“Home wasn't built in a day.” (Jane Ace, radio comedian) You find the perfect plot on which to build your dream home in a security estate. Your offer is accepted and transfer proceeds – happy days! So, imagine your distress when, having proudly taken ownership, you are suddenly told by the HOA (Homeowners’ Association) that [...]
“I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.” (Ernest Hemingway) Are you a visitor dreaming of waking up with giraffes on your lawn and wondering how to make it happen? Or a local being asked by overseas friends and relatives: “This country’s magic, how can [...]
“A man’s home is his castle.” (Sir Edward Coke, English common law ruling, 1604) Of course, what we all want to hear at the end of our house-selling journey is something like this: “Congratulations! You sold for a good price, the buyer’s taken transfer and you’ve been paid the purchase price. Time to pop the bubbly🍾". [...]
“Don’t wait to buy land, buy land and wait.” (Will Rogers) Summer’s a great time to look for property. With the year winding down and the holiday season upon us, many sellers who’ve been holding back are now putting their properties back onto the market, so expect to see some great new buys out there. [...]
“A bad neighbour is a misfortune, as much as a good one is a great blessing.” (Hesiod, 700 BCE) It seems that every community has at least one nightmare neighbour who delights in objecting to everything, fighting with residents and management at every turn, and becoming abusive and aggressive when they don’t get their way. [...]
“This sale agreement is no more! It has ceased to be! This is an EX-sale!” (With apologies to Monty Python) A “bond clause” – standard in most property sale agreements – typically provides that the whole sale depends on the buyer obtaining a mortgage bond by a specified date. If the deadline comes and goes [...]
“Many people including workers in South Africa do not have the wherewithal to determine between a qualified doctor, an unqualified doctor and one who is operating illegally. That is why there are regulatory and law enforcement bodies to whom suspicious practices by doctors should be reported.” (Extract from judgment below) “Sick leave season” is still [...]
“Good fences make good neighbours.” (Robert Frost) When you buy into a community scheme (such as a security estate, complex or apartment block) you automatically become a member of its management body: either a Homeowners Association (“HOA”) if your property is full-title or freehold, or a Body Corporate if your property is part of a [...]
“[The buyer] must in the circumstances take responsibility for her failure to protect herself against a known risk” (extract from judgment below) Cybercriminals absolutely love targeting property transactions because they provide the perfect mix of large money deposits, heavy reliance on email communication from trusted parties like attorneys, banks and estate agencies, and deadlines creating [...]
“A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on” (Samuel Goldwyn) Perhaps you are a seller marketing your property through an estate agency, or a buyer asking an agent to find you one, or a landlord employing an agent to let out your property. Whatever the transaction involved, make sure that the agency mandate [...]
