How to Buy & Sell Property November 2016 | Page 7

7 How to Buy & Sell Property CONVEYANCING Q&A WE spoke to local conveyancers, Tatham Wilkes & Co, and asked for more details about the conveyancing process. • Can a buyer elect a conveyancer or are they bound to use the seller’s conveyancer? An agreement of sale is an agreement between the buyer and the seller. They are at liberty to agree any terms, including which conveyancer attends to the transfer. • Can attorneys charge different conveyancing rates? There is a tariff guideline published by the Law Society but it is not binding on conveyancers, so they may charge more or less than the guideline. • What fees/costs can one expect to pay a conveyancer? The conveyancing fee, deeds office fee, rates application fee, transfer duty, and postage and petties. • What other real estate-related services do you provide? Apart from transferring ownership, conveyancers and notaries deal with the registration and cancellation of mortgage and notarial bonds, servitudes, subdivisions, and consolidations of land and leases. • What kinds of things could impact adversely on the resale or mortgage of a property? The possibility that the seller was not in fact the owner of the property; that there are conditions pertaining to the property that may preclude sale by the owner on certain conditions; that you need the consent of the home owners' association to sell. The brave new world of real estate IT is a truism that the only real constant is change. One might think that real estate investment is the one thing that would be immune to major changes. After all, people have been buying and selling property for hundreds of years, right? But if a recent article by the technology website Memeburn is to be believed, there are major transformations on the horizon. Radical changes in demographics worldwide, a fundamental transformation in how we work and buy things, the rise of “gigacities”, and the growing challenges of climate change all point to a very different future. Stakeholders and investors would be well advised to take these “five megatrends” — as Memeburn calls them — into consideration if they want to stay in the game. Read more about the possible future of real estate and what you should be planning for, by going to our digital version of this publcation at https://joom.ag/ZdBQ or by scanning the QR code on this page. Service that is guaranteed to exceed your expectations, at a price you can afford! Our reputation was built on providing sensible and insightful advice, and service that surpasses expectations. It’s the personal touch you’d expect from a small, independently owned firm. We’ve been doing it for 26 years and it’s one of the few things that hasn’t changed. Specialising in: All phase construction • Home improvements • Roofing • Plumbing • Flooring • Tiling • Windows • Doors • Carpentry … and much more! Civil Engineering • Project Management • Construction Tel: 033 342 2843 • Cell: 073 817 7116/072 926 9914 Email: [email protected] 63 Roberts Road, Clarendon, Pietermaritzburg Tel: 033 342 3941 • Fax: 033 345 3919 Vee Munnery and the staff members at AIM wish to congratulate Jessica Singh on a successful 10 years of dedication and hard work.