Voetstoots – have your property inspected Have your property inspected by an expert The definition of “goods” in the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (“CPA”), includes a legal interest in land or other immovable property. The act protects a buyer in that the consumer is entitled to receive goods that are reasonably suitable for the purpose for which they are generally intended, are of good quality, in good working order and free of any defects. Consumers who buy immovable property in the names of juristic persons – a trust or company - may be denied the protection of the CPA should the transaction be exempted from the act in terms of section 5(2)(d) (where the buyer is a juristic person whose asset value or annual turnover, at the time of the transaction, equals or exceeds the threshold value determined by The Minister (currently R2m). If you are selling your fixed property, you may not be able to rely on the standard voetstoots clause (that the purchaser buys the property “as is” [warts and all]) that estate agents insert in the offer to purchase. Invariably, with the best will in the world, a problem manifests itself later (whether it’s a leaking roof or a faulty pool pump) and the buyer cries foul. The only way sellers can get past the implied warranty is to describe the condition of the goods in specific detail to make it clear in which condition the goods are being sold. The buyer then has to has to “expressly agree” to accept the goods. Only if the buyer “knowingly acted in a manner consistent with accepting goods in (a less than ideal) condition” would the implied warranty of quality fall away. Every defect must be described in the contract of sale that the buyer signs. In my experience, you would be well advised to have an expert carry out an inspection of your property. Depending on the size of your house, you would be looking at an inspection fee of between R3000 to R3500 + VAT. I would suggest that your attorney builds into the offer to purchase that the offer is subject to a house inspection and that the parties share the costs. The effect of this is that the purchaser will have at his fingertips a list of defects, prepared by an expert, also indicating what it would cost to fix the defects. He will then have the option of accepting the property, as is, of walking away from the deal, or making a reduced offer. It would then be up to you to decide whether or not to accept a lesser offer. At the end of the day, no one can argue, after the event, that there was not a full disclosure. The shared cost of the house inspection is money well spent. inspectahome.co.za/ housecheck.co.za/
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 16:09:44 +0000
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