Advice For Remote Working Conveyancers
UK - TodaysConveyancer
Is your law firm prepared for remote working?
Bars, restaurants, clubs, gyms and social spaces have been asked to close by the government with all employees advised to work from home wherever possible.
With over 7,400 law firms in the UK holding client money and all legal professionals and their workplaces storing extremely sensitive personal data, it is imperative firms have their systems set up and cyber security cultures embedded.
Cyber criminals jump at any chance to exploit our weaknesses and anxieties surrounding Covid-19 is no exception. Already, police forces in the UK have reported cyber criminals actively sending out phishing emails claiming to be sent from the World Health Organisation (WHO) or Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The attached links contain malware if opened.
TodaysConveyancer
New intervention to expedite Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC queries)
South Africa - EAAB
The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) is introducing a new measure to help fast-track Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC) queries. As of next Thursday March 26, estate agents with outstanding FFC queries will be able to liaise with a dedicated team at the EAAB’s Sandton, Johannesburg offices.
The latest intervention entails estate agents and firms being serviced on every alternative Thursday by way of a walk-in system.
A schedule of the dates will be published on the EAAB website and all affected estate agents are encouraged to utilise this service to expedite outstanding issues. It will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. These include issuance of FFC’s, new applications, blocked FFC’s due to non-or late payment and change of employment details.
In terms of the Estate Agency Affairs Act all registered estate agents are required to be in possession of a valid FFC to be able to trade.
Estate agents are urged to provide all supporting documents to fast-track the process, including proof of payment, any reference numbers, and a certified copy of their ID and letters confirming employment in respect of new applications.
EAAB
Business braces for coronavirus
South Africa - Property360
The commercial property sector is likely to be hard hit as the country’s Covid-19 crisis escalates.
The Covid-19 pandemic is set to have a negative ripple effect on South Africa’s commercial property sector as country shutdowns and economic declines hit global exports and imports.
But it could also offer opportunities for some sectors. “Just when we thought the world economy was going to improve, coronavirus emerged, and if it carries on like this it will definitely have an impact on the world economy,” says FNB economist John Loos.
Speaking at an FNB commercial property finance broker breakfast in Durban last week, he said China was a major trading partner for South Africa, and as production there had largely ground to a halt amid the spread of the virus, there could be dampened demand for imports and exports.
This will not only see South Africa’s exports to China being affected but also imports from that country which will, in turn, disrupt domestic production. Industrial property will be the first affected followed by foreign and leisure tourism.
Property360
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