Do a thorough check of Belvedere Trust, RetireWell SA, Harveston Retirement Village before buying Liferights

In response to Harveston Retirement Village Chairman's instruction to review Harveston Retirement Village (HRV) to boost the sales of life rights on vacant units within HRV, I have the following comments, observations, and opinions to submit:

HRV appealed to us from the start. We observed the generous space between living units, and the floor space on the Type C unit (two bedrooms, study, two bathrooms, open plan living area and a double garage and car port). Although built on a steep hillside, the village is pleasantly situated and our unit, which supports a garden, has a pleasant view of the Honeydew area. This unit is set back from the road and noise levels are generally low. We paid for the life rights and moved into our unit in March 2020, 10 days before COVID 19 lockdown. A snag list was left with us when we moved in, and many of the outstanding items, remain so to date. The issues relate to Belvedere not supplying electrical compliance certificates a requirement for household insurance) to damages to kitchen cupboards. Soon after we moved in, we were alerted to the fact that The Belvedere Group – now renamed to RetireWell SA, have not been honouring their contractual obligations in paying out previous life right holders (or their estates). This is indeed the case with the estate of the previous life right holders of our unit, as of April 2025). The management of HRV appears to be well managed although autocratically. Suggestions made to the management committee regarding the sharing and updating of residents of proceedings of the monthly meetings were ignored. Expenditure on improvement projects such as the installation of windows on the veranda of the Community Hall were not shared with residents/us. Use of The Community Hall by residents was punted by Arthur Butterfield on a donation basis, when a well-researched proposal to run art workshops was submitted, this was met with a demand for R1000 fee per day for its use and a statement that “if we could find better elsewhere, to do so”.

My advice to a perspective purchaser of HRV life rights/sectional title, get an independent legal advisor to examine and advise on the contents of the contracts and an independent financial/auditor to examine the trust account and financial standing of the HRV and its financial ties with the Developer. When we queried with Arthur Butterfield the bad press reports about Belvedere regarding financial impropriety, he brushed these aside. Do complete a due diligence.

All things considered, we are happy to be living in HRV. There are activities planned such as Christmas Dinners, games afternoons, the occasional bring and braai events. We trust that Developers will do as they have stipulated in their agreements and contracts and pay out all long standing debts before this year (2026) is out. #belvederegroup #retirewellsa #belvederetrust