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Legal Aid Board champion Port Elizabeth cash property buyer and win. – Featured Blog

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Today’s posts from our featured Port Elizabeth Blogger:

Legal Aid Board champion Port Elizabeth cash property buyer and win. by The Port Elizabeth Property Blog:

Everyday people buy property and in most cases the purchaser’s efforts are rewarded by becoming the registered owner of the property. In many people’s lives their property is an asset, a status symbol, a larger more comfortable home or even an architectural statement of design or maybe it’s an investment property, which will if all goes well, will appreciate in value as a capital investment but also as a monthly income generating asset.

But often we forget that greatest number of our country’s citizens cannot afford to buy a home and that for many, the purchase of their own home, albeit however modest, is a major life event.
In Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a story unfolded which had all too real consequences and which resulted in the law of the land being changed. It all began as most stories do, sometime back when a lady found her dream home. She managed to procure the purchase price, by loaning the funds from her employer and paid for the property in cash.

At this point, her journey to becoming a homeowner was well on its way to becoming a realised dream. It was at this point, that circumstances intervened and dealt her dream an apparently mortal blow. The transfer of the property was delayed for various reasons and this must have been endlessly frustrating, however worse was to follow.

In the interim the seller’s estate was declared insolvent, which resulted in a liquidator being appointed who in terms of the law exercised his right to not proceed with the sale. To make matter worse the funds had been paid cash to the seller was potentially also lost. The purchaser merely had a concurrent claim against the estate, so the chances of her receiving the funds back seemed slim at best and then if successful she would have only possibly receive a nominal amount depending on the insolvent estate.

She then turned to the law and she lost, she sought leave to appeal, which was rejected by both to a Full court of the High Court and the Supreme Court of appeal, on the basis, that the matter suffered from a “lack of prospects of success”. It must have been a difficult, dark and traumatic time for this resilient lady.

Our determined purchaser was tenacious so she approached her only other hope being the legal Aid Board. Her case was then taken up by a senior High Court practitioner at the Legal Aid Board, Mr Roche van As, along with one of the Legal Aid Board’s advocates, Adv Lilla Crouse; who together took the purchaser’s case to the Constitutional Court, which found in favour of the purchaser and ordered the property to be transferred into the name of the purchaser.

This has been a huge victory for vulnerable persons, in a similar position as the purchaser. The Constitutional Court however stated that the Act applicable was not consistent with her constitutional rights to “access to adequate housing, dignity and equality“. The Court achieved the remedy for her by reading into the Act the words that in the event a vulnerable person like her, paying the purchase price in a lump sum or within a year, that such person may take registration of the property and have their rights protected and would have the right to take transfer, even though the seller was now insolvent.

This judgement was a personally momentous victory for the purchaser, who now could join the ranks of home owners and have the peace of mind of not being left on the street, with her sole protection, the Prevention of Illegal Evictions Act, which would have been cold comfort, given that she would have still potentially owed her employer the funds borrowed and still have no home, to call her own.

If you feel that your rights have been or may be affected get professional advice, because it literally will make a world of a difference. No set of facts is ever really the same, so don’t rely on an article or book that you read, get that professional guidance and input. In South Africa, you can avail yourself on Legal Aid, but then the applicant must qualify, based on a means test, which is determined by their mandate.

I salute the brave purchaser and her fight which took her to the Constitutional Court and never forgetting her legal representatives who had the tenacity, the skill and the experience to bring this matter to a triumphant end for the purchaser.

In property as with all other matters make sure that you get the best advice and seek out those who have not only the knowledge but also the wisdom to see all parts of the challenge.

A video featuring this story was posted by SABC News on Youtube. 


Clinton Begley (PPRE MPRE CEA B.PROC (NMMU)) is an associate at KW Explore Properties, at their Port Elizabeth Market Centre. He also holds a B.Proc degree through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (previously the University of Port Elizabeth) and is a non-practising Attorney, Notary and Conveyancer. His legal and real estate experience is augmented by studies towards a MBA degree through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School, which he is scheduled to complete at the end of 2015. This article reflects the personal opinion of the author only, it is not intended as legal advice nor may any reliance be placed upon it. The article is purely for information purposes and you are advised to consult an expert before making any decision. The author nor any other person or entity may be held liable for damages of whatsoever nature from whatsoever cause.

Read more here: The Port Elizabeth Property Blog

Are all estate agencies the same, everywhere? by The Port Elizabeth Property Blog:
Are all estate agencies the same, everywhere?

One does not need to be an experienced campaigner to know that estate agencies are never the same, even within the same franchise differences exist. These differences may be ascribed to the leadership, the culture of the business, the franchise systems, local context etc. It is recognising and adjusting for these differences, which makes for the success and or failure of operations.

In Port Elizabeth for example which is tightly knit city, we have never transitioned to the big city way of doing business. As Port Elizabethans we have very often chosen to forsake higher income for what we perceive not as a higher standard of life but definitely a better quality of life.

As we have just launched the starter office for Keller Williams Explore Properties in Port Elizabeth, many of those attracted to the brand have been attracted by the priorities of God and family and then business, priorities which have often become reversed, much to the detriment of many a family.

We have also had to be conscious that property professionals in Port Elizabeth have been attracted to the profession, by the freedom of being an estate agent. We as a business, which places great emphasis on these priorities, but also intense training, have had to realise that agents will need to gradually be made used to the more intense training schedule, while being mindful of not scaring off candidates because of intense regimens of training etc.

Like with any form of fitness, we realise that our associates need to adjust to many different aspects:

  • Moving from a mindset of being an employee to a mindset of thinking like a business owner, which is why at KW we have associates, because we are in business together;
  • To move from a paradigm of “learning because we have to” to learning for earning sake;
  • Very often associates in a previous life could do very much as they pleased whereas now we at the market centre hold them accountable to their own goals;
  • they have to come to the realisation that we do not manage them as employees, rather we manage through influence, recognising the fact that we are strategic partners, which is so alien to those accustomed to the usual command and control form of management;
  • Structure in work practices is something which many real estate agents have never really had to embrace because there has never really been any defined work habits, so getting used this structure takes some getting used to, however the benefits of adopting key practices soon proves its value in steadily increasing production and fewer pipeline bubbles;
  • etc
So KW Explore Properties (Port Elizabeth) is not the same as other agencies and yes we are even different is some ways to other KW branches, as all KW market centres are, because we recognise that local differences exist and that we have to be context sensitive, while recognising that the diversity adds strength not only to our associates but also to our market centres and our community.

Clinton Begley (PPRE MPRE) is the Team Leader of KW Explore Properties Port Elizabeth, at their Port Elizabeth Market Centre. He also holds a B.Proc degree through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (previously the University of Port Elizabeth) and is a non-practising Attorney, Notary and Conveyancer. His legal and real estate experience is augmented by studies towards a MBA degree through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School, which he is scheduled to complete at the end of 2014. This article reflects the personal opinion of the author only, it is not intended as legal advice nor may any reliance be placed upon it. The article is purely for information purposes and you are advised to consult an expert before making any decision. The author nor any other person or entity may be held liable for damages of whatsoever nature from whatsoever cause.

Read more here: The Port Elizabeth Property Blog

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This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.