Chris Fick & Associates

Buying your first house – An action plan

“Buy land – they’ve stopped making it” (Mark Twain) So you’ve decided to buy your first house – exciting! There’s nothing like owning and living in your very own dream house, and if you choose wisely your home could well be one of your most important investments ever. Get started with these tips – First, […]

Property scams – Beware (cyber) wolves in sheep’s clothing!

Cybercrime levels are surging, and it didn’t take the scammers long to figure out that when you buy and sell property you become a prime target because of course – Property transactions provide rich pickings, often very rich pickings. Electronic communication between attorneys and clients, which is all-pervasive these days, creates a fertile ground for […]

Your body corporate and arrear levies: To sequestrate or not to sequestrate?

“…aye, there’s the rub” (Shakespeare) Levies are the lifeblood of a sectional title scheme, and the Body Corporate has a duty to recover arrears from defaulting owners. It has the power, in addition to following standard debt collection procedures and perhaps approaching the Community Schemes Ombud for assistance, to apply for the sequestration of the […]

How to escape from a property suretyship

“Suretyship is the precursor of ruin” (Thales of Miletus, one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece) As the philosopher and mathematician Thales pointed out two and a half millennia ago, signing surety for another’s debts carries huge risk. Yet every day directors of property holding companies happily sign personal suretyships for their company’s (usually […]

What happens if you cancel your lease early?

“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” (Wise old adage) You sign a two year lease for a nice little apartment (or a large family house if you have a spouse, 3 kids and a dog) but after 6 months your employer transfers you and you have to cancel early. “Fine” says your […]

Selling your property? There might be some costs you are not aware of

If you are selling property in South Africa, check what costs you have to pay, and whether they are applicable to you: Bond cancellation costs Cancellation Costs: This is charged when you cancel your bond after selling your property. This cost  total up to R3 000,00 or more per mortgage bond. Early Settlement Penalty: If you […]

How to avoid disputes over jointly owned property

 “Co-ownership is the mother of disputes” (Roman law maxim) Buying property can be an excellent investment, but it can also be expensive. So sometimes it makes a lot of sense to share the financial burden with someone else. Perhaps for example you are spouses or life partners buying your first home. Perhaps you are a […]

From the horse’s mouth: House sales and the VAT increase

“If you hear something (straight) from the horse’s mouth, you hear it from the person who has direct personal knowledge of it” (Cambridge Dictionary) We all know by now that the VAT rate increased from 14% to 15% on 1 April. How does that affect your residential property sale/purchase? We are talking big money here […]

Attorneys selling properties – Meet our property marketing team:

In addition to our specialised services in conveyancing, our practice has expanded our property law services to include the marketing and selling of our clients’ properties. Working with Chris Fick in our Property Marketing Team, is Natallia and Derek Pead. For advice on and assistance with your property, call us! Office: 021 – 424 3937 […]