Property
Instant Property Network has started a platform for property transactions using Blockchain: the intent is to create a trusted record which eliminates duplication and middlemen. Whilst firms have been slow in taking up this technology, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland is running a pilot project to test its feasibility.
̃JLL reports that our commercial property market had made a significant turnaround last year, in terms of a 63% increase in investment activity. It appears that such investments in Gauteng had more than doubled in comparison with the previous year but that, in other provinces (the Western Cape grew 15% yoy), the opposite held true.
̃Old but true: the principles of property franchising: https://propertyprofessional.co.za/2019/04/04/5-principles-for-success-in-property-franchising/
̃The Alienation of Land Act directs that a seller of land on instalments may not receive any part of the purchase price until the instalment sale has been registered against the title of the property sold. The result of this is that there is no obligation upon the purchaser to pay any instalment until the registration has been taken care of. A seller made a dreadful mistake in this respect and it was left to the Constitutional Court to set matters right: http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2018/47.html
Practice
Intestate inheritance transfers in terms of section 1 (6) of the Intestate Succession Act: this week a ruling from the local Registrar of Deeds was given against me. I had not lodged the L&D, but relied on a section 42.1 certificate. The ruling held essentially that, whilst not prescribed, an examiner had a discretion to call for additional evidence. I had asked the Examiner and received the response that “I don’t trust conveyancers”. WTF/WDFSJ! (The Engelse have a more polite/quaint response: I beg your pardon!).
̃Crooked lawyers are two a penny, doctors are less crooked, and all vets are honest? The Law Society’s (oops, Legal Practice Council’s) statistics show that there were some 3206 attorneys admitted in KZN in 2016; most probably about 4000 now. Last year some 1753 complaints were laid against attorneys in KZN. It appears that the vast majority of complaints have to do with failure to report on developments. (I was reported once: I had pulled a transfer for an executor, whose appointment had been withdrawn by the Master on account of fraud; that worthy took exception!)
̃Last week Uzani, an environmental group, obtained judgement against BP for erecting petrol stations in South Africa without first obtaining the necessary environmental clearances. Our under-capacitated and inhibited law enforcement agencies were side-lined by a bunch of greenies. Good for them!
http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2019/86.html
̃De Beer attorneys have called for South Africans to join in a class action against Eskom: this will be interesting to watch. Proving damages in each of these cases will be quite a mission as the individual losses might, in truth, be quite modest.
̃Things change? I read a note by an advocate (on the rental Housing act) who is a member of an attorneys’ firm? https://propertyprofessional.co.za/2019/04/04/amended-rental-housing-act-increases-risk-of-non-compliance-for-landlords/
̃In South African mortgage law, the interests of the creditor and the debtor are constitutionally protected. To give effect to these conflicting interests is not that easy: compulsory debt reorganisation may well provide an answer: I hold an article ex the SALJ, by a lecturer at UP, if this interests you. Ask me for a copy.
̃Same-sex partnerships, common-law spouses and security for the administration of estates: I saw a note by the Master, Durban on this topic this week: as things stand now surviving “partners/spouses” within this group will have to provide security for winding up the estate of the deceased partner/spouse; section 23 of the Administration of Estate Act does not give exemption from security to such as they.
Quotables
The salt tears you cry when you laugh from your belly, that is the water that feeds the soul. Translated; from someone called Roger…
̃Don’t hold your breath: “The integrity commission can make rulings that certain individuals should step aside. However, it must not take decisions because there is this noise in the media. It must look into merits and demerits of the content of the issues…” Gwede Mantashe (incidentally, one of those implicated!)
Comment
Unthinkable old chap? Two producers of “whiskey-flavoured spirit aperitifs” resplendent in tartan and Scottish branding, have been taken on by the establishment. The defence was that the accused were not selling whiskey but whiskey-flavoured spirits: purveyors of alcohol disguised as a gentleman’s drink. Come to think of it, gin is virtually alcohol laced water steeped in “botanicals” which, I had discovered at a recent gin tasting, even run to rooibos. Really, to contaminate decent tea thus!
̃The capital of KZN has been embroiled in an ongoing kerfuffle centring on lack of governance, manifested in dirty streets and shoddy service delivery. Cogta is reportedly on the brink of intervening: an intervention long overdue. Factually, our council has become a political circus presided over by the ANC, resulting in a long list of services not properly rendered. It can, for instance, take three months to obtain a rates quote and another two or three weeks for a receipt after payment: Our system of centring on political parties in elections at third-tier level, rather than capable individuals, is to blame.
̃It’s not xenophobia: we just kill more foreigners than locals…
̃Beyond ourselves: most lawyers are competent within a practice ambit: Sage advice is to avoid work outside that range. How then does one develop if not stretched beyond one’s comfort zone?
̃A Polish priest purged sacrilege by burning Harry Potter novels this week. Attempts to destroy competing thought is not novel but rarely (if at all) produce the desired result. Take a look:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_book-burning_incidents
Lighten up
What happens when you give a politician Viagra? He gets taller.
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Don’t steal, don’t lie and don’t cheat.
The government hates competition.
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‘The House of Commons is the longest running farce in the West End.’ Cyril Smith
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Still looking for your dream home. Feel free to give one of our developers a call today.
Tom Eastwick – The Gates, Hilton and Garlington, Hilton | 072 297 2699 | tom@devdirect.co.za
Dave Rees – St John’s Village Lifestyle and Retirement Estate | 083 775 8288 | dgr@spaceprops.co.za
Janet Channing – Waterford Residential Estate, Howick | 082 570 5834 | janet@devdirect.co.za
#retirement #gatedestate #luxuryliving #midlandsliving
Author: Dr Daan Steenkamp – Attorney