Expertise

Kelly is an admitted Attorney, Conveyancer and Notary Public of the High Court of South Africa and has over six years of experience in real estate transactions including, but not limited to, property transfers (both commercial and residential), the registration of securities in the form of mortgage bonds, general and special notarial bonds in favour of private lenders, commercial property finance, drafting and reviewing commercial and residential lease agreements, drafting and reviewing sale of land agreements and property related due diligence investigations.

Recent Experience

• Drafting, negotiating and reviewing various agreements relevant to real estate transactions (both commercial and residential): sale of land agreements, lease agreements, long-term lease agreements, servitudes and bond documents.
• Commercial and residential property transfers. Kelly transferred a commercial property sold by public auction on behalf of a private bank with a purchase price of ZAR100 million. Kelly also transferred properties arising from liquidations, deceased estates, divorce settlement agreements as well as insolvent estates.
• Drafting and registration of securities in relation to private banks/lenders: mortgage bonds and notarial bonds up to the sum of ZAR200 million. This also entailed obtaining additional securities on behalf of the institution such as suretyships as well as guarantee and shortfall undertaking agreements. On occasion, Kelly also reviewed complex facility and security agreements.
• Assisting with the registration of general and special notarial bonds in various acquisition finance and project finance transactions.
• Property related due diligence investigations.
• Drafting, negotiating and reviewing lease agreements, long-term lease agreements, sub-lease agreements and servitudes for high profile corporate clients in the oil, gas and chemical sectors in particular.
• Drafting and registration of servitudes.
• Attending to various real estate related endorsements, drafting and registration of various applications in the Deeds Registry including, but not limited to, amendments on deeds of title and bond documents, lost deeds of title and mortgage bonds, caveats, interdicts and attachments on immovable property.
• Drafting notarial and conveyancing related work from inception to registration in the Deeds Registry for high profile corporate clients in the banking and finance, oil, gas and chemical sectors.
• Advising clients with regard to real estate matters in general.
• Assisting with general property related disputes including, but not limited to, disputes arising out of lease, purchase and/or sale of land agreements, litigious landlord/tenant disputes, limited contractual claims arising out of property disputes, foreclosures and executions, as well as disputes and challenges pertaining to property title, transfer and ownership.
• Drafting and registration of antenuptial and postnuptial contracts and providing advice in relation to marital regimes.
• Drafting, registration and cancellation of general and special powers of attorney.
• Drafting resolutions for companies, close corporations and trusts.
• Handling and finalizing financials relating to property transfers and ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering legislation.
• Legal authentication of documents to be used both in and outside of South Africa and other notarial work.

Career History

Kelly obtained her Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa in 2014 and began her legal career with Tshisevhe Gwina Ratshimbilani Inc. (TGR Attorneys), an award winning medium sized commercial law firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015. After completing her trainee contract at TGR Attorneys, Kelly was appointed as a junior associate in the Real Estate Department and in May 2021, Kelly was promoted to Director and Head of the Real Estate Department at TGR Attorneys, being the first employee of the firm to attain directorship from an associate level.

Kelly was admitted as an attorney and notary public of the High Court of South Africa on 13 March 2017 and as a Conveyancer on 16 April 2019. Kelly is in the process of qualifying as a solicitor of England and Wales.