Is it possible to avoid bond cancellation costs?
When you cancel your mortgage bond, most banks will contractually charge you a cancellation fee. Such fees can be for early termination of the bond or for giving less than 90 days’ notice of your intention to cancel, but is there a way to avoid these costs? Unless your mortgage agreement is silent on the […]
My business is in financial distress – what are my options?
South Africa’s triple threat of load-shedding and the dramatic increases in fuel along with inflation have left many of the country’s small and medium enterprises in dire straits at a defining crossroads: do they continue trading and hope that things will improve, whilst risking incurring further debts, or do they cut their losses and give […]
Does liquidation automatically lead to terminating the business’s lease?
A landlord who has multiple commercial properties, which are rented out to businesses, has one longstanding tenant who is going under financially and has two years left on the rental agreement. Is the law cut and dry, allowing the landlord to terminate the tenant’s lease if the business becomes insolvent? In general, rental agreements will […]
Remission of rent in the case of sub-leases
With the onset of the Covid pandemic, commercial rental properties saw a staggering increase in remission claims of lessees who could no longer actively enjoy the use of their rental spaces. But can a lessee claim for remission if it was a sub-lessee that was deprived of their property use? In a recent Western Cape […]
The importance of good corporate governance
There was a time when a business’s sole objective was to turn a profit at the end of the day. That’s not the case anymore. Today, a business’s responsibility to its employees and the community is as important as its annual turnover. That responsibility begins with corporate governance. From technological developments, climate change, societal demands […]
Recovering arrear maintenance: How far is too far?
In a recent judgement of the Johannesburg High Court, the court proved that it was willing to go to extreme lengths to help recover maintenance that had fallen in arrears. The applicant in the case was a mother of two minor children who brought an urgent application against the father for maintenance that had been […]
Can levies in arrears simply be written off?
Even as a sense of normalcy is returning to our lives, homeowners and body corporates are still coming face to face with the continued effects of the pandemic. With financial strain continuing to darken the lives of many homeowners, the question becomes is it legal to allow leniency in the payment of levies. As the […]
Frozen bank accounts and deceased estates
During the administration of a deceased estate, the bank accounts of the deceased are frozen to establish the solvency of the deceased’s estate. This is a lengthy process even if a valid will is left behind, but can become unbearably long (more than two years in some cases) when intestate succession comes into play. The […]
Are you ready to enter the letting world?
Letting real estate seems like a sure-fire way to make an income as a real estate owner, but the possibilities come with certain considerations. The simple fact is that not every property (or every owner) is cut out for the letting world, at least not at present. Timing Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle to property letting […]
Pushing the Limits of Antenuptial Contracts
Antenuptial contracts (ANCs) – those lovely documents that mark the peak of romantic frivolity just before marriage. Well, maybe not for most. But ANCs are a vital part of what keeps the romance safe during what is technically a business transaction (another idea that can easily deflate the romantic air surrounding that special day). ANCs […]