January Newsletter published

We are a-for away and into January.. in fact already fast approaching February 2013. we've been hard at work and almost no time to blink. We want 2013 to be our year of efficiency and record registration times for our property deals. A good resolution I believe we can live up to.

 

Check out our January newsletter and also welcome to new staff this month.

 

 

 

Tis the jolly season

Our December newsletter has been published. Click on the image to enlarge and read...

Year-end Registrations

The year end rush to register property transfers and mortgage bonds is on, and all conveyancers are holding thumbs that the deeds office examiners function more efficiently than ever!

This is the time that you need our nearly 30 years experience on your side to ensure that the most possible progress is made on your transaction at this busy time of year.

Mc Naught and Company have a customised FASTSale and FASTBond program to ensure that your matters get registered sooner. 

Contact us via our live chat support or info@maclaw.co.za

Office Christmas Lunch

We had an awesome office Christmas Lunch at Virginia Airport today with a yummy meal prepared by the Head Office restaurant and flips in Dave's plane afterwards.

Thanks for all the hard work during 2012 girls and boys. We're looking forward to a very short break over Christmas during the Deeds Office closure and will be registering transfers and bonds up to the 21st December.

Mc Naught and Co go mobile

Mc Naught and Company are mobile. This means that if you have scanning software on your cellphone you can click on this barcode, or print it out and click on it if your phone can't read the code off the screen. Then save or bookmark the page on your phone - it's a link to Mc Naught and Co's website and you will, on your phone, be able to access our costs calculators and sms or email costs to anyone while you sit in front of them or access our chat line and ask either Mark or Dave your legal question live during office hours (or post a message if they are offline). we call it service delivery.

 

MPC Leaves Rates Unchanged

The SA Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee has left the lending rate unchanged at the meeting this afternoon. This is not the news that the property market was hoping for, but the stability in having the rate unchanged yet again means that buyer's can buy with certainty that the MPC is following a conservative approach.

 

Especially in these certain times - there has never been a better time to invest in property, and Mc Naught and Company are your experts in assisting you in the property picture.

All Eyes on the MPC

All eyes will be on the SA Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee this afternoon to see what they do with the REPO rate and therefore the prime lending rate as well. The inflation figures for October nearly hit the Reserve Bank's target ceiling of 6% and therefore there is a slim chance of a further interest rate cut.

 

The property market remaining subdued from the high's of 2006/2007 is hoping for a further rate cut, but will have to wait until the MPC's announcement this afternoon.

 

We will update you as the announcement comes through.

Mika gets her law degree

Our articled clerk in Amanzimtoti shows her Bachelor of Laws Degree she obtained earlier this year. Congratulations Mika. As soon as her period of articles has been completed and her board exams done, Mika will be able to practice as an Attorney.

 

Dinosaurs live!

My Mom (left) turns 80 today and she is still working part-time at Mc Naught and Co. Incredible.

 

Mom joined Mc Naught and Co as our conveyancing para-legal after a high-powered career with SA Breweries in Johannesburg and when she moved to Durban, Clements and Johnson Attorneys.

Mom worked tirelessly for me at the Bluff office until she retired in her 60s and re-located to my brother's smallholding in Johannesburg. She lived there for over 5 years until he sold up and emigrated to New Zealand. Mom and Gordon then returned to Durban to be closer to her family and friends and re-joined Mc Naught and Co in a part-time capacity, but coming to work 3 mornings a week, which she has been doing through her 70s, now reaching the milestone age of 80!
 

Mom aka Molly and Val (right) who heads up our bonds department at the Bluff office are living proof that dinosaurs did exist many moons ago. Well done to the 2 old ducks for keeping the office incredibly efficient for so many years - our oldest and loyal employees!! 

 Thanks Mom for your incredible hard work and commitment to my business over all of these years. Have an awesome birthday today and party with your family and friends on Sunday.

Expanding our Collection

We have a pub in each of our offices which we use on occasion for entertaining etc. Occasionally, clients bring us momento's to add to our collection of beers from around the world.

 

 

Thanks to Mrs Bland from Quality Safety for bringing us the latest addition to our collection!

New Zealand beer, courtesy of Mrs Bland - Quality Safety 1990 (Pty) Ltd

October Newsletter published

Click on our October newsletter below to enlarge and read.

 

 

Right of First Refusal

OPTION TO PURCHASE OR RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL?

 

 

For an Option to Purchase to be valid, the document needs to contain all of the terms and conditions for the possible sale so that if a buyer were to exercise the option, everything that has to be agreed is already in the document. The option should also set out a time period, if any, for which it will be valid and a procedure to the purchaser to exercise the option.

 

 

The difference between this and a right of first refusal is that if the buyer wanted to exercise his right to purchase, the terms and conditions and sale price would still have to be agreed, and if there is no agreement, there is no sale. An option is much stronger because it commits the seller to selling, whereas the right of refusal merely puts the buyer in the front row for negotiations to purchase.

 

 

The wording for a Right of First Refusal would be something like this:

 

 

The Seller and Owner of Erf 25 Pennington hereby grants to Joe Soap (the "grantee") the right of first refusal in the event of a proposed sale of the property.

 

 

To enable the grantee to exercise such right, the owner shall make the property available to the grantee to purchase on stipulated terms and conditions.

 

 

The grantee shall exercise the right on or within 3 days of being presented with an offer, and failing acceptance of the sale offer, the property may be sold to another purchaser, but not at a price or on terms more favourable than first offered, unless again first offered to the grantee on such more favourable terms.

Live Attorney Help on your website

In addition to launching our new Attorney LIVE Chat facility this past week, there is also a need to answer a range of questions that frequently come up when dealing with buyer and sellers of property, or if renting a property.

 

We have come up with a new specialised website for this - here is the link - which is under construction as we add these Frequently Asked Questions to the list. If a client's question cannot be handled in this way, the LIVE chat feature will enable them to get immediate answers.

 

Both facilities will complement each other and we will be extending the facility to anyone who wants this feature on their own website or blog. For those who are able to do some basic programming, simply add this link

 

http://attorneylive.blogspot.com/p/home.html 

 

To your webpage or blog and we will be ONLINE on your website too.

 

It's the smart way to do business and bring an attorney online for the benefit of your clients. The service is free, and our answers to your questions free,  but should any of the questions lead to legal work being necessary, you will be quoted should you want some action taken. The service is principally designed around property work, as our firm specialises in property registrations. We would like to be your attorneys of choice when next you buy or sell residential or commerical property, vacant land, or sectional title flats or developments. Check out our full services on our website at http://www.maclaw.co.za

Groundbreaking new LIVE CHAT launched

Mark and Dave are claiming a South African first - not a Gold Medal - but still something we can in a small way be proud of.                       

OUR LIVE CHAT is ONLINE

We have launched our free online LIVE CHAT facility. It is a first for a South African legal firm to offer instant legal help online - better service to our clients and associates and cuts the frustration of waiting for an email or making a phone call to your lawyer’s office.

How it works

At the bottom of each page on our website at http://www.maclaw.co.za there is an online chat logo. You can click on either partner Mark or Dave’s photo which will call up a chat box and simultaneously a chat window will pop up on their desktop. You are able to ask either of them any question and if they are showing online you will be able to get an instant answer. If they are in consultation or offline for any reason it will post your question as a message on their desktop. Never before has it been this easy to get instant access to your lawyer.. Without laying out a cent.

 

You can get chat on your Company website too

Even more revolutionary, you can now get a lawyer on your side too.. on your own website.

If you send us a request, we will give you the html software coding to place a similar attorney LIVE CHAT button on your website. This means that if your clients are looking at your website, browsing properties to buy or sell, or wanting to understand the legal process involved in purchasing a property, they could click on the LIVE CHAT logo and get instant advice from a qualified attorney.

Questions such as: the choice between registering in a close corporation or trust; the costs involved; how to get bond finance; can one cancel a lease; is transfer duty or capital gains tax payable; is a sale agreement enforceable; who is responsible for a collapsing retaining wall.. can now be answered and are just a click away.

What better way to offer your own clients fast, professional legal advice and complement the services your firm offers to the public.

THE WAY TO GO - Mc NAUGHT AND CO, your innovative property attorneys. FIRST and FAST!

Whilst online chat per say, is not revolutionary, and we have had Skype on each of our staff desktops for a few years, (and you may add us), it is a first to be able to offer those browsing our website instant access to advice, and for you to be able to put our advice line on your website too.

Frequently Asked Questions?

Property Law

 

How much will it cost me to transfer a property into my name?

 

The transfer costs depend on the value of the property. If you click on this link to our website, we have a handy calculator that will give you a good idea of the costs, including some "hidden" costs that other firms may not warn you about in advance, but which will be required to be paid, such as rates or levies, or Vat.

 

How do I go about getting a bank loan to finance my property purchase?

 

If you are buying through a Real Estate Agent, they will generally be able to assist you in getting bank finance. Here is a link to our guide on getting a mortgage loan, an affordability calculator and repayment calculator, and with links to the banks and mortgage originators we deal with who will also gladly help you. You can print out these calculations, email them or sms them to yourself or others, free of charge.

This posting is under construction and we will be building up a list of the questions we most frequently encounter, with our best stab at a response :-) For this purpose we have created a separate website for this collection of questions, adding to it from here onwards.