HLR Conveyancing Attorneys

07/10/2025

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Cape Town has once again reaffirmed its global appeal as a world-class destination for international travellers and business professionals. The city has been ranked among the top 30 international cities for long-term remote workers in the latest Savills Executive Nomad Index.

03/07/2025

When transferring ownership of immovable property, we guide clients through the process every step of the way.

For a smooth, efficient and stress-free transaction, please get in touch.

18/06/2025

Thinking of selling your property?

Only qualified conveyancers may attend to the transfer of your fixed property and other related property transactions in terms of legislation, so make sure you have team of experienced and qualified experts on your side!

Get in touch with our team today to discuss the transfer of your home or investment. [email protected]

30/05/2025

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points, which provides some additional financial relief for homeowners and prospective buyers. This decision brings the repo rate down to 7.25% and the prime lending rate to 10.75%.

Data from Ooba Home Loans shows that a 25-basis-point reduction translates to monthly savings of R170 on a R1 million bond and R339 on a R2 million bond.

The latest oobarometer report highlighted that the average home price in South Africa has climbed to R1,661,519. This means a 0.25% drop in interest rates could bring notable relief to homeowners.

For the average South African home priced at R1.66 million, the monthly repayment decreases by R282, providing much-needed relief to households.

While uncertainties remain, the combination of lower rates, easing inflation, and renewed confidence will benefit the property market and prospective buyers.

Benefits for homeowners:
* Lower monthly repayments: Reduced interest rates mean less paid in interest each month, allowing homeowners to retain more of their income.
* Improved debt management: The extra savings can be redirected toward other debts or used to improve overall financial health.
* Increased affordability: Potential buyers, especially first-time homeowners, may find it easier to qualify for home loans and afford monthly payments in the current low-rate environment.

For homeowners, this is also a prime time to reassess your finances. You might want to increase your bond repayments to reduce overall interest or use the savings for home improvements. For prospective buyers, acting quickly could lock in better home loan deals before property prices start to rise with increased demand.

How to maximize the interest rate cut savings -
* Increase extra payments: With lower interest rates, you can apply the extra cash saved from reduced bond repayments to your principal, helping you pay off your home loan faster.
* Consider refinancing: The interest rate cut may provide an opportunity to refinance your bond at a lower rate, which could further reduce your monthly payments or shorten your loan term.
* Build an emergency fund: Use the savings from your reduced bond repayments to boost your emergency savings, ensuring you're better prepared for unexpected expenses.
* Plan for home improvements: The extra funds from lower bond payments can be redirected toward property upgrades, potentially increasing your home's value over time.
* Reassess financial priorities: With lower interest rates, now is a good time to re-evaluate your financial goals and strategies, ensuring you're making the most of the interest rate cut by paying off high-interest debts with this savings or saving more.

Although the immediate financial relief from this rate cut is relatively modest, its ripple effects are far-reaching. Improved affordability, rising consumer confidence, and favorable market conditions create a golden opportunity for buyers, sellers, and investors alike.

22/05/2025

Pick us for your stress-free property transfer.

The conveyancing process doesn’t have to be stressful. With the right conveyancer, a little planning, and clear communication, you’ll be celebrating a successful sale in no time.

19/05/2025

Unless a servitude is registered against the property’s title deed in the Deeds Office, it will not be binding on a new property owner. For example, if a farmer has an agreement with a neighbour to draw water from the neighbour’s farm, they wouldn’t be able to exercise that right should the neighbour sell the farm, and that right wasn’t registered at the Deeds Office.

Contact us today if you need help with a servitude matter.

12/05/2025

If you considering buying/ selling your property you will hear the word conveyancing thrown around quite a bit. Today we will explain what it is and what the conveyancing process fundamentally consists of.

A conveyancer is an attorney who has specialised in the preparation of deeds documents which by law are registrable in the Deeds Registry. Simply put, all conveyancers are attorneys, but not all attorneys are conveyancers.

A conveyancer is essentially the transfer attorney of a property, a bond attorney attending to a new bond registration, or a cancellation attorney attending to the cancellation of existing bond(s). The conveyancer gets all the legal paperwork in order to be able to file with the Deeds Office. The buyer is usually responsible for the conveyancer’s fees.

TYPES OF CONVEYANCING ATTORNEYS

There are three different types of conveyancing attorneys involved in the process of selling property. All of these have different roles and responsibilities. Let’s have a look at what they do.

• Transferring attorneys
They transfer the property from the seller to the buyer. As a rule of thumb, our common law determines that a seller is the party entitled to nominate who the transferring attorney must be, given that the seller carries more risk than the purchaser. That said, nothing prevents parties from agreeing that the purchaser can nominate the transferring attorney.

Regardless of who appoints the transferring attorney, they owe a duty of care to both parties and must represent both parties fairly, unless a dispute arises, in which case the transferring attorney will be allowed to act on behalf of the party who nominated him.

Transferring attorneys are usually compensated by the buyer. The transferring attorney needs to be a qualified conveyancer.
Additionally, the transferring attorney oversees the whole transfer process. They also collect the full purchase price on behalf of the seller, pay the costs involved on behalf of the parties, and reconcile the accounts.

• Registering (or bond) attorneys
These attorneys register the bond over the property in favour of the bank that is financing the purchase of the property. They represent the buyer and the bank granting the buyer’s home loan, and their fees are paid by the buyer. They play a critical role in the purchase of immovable property since most people cannot afford to buy a home without a home loan.

• Cancellation attorneys
The Cancellation attorneys cancel the seller’s bond in favour of the bank that has financed the property. They represent both the bank that has financed the home loan and the seller and are appointed by the bank cancelling the seller's bond. The Cancellation attorneys are usually compensated by the seller.

11/05/2025

To all the mothers🤍

08/05/2025

Let's shed some light on the different types of mortgage bonds available to prospective and current homeowners in South Africa.

* Notarial Bonds:

A general notarial bond hypothecates all of the moveable property of a borrower, surety or guarantor at a specific address and is recorded in the Deeds Registry.

A specific notarial bond on the other hand hypothecates specific movable property of the borrower, surety or guarantor at a specific address and the movables can be identified with, amongst other things, serial numbers etc.

The difference between a Mortgage Bond and a Notarial Bond is that a Mortgage Bond is registered over immovable property or a real right, and a Notarial Bond is registered over moveable property.

* Shari’ah Bonds:

A Shari’ah Bond is normally registered in terms of a Diminishing Musharakah agreement under Islamic law and is also known as a Sukuk Mortgage bond. These bonds have grown in popularity over the years.

The concept of riba, or what is commonly referred to as interest, is forbidden by Islamic law. As a result, conventional debt instruments, such as a mortgage bond with an interest rate linked to the transaction, are not acceptable in Islamic Cultures.

Sukuk represents the aggregate and undivided share of ownership in an asset taken up by the lender in a certain project or investment opportunity.

A Sukuk investor owns a portion of the asset that is connected to the investment and receives payment in the form of profit share or rent, rather than receiving repayment in monthly instalments with interest included.

* Surety Bond

A Surety bond is a mortgage bond that is passed by a third party in his/her/it’s capacity as surety for the debt of a borrower and will form part of further security requested by the lender for the obligation of a borrower.

* Collateral Bond

A Collateral bond is a mortgage bond in terms whereof additional security, in the form of immovable property or a real right, is mortgaged as additional security for an existing debt or obligation of the borrower and is collateral to a mortgage bond already registered for the specific obligation of the borrower.

07/05/2025

WHAT IS A MORTGAGE BOND?

A mortgage can be defined as a document/deed in terms whereof immovable property or a real right is encumbered as security for an indebtedness or obligation and the mortgage bond enables the Mortgagee to establish a preferential right against other creditors.

The indebtedness can be a direct or indirect liability incurred by the Mortgagor and the most common forms of indebtedness/obligations are moneys lent and advanced, future debts, suretyships signed and guarantees executed.

Important Terms:

1) Mortgagor
A mortgagor is the person or entity that entered into an agreement with a mortgagee in terms whereof an indebtedness or certain obligations are created subject to the provision of security.
The mortgagor can be described as the borrower or security provider.

2) Mortgagee
A mortgagee is the person or entity that requires certain security for the indebtedness or obligations of the mortgagor in terms of an agreement entered into and between a mortgagor and mortgagee. Mortgagees are typically referred to as the “Lender”.

3) Security
In a typical property transaction, a mortgagee will require a mortgage bond to be registered over the immovable property that is financed. Depending on the financial circumstances of the Mortgagor and value of the immovable property, the Mortgagee may require additional security in the form of a surety or guarantee from a third party.