Whether you’re a buyer or seller of a property, it is important to get independent legal advice from your attorney before signing an offer to purchase. While it is possible to sell one’s property privately, the seller will still need to have a conveyancing attorney attend to the transfer, and while an estate agent might see to the sale, an attorney is still needed, again for the transfer – so it makes sense to seek the attorney first, who will oversee the drafting of the contract and explain...
JOHNNY HENKES
Johnny Henkes, one of six children is born, bred, and educated in Cape Town, obtained his BA (LLB) from UCT and has been in practise for his own account for over 25 years.  Whilst at university he was involved in many sporting activities, including playing Club cricket.  He completed his articles at Hazell and Rabie Attorneys in Cape Town and was subsequently admitted as an attorney. He did his military training in the SA Defence Force and ended up as a Military Law Officer at the Castle in...
Rene grew up in George, and first embarked on her studies with the goal of getting a BSc degree, but after her first year decided that law was her first passion and changed tack. She obtained her BA(LLB) in 2001 from the University of Stellenbosch and during this time was also actively involved in a law clinic and enjoyed tutoring first year students. After completing her articles at Raubenheimers Attorneys in George, she was admitted as an attorney, conveyancer and is also a Notary Public: a...
Charlene Joubert
Charlene obtained her BA and LLB degrees at the University of Stellenbosch in 2001. After completing her articles, she joined the firm as partner in 2006. She was admitted as conveyancer in the Cape of Good Hope Provincial Division in the same year and heads the conveyancing division of the practice. Charlene specialises in providing independent legal advice on the signing of offers to purchase, for both sellers and buyers, including how to navigate suspensive conditions, what to look out for...
National wills week
This all-important aspect of managing your estate should not be ignored. No matter how old (or young) you are, if you own property or have some form of asset or cash reserves, you should draw up a Will so that there is no confusion as to who inherits what in the unfortunate event of your death. Many might think that they are too busy to deal with the details of a Will right now, and the temptation is there to postpone it to a later date, but what if that later date is too late? If you were to...
Strengthen chances of property offer
When a person decides it’s time to purchase a home for himself, it is often an emotional decision, one that starts with a “feel” of wanting to own something for himself. When he looks for a property, it will be the one that he feels most at home in that he will put in an offer on, sometimes forgetting to do a fair bit of practical legwork beforehand regarding property ownership. “When putting in an offer to purchase a property, the first thing to consider is whether you’re putting in the best...
Co-owning a home
With fewer couples nowadays getting married but choosing rather to co-habit, or friends choosing to share as they cannot afford something on their own, comes the trend of co-owning property. Co-ownership is a great way to get onto the property ladder but does need careful consideration in drawing up a contract between the owners so that there is no miscommunication or misconception of how the property will be dealt with should they part or decide to sell, says Charlene Nolte-Joubert, partner at...
Correct marriage contract
When getting married in South Africa, one would automatically be married in community of property if no antenuptial (ante – before; nuptial – marriage) contract has been drafted and executed prior to the marriage date. This has many drawbacks, as community of property marriages can leave one’s spouse (or self) financially vulnerable, says Rene Barry, partner at Henkes Nolte-Joubert. The two main types of marriages are in community of property or out of community of property with an antenuptial...
Buying a home is an expensive exercise, not only in the price of the property itself but also with regards to the transfer and bond registration costs involved. This can be a stressful time for buyers, and it helps to budget very carefully beforehand, to allow for certain unforeseen costs that might arise while the transfer is being registered, says Charlene Nolte-Joubert of Henkes Nolte-Joubert and a founding member of the Attorney Realtor Hub (ARH). Transfer and bond costs, Deeds Office and...
The “voetstoots” clause, meaning “with a shove of the foot” (that the buyer takes the property in its present condition as it is), has often been used by sellers as a disclaimer to protect themselves against any claims from the buyer if a fault is found after signing the offer to purchase.  This term, however, is not to be abused as known defects by law need to be disclosed to all parties involved, says Rene Barry, a partner at law firm Henkes Nolte-Joubert. Whether patent or latent, if the...
Consult a lawyer before signing an offer to purchase When an offer to purchase a property is signed by both buyer and seller, this constitutes a binding agreement or “Deed of Sale” between the two parties. However, in most cases the “standard contract” might not be enough to cover all the specifics pertaining to the sale. The agreement may require some additions or alterations to clauses, which needs an expert hand in the drafting of such – as these can have serious ramifications if not done...
As technology improves, so does the level of property scams that do the rounds, and while every precaution seems to be taken, there will be yet another thing that fraudsters find to dupe people out of large sums of money.   One particularly alarming scam that is circulating, is one where emails with sensitive information are intercepted. The scam artists will send an email (seemingly from the seller) to the conveyancing firm changing the details of the legitimate bank account number for the...
Many couples will spend months planning their wedding, but often one of the most important aspects of planning a future together is left until later to finalise. An antenuptial contract is often something that couples do not want to talk about, sometimes even believing they’re setting themselves up to fail – but this is not the case. Drawing up a contract before getting married can be seen as a sign of mutual care for each other’s financial and legal independence, and responsibilities. Signing...
A ground-breaking ruling was made this week (29 August 2017), where the Constitutional Court ruled that new owners of homes were not to be found liable for any historical municipal charges inherited from the previous owners, that their services could not be cut off as a result, nor could their properties be attached and sold in execution to cover the debt.    According to Section 118(1) of the Municipal Systems Act, the processes are that conveyancers obtain clearance certificates before...
“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection”. These were the words of the “father” of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, and each year when we celebrate Father’s Day, it is also helpful and comforting to note that there are legal protections in place in our law to ensure that a child’s need for a fathers protection is, itself, protected. Even if a biological father and mother were not living together during the period before and after the birth of a...
When I walked down the aisle ten years ago I made sure that I had my “Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue” and I am very sure that most brides to be have given thought
to what those items would be. What this rhyme does not provide for, however, is the all-important item called an ante-nuptial contract. Often brides do not wish to taint their starry-eyed love affair by casting their thoughts to entering into a contract and there are so many negative connotations...
While 1 April has come and gone and whilst that date
is known for jokes, tricks and humorous deceits, there is nothing funny about being made a “fool” of when it comes to your commercial dealings! In today’s sophisticated business world, using “cookie-cutter” form contracts is a dangerous and potentially costly gamble as there are many different nuances and factual scenarios that are unique to each person and business. We pride ourselves on being client-centric, precise draftsmen and creative...