The property market in South Africa at the moment is a cutthroat one. Rental properties are in short supply, while the demand for homes is ever increasing as people struggle to raise the appropriate home loan to buy a property. This demand often leaves potential tenants arriving at a rental property only to find they are competing with 15 others,…
Many South Africans have seen their dreams of owning their own home dashed over the last few years due to the difficulty in obtaining a home loan and the cost thereof. But, says Meyer de Waal of Oosthuizen & Co Meyer de Waal Attorneys, South Africans should not abandon their dreams of owning a home, but should rather look for solutions to…
The face of home ownership in South Africa is continuing to change as more black middle class homeowners move into the increasingly affluent suburbs; while the previously disadvantaged now comprise more than 50% of home buyers. Although strict loan requirements remain a hurdle to be overcome for those wishing to get onto the first rung of the property ladder, structures…
Vehicle Sales for June 2013
Written by Dr Johan Snyman
Total Vehicle Sales According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), total vehicle sales rose by 3.3%% when sales in June 2013 are compared to those recorded in June 2012. When sales in June 2013 are compared to sales in May 2013, a drop of 1% is evident. The graphs show the close correspondence in the…
Transfer Duty Paid - July 2013
Written by Dr Johan Snyman
Transfer Duty Paid Transfer duty is payable when existing dwellings are purchased (on new houses, VAT is payable). Therefore, the cyclical movement in this particular tax can be regarded as a good proxy for the well-being of the residential property market. To determine real trends, one needs to adjust the nominal values for house price inflation and for changes to the…
Launch of the Consumer Housing Education Programme in Khayelitsha June 2013
Written by Meyer de Waal
Home ownership is a failsafe method to assist aspirant first time home owners living especially in townships to escape the poverty trap. This is the message of MEC for Human Settlements, Minister Bongikhaya Madikizela at the launch of the Consumer Housing Education Programme in Khayelitsha last week. Minister Madikizela referred to the difficult task of local government providing sufficient housing…
The payment of levies is the backbone of any sectional title scheme making the management of levies and awareness of how levies can be charged vital to the managers and owners of sectional title units, including what can happen if levies are not paid. What are levies? When you buy a sectional title unit in a sectional title scheme, as…
Om ‘n eiendom in ‘n deeltitelskema te besit of huur, kan heelwat meer verpligtinge plaas op die eienaar of huurder ten opsigte van die nakoming van reëls en regulasies as wat van toepassing mag wees op ‘n eienaar of huurder van ‘n vol-titel eiendom. Die rede hiervoor is dat die regte van al die eienaars en huurders beskerm moet word…
Transfer Duty Paid - January 2013
Written by Dr Johan Snyman
Transfer duty is payable when existing dwellings are purchased (on new houses, VAT is payable). Therefore, the cyclical movement in this particular tax can be regarded as a good proxy for the well-being of the residential property market. To determine real trends, one needs to adjust the nominal values for house price inflation and for changes to the rate of…
Too many contracts... Too little time?
Written by Marc Naude
Often the perception is that once you have “signed on the dotted line” the contract can be stored and need only be consulted when trouble arises. This is revealing of how contract management is still not recognised as an important management tool for most businesses. It is seen generally as a discipline belonging only to the largest of companies and…
Die munisipaliteit het aan Westside Konstruksie (Edms) Beperk (die “Kontrakteur”) ‘n tender toegestaan vir die oprig van lae-koste behuising. Die omvang van die projek is van so aard dat die Kontrakteur uiteraard sub-kontrakteurs moet gebruik om die werk uit te voer. Een van die sub-kontrakteurs wat benodig word, is ‘n loodgieter en Pypies Loodgieters (Edms) Beperk (die “Sub-kontrakteur”) word aangestel…
Wilma en André het onlangs in Sonskyn meenthuiskompleks ingetrek. Saterdagaand vier André sy verjaardag en die partytjie duur voort tot net na twaalf die aand. Maandagoggend ontvang André ‘n skrywe van die bestuursliggaam van die kompleks tot die effek dat hy ‘n R500.00 boete opgelê word aangesien die huisreëls bepaal dat stilte na 23:00 gehandhaaf moet word en dat André…
Recent amendments to the Income Tax Act have made it possible to transfer residential property from a legal entity (trust, company or close corporation) to an individual, without paying transfer duty, capital gains tax, dividends tax or secondary tax on companies. Important to note is that the window to make use of this tax amnesty is closing with the deadline…
For the purposes of concluding contracts electronically and the growth of e-commerce, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 25 of 2002 (‘ECTA’) that came into force on 30 August 2002, is of major significance. ECTA makes provision for the recognition and regulation of electronic commerce and its provisions deal specifically with how, when and where an agreement concluded electronically, comes…