Sydwell Mketsu holds an LLB degree and has certificates in Arbitration, Practice Management, Comparative Constitutional law, International Business Transactions, Legislative Drafting, and monitoring. Mr Mketsu’s speciality areas include Arbitration, Litigation and dispute resolution, Property law, Labour law, Commercial law, administrative law, public law Compliance, and Regulatory law.
With over 17 years of experience as an attorney, Mketsu worked for, the Human Rights Commission and the Office of the State Attorney in Pretoria. He further represented the largest state-owned and private enterprises in South Africa.
Professional membership bodies
Legal Practice Council
Gauteng Provincial Law Council
Arbitration Foundation of South Africa
Gauteng Family Law Society
Membership of voluntary associations certificates
Black Lawyers Association, Law Society of South Africa,
You have finally found a buyer for your property, What’s the next step?
The transferring of property may seem to be difficult and complicated, but with the help of a conveyance, attorney or notary nothing can stand between you and your buyer. We outline all the steps to take during the process.
Step 1: Receive the Offer to Purchase
The offer to purchase signifies the buyer’s intention to purchase the seller’s property. It stipulates the terms and conditions for the sale and purchase of the property. An Offer to Purchase becomes legally binding once accepted by the seller. The transfer process commences once an Offer to Purchase has been signed by both the buyer and the seller and presented to the transferring attorney.
Step 2: Securing the Purchase Price
The Offer to Purchase stipulates the manner of payment of the purchase price. It can either be payable in cash or through bank finance, or a combination of both. If the purchase price or part thereof is to be secured through bank finance, the purchaser will apply for a loan from a bank.
Once the purchaser’s loan application has been approved, a bond registration attorney will be appointed by the bank to register a mortgage bond over the property as security for the bank. The transferring attorney will liaise with the bond registration attorney to request guarantees for the purchase price and to arrange the simultaneous registration of the transfer and the mortgage bond.
Step 3: Obtain Relevant Documents
There are various documents that are required during the transfer process, depending on the nature of the transaction. Bond cancellation figures in respect of the seller’s existing bond over the property.
Rates clearance figures from a local municipality. Levy clearance figures from a body corporate or home owners association and transfer duty receipt or exemption certificate from SARS.
Step 4: Sign Transfer Documents
The transferring attorney will prepare the transfer documents to be signed by the seller and the purchaser. Both parties will sign various FICA affidavits confirming their personal particulars and a SARS transfer duty declaration outlining the nature of the transaction and indicating whether any transfer duty is payable. The seller will also sign a Power of Attorney to pass the transfer. A Power of Attorney to pass transfer is an important document that will be lodged in the deed’s office. Authorizing a conveyancer to appear before the Registrar of Deeds and pass the transfer of the property to the buyer on behalf of the seller.
Step 5: Obtain Clearance Certificates
During the transfer process, the purchaser will pay the transfer costs to the transferring attorney, including the transfer duty payable to SARS, if applicable. The transferring attorney will pay the transfer duty to SARS and obtain a transfer duty receipt, if applicable. If the transaction is exempt from transfer duty, the transferring attorney will obtain a transfer duty exemption certificate.
The seller will be liable for payment of the municipal and levy-clearance figures to get the necessary clearance certificates. The seller is also responsible to arrange the issuing of the electrical compliance certificate, gas compliance certificate, and electrical fence certificate, if applicable.
Step 6: Lodge in Deeds Office
Once all the documents are in order, the transfer documents will be submitted to the deed’s office for registration. If there are various attorneys attending to different aspects of the transaction, their documents will be linked and lodged simultaneously with the transferring attorney’s documents. The consents to cancel the seller’s existing mortgage bond over the property, and the buyer’s mortgage bond.
Step 7: Registration and Finances
The process of registration in the deeds’ office takes typically between 8-10 working days from the date of lodgment. Once registration is complete, a new title deed will be issued confirming that the purchaser is the registered owner of the property. Upon registration, the transferring attorney will finalize the parties’ statements of account and pay the proceeds of the sale to the seller.
We are pleased to announce that our Managing Director Sydwell Mketsu has been appointed as an audit committee member of the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform.
The role of the committee is to help strengthen the objectivity and credibility of financial and non-financial reporting. Monitor the performance of the Internal Audit Unit, management’s responses to reported weaknesses, control deficiencies, and make recommendations for improvement. Review compliance with Legal and regulatory provisions.
Founder of Mketsu and Associates incorporated attorneys Mr Sydwell Mketsu was interviewed on The Aubrey Masango Show Radio 702. The interview was on the 5th of January 2021. The topic being discussed was The legal process one needs to follow to evict non-paying tenants who do not want to leave the property after buying. You can listen to the interview below.
COVID-19 has already caused tremendous harm to the African Continent both Physically and Financially.
Many people have been left out of pocket, worse yet many people will either fail to fulfil their contractual and financial obligations in the coming future.
Recently there has been a lot of talk surrounding the maxims Act of God and Force Majeure, these two terms are often used interchangeably leading to some confusion. First and foremost let’s deal with these terms first.
Is a defence in law for the fulfilment of a duty or obligation, Simply put because of unforeseen natural occurrence and circumstances out of one’s personal control, a party cannot be held responsible for a material breach of contract and its resulting consequences.
Generally speaking, Force Majeure is most common in contracts, usually a clause excusing liability in the event of an irresistible force or unforeseen event. The most important take away is that Force Majeure is governed by the relevant law governing the contract.
Our law often conflates these two terms and in most instances, this is not problematic. However, an Act of God seems to stem from common-law, was Force Majeure is specifically put into a contract.
The difference would seem that some contracts will be able to more fully rely on the defences in common law and legislation while those without specific “clauses” will be much weaker in law.
The requirements for a defence of this kind to succeed has lucky been examined by the Court namely
If these requirements are met a party may have a valid defence in law, Parties with contract clauses specifically relating to Force Majeure will certainly enjoy a substantially stronger position. For those who have suffered loss as a result of this defence they certainly exist the prospect of an unjustified enrichment claim.
We offer solutions based on each individual case, our assessment it frank and honest.
WE CAN ASSIST YOU! with these and many more solutions.
COVID-19 may seem like an unrelenting hurricane of problems but it need not be, we can offer our clients a way out.
The above mentioned is a legal opinion and should not be construed as legal advise, Should you have any questions please contact our office.
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