the house.
The service from Sue and Darren was excellent, from
the very first discussions about our needs, the
efficient communication during the process, and
the very honest opinions they give.
We are sure that Sue and Darren really care about
facilitating the right property to the right people.
They are in our view real professionals with an
extraordinary level of empathy.
We can highly recommend Space SA as your partner
in South African property search.”
Bodker Family, Denmark.
During a series of E-Mails and
telephone conversations, Darren helped us clarify
in our undecided minds the type and location of
our proposed property investment. He showed us ten
properties within our price range over a time period
of one and a half days and once we found our ideal
property he negotiated successfully with the estate
agent. We signed the contract at 4p.m. on the second
day.
Using the services of Space made the experience
enjoyable, eliminated time wasting and costly mistakes
and provided introductions to valuable professional
personnel.
We have no hesitation in recommending the services
of Space and consider the fee “money well
spent”. We offer Darren and Sue our thanks
and appreciation.
M & M Mescall, Ireland
"We initially thought that purchasing a property
in Cape Town would be difficult, particularly as
we live in England and only had limited opportunity
to go to Cape Town due to work commitments. However
it could not have been easier. From the first moment
we contacted Space to the final confirmation that
we are now property owners in Cape Town everything
went smoothly. We received a professional and personal
service from Sue and Darren and would recommend
Space Home Search & Relocation to anyone."
Rita and Yvonne - Berkshire,
UK.
"We were looking to buy an investment property
in Cape Town and contacted Space after our initial
own research from the UK. As we only planned one
visit to Cape Town, Space's services proved invaluable.
We gave them certain criteria to work with and the
selection of properties they put together for us
to view was very good. The process of decision making,
putting in an offer and having it acepted was quick
and without any problems. Sue and Darren were flexible
and always available for help and advice, so that
our search for the right property was completed
within a week and left us plenty of time to enjoy
a fantastic holiday in South Africa."
Jon and Anja, Sussex,
UK. - This property was subsequently let under the
facilitation of Space within one week of transfer
of ownership.
"From the first email back in February through
to Sue and Darren meeting us at Cape Town Airport
- complete with welcome banner, goodies for the
kids, flowers, wine....!' Space have been totally
and utterly amazing! Emigrating to South Africa
from London with young children is quite an undertaking,
but Space have made the whole thing feel quite effortless.
Sue answered every possible query I had over the
7 months, and often before I'd even asked the question!
We have managed to buy our dream home, and that
was purely down to Darren spending days negotiating
on our behalf with the vendor and estate agent.
And our children are into the school and nursery
of our choice, largely down to Sue having built
a relationship with the relevant admissions staff.
Basically, I can't thank Sue and Darren enough,
as we keep telling them! I truly don't believe I
could have done this without them. They have been
totally professional, reliable, honest, diligent
and fun from start to finish!"
Mr and Mrs E Saunders,
now living in Hout Bay, Cape Town.
“We have been thoroughly delighted and extremely
pleased with the services that have been provided
to us from Space Home Search and Relocation in South
Africa. We were keen to invest in a holiday/rental
property in Capetown and felt we needed to deal
with someone with experience in this area and that
we would be comfortable dealing with them on a trusting
and personal level and this company managed to do
that impeccably. My correspondence with them was
always answered quickly and accurately and indeed
still is and all the various aspects of buying property
were covered and taken care of with full advice
, detail and precision which was outstanding. We
had visited estate agents in the Capetown area before
finding out about Space Home Search but found them
rather impersonal and often gave inaccurate information
about Mortgages and sometimes required you to arrange
your own solicitor for the property buying process.
When buying abroad, I feel you need someone you
can fully trust and are comfortable dealing with.
Space Home Search do that brilliantly, and I fully
recommend them.”
Mr and Mrs Lyons from
Limerick, Ireland
“I googled property search firms in the
Western Cape area and I hit on Space. I made an
initial email enquiry and was very impressed with
the speed and professionalism of the response. Darren
followed up with some telephone calls to help narrow
down my search requirements and was able to prepare
a thorough short list of suitable properties for
me to inspect when I visited South Africa. When
it came time to purchase he walked me through the
process and provided introductions to reputable
lawyers and mortgage brokers. All in all a very
satisfying experience.”
Nick Hellen, an Australian
living in Hong Kong who bought an off-plan apartment
in De Waterkant.
"(I) feel that the money has been very well spent
as originally the thought of buying a property outside
England seemed very daunting but you're service
has made the whole thing seem very straight forward.I
would be more than happy to recommend yourselves
to anyone else wishing to embark on a similar venture."
Mr. Paul Gregg, owner
of an off-plan apartment in the City Bowl.
"When we decided we wanted to buy a house
in Llandudno, Cape Town we had no idea how to go
about it. A subsequent trawl on the internet came
up with the search company Space and it seemed to
meet all our needs. We signed up and started speaking
to Sue and Darren McDermott about our requirements
and needs. Over a period of almost a year we planned
our visit to Cape Town with a portfolio narrowed
down to six properties for us to look at. Sue and
Darren were convinced we would want the first property
they sent to us and which they felt was perfect.
From the photos, we decided we hated it! We looked
at the six properties and fell in love with the
one Sue and Darren had originally recommended and
subsequently are now the happy owners of a house
in Llandudno!
We would never have been able to deal with the process
of buying a property in Cape Town from England.
Sue and Darren made the whole experience manageable
and as painless as possible with their professional
and knowledgeable expertise both in the search for
the property and the handling of the purchase, dealing
with estate agents, lawyers and authorities. We
would recommend Space to anyone who wanted an enjoyable
and rewarding path into purchasing property in South
Africa."
Mr and Mrs. G, London
"I bought a flat in Cape Town and am pretty impressed. ........... Darren has been very responsive and thorough, is very approachable, and knows his way around the somewhat Byzantine conveyancing process down there in the RSA as it applies to non-resident investors. Anyone interested in checking out opportunities down there should give Darren a call or drop him an email. I think that with the Soccer World Cup due to be hosted down there in 2010, there is "some money to be made in them there hills!""
PB, Middle East, Owner of a penthouse apartment in De Waterkant
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