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.

Getting married?

If you're getting married, there are a few things to consider, apart from the commitment you are making to your partner.

For the legal part of the ceremony your minister will handle the formalities if you are getting married in Church. It is also possible to get married, or for a civil union to be registered in terms of the Civil Union Act, at the Department of Home Affairs.

Here's a handly link to the Home Affairs guide and contact details.

If you make no other arrangements for the legal type of marriage or union/civil partnership before you get married, you will automatically be joined in community of property. There's an explanation of the differences between getting married in community of property, or out of community of property on our website, if you click on this link here.

One of the main reasons to get joined out of community of property is to ensure that any debts of your partner are not settled out of your assets. This could happen for a number of reasons, especially if one of you is in business. You get married out of community of property by registering an Ante-Nuptial Contract, which must be done before your marriage. Both Mark and Dave at Mc Naught and Company are Notaries Public, which enables them to execute and register Ante-Nuptial Contracts. The information and authority form can be downloaded off our Skydrive here, or you can come in to our offices and arrange it. Allow one or two days before your marriage to organise this.

You can also verify your present recorded status (single, married, divorced etc) by clicking on this link here.

Mortgage Bond Applications

The difficult task of getting a bank loan (mortgage bond) to buy your property can be made easier if you follow this guide. There are 3 ways you can go about getting a loan:

WHO TO TALK TO?

1. Walk into the branch of the bank you deal with, or any branch of these 3 banks, and talk to a Home Loan Consultant;

2. Apply Online by clicking one or all of these links below to see which bank will give you a better deal and advice  -

                    Standard Bank     Nedbank      First National Bank

3.  Ask a Mortgage Originator for help - they usually deal with all of the banks and get paid a commission by the bank for finding bonds for them: it costs you nothing and they will help you get a loan. Here is a list of those we deal regularly with.

             CapCubed Finance                BetterBond                  BD Sure Bonds

WHAT DO I NEED?

Before applying for a bond, you need to get some information to hand if you don't want to waste time. Everyone will ask you for this information:

1.  A copy of the Sale Agreement - get one from the Agent selling you the property.

2.  Your identity document, and that of your partner if you are married or intending to buy jointly with your partner.

3.  Both of your proof of residential address - original municipal account, cellphone statement, or other finance statement or SARS Tax letter.

4. Your Salary payslips, or if self-employed, your audited financial statements and 6 months bank statements.

5. Your income tax registration numbers.

6. A list of your income and expenditure with account numbers of expenditure accounts eg vehicle finance account number, credit card account numbers.

7. If you are going to see a bank consultant or mortgage originator, phone first to see if there is anything else you will need.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST AND CAN I AFFORD IT?

Our Mc Naught and Company website has a fairly comprehensive calculator to help you work out what size loan you can afford or will qualify for and how much the Attorney's charges are to register this loan in the Deeds Office when the property is transferred into your name. Click on the link here to our handy calculator and see for yourself.

Discount

Mc Naught and Company would like to secure the legal work involved in registering both the property transfer into your name as well as the mortgage bond registration for the bank and if we do both we will offer you a discount on the costs. Be SURE to specifically request that Mc Naught and Company be appointed as the Conveyancers for the property registration when you are dealing with the real estate agent and also when you are dealing with the Bank consultant or Mortgage originator, otherwise they will allocate the work to whom they or the seller prefers and you will not get this discount. It will also be convenient for you to only visit one set of lawyer's offices when you need to sign all the transfer and bank paperwork. Mc Naught and Company serve on the panel of Attorneys for bond registrations with Standard Bank, Nedbank and First National Bank and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Now Proudly FNB Panel Attorneys

Mc Naught and Company have just been appointed to the First National Bank panel of mortgage bond registration attorneys.

We are thrilled to now be able to offer our expertise, professionalism and service excellence to all FNB bond clients.

For more information contact our offices on 031 467 3810 (Bluff) or 031 903 7307 (Amanzimtoti) or mail info@maclaw.co.za

Patriotic KZN Attorneys

As patriotic KZN Attorneys, Mc Naught and Company wish the Sharks well in their Super rugby final! Bring home the trophy boys!!

Prime Rate Decrease!

Reserve Bank govener - Gill Marcus

Good news for home owners and prospective home buyers alike is that the South African Reserve Bank unexpectedly cut its repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.0 percent today.

This cut means that the prime lending rate will drop to 8.5% making owning property the most reasonable it has been in over 30 years!

Whether it be your first home purchase or the purchase of additional investment property, Mc Naught and Company will expertely deal with your transfer process!

Expiring Vouchers - not so fast!

My daughter gave me a back massage voucher at Christmas, but being the busy person I am the 6 month "expiry" date on the voucher soon passed and finding the voucher also proved difficult. However, all is not lost. In terms of the Consumer Protection Act a voucher may not expire before 3 years has passed from date of issue.. that means I got my massage after all! Sure, this could be difficult for businesses whose prices over the 3 years escalate. To overcome this, I would recommend to businesses issuing vouchers that they either put a value on the voucher and make the voucher valid for goods or services up to the stipulated value, or a clause needs to be added... something to this effect - "Should the voucher be used beyond 6 months from date of issue, the company reserves the right to require payment of the difference between the value of the service at time of issue and the date of use of the voucher." This should be fair to all concerned.

July Newsletter published

The Consumer Protection Act is still causing complications. Read about it in our July newsletter and download our guides off our Skydrive.. click on the link here.

eThekwini Rates Clearance Shambles

eThekwini Municipality has moved from bad to worse with regards to rates clearance certificates. The latest response from council to our concerns being:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mark

Your Mail of the 13th has reference.

Firstly please accept our apology for not issuing RCC's within the initial 10day period.

We have high volumes and internal matters to deal with to ensure that the figures provided does not compromise Council or the purchaser.

I note your analysis of our problem but I can assure you that the process highlighted by yourself is not so easy and simple as set out in your mail, if it was that simple without any manual interaction it would have been possible, but we have to make sure that all debt are called for, including debt where services were consumed without the owner or the tenant signing for the consumption.

We are looking in improving by re-engineering some of the processes and this should be completed within the next three months this includes the appointment of further staff.

If you encourage your applicants to contact the City directly it will not improve the process but rather slow it down.

Hope you will understand and I can assure you, the city is committed to a better service.

Regards

--

Peet Du Plessis

Head: Revenue Management

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rest assured, Mc Naught and Company are not leaving the matter there and are actively pursuing the matter with council further to try and reach a workable solution that will not have an incredibly negative impact on the entire Greater Durban property market.

Watch this space for updates.

Celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Congratulations to the Queen of England on her Diamond Jubilee. As Deputy Mayor of Durban in 1994, I had the rare privilege of hosting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip to the Mayor's Tea Party in the Durban City Hall to mark her first official visit to Durban after our change of National Government earlier that year.

General Power?

It is common to use a General Power of Attorney or a Special Power of Attorney to sign documents - sale agreement and conveyancing documents if you want someone to step in for you if you are leaving for overseas, going on holiday etc.

However if you do intend to use this document to register a property transaction in the Deeds Office, the GPA or Special Power of Attorney needs to comply with certain criteria.

1. Grantor to be correctly described: the person giving the power of attorney needs to be correctly described, exactly as they would be on the Deed of Transfer for the property transaction concerned

eg

NAOMI TRUDY OLDFIELD
Identity Number 570823 0012 08 4
Married out of community of property  or

PETER GEORGE OLDFIELD
Identity Number 550324 5105 08 3
and
NAOMI TRUDY OLDFIELD
Identity Number 570823 0012 08 4
married in community of property to each other  or

PETER GEORGE OLDFIELD
Identity Number 550324 5105 08 3
Married, which marriage is governed by the laws of England and duly assisted herein as may need be by
NAOMI TRUDY OLDFIELD
Identity Number 570823 0012 08 4

These are just 3 examples and depending on how or where the parties are married, the citation of them on the document needs to be exact, failing which it will get rejected by the Deeds Office and will have to be redrawn, meaning a delay in the conveyancing process.

  2. The GPA either needs to get registered in the Deeds Office along with the related property transaction (and there is a cost involved), or, if used as a supporting document, it needs to carry a conveyancer's certificate that the GPA relates to the particular property transaction.

3. The GPA or Special Power of Attorney needs to carry a "Prepared by me" confirmation and signature by a Conveyancer.

4. If the power of attorney is signed outside of South Africa, the signature of the document needs to be properly authenticated for use in the Republic. There is also a set procedure for this and if you click on the following link, it will take you to an earlier blog article dealing with the authentication process.

Property 24

 Here's the new face of Mc Naught and Company on the property website Property24.com

We can receive electronic transfer instructions from any agents listed on the site.

May Newsletter published

Simply click on the newsletter to enlarge and read it.

April newsletter published

Click on the newsletter to enlarge it, and feel free to contact us should you require additional information. mark@maclaw.co.za

Simplified forms for Sellers and Buyers

With the changing information requirements of the Transfer Duty Department, rates Department and FICA, there is always too much information required of your Sellers and Buyers.

We have streamlined this and reduced the amount of information you as Agents need to collect from your clients. Click on the link in this email and save your own copies of the new Seller and Purchaser's Information sheet required to be attached to your sales agreement. Any more information is too much as the conveyancers will be in contact with the parties to collect this.. most of your clients certainly do not have it all to hand when you are signing with them.

https://skydrive.live.com/?sc=documents&cid=6dca2ef73b160efe#cid=6DCA2EF73B160EFE&id=6DCA2EF73B160EFE%21247&sc=documents

This is the link to our Skydrive where you can download this and other useful sales documents and information.

Quick law bites...

Here's some interesting facts worth remembering:

Foggerty-Le Roux

1. If a woman assumes a double-barreled name on marriage, a formal change of name application with Home Affairs must be done. A deeds registration therefore cannot be done in this new name without this as the registration needs to follow the details appearing on the person's official green bar-coded ID book.

Partners in crime

2. Partners in a partnership business need to register property in all of the names of the partners and it cannot be in the partnership name.

Marry well

3. Marrying in community of property automatically gives ownership of previously acquired property of one party to them jointly.It is important when marrying to consider the full implications of the way you intend to get married. Check out our marriage page on our website and come in for a full discussion. There is no additional charge on top of the costs of registering an Antenuptial Contract to make sure you have peace of mind.

Yes Sir

4. A sale of agricultural land being sub-divided is not valid unless the consent of the Minister is obtained first. Sales containing a "subject to" clause before the consent of the Minister has been obtained have been ruled in court as invalid. If you are contemplating purchasing sub-divided land or land to be sub-divided, please come and see us to make sure it can be structured legally.

Get a slice of South Africa's sunshine..

5. Foreigners may buy property in South Africa but may not get a bond for more than 50% of the purchase price. The profits of any resale can be taken out, as long as the owner can prove the original source of the funds from outside South Africa. If you have a foreign buyer, one needs to check the buyer's intentions and make sure the right documents are preserved. Foreign companies as purchasers also have special requirements and you can check these with us.

For more info email dave@maclaw.co.za
Dave 083-70333-29
Acknowledgements to SA Deeds Journal Issue 25

Birthday Month

1st March 2012 is our 28th birthday and we enter our 29th year in business operating from our Bluff and Amanzimtoti offices. We celebrated in style at our recent big bang bash and we thank all of our loyal clients and associates for 28 years of success. Here's looking forward to 29, 30 and beyond in service excellence to our growing family.

What a Party!!

Comedian Glen Bo entertaining us all

Lisa and Mark tuck in

Dave, his mom Molly and daughter Kate-Lynn

Lisa, Mark's fiance, Mika, our new articles clerk in Toti, and Gopi, her fiance.