SHEPPERSON'S FIRST LAW

Don't hesitate - Call us if you have any landlord/tenant problems. Before it's too late. Gareth Shepperson  Click HERE to visit us on Facebook  What to do if tenants do not pay their rent If a landlord finds himself in a situation where a tenant is not paying his rent, then it is best to initiate legal action as soon as possible to avoid months of lost income in rent, says Michael Bauer, general manager of IHFM, the property management company. This, however, does have its pitfalls and can take a long time to process, but there are few things that have to be remembered so as to follow the correct procedures and "do things by the book". A summons will have to be issued, stating the claim for the rent that is outstanding and it is issued via the court by a sheriff. There are, however, two types of summons that the landlord could have served on the tenant: an ordinary summons or a rent interdict. If the landlord finds that the tenant ignores the summ

Buying or Selling your residence is probably the BIGGEST investment that an individual will make during his/her lifetime. However ... ASTONISHINGLY ... the vast majority of people "blunder" through the whole process with no legal representation or inadequate legal representation. Please use an attorney specialising in property law to assist you.  Although the Seller is customarily the party who appoints the Transferring Attorney, the parties often simply rely on an attorney appointed by the Estate Agent, Bank or anyone willing to give his two cents worth.  Do some research and make sure that the firm is a reputable property specialist.  If the other party appoints the Transfer Attorney, then at the very least ask your own attorney to look at anything you are asked to sign ... especially the Offer to Purchase. The cost of approaching your attorney pales into insignificance when compared with the cost of not doing so! Gareth Shepperson  Click HERE to visit us on Fa

Residential property stock tightens while sellers cut prices, wait longer Signals in the residential property market about a recovery are mixed. The estimated average time a house remains on the market before being sold and the estimated percentage of sellers who had to reduce their asking price to conclude a sale both increased in the first quarter of this year from the previous quarter, according to the latest FNB property barometer. But the barometer, based on a national survey of estate agents, also indicated that there had been a noticeable increase in both residential demand and in housing stock supply constraints. Simplistically, a growing supply constraint could be expected to cause a renewed drop in average time on the market and stronger house price growth in the coming quarters if solid demand levels were maintained, FNB household and consumer sector strategist John Loos said. He said a possible explanation for the apparent contradiction was that the short weak eco

Standard Bank reports high demand for affordable housing Standard Bank has made significant inroads into the affordable housing market since its entrance five years ago and now finances one in three properties in this market. The bank's affordable housing loan book grew 30 percent last year to a record R14 billion. Nicholas Nkosi, the head of affordable housing at Standard Bank, said yesterday that the bank's experience was also an indication that demand in this segment of the housing market had remained resilient despite weak economic conditions. "There is still high demand for affordable housing. Standard Bank also expects to attract more prospective home buyers who are seeking to move out of the rental market and become home owners," he said. Nkosi said Standard Bank was quite comfortable with the performance of its affordable housing loan book but declined to provide any information about the percentage of mortgage bonds in arrears or the percentage of f

'Demand for properties on the rise' - FNB Demand for residential property increased in the first quarter of 2013, according to the FNB Estate Agent Survey released on Tuesday. The indicator for demand in the survey rose from the previous 5.89 to 6.57, FNB household and consumer strategist John Loos said. "This is the highest level since the first quarter of 2007, which was just prior the big slump in the residential property market," he said. On seasonally adjusted data, the demand rating also rose from a previous quarter's six to 6.26 in the first quarter of 2013, the highest level since the first quarter of 2007. "So the rise was more than just seasonal factors, it would appear," Loos said. The FNB Estate Agent Survey is a useful tool used to gain insight into residential market trends first hand. It is of a sample of estate agents, predominantly in South Africa's major metro regions. The first question asked agents their perceptions