In the property market of Eswatini, transactions move quickly. Buyers secure financing. Sellers sign offers. Banks release funds. Transfers are registered.
But beneath this activity lies a structural weakness that continues to cost homeowners, municipalities, and banks significant time and money.
The missing professional in many of these transactions is the land surveyor.
Banks typically finance properties based on a valuation report. The valuer assesses condition, improvements, and comparable sales to determine market value. That report becomes the foundation for the loan.
However, a valuer does not raise beacons. A valuer does not re-establish boundary lines. A valuer does not confirm whether boundary walls, extensions, or garages sit within the legal limits of the property.
That is the work of a surveyor.
And too often, that step is skipped.
The Municipal Reality
Across various Municipal Councils and Town Boards in Eswatini, there are numerous recorded disputes where neighbors have reported one another for encroachments. Boundary walls built slightly off line. Structures extending a meter into the adjoining plot. Driveways cutting across property lines.
What may seem minor at construction stage becomes a major legal problem years later.
Municipal authorities frequently find themselves mediating disputes between neighbors who both believe they are correct. Without confirmed beacon positions, the matter becomes technical and emotionally charged.
In many cases, these disputes escalate beyond municipal offices and eventually land before the High Court of Eswatini.
Once a boundary issue reaches the High Court, legal costs rise sharply. Relationships between neighbors deteriorate. Properties become difficult to transact. Financial strain increases on all parties.
This is not a rare occurrence. It is an ongoing pattern.
When the Bank Is Involved
The situation becomes even more complex when a bonded property is affected.
A bank may have financed a property believing it to be clean and compliant. Years later, it discovers that part of the structure encroaches onto a neighboring plot or vice versa. Suddenly the collateral supporting the loan carries legal uncertainty.
Such properties become difficult to sell. Prospective buyers hesitate when litigation or boundary disputes are disclosed. Refinancing becomes complicated. Transfers stall once the potential buyer discovers that first.
In some instances, owners facing unresolved boundary disputes disengage from their repayment obligations. Loan defaults follow. Repossession proceedings begin.
The bank then inherits a problem property that may already be subject to dispute or diminished market value.
What could have been a performing loan becomes a distressed asset.
The Structural Gap
The core issue is sequencing.
The current model allows financing to proceed based on valuation alone, without mandatory boundary verification. The assumption is that the registered diagram reflects reality on the ground. Yet beacons may be missing, disturbed, or incorrectly interpreted.
If survey confirmation were required before marketing or financing, encroachments would be identified early. Sellers would resolve disputes before listing. Buyers would purchase with clarity. Banks would lend with confidence.
Instead, the surveyor often appears only after conflict has erupted.
T
he Pricing Complication
This structural weakness is compounded by inconsistent professional standards in the industry.
In Eswatini, almost anyone can operate as an estate agent this is caused by the fact that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has still not sent the Real Estate Agents Bill to parliament. There is limited enforcement of entry standards and limited consistency in training. As a result, pricing is often driven by emotion rather than market related analysis.
Sellers rely on opinions rather than formal valuations. Properties are listed based on what owners hope to receive rather than what the market supports. When boundary uncertainty is combined with inflated pricing, the transaction becomes even more fragile.
By law, every seller should have a professional valuation before listing. Pricing should be data driven, not speculative. And boundary compliance should form part of pre-sale preparation.
The Case for Reform
The recurring municipal disputes, the escalating High Court cases, and the growing number of problematic repossessions all point to the same conclusion.
The surveyor is not optional.
Boundary confirmation should form part of standard property compliance before sale and certainly before financing. Sellers should clear and confirm their properties before entering the market. Banks should consider boundary verification as part of their risk management framework.
Such reform would protect homeowners from costly litigation. It would reduce the burden on Municipal Councils and Town Boards. It would strengthen the quality of bank collateral. And it would restore professionalism to property transactions.
A Responsible Way Forward
At MGI PRO, we believe property is not merely a transaction. It is a financial instrument, a legal asset, and often a family’s largest investment.
Generational wealth cannot be built on uncertain boundaries.
Until the industry integrates surveyors at the beginning of the transaction process rather than at the end of disputes, Municipal Councils will continue to receive encroachment complaints, neighbors will continue to face each other in court, and banks will continue to inherit avoidable problem properties.
The missing man in property purchasing has been absent for too long.
It is time to bring the surveyor back to the according to the jaguar are foundation of every transaction.
Buy. Wait. Grow.
#TogetherWeGrow #MGIPRO
www.mgi-pro.com 💛🖤❤️
