Asked by the Customer on 14-07-2020 18:27:10
Question posted in the Property Law category relating to Gauteng

Good day,

After having made an arrangement with my property agent who was bulding my house to sign the happy letter while there was still a few things to finish, it turns out he never did all the geotechnical tests required before starting the house. Now the NHBRC won't issue the enrolment certificate because of these outstanding tests and the bank will not pay the agent. This means i will not get my house. 

I have paid all my registration fees. Recently the bond registering lawyers informed me that the bank has withdrawn the home loan, but i never got any communication from the bank regarding this. Please advise on what would be next step for me if indeed the bank withdraws the home loan.

Posted by Att. Patrick on 14-07-2020 20:04:16

Hi there and thank you for your question,

I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.

Has the house been constructed yet? Or is it still in the process of being constructed?

Are you not able to do the geotechnical tests now even though you've started construction?

Are you the registered owner of the property? Or is the property being transferred to you still?

You say that the bond registering lawyers advised that the bank is no longer willing to give you a bond, this implies that you are not yet the owner of the property?

Att. Patrick

Good day,
The house has been constructed and its almost done, only inside fittings are outstanding.

The geotechnical tests can still be done, in fact they are in the process, the agent says the delays on the results of the tests is because of the lockdown.

The house is not registered in my name yet, the registration process is linked to the geotechnical tests results also. So the property is being transferred to me still.

The contract for the loan is a turnkey, so the agent also hasnt been paid anything as yet. they will only get paid once the property is registered in my name.

Posted by Att. Patrick on 15-07-2020 11:52:19

Thanks for that further information. Based on what you've said, it appears that the issues are being resolved. 

I think that you would need to contact the bank's bond attorneys to find out why the bank wants to withdraw from the bond. I think that you should tell them that it is too late for the bank to withdraw and you demand that they continue with the process.

If they absolutely refuse, then my advice is to apply for a bond with another bank?

Okay thanks,
If i end up having to apply with another bank, can i get my money back from the current bond attorneys?

Posted by Att. Patrick on 16-07-2020 23:57:59

Yes. If they didn't actually do their work, then they are not entitled to charge a fee.