1. Training matters: Learnerships in your estate agency 2. Legal matters: Tripartite agreements - are you up to date? 3. Frequently Asked Questions 4. Diary of Events



Training matters Learnerships in your estate agency If your estate agency pays skills development levies (which, by law, it must do if its annual salary and/or commission bill is R250 000 or more), then it can claim several benefits from the Services SETA. These include learnerships which, we believe, can be valuable to the estate agency as well as to the learners, and which will help our industry to move a step forward towards the transformation it has been struggling for so long to achieve. A firm which registers a learnership is, in effect, creating a job for a trainee. The SSETA will pay the firm a learnership grant, supply suitable applicants for the firm to choose from, and pay the chosen learner a basic monthly salary. The learner will be appointed for a year, during which the firm will provide on-the-job training to supplement whatever skills and qualification the learner already has. Both parties benefit. In addition to the financial benefits already mentioned, the firm has the services of a productive employee for a year, while the learner builds up career-related experience, and a work record document which is endorsed by the SSETA. A firm can create more than one learnership position if it wishes, and they need not be restricted to estate agents, but can also include administrative, accounting, marketing, and other business support positions. If you are interested in creating learnerships in your estate agency, contact the Services SETA at 021 914 7740, or speak to IEA regional manager Vivien Marks at 021 531 3180. Legal matters Tripartite agreements - are you up to date? The Transfer Duty Act was amended in December 2003 to clamp down on the practice of buying and re-selling property before transfer by means of a tripartite agreement. Example: X sells his property to Y for R300 000 and, before, taking transfer, Y onsells it to Z for R400 000. The three of them then sign a contract in which they cancel the sales between X and Y and between Y and Z, and replace them with a sale between X and Z, in which Z pays R300 000 to X for the property and R100 000 to Y as a "cancellation fee". That way, X still gets his original price, Y gets his profit, and Z gets the property. Until December, transfer duty was payable on only the final sale that was actually registered. However, attorneys have advised that, as the law now stands, transfer would now be payable on both the R300 000 sale from X to Y, and the R400 000 sale from Y to Z. The only way to avoid the double transfer duty would be if Y did not receive a "cancellation fee" or any other benefit. Frequently Asked Questions Topics about which we frequently receive enquiries from members and from the public. Fixtures and Fittings - by law, fixtures and fittings form part of the property and are included in the sale unless it is specifically agreed otherwise - examples of fixtures: fitted carpets, light fittings, built-in cupboards - movable accessories which "are of permanent service", e.g. bar stools (to go with a built-in bar counter), or keys to doors, are also regarded as fixtures - if there is any doubt about whether a particular item is to be included in the sale or not, it should be clarified in the agreement of sale - reference: South African Property Practice and the Law (H.J. Delport) Lease (Residential) - a residential lease must cover the following points: landlord's name and address, tenant's name and address, property address, lease period, rent to be paid, rent escalation (if any), deposit (if any), other charges (if any), landlord and tenant obligations - a lease may be written or oral - if the tenant asks for a written lease, the landlord must give him one - if the property is in a complex which has house rules, the landlord must give the tenant a copy of the rules - if the property is being let furnished, the landlord must give the tenant a list of furnishings - reference: Rental Housing Act 1999 "Voetstoots" Clause - protects the seller from liability for defects in a property - defects may be patent (i.e. obvious, such as a broken window) or latent (i.e. hidden, such as a problem in the foundations) - if the seller knows of any defects he (or his estate agent) must disclose them before making the sale - generally, if the buyer discovers defects after he's bought the property voetstoots, he cannot hold the seller liable - however, if the buyer can prove that the seller knew about the defects and failed to disclose them before the sale, then he can sue. IEA WESTERN CAPE DIARY Forthcoming courses: EAAB Exam Refresher Session 17 March (day before the exam) Real Estate Sales Course* 23 - 26 March How to Start Your Own Business 29 and 30 March Basic Training Workshop 14 April "Your Right to Commission" Workshop 16 April Commercial & Industrial Course* 19 - 22 April Super Seller Programme 20 and 22 April * accredited by the Services SETA __________ Enquiries and bookings: phone 021 531 3180