JAMES KING & BADENHORST INCORPORATED

Properties in these provinces are outpacing all the rest

WebWorX — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 15:03:38 +0000

Properties in these provinces are outpacing all the rest

Property inflation in certain provinces has outpaced others, according to recent data from property analytics group Lightstone.

The company’s latest residential property indices reported that annual property inflation is currently at 3.77%, a slight increase from last month.

Monthly national property inflation is 0.42%.

Lightstone said annual property inflation remained steady in the Free State, increased in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape, and decreased in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, North West and the Northern Cape.

Fraudster fined R3000 for lying

WebWorX — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 09:19:35 +0000

Durban - A 44-year-old Eastern Cape man who defrauded the Road Accident Fund has been fined R3,000.

Keith Theodore Mtsimela was convicted on charges of fraud in the Gqeberha New Law Regional Court.

Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said the fraud took place in February 2018.

“Mtsimela submitted a false claim to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) through his attorney.

“He claimed that he was involved in a hit and run accident on October 25, 2017 at Lewes Street, Algoa Park,” Mhlakuvana said...

Buyer seeks compensation

WebWorX — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 09:23:19 +0000

Buyer seeks compensation after failed purchase due to undeclared property in deceased estate

A Property24 reader explains that during February 2023 the estate agent showed her a property that was advertised. The house was a bit small so the seller suggested that she can have a look at her father’s property-which was not advertised.

"We went there with the agent, and she showed us the house. I signed an offer to purchase in February 2023 for the property that was supposedly part of a deceased estate.

"End of May 2023, while still waiting for the letter of authority from the Master's Office, the conveying attorney informed me that the Estate was already closed by the Master's Office. Also, that the property I wanted to purchase, was not declared. So, I informed the agent that I want to search for another property. I had rented this property for 3 months, and do not want any further delays. The agent agreed," says the reader.

More CoJ billing issues raised by high court order

WebWorX — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 09:25:00 +0000

The dispute arose from the alleged incorrect billing of the property owners’ account for water usage. Image: Shutterstock

CoJ ordered to reverse and recalculate a property owners’
R581 412.28 water bill.

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has been ordered by the high court in Johannesburg to take several actions to address the overcharging of the joint owners of a Bellevue property for water usage caused by a faulty water meter and other billing issues.

Judge Marcus Senyatsi on Friday ordered the city to:

Reverse the water charges to the property from 18 March 2016 until 6 November 2018.
Take actual meter readings at the property for three consecutive months and work out the daily average…

Daughter loses court bid

WebWorX — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 09:26:12 +0000

A woman lost her case after she went to court to ask that the customary marriage entered into between her father and her stepmother be declared invalid. Picture: File

Daughter loses court bid to nullify dead dad’s customary marriage to stepmother

Pretoria – A woman has taken her stepmother to court, saying her stepmother had never been married to her father, who is now deceased, as the “bride was never handed over” to his family.

The daughter, identified as ZK, asked the Eastern Cape High Court, sitting in Mthatha, to declare that the customary marriage entered into between the deceased and her stepmother was invalid on the grounds of non-compliance with the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act.

Courts get tough on sectional title owners

WebWorX — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:27:45 +0000

Trustees and managing agents have the right to disconnect the electricity of owners who are in arrears with their levies. Picture: Gelgas Airlangga/Pexels

Courts get tough on sectional title owners who don’t pay levies

Some residents of sectional title complexes have found themselves in the dark after failing to pay their levies and electricity charges.

The courts are not sympathetic to sectional title property owners who are accumulating substantial arrear levies and electricity charges, says BBM Law director Marina Constas.

Court action may be a “tough step” for the trustees to take, but in the current challenging financial times, body corporates are struggling and cannot carry the substantial debts that are being racked up by non-payment of levies.