BODY CORPORATE v NIGHTMARE NEIGHBOUR: COURT TO THE RESCUE
“His demeanour at this time was highly aggressive, flying his arms about and it was clear to me that he had to prevent himself from lashing out at me physically” (Trustee quoted in judgment below) The irrational, aggressive and disruptive “Nightmare Next Door” owner is regrettably a well-known and much-disliked feature of all too many […]
YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON GUIDE TO HOME BUYING AND SELLING
“Buy land – they’ve stopped making it” (Mark Twain) Selling or buying a house can seem like a complicated and confusing process but help is at hand! Have a look at this simple overview: “Buying or Selling a House – What You Need to Know” from the Law Society of South Africa on its website. […]
PROPERTY FOCUS – Betty’s Bay Property: 4217 sq metres
Our client, Mr André Pilz, has been travelling through Africa on his bicycle since April 2013. To date he has done 15 000 km and is currently in North East Africa. Mr Pilz is marketing an exceptional vacant property in Betty’s Bay. The property of 4 217 square metres is very well located and lends itself to a […]
LANDLORDS – KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN BUSINESS RESCUE
Our business rescue legislation aims to save, wherever possible, any company in financial difficulty from total collapse and liquidation. So for example the BRP (Business Rescue Practitioner) appointed to run the rescue process has the power to suspend any of the company’s obligations for the duration of the process. Moreover as a creditor you cannot […]
MORTGAGES AND SECURITISATIONS: CRUCIAL NEWS FROM GRAHAMSTOWN
Securitisation is becoming a huge issue all around the world. A case currently in front of the Grahamstown court has highlighted this practice among banks in South Africa. Mr Davenport, an Eastern Cape farmer, took out a R3 million overdraft facility with Standard Bank with his farm serving as security. When the bank attempted to […]
THE NEW TRANSFER DUTY RATES: WILL YOU PAY LESS, OR MORE?
In a nutshell, the transfer duty tax breaks announced in Budget 2015 will reduce costs for most middle-income households but will increase costs of property transactions above about R2,65m (with maximum savings at about the R2m to R2,3m level). Remember that no transfer duty is payable when VAT applies to a sale. The new rates […]
HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS: ARE YOU STILL AT RISK ON INSOLVENCY?
Here’s a scenario that is unfortunately a real risk these days – You are a member of a Home Owners Association (HOA), Your HOA is struggling to recover arrear levies from another homeowner who has fallen into financial difficulty. If the arrears aren’t recovered, you and the other homeowners will have to chip in to […]
STRUGGLING TO EVICT A “COMMERCIAL” OCCUPANT? DON’T STRESS ABOUT PIE
A recent Constitutional Court judgment highlights a fundamental difference in the legal protections afforded to two types of unlawful occupant – Residential occupants: Occupants residing on premises are afforded protection in terms of PIE (The Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act) with its many onerous requirements for eviction. Note that […]
PROPERTY SALES: DON’T BE AN UNREGISTERED CREDIT PROVIDER!
Be careful when buying and selling property that you aren’t held to have lent more than R500,000 to the other party. As a recent High Court case illustrates, that will leave you with no contractual claim to your money. The seller, the buyer, and the loans Having bought a property for R700,000, the buyer paid […]
THE GOLF ESTATE RULES THAT SENT A ST BERNARD TO THE DOGHOUSE
“To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs” (Aldous Huxley) Living in a residential estate means submitting yourself to all rules and regulations lawfully imposed by the estate’s management on residents. A recent High Court judgment illustrates. It’s a Dog’s Life Theodore, a large St Bernard dog, is owned by […]