Welcome

Welcome to Mc Naught and Company's new inter-active law site. Here you will be able to read about our latest news and views, link to other useful sites that concern the process of buying or selling a home and find out all you will need to know.

You can also post questions or comments and we will help you as best we can. Thank you for taking the trouble to find us.

Sectionalisation of Everwood

There are positive signs of recovery in the property market and Mc Naught and Company are involved as Conveyancers with the sectionalisation of the Waterfall development of 34 units, known as Everwood Estate.

The units are being put onto the market for the first time, although the development was completed several years ago and the units were rented out.

Undertaking a conversion to sectional title is something we at Mc Naught and Co specialise in from the initial options to purchase which have to be sent out to the existing tenants, to holding the tenants' meeting, preparation of the sale and information documents, attending at the development launch and handiling both the opening of the sectional register as well as the transfers of the property from the owner's name to the purchasers and the registration of the new bonds.

Prices range from R795 000 to R1 090 000 and can be bought from the developer directly or through Prime Estates.

Dave's Birthday again...

It seems the year has flashed by again and it is Dave's Birthday again.

Most of the day was spent supervising the Guesthouse building alterations Dave co-owns and then a nice home cooked roast with mom, Llewellyn and the kids.

Interest rates down ,5% - now 10,5%

August saw another 1/2% dip in the mortgage interest rates now down to 10,5%.

This is great news for home owners or anyone with mortgage or other finance from the banks.

It also means that the affordability level for mortgage bonds will have reduced and more people will now qualify for a home loan.. this helps the property market and will help boost confidence in the market which dived to an all-time low when rates shot up over the past 18 months.

New Market optimism

With optimism growing in the property market, the Banks are embarking on new measures to lend money again.

At the forefront, Standard Bank is launching on the 1st October its new 100% loan deal and slashing registration costs by up to 50%.

This is good news for property buyers who are looking for some good deals to help clinch their sales. Ask for Mc Naught and Company when registering your next mortgage loan.

A High Court case finalized this week draws attention to the importance of obtaining initials to any alteration to a sale contract. If the seller makes any changes to a buyer’s offer and these changes are not initialed (ie accepted in writing by the signature of the buyer) even if his conduct afterwards appears to show acceptance, the contract was effectively a counter-offer by the seller and is void.

This week’s case endorsed a claim for cancellation of the sale by a buyer with the prospect of voiding the Agent’s commission claim and allowing the buyer a full refund of the purchase price paid. BE WARNED!

Images for the Bluff Office

Tired of looking for some suitable artwork to fit in with the new office decor, Dave has decided to make up his own art. Here are some of the images that he will be using to print onto glass.. you will see the finished product on the walls soon....

Out with the old, in with the new

While times are still tough, we're renovating at Mc Naught and Company Bluff to give you a fresh look, new styles and mod design.. ready to take on the world as the property market improves.

In the photos, from top, the new carpet being fitted, middle photo Mark leathers gives painter Moses instruction on the stair area and below our reception counter prepares to make way for the new dark beech furniture which arrives tomorrow.

What this space for the transformation.

Relief for sellers in meeting requirements for electrical compliance

New rulings regarding the issuing of electrical compliance certificates for residential properties effective from May 1 will simplify the demands made on sellers and buyers of residential property.

Sellers previously had to call in a registered electrician to inspect the electrical network and issue a current certificate and this had to be done prior to the transfer.

Now, however, any certificate issued in the last two years will be deemed valid, provided that no work has been done on the installation in the interim. Furthermore, the buyer does not have the right to demand a new certificate. If he wants such a certificate he must pay for it himself.

The electricians issuing such certificates now have to re-register annually, whereas before a once-off registration was acceptable. Under the new rulings it is now permissible for the owner or lessor to sign an agreement with the purchaser or lessee whereby the latter accepts the responsibility for the safety and maintenance of the electrical system. In addition, the electrician no longer has to guarantee the system is in full working order. He has only to certify that it is, in fact, completely safe.

This is a welcome clause because in the past electricians found themselves hauled over the coals time and again on account of minor malfunctions that they had not spotted, some of which may well have cropped after the transfer. An important provision in the new rulings, is that the test certificate has to accompany any new electrical compliance certificate issued. Such a certificate, would cover the entire electrical network.

What to do with the interest rate cuts??? INVEST!!

Good news! The Reserve Bank has again cut interest rates by a further 1%!!! This equates to a considerable saving on your monthly mortgage bond repayment.

Just this 1% drop will save a home owner with a bond of R1 million a total of R600,000.00 in interest over 20 years, and a drop of 3% in the interest rate will make a difference of more than 1 million rand in interest repaid!

Accordingly, investing in property is getting more and more attractive and we say, bring on the interest rate cuts!!!

It's our 26th Birthday

Wow, it's our 26th Birthday today.

On the 1st March 1983 Mc Naught and Company was founded by principal Dave Mc Naught with offices in Suite 1205, 320 West Street.

We are now in our 27th year and still going strong with the practice having decentralised to the Bluff in 1985 and with another office opening in Amanzimtoti in 2006. The Bluff office is situated at 555 Bluff Road and the Amanzimtoti office at 313 Kingsway, both offices having been built and owned by Dave.. always confident in the property market.

Dave now has two candidate attorneys who are due to be admitted as Attorneys later this year and has been joined by Professional Assistant Tracey-Lee.

Is Rental property still a good investment?

Tenants all around the country are defaulting on rentals, with 18% of KZN tenants not paying their dues.

Statistics show however that tenants in the R3,000.00 to R7,000.00 per month income bracket are the most loyal regarding payments with 61% of these tenants making payment in full and on time.

A good credit check and sound lease agreement can however help landlords keep a good return on their investment in rental property, and Mc Naught and Company are ideally positioned to assist in both these aspects.

Year-end Function 2008

We almost cannot believe we have nearly got to the end of the year and Christmas is around the corner. Seen in the photos at our Year-End function are the girls from Seeff (above), and Gail, Leon and Karen from Seeff (below) with Val (in blue) from our office.

Enjoying lunch with the bunch from Mc Naught and Company are Hettie, Hein and Jaco from Re/Max Bluff. Thank you guys for all of your support during 2008.

Instalment Sale Seminars

It's been a busy time at Mc Naught and Company running Instalment Sale Seminars for those in the property industry.

In the photos are from top.. Mark Leathers from our Bluff Office helps out with the running of the Seminars, Pravashni (Bluff) and Colin (Toti office) give a hand with the lunch after the Seminar, agents from Eagle Estates, Huizmark, Re/Max and Pam Golding Properties share a lighter moment, Wendy of Colliers Toti enjoys her lunch, Agents from Sotheby's, Eagle Estates, Re/Max, Acutts and Pam Golding attend, and bottom Dave Mc Naught gives the Seminar presentation.

Registration as a Registered Credit Provider

The National Credit Regulator has prescribed forms to register as a credit provider in terms of the National Credit Act.

Please see the link to the forms and the registration fees.

Mc Naught and Company are there to assist in all aspects of the registration process and our expert service is only a phone call away.

Many owners with properties near the sea or perched on hill sides, have suffered in recent months with storms and washaways. Collapsing front boundaries, walls and driveways as well as structural cracking are problems.

Lack of landslip insurance or inadequate storm water drainage are main causes of the hardship. Up to R80000,00 per owner are some of the costs we have heard about.

To prospective property purchasers, we would recommend that all properties on slopes or with visible cracks be inspected carefully and owners be questioned about building and boundary stability to save costs and later fights with sellers.

These are two of the developments Mc Naught and Company have recently transferred properties in that are now faced with large unforeseen repair bills.



Finding the ideal home is a challenge for all, especially in the demanding market we currently find ourselves in. The usually arduous task of finding your home is now made easier. Check out this page!

Calculate your bond repayments

We have found the link to the bond calculator here quite useful.

This link is provided as an information source and there is no agreement between ourselves and the bank regarding the use thereof.

Affordable homes being registered

Whilst many home owners are battling with the increases in the mortgage interest rates over the past two years, the demand for housing is still not met. Mc Naught and Company specialise in property transfers and sectional title developments and continue to provide developers and contractors with advice and help in resgistering development schemes fast.

Pictured are examples of the types of development our offices have been involved in and are able to register fast.

Agents must apply to display

For the second year running, Cape Town's estate agents and auctioneers must register individually with the municipality for permission to display property marketing boards and directional signage on city council property.

The City of Cape Town announced in a statement on Tuesday that agents and auctioneers will be expected to register from July 1, with all applications due in by July 20.

The city said in its statement that each agent would be required to pay an annual registration fee of R551 and a display fee of R659. Any agent who had not contravened the regulations over the past year would only have to pay the registration fee and R10 for six permit stickers, it said.

Six permit stickers will be issued per agent for 2008/09, which will limit the number of directional signs allowed on council-owned property.During the past year, the city has removed directional boards found with photocopied or counterfeit permit stickers.

Municipal by-laws allow the city to withdraw offending agents' permits, and the city has warned that it would prosecute any agent or auctioneer who used fraudulent stickers.

This perhaps illustrates how other local authorities are applying more restrictive condtions for property advertising and similar rules could soon be seen here too.

The Outlook for the SA Property Market

A war of words has broken out between estate agents and bond originators as news of a pending property crash gathers force, with price drops from 10 percent to 40 percent predicted.

While some agents insist homeowners should not be swept up in the panic, others are frank that the property market is in serious trouble.

On Monday, the Cape Argus received an e-mail marked "urgent" from ooba, formerly Mortgage SA, which charged that "recent alarmist forecasts by property market commentators" had caused homeowners "undue concern". Homeowners, they urged, should not be swept up in the "scaremongering" because the current weakness was only a "short-term situation".

The fracas started with a letter from Lew Geffen, head of Sotheby's International Realty South Africa, to his franchise owners in which he predicted the pending crash at a 40 percent decrease, adding that there were 60 percent fewer buyers in the market now than at the same time last year.

These stirrings in the property industry are indicative of the problems now faced. With individual sales and transactions, Mc Naught and Company have the experience and expertise to help with each property sale and re-introduce certainty and reliability with each transaction being handled by our offices. We also offer guidance to estate agents' on customised clauses to help strengthen a sale agreement.

Seminar Success

January started off with a bang, despite the damp squib property market as Mc Naught and Company launched it’s series of seminars to help those in the property industry sharpen pencils and make things happen. We are also putting together an exciting package for property developers which will help put owners, architects, bank financing and conveyancing expertise together to help get building projects off the ground in 2008.

Captured by the camera:

↑Dave delivers his audio-visual presentation on Sales Contracts and clauses.
→ Delegates share a lighter moment at the Sales Contract Seminar held in January at Mc Naught and Co’s offices.

Contract Seminars

Mc Naught and Company will again be hosting seminars on sale contracts for estate agents in the Amanzimtoti Area.

These seminars cover everything from wording of suspensive conditions through to guidelines on how to save a sale, and give estate agents an opportunity to question us on various legalities that they might want more information on.

The seminar takes place in the morning, followed by lunch and is the perfect opportunity to hone skills in a relaxed environment.

To book for the 30th January 2008 or 13th February 2008 seminars taking place at our Amanzimtoti offices, just call Daphne on 031 903 7307.

Tax Update - Deduction of Medical Expenses

Presently, in terms of section 18 of the Income Tax Act, a taxpayer may deduct medical expenses for immediate family members from taxable income, provided these expenses exceed 7.5% of the member's taxable income. SARS has found it difficult to verify these expenses as medical schemes issue certificates in respect of all medical scheme beneficiaries, an not only for immediate family members who are the potentional subjects of deductions.

In order to stremline the SARS registration and sudot processes, the reference to immediate family for medical scheme mebers has been extended to include all medical scheme beneficiaries. This should hopefully simplify the administration for both medical scheme members and their beneficiaries.

Toti Office Opening

Sat 17 November was our big bash opening of the new Amanzimtoti offices of Mc Naught and Company. The who's who of Amanzimtoti were there including in this photo friends from Fame Real Estate, ASI Property developers and BondExcel. More pics can be seen on the link - just click here.

Transfer Duty Amendments...

There is a positive amendment on the way with regards to transfer duty on sectional title units which form part of a rental pool.

If the purchaser of a sectional title unit which forms part of a rental pool, makes an election, in writing, to keep that unit as part of the rental pool after the transfer to the purchaser then the transfer is exempt from transfer duty.

If we have a look at the benefits that this holds for a prospective purchaser, the change is definately for the better as the transfer duty currently on a R1 million sectional title unit, if purchased by a natural person is R25 000.00. Quite a saving off your transfer costs if the requisite written election is made to keep the unit in the rental pool.

New sign for Mc Naught and Co

Check out the new illuminated sign at our Toti offices which will officially open this week. Blue is the colour of the day - night - and puts us firmly on the map in Amanzimtoti.

New Amanzimtoti Offices

We are very proud of our new Amanzimtoti offices and if you have not yet had an invitation to our official opening on Sat 17 November, please give Daphne a ring on 031-9037307 to secure your invitation. Seen in the photos are Dave Mc Naught in the reception, a close up of the mosaic mural crafted by artist Sue Knight which hangs in the reception and a view of the new buildings from Kingsway, Amanzimtoti.

Civil Unions and Marital Property

Mc Naught & Company are once again striving to stay at the forefront of legal services, and we are proud to announce that we are up to speed on the Civil Unions Act 17 of 2006.

As such, should you be wishing to register a pre-nuptial agreement before entering into a proposed civil union, just contact us for all the advice you need as well as an efficient registering of a pre-nuptial agreement in terms of the Civil Unions Act.

Once again, Mc Naught & Company are at your service!

Mc Naught and Co Staff do us proud!!

Val Herbert is Mc Naught and Company's longest serving staff member and quite the bowles afficionado.

Here we see Val as the runner up in the Women's Veteran Singles competition played at the Wentworth bowling club last week.

We wish her well in future competitions!

Tracking your Property Matters online!!

Mc Naught and Company are becomming ever more progressive in bringing technology into the conveyancing process.

Shortly, all our clients, estate agents and mortgage originators will be able to track their property transfers and mortgage bond registrations in real time - online!!

Just click on the image at the top of this post to take a run through the demo.

Watch this space for teh go-live date!