Dispatch

In a property sale the side without a deadline gains leverage, so sellers who plan early and fix dates in the offer keep control.

A new build’s handover inspection and snag list, done before the final payment, is the owner’s best chance to get defects fixed.

Disputes over estimated municipal water bills are usually won by whoever kept records, such as dated photographs of the meter.

A listing that sits unchanged for months signals a problem, and small repeated price cuts teach buyers to wait instead of offering.

A municipal valuation roll notice is easy to ignore, but the values on it set property rates for years and the objection period is limited.

Late body corporate financial statements usually point to books that have been slipping, and they hurt levies, sales and contractors.

A new owner inherits a house but often not its paperwork, so compliance certificates and plans are best collected in the first week.

Old title deed conditions written to protect a suburb can block sensible changes decades later, because they fix the method instead of the purpose.

Fashionable house design must be adjusted to the Limpopo sun, with north facing glass, deep overhangs and proper roof insulation.