Beware of Scams: Criminals are After Your Money
It's important to beware of scams and to take the necessary precautions to protect your money. In the past two weeks, we have heard of two incidents where parties in a conveyancing transaction have paid money to criminals posing as a firm of conveyancers. One payment...
Should You Appoint a Co-Executor in Your Will?
Nobody wants to leave behind a mess after they die. You, therefore, need to choose the right executor to ensure that your estate is wound up properly in due course. But who is the right person to do the job – a professional (who will charge), a family member, or both?...
Is your buyer willing AND able?
A buyer who signs a sale agreement is obviously willing to buy your property, but is the buyer able to do so? Does the buyer have sufficient access to the funding required to pay the purchase price? What happens if the party providing the funding requires certain...
Beware of Opportunists in Difficult Times
2021 has not been for the faint of heart, particularly for South Africans. A deadly global pandemic, civil unrest, and a recession fuelled by tepid economic growth and lockdown restrictions. A time to vasbyt. It is an unfortunate reality that times such as these also...
Buying Property from a Company
Buying immovable property from a company? Do your due diligence! Buying a property from a company in these difficult times can be a minefield. Many companies adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have become desperate to sell their major asset (their...
Smooth Sailing
For many businesses, times have been tough since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and employers have had to focus on cash flow to keep their businesses alive. Employers have also had to help employees to adjust to a new (sometimes remote) working environment and,...
Know Who You Are Contracting With
You find the house or car of your dreams. The seller is really cooperative and goes to great lengths to answer your questions. You conclude a sale agreement, arrange the finances, and then discover that the human being you were dealing with is not the owner of the...
Passing of Risk From Seller to Purchaser
The parties have signed the sale agreement, the conveyancers are busy with the transfer, and the buyer has taken occupation before transfer. Then the trouble starts – the buyer finds damp in the walls, the geyser bursts and the retaining wall collapses. Who is liable...
Insolvency – Turbulent Waters
It is a sad reality of the COVID-19 pandemic that many companies and individuals have been severely affected by the ongoing lockdown restrictions and economic headwinds. This has resulted in a sharp upturn in the number of companies facing either business rescue or...
To Buy or Not to Buy During Covid-19?
Property sales took off like a rocket last year as interest rates were reduced and travel plans scuppered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. You might be thinking about buying property during Covid-19 yourself. It is yet to be seen how long this trend will...