Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of frequently asked questions, and our answers. If your question is not answered here, or if you feel that an answer is not satisfactory, feel free to contact us directly. What exactly is "Ah Yer!"?

Ah Yer! South Africa is a web site where anyone can upload real estate properties being offered on the market, for free. Do you have a property for sale or lease? Add it now!

Who can post properties?

Anyone may post properties - owners, brokers, or their representatives.

How do I upload property listings?

Adding listings is very easy.

1. First sign up and create an account. (You'll have to validate the account's email address by checking your email.)

2. Then fill out your User Profile, which will contain your contact info so that potential buyers can contact you.

3. Lastly, click on Listings Manager to start uploading listings, and photos.

The whole process shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes.

What does the term "Ah Yer!" mean?

"Ah Yer!" is an expression used when experiencing a feeling of intense satisfaction and delight. It's what you get when you say "Oh Yeah!" with a lot of added emotion. We hope a lot of our users will be exclaiming "Ah Yer!" when navigating through the real estate listings on this site. Incidentally, it should be noted that Ah Yer! South Africa is not the first Internet company to come up with a weird name (there's Yahoo!, for instance, not to mention Google.)

Who is behind Ah Yer! South Africa?

Ah Yer! South Africa is being developed by a team of seasoned IT engineers with diverse backgrounds and many decades of combined experience of developing high-performance websites and databases. We are not real estate developers or a real estate brokerage, and as such we have no bias in the real estate market.

If I am a real estate broker, what can Ah Yer! South Africa do for me?

For you Ah Yer! South Africa is two things. First, it is a management tool that is extremely easy to use. Uploading, maintaining, and updating your online listings will become a breeze, thanks to our Listings Manager. And we will be adding many more features to make it even better, as time goes by.

Second, Ah Yer! South Africa has been designed to deliver to you the most relevant stream of inquiries ever. On no platform, traffic and all other factors being equal, will your listing get as much exposure for free as on Ah Yer! South Africa

Is it really free? Until when is it free?

Ah Yer! South Africa is completely free of charge and will stay free of charge forever. All good Internet sites are free to use.

How does Ah Yer! South Africa make money?

Like most major Internet sites, ranging from Google to Friendster to MySpace, we are completely free because our business model subsidizes the end-user. Nowadays, thanks to companies such as Google, almost all revenue models on the Internet rely on discreet online ads, and Ah Yer! South Africa is no exception. We have no plans to charge users or sell data to marketing companies.

Are you already making a profit?

None of your business, but yes. So stop worrying and start uploading! We're here to stay.

Where is my town? I can't find my town! The place names are unfamiliar!

The geographical database of regions and subdivisions in South Africa closely follows policy set by the Municipal Demarcation Board. For all of South Africa, towns are located within the District Municipality as specified by the Municipal Demarcation Board of South Africa.

We realise that some users will be unfamiliar with some of the newer names of District Municipalities, and that this may cause some inconvenience, but we will continue to follow the boundaries set by the Municipal Demarcation Board, as we do not wish to contribute to the confusion regarding political subdivisions in South Africa.

Why do you have so few black estate agents registered with you?

We sent out invitations to as many as possible real estate practioners in South Africa irrespective of their racial background. We had not control over who responded to our email and signed up and who did not. It is our hope that eventually the demography of our user base will reflect the true demography of South Africa.

What are the benefits of using Ah Yer! South Africa?

If you are a customer looking for a property, you can easily and quickly navigate through the listings available, without restrictions. If you are offering properties, you can easily and quickly upload your listings, and benefit from the massive user base Ah Yer! South Africa will have.

How do I use Ah Yer! South Africa to sell properties?

One of the revolutionary things about Ah Yer! South Africa is the extraordinary ease of use. It is extremely easy to sign up and start adding properties right away. All you need to do is create an account, fill out the form, and add some photos.

How long will it take to sell my properties on Ah Yer! South Africa ?

It depends on the property and our growth trajectory, but one thing you can do is ensure that your listing gets maximum exposure, by upgrading to a Gold or Platinum account. There is no charge for either. Everything is free at Ah Yer! South Africa .

Why should I use Ah Yer! South Africa if I already have a home page?

You can use Ah Yer! South Africa to promote your listings as well as your home page. Despite being just launched, Ah Yer! South Africa has an extremely high Page Rank of 5, and traffic deserving of a major real estate portal on the track towards exponential growth. A home page is useless unless users can find it, and Ah Yer! South Africa promotes the kind of synergy that helps users do just that.

What's the point of Ah Yer! South Africa? There are already dozens of real estate portals.

There are in fact hundreds if not thousands of real estate portals. Ah Yer! South Africa is the only portal which has the right combination of user-friendliness and cutting-edge technology to actually work. Plus, we are 100 percent free. There were search engines around before Google came to town, but nobody remembers those. The same will be true of the real estate portals out there today. Ah Yer! South Africa is changing the game.

What is a "filter"?

The filter is a vetting mechanism which prevents listings from being displayed according to the criteria you set. The filter uses criteria other than location to hone in on properties. To browse by location, click on the links in the left margin.

How do I deactivate the filter?

Click on the little X in the top right corner. When the filter is hidden, it is inactive.

What does "Intelligent" sorting mean?

Our system takes several factors into account, and selects properties for display based on a proprietary algorithm. We are constantly improving the way the algorithm works. Note that the effectiveness of this tool doesn't become apparent unless there is a large enough number of listings to choose from (at least 100).

How do I show only residential properties?

Click on the "Commercial" tab and uncheck all the commercial property types.

How do I show only commercial properties?

Click on the "Residential" tab and uncheck all the residential property types.

Why does Price/Area show most expensive properties first?

If you are on a limited budget, you can specify a budget ceiling by selecting a specific amount. Price/Area is a rough indication of the quality of the property, so if you are looking for properties, Price/Area can help you find it. On the other hand, a high Price/Area may simply mean the property is overpriced.

What does it mean if there are two prices shown for a listing?

The listing is both for sale and for rent. One price is the sales price, the other would be the rent.

What forex rate is used for the currency conversion?

Our server pulls foreign exchange rates from Yahoo! once a day. The converted currency should be used as a rough guide only.

Why is the listings form so detailed?

Ah Yer! South Africa is a real estate portal bringing buyers and sellers together. Essentially, we are a clearinghouse of real estate information. To do our job effectively, we need as much information about your properties as possible. This helps both potential customers, as well as property owners and representatives.

What if I don't have sufficient information to fill out the listings form?

Our listings form requires certain fields, and if you do not have the required information available, you cannot add the listing right away. What you should do is verify the details and then fill out the form. We only make mandatory very basic information, such as the price, or the square footage.

How many photos can I upload?

You may upload up to 25 photos per listing. We encourage you to upload photos and will reward listings with photos by giving them higher priority in the intelligent display selection process.

How many listings can I add?

There is no limit on the amount of listings you can add to Ah Yer! South Africa

Can a listing be marked as "SOLD"?

No, we feel it is only annoying for potential customers to find an attractive property that has already been sold. All sold properties should be removed promptly, until that point in time in which they are back on the market.

How do I delete a listing?

You can deactivate a listing by going to your Listings Manager, checking the box next to the property in question, and then selecting "Deactivate". However, you cannot permanently delete a listing. Deactivating a listing is the same as deleting a listing, because it disappears from the Real Estate Navigator completely (though it will remain in your Listings Manager).

What do I keep getting "Warning: Page has Expired"?

That's a problem unique to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which is not a very good product. You want to switch to Firefox, which will allow much smoother and faster browsing. A good browser is essential if you use the Internet for business purposes. And like Ah Yer! South Africa, Firefox is free.

Why doesn't Ah Yer! South Africa support maps?

Maps look great at first glance but are not useful unless they function well and are widely available for the area in question. Ah Yer! South Africa has been designed to reward users with a fast and satisfying experience, without maps. However, we may incorporate map technology when the technology is ready. Right now, it isn't.

Where are the forums? Aren't there any discussion groups?

The forums are coming in a few months from now, once we have a large enough user base.

Is it not possible to provide feedback and ratings for sellers and brokers?

It is very difficult to design a ratings system which is accurate and truthful and which is not prone to abuse. Consequently, we will not implement a ratings system, though we will eventually release forums, where problems can be discussed.

Why is my town not included in the geographical database?

Ah Yer! South Africa has a comprehensive database encompassing more than a million geographical locations. However, we may have left out some towns and cities. You may rectify the problem by adding your town using our "Add New Location" function.

I really hate this about Ah Yer! South Africa. What can you do about it?

Our system may not be perfect, but we are willing - very eager in fact - to listen to our users. Please let us know if you have any concerns or grievances about our system, and where possible, we will address the issues. Ah Yer! South Africa is a new and budding portal, and as such we value your feedback above anything else.

Why does Ah Yer! South Africa have different account levels, if all are free?

The more you do for us, the more we can do for you. If you link to us from your web site, we will give you Gold account status, and prioritize your listings, so that your name and listings always appear before those who have not yet linked to our site. And if you link to us from the main page of your home page, you will be a Platinum account holder, in other words a major VIP at Ah Yer! South Africa.

What is the difference between a Gold and Platinum account?

Gold account status is conferred to any user who links to us from any page within his site, such as the "Links" page. That is great, but it can be even better. Platinum status is reserved for those who link to us from the main or front page of their site.

How do I upgrade to a Gold or Platinum account?

All you need to do is add, or ask your webmaster person to add, a link to your home page, which points to our web site. Thereafter login to your account and click on "Account Levels".

Here is a duplicate page with instructions for adding our link, in case you need to ask your webmaster person to add the link. (Just tell him/her to look at this page.)

Why do Gold and Platinum accounts require a link to Ah Yer! South Africa?

The World Wide Web is comprised of interlinking home pages. Those web sites with more incoming links stand to benefit over those with fewer. Our duty to our users is to gain maximum exposure on the World Wide Web, and that is why we seek as many incoming links as possible.

How do I upgrade to Gold or Platinum if I don't have a home page?

You can't, but that's not a problem, because you can easily set up your own home page. All you need to do is go to a site such as Google Pages, who let anyone make a home page for free. After not very long, you'll have your home page, and you can upgrade to Gold or Platinum. You may contact us if you need help setting up a home page without spending any money. Hey, it's about time you got yourself a web page anyway.

Note that Google Pages require a Gmail account (Gmail is Google's free email service). If you don't have one, you can start a long and circuitous trek towards Platinum by starting off by first getting a Gmail account, or you could choose any of many free web page hosting sites. Here are a few:

• Tripod
• Blogger
• Geocities
• Friendster
• MySpace

Of course, it goes without saying that you could also choose to spend and get a web developer to build a web site for you, and then to spend again for web hosting.

Why are brokers required to enter their full names?

This is for the protection of our users, so that customers know who they are dealing with and can easily verify that you are a bona fide agent.

What do I need to list a property with Ah Yer! South Africa?

You need consent from the property owner to represent his or her property. Other than that, you need information about the property, such as the exact size, and it would also be best if you had some photos.

What if I want to offer a property already on offer at Ah Yer! South Africa?

Provided you have the right to represent the property, go right ahead. Competition is what makes the world go round.

What if I find a listing with fraudulent information?

If you are sure that you have discovered a listing with wrong, misleading, or intentionally fraudulent listing, please get in touch with Ah Yer! South Africa and we will deal with the situation and the user who posted the listing.