NEWSLETTER : March 2012
The year is already in full swing and many of the same world concerns are still in circulation with Europe taking a pounding and many economies expecting limited or even negative growth. Locally the latest budget speech speaks of spending on infrastructure but in reality it is not known where the funds will come from that our president has indicted will be spent.
It seems that some sense is prevailing in the Government to drop ideas of nationalizing the mines and early signs for the year are that some of the banks are trying to lend a little more willingly, but in my opinion the banks continue to dictate in a manner which makes development and property transactions a challenging arena. Yet after 3 years of suffering I do believe that there are early signs of recovery and certainly for Miller Attorneys, we are predicting a far better and more stable year.
The firm has spent a lot of cost and time in setting up a management system to control its process and the staff compliment is small but trained and skilled to deliver the kind of service which is a requirement in this highly competitive and technological conveyancing market. I believe that this will be the year in which the firm reaches a new plateau of success. The consolidation has afforded us time to settle and build but there is no doubt that this year the firm will be proactive in marketing, visibility and developing new-client relationships. The firm will focus on Capital Gains Tax transactions where clients have the remainder of this year to complete the disposal of their dwellings or even second property which was in trust, Company or CC to their personal name and to qualify for transfer duty exemption.
The firm has a number of these transactions and has a competitive fee structure as well as a track record of complying with the onerous SARS requirements in a skilled manner. We are confident that we can deliver advice and support to clients to complete the conveyancing and the subsequent closure of Company, Close Corporation or Trust. Dealing with institutions like the Master and Local Authorities is difficult at the best of times but we have a connected team that will help in the process.
As far as banks are concerned it seems that the lending rollercoaster continues and currently Standard Bank and Absa seem to be busy with property finance going the route of Nedbank and First National Bank. Lending criteria remains stringent but using a quality originator who can be recommended by our team and having the FICA and requisite deposit available will certainly speed up the process. We have recently assisted a client where the Deed of Sale, payment of deposit, approval of loan and signature of documents all took place in a week and now in the second week we have arranged lodgment - it is elected that the entire transaction will take less than 4 weeks. This is truly possible if all the parties are willing to assist and afford us the opportunity to complete our processes without any delay or frustration.
Regarding local authority news Kungwini and Nokeng are now part of Tshwane and clearances will shortly need to be applied at Pretoria. Pretoria is still efficient at this stage but Johannesburg still presents major challenges because they are now looking to decentralize the system to the area of the property. They also have very poor skill set and productivity is shocking compared to the relatively easy process that has to be followed in issue a Rates Clearance Certificate. It is amazing that in Australia this process takes 2 hours whereas this Country we can wait up to 8 months for a figure - when will someone step up and sort out this mess.
A time of waiting for things to happen, is over and motivation levels are at all time high in our Firm and by mid-year we hope to report that this year is producing the results predicted.
It is an exciting time to be in Irene, in the property industry and at Miller Attorneys.
Regards
Ian Miller |
