Property Law
How Can I Buy Property in South Africa as a Foreigner?
Are you a visitor dreaming of waking up with giraffes on your lawn and wondering how to make it happen? Or a local being asked by overseas friends and relatives: “This country’s magic, how can I buy myself a property here?” We have all the answers… First up, can you even buy as a foreigner?…
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Waiving the Bond Clause to Keep a Sale Alive: Risk Versus Reward
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 specified date. If the deadline comes and goes without a bond being granted, the sale lapses and the buyer is entitled to get their deposit back. Most agreements…
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Rising Damp and Failed Waterproofing: How to Sue the Sellers
Consider this all-too-common scenario: You buy your dream house and happily move in. Only then do you discover that the house has major defects, which were never disclosed to you by the seller. You demand the seller pays the repair costs but the seller refuses. So off to court you go, claiming either damages or…
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Property Sales: “Conditional Acceptance” of an Offer is Not Acceptance, It’s Rejection
A good offer comes in for your property, so you accept it. But you’re not happy with a few of the terms, so before you sign you make a few changes to the offer. Maybe they are big changes, maybe they seem inconsequential. Either way, you are now effectively negotiating, not accepting the offer. You…
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Can You Use Land Use Laws to Close Down a Neighbour’s Business?
Your neighbour’s business is driving you to distraction. Perhaps it’s loud all-night music, or an invasion of your hard-earned privacy, or illegal parking in your driveway, but regardless of what the nuisance factor is, it really is untenable. You’ve tried everything you can think of to sort it out amicably – polite requests, offers of…
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Selling Your House to a Non-Resident
South Africa is attractive to overseas property buyers with our world-class lifestyle, depreciated Rand, strong property registration and legal systems, and minimal restrictions against non-resident property ownership. Which is of course great news for property sellers in any area popular with foreign investors. Coastal and other tourist-friendly areas will appeal particularly to buyers wanting a…
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A Costly Case of Buyer’s Remorse
A recent High Court decision once again highlights the dangers of signing anything without reading, understanding and fully considering it. A “Renovator’s Dream” and a case of buyer’s remorse A couple viewed a house advertised as “a renovator’s dream” and they immediately decided to sign an offer to purchase for R550,000 (R20,000 under asking price).…
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Leaving Anything Important Out of Your Property Sale Agreement Will Sink It
Ensure that all the important terms of your sale agreement are recorded in writing and signed. Leave out anything “material” and, as we shall see from the Supreme Court of Appeal case discussed below, your entire sale could well collapse. At the very least, you face significant legal consequences, delay and cost. The omitted term…
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Losing Your Property to Acquisitive Prescription
Here’s another warning to be vigilant when it comes to someone else occupying any part of your property for 30 years or more – you could wake up one day to find you’ve lost your ownership altogether. With not a cent’s purchase price to show for it. And whilst 30 years may seem like a…
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Installing Home Solar – How to Comply with the Regulatory Requirements
Eskom’s no-end-in-sight loadshedding, rising electricity costs, South Africa’s abundance of sunshine, and the global move to sustainable energy solutions have all contributed to the current boom in home solar photovoltaic (PV) roof installations. They don’t come cheap, but quite apart from the direct practical and financial benefits of going as much off-grid as possible, you…
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