People & News

Property owners in the Cape Metropole area have until the 30th of April to inspect and to object to the values of property which they own, so objectors had better get moving.
 

The credibility of the Deeds Office is under fire after revelations that at least 33 properties were irregularly or fraudulently transferred.

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality v Gauteng Development Tribunal and Others - Chapters V and VI of Development Facilitation Act, constitutionality thereof.

The City of Johannesburg recently released guidelines for conveyancing attorneys and members of the public when they apply for clearance figures.

GhostConvey's 2010 national road show brought together industry leaders from across the country to discuss the market, the players and the technology. The event was enlightening and informative for all ...

The Johannesburg Attorneys Association - Property Law Sub-committee invites you to a conveyancing seminar at Deneys Reitz.

Bobby Bertrand writes that new electrical compliance regulations could make criminals of a great many South Africans.

Details of the Cape Town Rates Clearance offices opening times over the festive season.

An open letter from Simon Stockley of Integer Home Loans to Trevor Manuel to make home ownership more affordable.

Very little in the budget and no change to the transfer duties. So what have the property people to say?

Hugo Fyfer and Marcia du Pont respond to Simon Stockley's Tips for Trevor.

The land affairs department has kept mum as to who would carry the cost of the recovery of the 335,000 title deeds lost by the Deeds Office in Pretoria.

Pam Golding Properties latest Residential Property Outlook newsletter.

Nedbank is investigating alleged irregularities over money collected from repossessed homes.

MR Daniels writes that it is practically impossible to avoid incurring a penalty when cancelling a mortgage bond early.

The June Standard Bank Residential property gauge paints a bleak picture for South African residential property.

What was the biggest lodgment of deeds asks Harry Friedland.

Robert Krautkrämer feels vindicated for his earlier view on Stalwo v Wary.

A number of interesting comments were made regarding last week's Another Appeal.

The recent Absa House Price Index has confirmed the slow down in house price growth.

Absa Bank has decided to restrict the easy access homeowners have had to the equity in their homeloans.

Theo Miltiadous of Lowndes Dlamini & Associates won a laptop at the recent Executive Series Roadshow.

The Cape Law Society has formulated a general guideline for attorneys when contracting with mortgage originators.

The agenda of the National Association for Real Estate Agencies (NAREA) includes a strong focus on pending legislation and proposed amendments.

No - it looks highly unlikely according to recent data.

The public sector strike has halted the buying and selling of properties involving hundreds of thousands of rands by leaving the Cape Town Deeds Office with a skeleton staff

The NCA has apparently caused many home loans to be turned down since the beginning of June.

Some 37 000 properties for which Cape Town city received objections to the 2006 municipal valuations will be visited.

It pays in the end to get a lawyer in the beginning.

SARS might levy transfer duty on "fair value" rather than the "declared value" of property if it is higher.

Some estate agencies in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town have been abusing their trust accounts.

Thousands of real estate agents are being forced to work illegally due to the alleged incompetence and inefficiencies of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB).

The deeds office in Johannesburg will relocate to Marble Towers in Pritchard Street this weekend, after being evicted.

STBB Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes is the best overall performer in the Western Cape.

Absa is offering its MyHome clients a 50% discount on conveyancing fees.

The LSSA wants input for a meeting with the Chief Registrar of Deeds.

A really big CGT and transfer duty bonus from Trevor Manuel to property buyers.

Tax analysts call for scrapping of transfer duty on houses.

SARS' transfer duty clampdown.

Gauteng government is to dispense with land-use notices in newspapers.

Book your free one-hour presentation on where conveyancing is headed.

Sixty percent of sellers are not realising their asking prices according to FNB's Residential Property Barometer.

A Legal Services Charter is to be launched soon to address "glaring" inequalities in the legal sector.

A letter from Harry Friedland describing his difficulties in getting rates clearance certificates from the Municipality of Cape Town.

Charlene Clayton investigates aspects of the mortgage origination industry.

A rates clearance certificate does not necessarily mean a property is free of municipal debts.

The Housing Consumers Protection Measures Amendment Bill recently published with extensive amendments and of relevance to conveyancers.

Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni has mooted the possibility of introducing a second fixed interest rate for home buyers.

The controversial Toward the Framework for the Review of the Willing Buyer-Willing Seller Principle document is available online.

First National Bank (FNB) and Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon) are to offer home and personal loans to the retail group's customers.

The planned countrywide deeds office strike has been averted.

A long overdue investigation into the laws governing the South African property industry is finally under way.

The Department of Housing has published draft Regulations in terms of Section 12 of the Home Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Act No. 63 of 2000, for public comment.

Two letters to De Rebus about conveyancing caught my eye this month.

The City of Cape Town has halted R1-billion in developments planned for the Waterfront because, it says, the V&A Waterfront Company is not following the correct approval procedures

Has the City of Johannesburg deliberately misinterpreted a Constitutional Court ruling?

The property boom boosted government revenue last year and banks increased their mortgage lending by 23 percent.

The mayor of Cape Town, Nomaindia Mfeketo, has admitted she knew of the City of Cape Town's out-of-hand sale of plots in the sought-after new Big Bay development to prominent figures close to the ANC.

Poorer areas in Cape Town are experiencing a boom in illegal house sales.

The Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs (DAEA) has turned down an application for a luxury estate development in the Dargle valley.

Two Sea Point lawyers allegedly used a businessman's stolen identity book to secure fraudulent multimillion-rand property bonds.

Views on the effect of the budget on property.

SARS has allegedly refused to grant transfer duty receipts to property buyers whose tax affairs were not in order.

Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and the Banking Association of SA are expected to sign an agreement today to spread the home loans net.

Land and Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza told Business Times that she does not plan to limit non-citizens' property rights.

Recent press reports about the proposed change of name from Pretoria to Tshwane have caused confusion.

According to De Rebus, a black conveyancers association is to be launched in Cape Town.

Watchdogs have begun to bare their teeth against lawyers who "buy" lucrative conveyancing work.

A clampdown by the Law Society of SA on conveyancers paying commissions to estate agents is unlikely to succeed. The practice is simply too widespread, say agents.

A short overview of the current SARS e-Filing situation in an attempt to provide some clarity.

More than 160 000 black economically mobile buyers are now able to afford a median priced house of R435 000.

Cape Town attorneys are testifying in the trial of a politician accused of violating Zimbabwe's exchange controls.

The South African property industry intends to achieve a 25% BEE target within five years.

The Black Conveyancers Association (BCA) which was launched in May has an 'onerous mandate' to achieve a number of objectives.

Property owners must take on municipalities that bill them for land tax without complying with the provisions of the new Municipal Property Rates Act.

The Institute of Estate Agents of SA has lashed out at the "inconsistent treatment" it has received from the competition authorities compared with the SA Property Owners' Association (Sapoa).

The Pretoria Deeds Office is set to close for three weeks during December while it moves offices, causing delays.

According to Absa, the South African residential property market is not experiencing general bubble conditions yet.

Mr Kessy Pillay, the Registrar of Deeds in Cape Town, puts a number of impressions about the deeds office into the correct perspective.

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality's competency to collect regional services levies is being challenged.

High court rejects call by two owners to prevent family from building three-storey house overlooking gorge.

Several members of the EAAB have admitted to being involved in financial irregularities and are in the process of repaying money to the board.

A pensioner has lost R50,000 after paying it to a bogus conveyancing attorney.

The property market has become the goose that lays the golden egg for the government.

The conveyancing examination syllabus for 2004 was revised by the Law Society in October last year.

Mortgage bond origination company Bond Choice recorded a 300 percent increase in approved home loans between January and November last year, making it the fastest growing business of its kind in the country.

Defaulting homeowners have won a major victory against banks that sell homeowners' properties at a profit and then fail to credit their accounts.

The Transfer Rights Action Campaign is disputing the application of section 118 of the Municipal Systems Act and sections of the local government ordinance.

In a court approved-settlement, renovations to an Edwardian townhouse in Three Anchor Bay in Cape Town have been stopped.

SARS has issued a Draft Interpretation Note to consider the provisions of sections 9(1)(c) and 9(1A) of the Transfer Duty Act.

Allen West will be presenting a course on preparing for the conveyancing exam at the Tshwane University of Technology(TUT).

The Competition Commission has fined the Hospital Association of SA R4,5m for contravening the Competition Act in 2001-02.

The Property Rates Bill passed its first hurdle yesterday when it was approved by Parliament's provincial and local government committee.

In his 2004 budget speech on 18 February, the Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, removed stamp duty on mortgage bonds.

Sanlam and ABSA have together formed a new home loans company - Sanlam Home Loans.

Refresher courses and training workshops for GhostConvey are held regularly in Johannesburg.

The Law Society of South Africa through its Legal Education and Development (L.E.A.D) programme is offering correspondence courses in conveyancing and notarial practice.

In Registration of property not that simple, on BusinessDay, Sanchia Temkin laments the lack of understanding the public has of the conveyancer's role.

The Municipal Property Rates Bill is to be enacted soon to allow municipalities to implement the system in time for their financial year, starting July 1.

Three letters of interest to conveyancers appeared in this month's (April 2004) De Rebus.

The Competition Commission has prohibited a proposed merger between Absa, FirstRand Bank, Nedbank, Standard Bank and Comcorp Online (Pty) Ltd.

First National Bank has reported excellent new homeloan business volumes for the first quarter.

A KwaZulu-Natal couple is prepared to go to court to stop developers constructing a six-storey building in front of Shelly Beach lodge on the South Coast.

The South African residential property market has outperformed that of first-world countries.

The constitutionality of sections of the Magistrates Court Act dealing with the sale in execution of property to settle relatively small debts was debated in the Constitutional Court on 11 May.

Yet more than 43 000 estate agents in over 11 000 firms are registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board.

Table showing who gets what

Sars recently noted that long-term leases are being used to avoid paying transfer duties. To prevent this practice, stamp duty on long-term leases will be raised.

The Appeal Court recently ruled (28 May) that the owner of Oudekraal, next to Camps Bay, may not turn the ecologically sensitive land into a residential township.

The results of the national conveyancing exam written on May 12 have been declared null and void by the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA).

e-TV's exposé of bogus estate agents has brought a serious message home to consumers about the need to check agents' credentials.

eThekwini Municipality has had to rethink its attempts to introduce a new regulation that requires people who are constructing buildings higher than one storey to consult all neighbours.

A group of 16 lawyers from the Cape Law Society is contesting the decision by the Law Society of South Africa to nullify the recent conveyancing exam results.

South Africa's banks earn some of the highest margins on home loan lending in the world.

The dispute between lawyers and the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) over the cancelled conveyancing exam has spread countrywide.

Sapoa (South African Property Owner Association) has been holding discussions with the Johannesburg Treasury Department in an effort to improve the rates clearance certificate situation.

Despite the meteoric rise in house prices, the market appears to have lost some momentum since the beginning of 2004.

On Monday the Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of the LSSA's decision to nullify the results of the leaked conveyancing exam.

A hard-hitting letter to De Rebus from Graham Paddock.

The Institute of Estate Agents has stopped publishing recommended tariffs of professional fees and commissions, according to Sapoa.

An innovative solution for the growing problem of repossessions by banks has been proposed by Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu.

Estate agents are overvaluing properties to secure sole mandates, which is leading to increasing numbers of homes sitting on the market for longer than they should, with many confused and disgruntled sellers.

The Estate Agency Affairs Board is negotiating with the Competition Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry to re-introduce compulsory board examinations.

Two women will have to fork out more than R70 000 to keep their sea view after taking their "double-storey" neighbours to court.

Property developers must adhere to the correct procedures in applying for provincial approval.

Both the DA and Sapoa want answers to the government's plans to build low-income homes and flats near wealthy suburbs.

A century-old title deed restriction on the public open space on the Sea Point beachfront could ultimately save the land from all future development.

The Igqwetha Training Academy [ITA] is again running its ITA Para-Legal Course in Conveyancing [Level 1] and applications are welcome.

A multi-million cluster complex in the upmarket northern suburb of Weltevreden Park lies in ruins.

Law firm Moss Morris has closed after 100 years.

Landlords are responsible if municipal services provided to their tenants are not paid for, the Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday.

Johannesburg ratepayers are becoming accustomed to the unpredictability of the city's accounting department.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that courts shall in future determine whether the sale in execution of houses to settle debt is justifiable.

A new draft law aimed at property deals involving foreigners could hit buyers' pockets - hard.

A Stellenbosch businessman made the startling claim that he owns the land on which the coastal road between Durban and KwaDukuza is built.

Criminals in Johannesburg's inner city have realised that it's very lucrative to hijack entire buildings and to take over the monthly rental stream.

Two letters of interest to conveyancers in the November De Rebus.

A transcript of a lively interview with Bill Rawson of the Estate Agency Affairs Board on Moneyweb.

A Newlands man has started a website to name and shame greedy developers and architects responsible for offensive structures.

When the City of Cape Town sells off unwanted council property, previously disadvantaged people will pay much less than white males, according to a new draft policy.

The Western Cape, eager to generate development funds, is to investigate the viability of introducing hospitality and commercial property development levies.

Homenet, South Africa's biggest estate agent group has entered into a mortgage origination agreement with Bond Choice, a mortgage originator.

In his 2003 budget speech on 26 February, the Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, lowered the transfer duty on fixed property sales to natural persons. These new rates came into effect on 1 March 2003. Companies, Close Corporations and Trusts etc have not benefited and will still attract transfer duty at the rate of 10% of the price.

Korbitec introduced GhostMortgage to their 'Ghost' suite of products for conveyancers in February 2003. The new software is built into their industry-leading GhostConvey software, and the new module is supplied free to clients.

With the release of GhostDeed v3, TransUnion ITC (formerly ITC) has combined with Korbitec to add functionality that allows the user to perform credit searches in their vast database.

According to the report Banks lose out to cities in the Financial Mail (18 April), a surprise court judgment has deprived banks of mortgage security over their properties.

The period for Public comment on the draft Local Government Property Rates Bill has ended. The draft bill - GN 850 GG24589/18-3-2003 - is worth considering since on enactment it will empower each municipality to formulate its own rates policy, thereby boosting municipal revenues and establishing a uniform rating method in South Africa.

The provision in the Property Rates Bill that bases municipal rates across the country on the improved value of properties amounts to a partial expropriation of a portion of the value of a property's improvements, according to the Business Day of 15 May.

According to the latest Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin, of the R123 billion worth of new mortgage loans and advances granted by the banks last year, R86,7 billion were to fund the purchase of 'dwellings and flats'.

Homeowners, estate agents and the agricultural and communal land sectors have raised fears about the Property Rates Bill. These fears may be unfounded, according to Yunus Carrim, chairman of Parliament's Provincial and Local Government Committee.

A merger between the PA Groups' mortgage origination subsidiary, PA Homeloans, and mortgage originator BetterBond is on the cards.

First National Bank HomeLoans (FSR) has been rated the top provider of home loans in the recently released PriceWaterhouseCoopers Annual Survey of South African Banks for 2003.

Following last week's report on the first court application against a bank since the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 became law, we look at the reasons given by Nedbank for refusing access to the information.

South Africa's largest attorneys association, the Johannesburg Attorneys Association has revamped its website. The site provides users with inter alia news, notice of upcoming events and information about RAF matters.

A judgment relating to sectional title schemes could undermine the quality of about R70bn worth of bank loans for the purchase of flats and townhouses, according to an article entitled Out of pocket in the July 11 edition of the Financial Mail.

A group of concerned taxpayers is taking the SA Revenue Service (SARS) to court over its attempt to collect transfer duty from trusts that own property to which beneficiaries have rights, according to a report in Personal Finance.

The Community Reinvestment (Housing) Bill, which will monitor the way in which banks grant housing loans to the poor, has been delayed, according to News24.

The Cape Law Society Committee has formulated a general guideline for attorneys when contracting with mortgage originators. In principle there can be no objection to such contracts.

Sars has admitted that its new ruling - 386 - is a mistake, and it will be re-worded.

The Property Law Standing Committee of the Law Societies of South Africa met on Thursday 4 September and amongst other things discussed the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.

In this article Patrick Maybin discusses the application of Section 16 of the Transfer Duty Act to artificial transactions using "unnamed nominees".

In terms of Government Notice GNR 1224/GG 25370/29-08-2003 of the 29 August, Regulations 18, 68 and 73 of the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937 are to be amended and two new forms inserted.

Absa Bank has introduced a new automated valuation process using a computerised statistical valuation model that will speed up loan applications and increase productivity.

The South African Revenue Service is going to take legal action against individuals who registered residential property in trusts, close corporations and companies to avoid paying transfer duty.

According to a report on the Rode site, a recent SARS directive which prevents the use of unnamed nominees in purchasing property is causing confusion among estate agents and lawyers.

The vibrant property market and the growth of the mortgage origination industry have persuaded Jack Trevena, General manager of Nedbank Homeloans, to start his own mortgage origination company.

Relevant dates and details have just been published in the latest - November - edition of De Rebus in the News section.

Trevor Manuel, the Minister of Finance has tabled the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill.

The Constitutional Court has refused an application by the eThekwini municipality for leave to appeal the controversial "Home with a view" ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The City of Cape Town's inability to keep up with rates clearances has become such a problem for the property industry that the Cape Law Society has stepped in to demand a speedy resolution.

The City of Cape Town will have cleared its rates clearance backlog by the end of this month, according to Alderman Maatje Malan, the city's mayoral committee member responsible for finance.