Garena Properties

22/05/2023

Mbaks VS Sputla

Mbaks.... Loashedding will end by the end of the year.

Sputla... It is not possible to end loadshedding anytime soon not even by the end of the year. Residents must know that power cuts will be with us for the longest period.

Residents..... What's your take.......

01/06/2022

The Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee has increased the repo rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%. This is the largest hike since January 2016.

Four members of the committee voted for the increase, while one voted for a 25 basis point hike.

The prime rate increases to 8.25%. On a new home loan of R2 million at the prime rate, the monthly payment will increase by more than R600 following the rate hike.

After the prime rate went from 10% in 2019 to 7% last year, the bank started hiking rates again in November.

The Reserve Bank was under pressure to hike rates as inflation in April hit 5.9% for the third time in five months. The bank targets an inflation rate of between 3% and 6%.

From this month bond payments have been increased with more than R400.

02/05/2022

DOES AN ESTATE AGENT HAVE A DUTY TO INSPECT A PROPERTY AND DISCLOSE DEFECTS?

In terms of Section 4.1.1 of the Estate Agents Code of Conduct, an estate agent has a duty to disclose any facts regarding a property which she may have personal knowledge of and which may be material to a purchaser. This being said, an estate agent is under no obligation to carry out an inspection of the property. The duty to inspect the property for patent defects rests with the purchaser, as the duty to disclose latent defects (he/she is aware of) falls on the seller.

However, the estate agent should ensure that both the seller and the purchaser know what their respective rights and duties are. Ideally, the sale agreement should contain a clause wherein the seller acknowledges his duty to disclose any latent defects that he is aware of. It should also contain a confirmation by the purchaser that he inspected the property and accepts the property in its condition as at the conclusion of the sale agreement.

The Property Practitioners Act brings new requirement, as Section 67 states that a property practitioner is not permitted to accept a mandate unless the seller or lessor of the property has provided a completed and signed mandatory disclosure of the conditions of the property. If such mandatory disclosure is not completed, signed and attached to an agreement for the sale or lease of a property, the agreement is interpreted as if no defects or deficiencies to the property were disclosed to the purchaser. This means that the seller or landlord will be completely exposed for defect claims and will legislatively have no defence against such claims.

15/03/2022

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE MARITAL STATUS OF YOUR SELLER

As a rule of thumb, a spouse who is married in community of property needs the written consent of the other to sell the property. Without that written consent the sale agreement is not valid and binding, and the transaction is at risk of being unenforceable.

In the case of Vukeya v Ntshane and Others a husband married in community of property sold and transferred a house to a buyer in 2009. At the time, his wife was not living in the house and had moved to another part of the country. When the seller passed away in 2013 his wife was appointed executrix of his deceased estate. Four years later she successfully applied to the High Court for cancellation of the deed of transfer on the basis that the sale had been without her knowledge or consent.

The buyer appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal on the basis that the wife’s consent to the sale should be “deemed” to have been given. The buyer said that he acted in good faith as he had not known that the seller was married in community of property as he stayed alone on the property and signed both the title deed and the transfer documents as unmarried. Finding that the buyer had indeed proved that he did not know that the deceased was married and that he could not reasonably have known this, the Court allowed the appeal and the transfer to the buyer stands on the basis of deemed consent by the spouse.

In conclusion you should always make reasonable enquiries as to the seller’s marital status and as to whether the other spouse’s written consent to the sale is indeed needed.

During the transfer process the transferring attorney, will also require the parties to sign affidavits to confirm marital status.

23/02/2022

DID YOU KNOW?💡

Before you take a home loan as a South African, first check whether you qualify for a Government Home subsidy of up to R120 000 for FREE called Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP)

Here is how it works:

The Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme is a subsidy established by government which aims to provide the poor and the low to middle income households with access to adequate housing.
Qualifying households for this subsidy are those that in the gap market that is - those that do not qualify for a fully subsidised house and at the same time they do not qualify for mortgage loan from the banks. These are families earning between R3501.00 and R22 000-00 per month.

Individuals who are unable to secure a mortgage loan may apply for the allocation of a vacant serviced stand.
The subsidy will be used to decrease the mortgage bond and is only applicable to persons who have never been assisted by the state. It will be disbursed as a once off subsidy towards the repayment of the bond. The subsidy attaches to the beneficiary and not to the property.

The subsidy may be used to
To buy new or old residential property
To buy a vacant serviced residential-stand, linked to an NHBRC registered homebuilder contract; or
To build property on a self-owned serviced residential stand, through an NHBRC registered homebuilder

FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO ACCESS THE GRANT, CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW :
http://www.dhs.gov.za/content/finance-linked-individual-subsidy-projects

30/01/2022

Why the occupational clause is important in a contract of sale?

Occupation refers to the date that the purchaser is placed in a position to take control of the property purchased. It does not refer to the date of actually moving into the property. Thus if the contract stipulates that occupation is on 1 July and the purchaser moves in on 3 July occupational rent will be charged from 1 July.

On the occupation date the purchaser becomes an occupant and not a tenant as defined under the Rental Housing Act. The agent must guide the parties in coming to an agreement which protects both sides and doesn’t expose the seller to unnecessary risk. It is important to always agree on the specifics of the occupation date and the occupational rent when signing the contract and never to leave it to be decided at a later date.

When the circumstances change, it can always be amended by way of an addendum drafted by the conveyancer

21/01/2022

Transferring property from one person to another almost always triggers tax implications for the parties involved. Examples of this may include Transfer Duty, Capital Gains Tax, Donations Tax, Income Tax and VAT.

Experts like Transferring Attorneys, can assist clients with basic advice on the tax implications of a specific transaction. Don't forget that most conveyancers, are however not registered as tax practitioners in terms of Section 240(1)(b)(ii) of the Tax Administration Act of 2011 and can therefore not give tax advice to clients on the complexities of tax legislation.

21/01/2022

Great news for property investors

01/01/2022

26/11/2021

WHO GETS THE PROPERTY IF MY COMPANY IS DEREGISTERED?

We are often asked what happens if a company fails to comply with statutory requirements and is consequently deregistered but there are properties registered in its name.

From the onset, it is the conveyancer’s responsibility to determine whether the company has indeed been deregistered. This will reflect on a CIPC search. If deregistration has indeed taken place, the representative of the Company must apply for re-instatement through an application or an order of court. This must be done before any party may proceed with further transactions in respect of assets registered in the Company’s name.

The assets of a deregistered Company automatically pass to the State. Our courts have in the past constantly confirmed that deregistration puts an end to the existence of the company, in the same way that a natural person ceases to exist at death.

Creditors of the Company or other interested parties are however not wholly without remedy and they can apply to the CIPC for the restoration of the registration of the Company. The requirements for re-instatement are as follows:

1. Letters from the National Treasury indicating that they have no objection to the re-instatement;
2. An affidavit indicating the reason for the non-filing of annual returns, if deregistration was as a result of non-compliance in relation to annual returns;
3. Sufficient documentary proof that the Company was in business or that it had any outstanding assets and liabilities at the time of deregistration and upon the successful processing of the re-instatement application all outstanding annual returns must be filed in order to complete the process.

It is advisable that sellers attend to re-instatement timeously as the re-instatement process will delay registration of transfer. We will gladly assist in this regard.