Thinking about selling your property or have a client that wants to sell theirs? Here are 10 top tips for quick and reasonably affordable improvements that can help you achieve a better asking price:…
Should you have a separate will in respect of assets in a foreign country or can you have one will to deal with all assets wherever in the world they may be?…
Buying property with someone else often makes financial sense. Examples of co-ownership include partners buying their first home together or friends sharing ownership of a holiday house…
Whether for financial or other reasons, people often invest in property as co-owners, whereby each owns an undivided share in the property. Many such buyers take the sound precaution to draw up a co-ownership agreement…
To bring about a valid and binding agreement, it is not a legal requirement that a purchaser pays a deposit. However, where a purchaser puts down an amount as a deposit, it generally signals financial ability and a commitment to purchasing the property…
The VAT increase coming into effect on 1 April 2018 triggered some tricky questions. One of these is the question what the VAT rate will be in the case of estate agent’s commission payable in respect of a mandate granted to the agent before 1 April 2018, where a sale is completed (all suspensive conditions fulfilled) after this date…
When X, recently divorced, approached her conveyancer with an instruction to register transfer of the property that was awarded to her in the divorce settlement, she was speechless when she was advised that transfer duty will be payable…
Municipalities regularly sell vacant property to developers for commercial and residential development. These sales often include a title deed condition that the property must be improved within a certain time period and, if this is not done, then the municipality may claim re-transfer of the property back to itself…
NERSA withdraws private generator rules The National Energy Regulator yesterday withdrew the draft rules, published in April 2018, that sought to introduce licencing of every form of home electricity generation, including solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels and backup generators…
Did you know that a seller’s contractual obligation to pass transfer of a home sold to the purchaser, is a debt that can prescribe?…
Whether as the buyer or seller of a property, one is seldom aware of all the conditions contained in that property’s registered Title Deed. This is usually because, where a property is bonded, prospective purchasers never see the Title Deed, as the original is retained by the mortgage bank…
In my divorce settlement I received 50% of my ex-husband’s annuity gratification. It pays out in a week. Will I be taxed on it?…
On 21 February 2018 the Minister of Finance, during the 2018 annual budget, announced that the VAT rate will increase by 1 percentage point to 15% effective from 1 April 2018…
Towards the end of June 2018, the City of Cape Town promulgated amendments to its Water By-law. These do not replace the current Level 6 water restrictions, but are in addition to present water usage rules…
In terms of the Births and Deaths Registrations Act, no person may assume or describe themselves under any surname other than that recorded in the population register or under which such person obtained permanent residence in South Africa…
The ABC Family Trust sells a sectional title unit to X. The trustees of the trust, authorised by valid Letters of Authority issued by the Master of the High Court, are A and his children B and C…
Our law determines that if you get married without having entered into an antenuptial agreement before the wedding, you are automatically married in community of property…