Anthony Whatmore & Company - LawDotNews

July 2024 | Home Buyer loses R5.5m in Phishing Scam – Don’t Make the Same Mistake!

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 July 2024

It’s an exciting time, buying a property. But don’t let your guard down – cybercriminals love the lucrative pickings on offer from property transactions, and they never sleep! We’ll discuss the recent Supreme Court of Appeal case of a widow who, in trying to pay over the purchase price of a house, lost her R5.5m when her email system was hacked and she fell victim to a textbook email scam. Why did the SCA rule against her? How should she have protected herself? We&rsquo...

June 2024 | Why an Oral Estate Agency Mandate Isn’t Worth the Paper It’s Written On

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 June 2024

As Samuel Goldwyn humorously put it: “A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.” To illustrate, we analyse a recent High Court fight over an agent’s claim to have been given a verbal mandate to find a development property for a buyer. The agent was found to have fulfilled her mandate, and the Court awarded her commission even though the sale agreement had been cancelled before transfer. The developer is left with a R450k (plus costs) bill, and no pr...

May 2024 | In the Land of the Will, Clarity is King

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 May 2024

Your will is probably the most important document you will ever sign, and a recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision confirms once again how critical it is to ensure that it is professionally drawn to reflect your wishes clearly and unambiguously. Let’s explore the legal principles involved and the “golden rule of interpretation” in the context of a bitter dispute between a financially-struggling widow on the one hand, and her three step-children on the other. Each...

April 2024 | Property: Why Do You Need an Occupancy Certificate Before You Buy?

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 April 2024

Imagine what a disaster it would be if, after you have bought your new dream house and moved the family in, you are told you must vacate immediately because no “occupancy certificate” was ever issued. How can that be? What is an occupancy certificate? Is it vital to have one? Is there a general duty on a seller to provide you with one? We address those questions in the context of a recent High Court decision which confirms that it’s up to you to protect yourself in that regar...

March 2024 | Property Sales: “Conditional Acceptance” of an Offer is Not Acceptance, It’s Rejection

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 March 2024

Making a counter-offer to an offer to purchase can be an excellent negotiating tactic in trying to reach consensus so you can finalise a binding sale agreement. But beware of the concept of “conditional acceptance”. It is actually a rejection of the offer, and you very likely have no valid sale at all unless both parties now agree on the proposed amendments and counter-sign them. We illustrate the dangers of losing sight of this principle in the context of a recent High Court...

February 2024 | Why Buyers Should Ask for Building Plans (and Why Sellers Should Supply Them)

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 February 2024

If, after a property buyer has taken transfer, it turns out that a structure on the property is unlawful for lack of local authority planning permission and approved plans, who must fix the problem? Does the buyer have any claim against the seller? We address those questions in the context of the general rule that building permission is legally required before any construction can begin. We discuss also why both parties should take steps upfront to avoid any disputes over the issue – why...

January 2024 | Can You Use Land Use Laws to Close Down a Neighbour’s Business?

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 January 2024

If you find yourself being driven to distraction by nuisance from a neighbour’s business operation, and if all your efforts to find a peaceful compromise have come to nought, it’s time to consider going the legal route. That’s never first prize with neighbours, but if they leave you no choice it’s off to court you go. We discuss the outcomes of two cases involving businesses being conducted by neighbours in breach of the local land use laws. To end off, we’ll shar...

December 2023 | Festive Season Sellers: Start Getting Your Compliance Certificates Ready

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 December 2023

Property sale levels always surge in the Holiday Season, so it’s a good time to remind sellers (and their buyers) of the various compliance certificates that may be needed before transfer can be registered. Sellers in particular should prepare as soon as possible to have the necessary inspections and remedial work carried out as any delays on that side can impact badly on the timing of the whole transfer. Read on for our checklist of the five compliance certificates you may need&...

November 2023 | A Costly Case of Buyer’s Remorse

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 November 2023

Buying or selling property is a big deal for most of us, and no one wants to be in the position of a couple who, having viewed a house advertised as “a renovator’s dream”, signed an offer to purchase immediately but then changed their minds. Too late! The seller had already accepted the offer, creating a binding sale agreement. The buyers’ breach left them liable to pay the agents their commission - a costly mistake which they could easily have avoided. We discuss...

October 2023 | Security Warning: Property Sale Cybercrime Surges, and a New AI Danger

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 October 2023

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, a good time to focus on the fact that cybercriminals are targeting more and more property transactions. If you are selling or buying property, keep your guard up! In the context of yet another High Court dispute over who will bear the loss of a substantial amount of money paid by a buyer into a fraudster’s bank account, we discuss the risks and share some tips on how to minimise them. Lastly, there’s a warning about a new and significant A...

September 2023 | How to Protect Your Children’s Inheritances from Ending Up in the Guardian’s Fund

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 September 2023

A critical element in ensuring our children’s welfare after we are gone is of course providing for them financially. But that involves more than just drawing a will. Your will must be structured correctly, and an important aspect of that is to protect minor children’s inheritances until they turn eighteen. Otherwise, those inheritances might well end up in the government-run Guardian’s Fund. We’ll explain why that’s not a great idea at all, and we’ll suggest...

August 2023 | Your New House Leaks Like a Sieve – Can You Sue the Seller?

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 August 2023

You and your family move into your new dream home full of happy anticipation but then it rains, and your roof leaks. Badly. As you run around with buckets and towels while trying to find a roof repairer available at short notice, you wonder whether you can sue the seller. We’ll address that question with reference to a recent Supreme Court of Appeal judgment concerning a flooded-out guest house and a seller who denied fraudulent non-disclosure of roof defects.In days of yore, a wri...

July 2023 | Leaving Anything Important Out of Your Property Sale Agreement Will Sink It

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 July 2023

In what format must your property sale agreement be, and what terms and conditions must it incorporate for it to be valid and enforceable? We’ll address that question with reference to a recent Supreme Court of Appeal fight over a R4.5m sale of land which was declared void after 7 years of confusion, delay, and wasted opportunity. All because the parties failed to include in their sale agreement a term relating to the subdivision of one of the pieces of land being sold. Our discussion co...

June 2023 | Property Buyers: The Danger of Not Doing Your Financial Homework

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 June 2023

You sell a property but when it comes to the crunch the buyer can’t pay the required deposit. You have to cancel the sale and can only resell at a lower price and by paying an estate agent to help you. Can you claim damages to cover all your losses from the defaulting buyer? Or perhaps you are on the other side of the coin, a buyer about to sign a sale agreement. How certain should you be that you can meet all the obligations you are committing yourself to, and what happens if you breach...

May 2023 | Overtime: The Importance of Agreements

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 May 2023

Most businesses will at some stage or another ask their employees to work overtime. That’s great if your employees are happy to do so. But if you think you might ever meet resistance and have to force the issue, know that you must have in place a valid agreement to work overtime before you can enforce any such instruction. A recent Labour Court case highlights the downsides of having no agreement in place, or of having such an agreement in place but failing to understand that th...

April 2023 | Buying Property as an Investment – Some Strategies for Success

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 April 2023

Few investment portfolios will be complete without an element of property exposure. Of course, how much that exposure should be is a function of your own particular goals and needs, of your investment horizon, of your tolerance for risk, of your current and projected financial status and so on. The point is that property can be a great wealth-builder, particularly for investors after steady income combined with capital growth, but it does need a structured and informed approach to provide maxi...

March 2023 | Installing Home Solar – How to Comply with the Regulatory Requirements

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 March 2023

As Eskom’s woes deepen, more and more homeowners are looking at installing solar panel systems to keep the lights on. Government promises of assistance will no doubt accelerate this trend, but in addition to the myriad practical considerations you need to address (have a look at our list of important questions to ask a prospective installer before accepting any quote) be aware of the regulations that apply. Ignore them at your peril – there are threats of severe pe...

February 2023 | Neighbours Behaving Badly: Illegal Buildings and Demolition Orders

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 February 2023

Your neighbour starts building an apartment block next door – without approved building plans. What can you do about it? We address that question with reference to a recent High Court case in which two neighbours asked the Court to order a property owner to demolish a multi-story apartment block he had been building in contravention of municipal “stop building” orders. The outcome, and the Court’s reasons for granting the demolition order, hold valuable lessons both ...

January 2023 | New Year, New Business - How to Pick the Right Legal Entity for It

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 January 2023

2023 dawns and you decide to realise your dream – you’re finally going into business for yourself. No more 9-5, no more horrible bosses, no more cubicles and endless meetings, no more corporate nonsense… But are you an entrepreneur? What’s your plan? What legal entity should you trade in? We share some thoughts on how to answer those questions. Then we summarise the four choices of business entity available to you, analysing the pros and cons of each in an illustr...

December 2022 | Selling Property this Festive Season: The Tax Angle

Anthony Whatmore & Company — 01 December 2022

If you are one of the many “Festive Season Sellers” taking advantage of the December/January holidays to look for the best price for your house, remember to plan your finances so you aren’t ambushed by unexpected expenses down the line. An expense not always understood, nor adequately planned for, is the possibility that you will be liable for capital gains tax on the sale. We discuss the concepts of “base cost”, “capital gain” and “primary resid...