I am an Agent

“A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” (Samuel Goldwyn) Verbal agreements in South Africa are generally as binding and valid as written ones. Of course not recording your...

“In short, it [a Fidelity Fund Certificate] is a licence to practice without which you cannot practice.” (Extract from judgment below) As an estate agent you will know that without a valid...

“Time is of the essence” (legal phrase meaning ‘speed is essential, there’s a deadline, this is an emergency, hurry up, do it now’ – The Phrase Finder) You sell your...

You want to charge one of your employees with serious misconduct so you institute disciplinary proceedings. To avoid a possible dismissal the employee resigns “with immediate effect”. Can you go...

“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” (Wise old adage) You sign a two year lease for a nice little apartment (or a large family house if you have a spouse, 3 kids and a dog) but after 6...

“Agree, for the law is costly” (Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman lawyer and statesman) We all know how easy it is for misunderstandings and disputes to arise between landlords and tenants, and whilst...

“Co-ownership is the mother of disputes” (Roman law maxim)  Buying property can be an excellent investment, but it can also be expensive. So sometimes it makes a lot of sense to share the...

There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip” (very wise old proverb) A recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) case shows yet again how essential it is to double-check that your Fidelity Fund...

“In war and litigation, both sides suffer” (old Roman proverb) Here’s yet another reminder from our courts on how important it is – if you want to avoid the trials of litigation – for you to have...

“A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” (Samuel Goldwyn)“A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” (Samuel Goldwyn) A recent High Court judgment is yet another...