Landlords may sue for breach of contract
IolProperty - South Africa
When a tenant cancels the lease prematurely, the landlord can accept this breach as the tenant's refusal or abandonment to perform the duty or obligation. This is legally referred to as a repudiation of a contract.
The landlord can claim damages he or she might have sustained as a result of the tenant's breach by holding the tenant liable for rental for the remaining period of the lease. The tenant is likely to forfeit the security deposit, and if this amount is less than the monthly rental, the landlord can sue for the balance and any damage suffered.
If the landlord finds a replacement tenant immediately, he is obliged to refund the full deposit. The landlord, in this instance, will also have to abandon any claim for future rentals.
The legal argument is that the landlord did not suffer financial prejudice by re-letting the dwelling and receiving a security deposit from the new tenant, even though the previous tenant vacated the dwelling prematurely.
IolProperty
Credit and mortgage advances
Absa - South Africa
Low growth in household credit and mortgage balances in 2014
Growth in the total value of outstanding credit balances in the South African household sector slowed down to 3,4% year-on-year (y/y) at the end of December 2014 – its lowest level since early 2010. Growth in household unsecured credit balances dropped further to a level last seen around mid-2010, while growth in secured credit balances was largely stable at a low level in the last four months of 2014.
Household secured credit balances (R1 073,1 billion at end-December and 76,2% of total household credit balances) saw growth of 2,9% y/y at the end of December, unchanged from November and on par with growth since September last year. Secured credit includes instalment sales, leasing finance and mortgage loans.
Growth in household unsecured credit balances (amounting to R335,7 billion and 23,8% of total household credit balances) tapered off further to 4,7% y/y at the end of December 2014. The largest component of unsecured credit balances with a share of 60,4%, i.e. general loans and advances (largely personal loans and micro finance), registered growth of 2,1% y/y at end-December, which was the lowest annual growth in any year for more than ten years. Unsecured credit consists of general loans and advances, credit card debt and overdrafts.
Credit and mortgage advances (Dec 2014)
How to pay off your bond in 10 years
BetterBond - South Africa
If you’ve just bought your first home, the day that your mortgage will be fully paid off and the property will really be yours probably seems a very, very long way off.
The good news, however, it that there are tried and tested ways to bring that day much closer – and save yourself tens of thousands of rands in the process, says Shaun Rademeyer, CEO of BetterBond, SA’s leading mortgage origination group.
“Did you know, for example, that if you have a home loan of R800 000 at an interest rate of 9,25%, you could drop your bond repayment period to 17 years instead of 20, and save R178 000 in interest, just by paying an extra R500 a month into your bond account?
Pay off your bond in ten years
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