Web Bytes 008

Calls for change in laws governing property deals
Scotland Today - Scotland
There are calls for a change in the law governing property deals. Scotland Today can reveal that an alarming number of homebuyers and sellers are being left high and dry because of delays in legal contracts being signed.

The Scottish system of buying and selling houses has always been considered greatly superior to the English one. There is no gazumping here: the buyer makes an offer, the offer is accepted and that is that - or at least it was. Nowadays more and more property transactions are falling through, sometimes just days before move-in dates, and it is causing huge problems.
Scotland Today

Former Charlotte Real Estate Adviser Admits Mortgage Fraud
WSOCtv.com - USA
Charlotte, NC -- A former Charlotte real estate adviser admits to helping to run one of the largest mortgage fraud schemes in North Carolina history.
WSOCtv.com

Pandor pleads for speedy land transfers
Business Day - South Africa
Education Minister Naledi Pandor has called on farmers and landowners to speedily sign agreements handing over private pieces of land on which there are public institutions such as schools to the government, said the government news agency, BuaNews.
Business Day

CGT: Taxpayers face hefty fines
Finance24 - South Africa
Johannesburg - The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has warned taxpayers that inflating valuations for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) in terms of the Income Tax Act, 1962, could result in additional taxes of up to 200% of the tax evaded and criminal prosecution.
Finance24

Think before shooting to protect property
Independent Online - South Africa
South Africans are in a state of confusion about how much force they can use in defending themselves from crime and mistakes in this area could have "disastrous consequences", according to research.
Independent Online

Rate cut may derail house market
Moneyweb - South Africa
Independent property economist Erwin Rode of Rode & Associates has warned that any further reduction in interest rates may result in the housing market taking a tumble - particularly the upper-end of the market.
Moneyweb