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6 rules for buyers working with estate agents

A good estate agent is invaluable to buyers looking for their dream home. Here are six tips for keeping your agent onside.

Must I pay a special sectional title levy?

“I am considering buying property in a sectional title scheme. The estate agent mentioned that a normal levy will be payable every month but the trustees of the body corporate of the scheme have the authority to determine a further special levy from time to time. I was aware of the normal monthly sectional title levy, but what is a special levy?”

More levies under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act.

“I am a sectional title unit owner. I’ve heard a lot of talk about new sectional title legislation on its way that will require me to pay more levies. Is this true?”

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

BUYING A SECTIONAL TITLE UNIT? CONSIDER THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS!

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

HISTORIC MUNICIPAL DEBTS STAY LAST OWNER’S PROBLEM!

PROPERTY LAW UPDATE

EXTENT OF BOND DEFAULT JUDGMENT ILLUSTRATED Thwala and Another v First National Bank Limited and Others (28787/12) [2013] ZAGPPHC 514 (11 December 2013)

LAW UPDATE

INSOLVENCY AFTER SELLING PROPERTY

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

DULY AUTHORISED TO SIGN

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

NEW CITY OF CAPE TOWN DRAFT POLICY ON CCTV CAMERAS

Property buyers

Property buyers should get prequalified and run their annual credit check NOW

PROPERTY LAW UPDATE

DOMICILIUM CLAUSE: SUCH A VITAL PART OF AGREEMENT! Shepard v Emmerich (A5066/2013) [2014] ZAGPJHC 120 (13 June 2014)

The proposed Rental Housing Amendment Bill

has significant improvements to assist landlords and tenants.

Important Update:

Legislated Changes

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

IS A SATELLITE DISH INCLUDED IN THE "PERMANENT FIXTURES" OF A HOME?

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

CREDIT INFORMATION AMNESTY

PROPERTY LAW UPDATE

LAND INSTALMENT SALE: WITHOUT RECORDAL SELLER CANNOT DEMAND PAYMENT

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

WHEN IS TRANSFER DUTY DUE?

PROPERTY LAW UPDATE

CANCELLATION OF A CONTRACT REQUIRES MORE THAN JUST A DISPUTE BETWEEN PARTIES

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR UPKEEP OF GEYSERS IN SECTIONAL TITLE UNITS?

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

PENALTY INTEREST

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

IS MY SPOUSE'S DEBT MY PROBLEM?

CREDIT AMNESTY

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

PARKING BAYS IN SECTIONAL TITLE SCHEMES

House price indices

Continued slowdown in middle-segment house price growth

BUILDING HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS: NEIGHBOURS LEFT STANDING ON HIGHER GR...

Capendale and Another v Municipality of Saldanha Bay and Others, Capendale v 12 Main St, Langebaan (Pty) Ltd and Others (6580/2012, 840/2012) [2013] ZAWCHC 166 (30 October 2013)

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

WHEN IS TRANSFER DUTY DUE?

TAX

Remember, postal summonses are not legal documents and you need not react to them.

DID YOU KNOW?

That your toilet paper can say a lot about your personality.

House Prices Continue To Increase !

ABSA House Price Index

Banks clutch their purses a bit tighter

Increasing consumer stress and slow growth have prompted a more careful approach to lending.

URGENT - PLEASE READ -

PASS THIS ON!

House hunting tips for first-time home buyers

House hunting is an exciting and anxious time, but the great part about it is discovering your brand new home. Seeing the outsides of houses and the first impression they create, compared to the inside of the home and how it feels to walk through the front door (not to mention the curiosity evoked by the stuff people own and how they decorate their homes), is quite exhilarating. Use these tips to combine the excitement with a measure of level-headedness about your house hunting experience:

Take Charge When Buying a Home

If you approach the home buying process intelligently and with confidence, you are much more likely to emerge with a house you'll be proud to call home. By John Adams

House-Hunting Tips

Buying a home? These eight tips can help make your house-hunting experience positive and rewarding. By Marcie Geffner

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMISSION SPLIT, SARS & TRANSFER DUTY RECEIPTS

Buying a House? Your Credit Rating is Your Most Important Asset !

Buying a House? Your Credit Rating is Your Most Important Asset

Selling Your House? Avoid These Mistakes

Selling your home - especially if you've never done it before - can be surprisingly time-consuming and emotionally challenging. Strangers will come into your home and poke around in your closets and cabinets. They will criticize a place that has probably become more than just four walls and a roof to you, and then, to top it all off, they will offer you less money than you think your home is worth. With no experience and a complex, emotional transaction on your hands, it's easy for first-time homesellers to make lots of mistakes, but with a little know-how, many of these pitfalls can be avoided altogether. Read on to find out how you can get the highest possible price for your home within a reasonable time frame - without losing your mind.

DOMESTIC EMPLOYEE GUIDE

The Department of Labour has published a very informative guide on Domestic Employees entitled ?What you should know.? The manual provides practical and simple solutions to many misconceptions in this area, and highlights the correct approach to be taken in ensuring compliance. Topics include applicable: ? Notice Periods; ? Minimum Wages; ? Hours of Work and Overtime, Night Work and Standby; ? Annual, Sick, Maternity and Family Responsibility Leave; ? Written Particulars of Employment (together with a 'model' contract); and ? Procedures for Termination.

LANDLORD & TENANT AND ELECTRICITY BLUES

CITY OF CAPE TOWN 2010 ELECTRICITY SUPPLY BY-LAW: WHAT DOES IT SAY?

COMMISSION DUE TO AGENTS

Estate Agents are frequently faced with situations in which they were the effective cause of a sale but are denied their commission by the seller, who attempts to bypass the agent by concluding a private agreement with the purchaser, excluding the agent. The Western Cape High Court was recently presented with a similar scenario, with an interesting twist. The seller and purchaser here agreed that each would be liable for a specified amount of agent?s commission. The Agent was not privy or party to this agreement. When the agreement came to the agent?s knowledge, the latter successfully asked the Court to enforce the terms thereof

Mandates - Explained!

A Mandate is an instruction or authority from a client to an estate agent, to render a particular estate agency service. It is a legally binding contract between the estate agent and his client, that need not be in writing unless in the case of a sole and exclusive mandate, or a power of attorney to conclude certain transactions on behalf of the client. It is always a good idea to record all mandates in writing anyway.

Energy Saving Tips

In an effort to promote the saving of power, the Metro has erected 10 energy solar streetlights in Germiston as a pilot project.

MOVING TIPS

Moving or Relocating

WHEN DOES AN OFFER LAPSE?

The offer to Purchase Agreement

VAT REFLIEF INTERIM FOR PROPERTY DEVELOPERS

The VAT rules for developers temorarily renting residential properties are challenging from a practical and a legal perspective.