For first-time home buyers, the whole process can seem a difficult one to navigate. While some buyers are happy to leave it all in someone else’s hands, it’s also important to have some grasp of the legal processes involved in acquiring property.
Far too often we get emails from buyers who have had their fingers burnt by unscrupulous fly-by-night pretenders. It is heartbreaking to see people, who’ve saved so hard, being led down a garden path with no home at the end of it.
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Some buyers also do not know all the fees they have to pay, often making incorrect assumptions resulting in bad financial planning which costs them dearly. It is, as many have discovered, not as simple as, say, buying a car.
With this in mind, we hope this week’s in-depth look at the processes, plus the highlights of some important new property laws, will be helpful. We are especially excited about the Property Practitioners Act, which will govern the majority of role players in the sector and go a long way to protecting the consumer.
It also seeks to regulate the property practitioner’s role, plus bring about much-needed transformation in the sector through significant focus on the implementation of BBBEE standards throughout the industry, and seeks to establish a special fund that will support transformation.
In other words, this piece of legislation will help level the playing field for buyers, sellers and estate agents. We believe transformation is vital for the sector and look forward to this coming to fruition. We also believe anything that can be put in place to offer the consumer more protection is necessary.
We look forward to seeing how the act will play out and hope the worthy intentions do become an easy reality.
Let us know your thoughts...
Warm regards
Vivian Warby
vivian.warby@inl.co.za