Waiving the Bond Clause to Keep a Sale Alive: Risk Versus Reward

Aug 27, 2024 | Property

“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...

The Garage Door That Had the Complex Up in Arms

Jul 29, 2024 | Property

“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...

Home Buyer loses R5.5m in Phishing Scam – Don’t Make the Same Mistake!

Jun 25, 2024 | Criminal Law / Crime, Property

“[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...

Why an Oral Estate Agency Mandate Isn’t Worth the Paper It’s Written On

May 27, 2024 | Property

“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....

Contracting with Trusts – Is a Majority Resolution Valid?

May 27, 2024 | Contract, Property, Trusts

“Externally, trustees cannot disagree. In the external sphere the Trust functions by virtue of its resolutions, which have to be supported by the full complement of the Trust body.” (Extract from judgment below) A recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgment provides...

Rising Damp and Failed Waterproofing: How to Sue the Sellers

Apr 25, 2024 | Property

“[w]here a seller recklessly tells a half-truth or knows the facts but does not reveal them because he or she has not bothered to consider their significance, this may also amount to fraud” … “a willful abstention from establishing the true facts does not constitute a...