Silver Lakes Golf Estate

A beautiful estate – but one experience that left me concerned

I lived in Silver Lakes as a Brazilian diplomat and chose the estate because of its reputation as one of Pretoria's premier residential communities, particularly among diplomats, expatriates and international professionals. I have very positive things to say about Silver Lakes itself. It is a beautiful, secure and exceptionally well-located estate, and our family genuinely enjoyed many aspects of living there. Unfortunately, our experience with the particular property we rented left me deeply concerned. During our tenancy, a number of significant property-condition and maintenance issues arose. These were subsequently documented through an independent professional inspection. The circumstances surrounding the property and the way some of these issues were dealt with ultimately led us to terminate the tenancy and seek professional assistance. I am deliberately not going into the details of the matter in this review, because my concern is not to publicly turn a review of Silver Lakes into a dispute about a particular property. However, given the importance of Silver Lakes to Pretoria's diplomatic and international community, I believe the experience raises a question that may be worth the HOA's attention: how effectively are the interests of international tenants protected when a residential property within the estate presents serious maintenance or condition issues? For diplomats, expatriates and international professionals considering Silver Lakes, I would certainly recommend the estate itself. I would, however, strongly recommend obtaining an independent inspection of any property before taking occupation and documenting its condition very carefully. I hope the HOA will take this review in the constructive spirit in which it is intended. Silver Lakes has a great deal to preserve, and maintaining the confidence of its international residents and tenants is, in my view, an important part of that.