Dispatch

Old title deed conditions and servitudes bind every new owner, and removing them takes a formal application that few buyers plan for.

A voetstoots clause does not shield a seller who knowingly hides a defect, so the fast concealed sale often costs more than the slow honest one.

Buying into a sectional title scheme means buying into its owners and trustees, and the minutes and financial statements show what they are like.

Cracks, damp patches and a tripping earth leakage switch are a building’s way of showing where it is under strain, and they are cheap to read early.

The first buyer in an off-plan development trusts paper before bricks, so where the deposit is held and what the contract says matter most.

A seller who gathers deeds, plans and accounts before listing saves time for strangers further down the chain of a property sale.

Tenants are rarely told on day one that deposits earn interest for them and that joint inspections decide what can be deducted.

An offer to purchase runs on dates like the bond approval deadline, and when a date passes the contract acts, whatever anyone hoped.

An agent who thinks in years, from a first lease to a first home to a resale, gives more honest advice on affordability than one counting deals.