1. Frequently asked questions - Beetle Inspection Certificate, Capital Gains Tax Valuation, Who may select the conveyancer, Cooling-off clause, Electrical Compliance Certificate 2. Our 2000th member 3. Meet another director - Kevin Wynne



Frequently asked questions NOT a day passes that we don't receive enquiries from members on a wide range of matters. Here, in point form, is a selection of some of the information we're asked about. We hope it will be useful to readers. Beetle Inspection Certificate - is not required by law, but is commonly required by financial institutions in connection with home loan applications - is usually valid for a limited period (which should be stated on the certificate) - the seller usually pays for the inspection and the certificate (and for any repairs or wood treatment that may be needed to earn the certificate). Capital Gains Tax Valuation (of property) - is to establish the value as at 1 October 2001 - is not compulsory because owners who bought their properties before 1 October 2001 can use the "time-based apportionment" method instead - property owners who bought their properties after 1 October 2001 must use the purchase price as the base value - the SA Revenue Service does not require a valuation to be performed by a registered professional valuer - if a property owner wants a valuation certificate for CGT purposes, he/she must obtain it before 30 September 2004 - reference: SARS website (www.sars.gov.za). Conveyancer - in the Western Cape, the conveyancing attorney is chosen by the seller and paid by the buyer - this is common law - if the seller does not have an attorney to handle the property transfer, the estate agent is allowed to recommend one but he/she may not unduly influence the seller to use the recommended attorney. "Cooling Off" Clause - applies only if the purchase price is R250 000 or less and the property is being sold by private treaty (i.e. not by auction) - if the buyer wants to cancel the contract, he/she must do so in writing and must submit the letter to the seller (or the seller's agent) within five working days (excluding the date of signing the offer, and any weekends or public holidays) - if the buyer has paid any deposit or other money, the seller must refund it in full without delay - does not apply if the seller and buyer have previously signed a similar contract for the same property - does not apply if the buyer is exercising an option to purchase which was open to him for at least five working days - does not apply if the buyer is buying through a company, CC or trust, or on behalf of someone else - reference: Alienation of Land Act. Electrical Compliance Certificate - the seller must hand a certificate over to the buyer on passing transfer of the property - the certificate is valid indefinitely, so if the seller already has one he does not need to pay for an inspection or for another certificate - the format of the certificate and the requirements for inspection were changed in 2002, but certificates issued before that date remain valid - if the electrical installation has been altered or added to since the certificate was issued, there -must be an additional certficate for the alteration or addition - proposals for new regulations were announced in 2002 but have not been finalised, so the original 1992 regulations remain in force until further official notice - reference: Electrical Installation Regulations 1992. More in our next issue. Our 2000th member IEA Western Cape's regional chairman Anne Porter and 2000th member Rupert van Breda Current membership of IEA Western Cape now stands at 2000. The estate agent who brought us to this level is Rupert van Breda, and we duly gave him royal treatment at our recent meeting. Rupert - who had no idea that his application for membership would bring our membership up to 2000 - was presented with a special membership card by our regional chairman, Anne Porter. Now ... who's going to be member 2500? Meet your Directors Every month, we profile (in alphabetical order) our IEA Western Cape regional directors. Kevin Wynne Has been a property valuer since 1966 and an estate agent since 1982. He runs his own firm, in Paarl. As an IEA regional director, he chairs our Ethics Committee. We wish all our readers a happy, peaceful and safe festive season and a wonderful new year. IEA News will be back in January 2004.