Deeds Office Update
Cape Town Deeds Office that it will be open re-open on 13 May 2020
Who may move house under lockdown level 4?
Who can move house 4 under level before 7 June 2020
Lockdown Conveyancing update:
Status update on Master's Office and deed's office - lockdown conveynacing.
NEWS FLASH: How does the Budget Speech affect the property market?
Minister of Finance, Mr Tito Mboweni, delivered the National Treasury’s budget for 2020/2021 on Wednesday 26 February 2020. Important to note in relation to the property market is that the transfer duty exemption has been increased to R1 million. From 1 March 2020, transfer duty rates will be as follows: Value of property Rate Up more...
A practical checklist to help you when buying a property…especially if you are a first time buyer.
So you can afford the purchase price but what about the hidden costs such as VAT and transfer duty? When determining whether you can afford the purchase price ascertain whether the sale will be subject to VAT or transfer duty and what is the implication in terms of your free cash that you need to more...
Where there is a will there is a way…
Drawing up your own will: is professional assistance really necessary? Many people decide to draft their own wills to save costs. However, there are legal requirements which must be complied with for a will to be valid. Often these are not known to the lay person resulting in an invalid will when it is lodged more...
Property registered in her name but he paid for it, so who does it belong to?
An Irish man and a South African woman met and fell in love in Ireland. They relocated to South Africa where he purchased a property that he registered in her name. He did this because she led him to believe that as a foreigner with no permanent residency, he could not own property in South more...
Buying a home free of historical debt
In January 2016, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) held in City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality v PJ Mitchell, that the current owner of a property could be held responsible for debts incurred by a previous owner with regard to municipal debts services supplied to the property prior to transfer. This decision was made more...
To buy property with an existing tenant or not, that is the question!
When a property is purchased while there is a tenant in occupation, the tenant has certain rights. Potential purchasers need to be aware that the lease agreement remains in place despite the change of ownership of the property until such time as the lease expires. This means that the lease will survive the sale and more...
Getting your doc’s in a row…..how to authenticate documents in and out of South Africa.
This is a guide to assist you when you are required to sign or legalise documents outside of South Africa to be used within, or vice versa which should ensure that your documents are legally valid: Signing/Executing documents within South Africa for use outside South Africa: Where countries are party to The Hague Convention: Documents more...
What’s the big deal about unapproved building plans?
Buying and selling property is a hugely stressful event. For this reason, people rely strongly, perhaps too strongly, on the people assisting them with the sale when signing the Sale Agreement. All too often, both Seller and Purchaser are guilty of signing Sale Agreements without necessarily reading, or fully understanding, the conditions in that particular more...
Withholding tax – implications when the seller of immovable property is non-resident
You have decided to take the big step of buying a property, but before putting in an offer, you read the Agreement of Sale. One of the clauses is headed, “Withholding Tax”, or something similar and you wonder what it would mean to you? Briefly, Section 35A of the Income Tax Act, is a control more...