Be smart – Trust your attorney to sell your property
Buying a home may well be the biggest single investment any person will ever make, so one shouldn’t ever take a risk with it. Home owners may sometimes consider selling their homes privately and ask their attorneys to help with the sale contract, but in cases like these it possibly would be better to let […]
The Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act No. 70 of 1970 explained: Part 2
In this Part 2 of the series of “The Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act No. 70 of 1970 Explained”, we shall look at actions that are prohibited regarding the subdivision of agricultural land or any actions amounting to such subdivision and if there are any available remedies. Once again it is reiterated that The Subdivision […]
Analysing the affordability of SA’s residential property market
South Africans continue to tighten their belts as the pressure of rising interest rates, inflation, and other varying economic factors put household income under strain. This puts the affordability of national residential property under the spotlight. However, while (in nominal terms) national house price inflation remains positive (+1.9% in September 2022), the national average purchase […]
How you can protect your assets from predators – including SARS
Trusts have received a lot of bad press over the past few years, what with SARS taking a dim view of the use of trusts as a means of avoiding tax. A 2008 case involving a property trust, where the beneficiaries were changed in the hope of avoiding the payment of transfer duty, is but […]
How to save R420 000.00 on a home loan of R605 480.00
If a home loan is paid off over the normal 20-year term, the interest that is paid to a financial institution is often more than the capital borrowed, says Meyer de Waal, a conveyancing attorney in Cape Town, who made a study of home loan repayments, how to save thousands of Rands on home loan […]
The Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act No. 70 of 1970 explained: Part 1
The subdivision of agricultural land or “farmland” is regulated by the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act No. 70 of 1970 (hereafter “the Act”) which came into operation on 2 January 1971. Baker J, in the case of Van der Bijl v Louw, stated that the Act has its purpose in preventing the situation where farming […]
The rei vindicatio and the actio ad exhibendum
The are a myriad of circumstances where one might be deprived of possession of one’s property. You might, for example, have given permission to your friend to use your vehicle for one year, which your friend then refuses to return the vehicle after the friendship has turned sour a year later. South Africa is a […]
Dream holiday or nightmare! An overview of the Property Time-Sharing Control Act and the vacational ownership / time-share industry. Part 1
This article broadly looks at property time-share and the legislation regulating it. The problems and complaints by consumers trapped in the empty and misleading promises advertised to them by the time-share industry are also addressed. In part one, the article gives a broad outline of what the Property Time-Sharing Control Act entails and specific definitions […]
Don’t miss Meyer de Waal’s interview on SABC 1 Yilungelo Lakho (It’s Your Right) 18 October at 4:30 PM
In the current economic climate many homeowners are battling to keep pace with their monthly bond repayments. All because of the rapid increase in home loan interest rates. You could be one of those looking to avoid the next round of rate hikes. One way to do that is to re-negotiate your bond rate. To […]
De-risking the sales process for a private seller & estate agent
We were recently “cleaned out” by visiting “guests” at our guest house. Although it was a last-minute booking through Booking.com, a trusted and respectable booking site, we never saw it coming. The “sister” of the guest and her two male friends made the online booking on a Saturday afternoon and even sent proof of the […]
