Welcome

Welcome to Mc Naught and Company's 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.

Patents and Trade Marks

If you're looking to patent a new product or design, or merely protect your logo or trade mark, Mc Naught and Co, handle these applications to the Patents office as well.

March Newsletter published

It's our 33rd birthday and there are some partner changes at Mc Naught and Co and we've been having some fun in the sky - read about in by clicking to enlarge the pic.

Make your deals binding - Alterations to sale agreements need to be agreed to

Earning commission on a property sale only works if the sale is valid and the criteria for earning commission is satisfied.. read more in our latest newsletter.

You can also join our Facebook group for regular updates..  https://www.facebook.com/groups/192450424104156/

Regards,

Mark Leathers and Dave Mc Naught

Partners - Mc Naught and Company

The Summit KZN launches and Mc Naught and Company were there!

The Summit KZN launched for sales on 14 and 15 May 2016!

This new and upmarket development is a first of it's kind for Amanzimtoti and being located in the heart of the rapidly developing "Arbour Town" precint will only add to the appeal and value offering.

As always, Mc Naught and Company are involved with the market leaders, and our appointment as conveyancers by the Alleyroads group brings more than 30 years of specialised conveyancing excellence to the party.

Some of the photos taken at the weekend launch are below and we will keep you updated as construction progresses.

Visit The Summit KZN website for more information and to get in touch with the sales team, alternatively contact our offices.

The development site for "The Summit"

Left: Mc Naught and Company Partner - Mark Leathers
Middle: Head Sales Agent - Sandra Smit
Right: Alleyroads Group Chief Financial Officer - Tiaan Potgieter

New Luxury Development being attended to by Mc Naught and Company

The Summit is a new, luxury property development in a rapidly growing area of Amanzimtoti, KZN.

The development is being brought to you by the Alleyroads group, an experienced property developer and naturally, they have partnered with ourselves as a leading KZN conveyancer to bring you this wonderful property development as seamlessly as possible.

Check out The Summit website for all the information, sales agreements etc. and you can also contact our offices for any info.

Budget 2016 - Wonderfully stable for the property market!

The Minister of Finance has completed his 2016 budget speech and the news is overall far more muted than most of us expected.

Aside from raising a few taxes on the periphery and bringing in a new tyre tax and even a tax on sugar next year, not much has changed.

Once small change which affects the property market is that the transfer duty rate on property sales above R10million has been hiked by 2%. This will not affect the majority of residential buyers and we therefore do not see it having any impact on the property market in the next year.

The new transfer duty rates effective 1 March 2016 are:

Remember, the date of sale is the date which determines your transfer duty amount payable, so if you are intending to purchase in the R10million and above bracket, make sure you conclude your sale before the 29th of February!

Our contact details are available on our website and you can let us know if you have any queries regarding the transfer duty changes, or in fact any other aspect of the budget speech.

First time buyers now have a great time to buy

When looking at the average prices of properties being purchased by first time buyers over the past 24 months and then the past 12 months, we see that price increases in the bracket are slowing down.

Two years ago, the average price in this bracket increased nearly 5% whereas over the past year we have seen a much more manageable 2.4% increase.

This, coupled with an increase in the percentage of mortgages being granted to first time buyers shows the market that it's a good time to buy. Consulting the right agent and selecting the property that falls within your means is a winning combination as it will stand you in good stead to weather the pending interest rate hikes.

A good conveyancer will ensure that your purchase and transfer are seamless and this is why we recommend that you contact one prior to putting pen to paper on your sale agreement.

Mc Naught and Company are available via a number of means of contact and the partners mobile numbers are on our website should you have any queries.

Happy house-hunting :-)

End of year function

Dave (left) with Leanne (Toti) Mark and Shivani (Toti)

Christine (Bluff, left), Melissa (Bluff), Eugene and Leanne (Toti) and Mark

Shivani (Toti), Sheena and Jay (Bluff)

Reena (Toti) and Molly (Dave's mom, Bluff)

Dave had the delicious lamb roll with mash and veg - superb meal at Havana Grill

Christine, Melissa and Eugene

Son gets married

Mc Naught and Company partner Dave Mc Naught's son was married to Lisa this weekend. Mark and Lisa's wedding took place at the Secret Garden near Pietermaritzburg. The strange thing is that law partner Mark Leathers is also married to a Lisa. So that makes two Mark and Lisa couples. :-)

Signing the register at the wedding with the moms as witnesses

Singing their first hymn as a married couple

Dave with his daughter Kate, a bridesmaid at the wedding

Dave and his boys and girl

December newsletter

It's that time of the year already. Click on the image to enlarge and read.

Alien and Invasive Plant regulations

Whilst most people believe the Jacaranda tree is indigenous to South Africa, it was in fact introduced to Pretoria in 1880 via import from Argentina.

Pretoria Jacaranda's

Well in order to determine precisely which plants in our properties are alien or invasive species, new regulations require that a purchaser is made aware of which plants on the property they are buying are listed as alien or invasive and made aware of the fact that certain plants need to re eradicated and others need to have a permit applied for.

We will keep you updated on contact details for inspection officers who can assist in these clearances and declarations, but in the meanwhile advise that all sale agreements be amended to include an example clause as follows:

"(a) In terms of the NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: BIODIVERSITY ACT 2004 (ACT NO. 10 OF 2004) ALIEN AND INVASIVE SPECIES REGULATIONS, 2014, The Seller declares that to the best of his knowledge there are no Invasive Alien Species, as per the National register of alien and listed invasive species, present on the property.

* (b) In terms of the NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: BIODIVERSITY ACT 2004 (ACT NO. 10 OF 2004) ALIEN AND INVASIVE SPECIES REGULATIONS, 2014, The Seller declares that the following listed alien invasive species are present on the property:

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

* (c) The Purchaser understands that he must apply for a permit with regards all Category 2 Alien Invasive Species in his own name in terms of the NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: BIODIVERSITY ACT 2004 (ACT NO. 10 OF 2004) ALIEN AND INVASIVE SPECIES REGULATIONS, 2014 once the property has been transferred.

(*Delete what is not applicable)

(d) The purchaser acknowledges that he has acquainted himself with the extent and nature of the property and accepts the property as such, including the vegetation on the property."

Once an inspection has been done by an expert, furnishing that to the purchaser will enable them to accurately determine which plants require application and which require removal.

Watch this space for updates in this field!!!

30th Birthday

The big news is that Mc Naught and Company have turned 30 - that's 30 years in service to the Bluff, Toti and greater Durban community.

We're very proud of our achievements and our staff - all of them over those years, including our stalwart Val who passed away last year shortly after retiring and Dave's mom Molly who is well into her 80s and still comes to the office to help out where needed in Conveyancing.

Thank you sincerely also to our loyal clients, associates and friends who have stood by us over these years and help the firm grow to two offices - on the Bluff as well as in Amanzimtoti.

Thanks also to Mark who joined the firm to train for his Articles a number of years ago and who has stayed on as partner and in charge of our Bluff office.

May newsletter published

Bird's eye view

Here's a bird's eye view, or more accurately, pilot's eye view of our Amanzimtoti office seen from 500ft. The photo was taken by Durban Skyye Flight School from a microlight aircraft whilst training. In the second photo our partner Dave Mc Naught, who is also a part-time Instructor and pilot at the flight school.

The tri-angular building is our Amanzimtoti office

Law partner Dave Mc Naught is also a pilot and flying Instructor

Dave trains students for their NPL pilot's licence in the flight school Sling fixed-wing aircraft

Beautiful photo of Durban's Stadium seen from 1000ft at the wingtip of  the Sling aircraft