The first step in any sale of Immovable Property is that the Purchaser and the Seller must sign a written Agreement, which once signed, becomes a legally binding Agreement of Sale.
Following the signature of the Agreement of Sale, the seller has the choice of appointing a Transferring Attorney whom, once appointed, will obtain the FICA documentation of both parties.
Once the suspensive conditions* of the Agreement of Sale have been fulfilled, the Transferring Attorneys shall apply for the seller’s bond cancellation figures.
Should the purchaser have needed to obtain a home loan as part of the suspensive conditions, Bond Attorneys shall be appointed by the bank once the home loan has been approved. The purchaser will be required to pay the bond attorney’s fees.
Following the Transferring Attorneys application to the Seller’s Bank for cancellation figures, the bank shall appoint a Bond Cancellation Attorney to whom they shall send the original Title Deed and guarantee requirements.
Upon receipt of a copy of the Title Deeds from the Bond Cancellation Attorneys, the Transferring Attorneys shall prepare the transfer documents for both the seller and purchaser to sign.
The Transferring Attorneys shall furthermore send the guarantee requirements and a copy of the newly drafted Title Deed to the Bond Registration Attorneys to enable them to draw up the bond documents for the purchaser’s signature.
The Transferring Attorney then requests rates clearance figures from the municipality to ensure that all the seller’s rates and taxes are paid up to date and for a period of approximately four months upfront. Once the figures are obtained same are presented to the seller for his/her payment. The Transferring Attorney shall then effect the payment of the clearance figures to the municipality on behalf of the Seller and obtain the required Rates Clearance Certificate which is required to be lodged at the Deeds Office.
Following both parties signature of the transfer documents, the purchaser must pay transfer duty, a tax levied by the South African Revenue Services (SARS) on property transfers, and the Transferring Attorney’s fees. The Transferring Attorney will request a transfer duty receipt from SARS on the e-filing platform and effect the payment of the transfer duty on behalf of the purchaser.
Once all the necessary documentation and certificates of clearance have been received, the Transferring Attorney shall lodge all the required documents, together with the purchaser’s new bond and the sellers old bond cancellation, with the relevant Deeds Office.
It takes approximately eight to ten working days for the documentation to be examined at the Deeds Office and, provided there are no notes or changes required, the transaction is registered.
*A suspensive condition is a term / clause in an Agreement of Sale that clearly stipulates a particular condition that must be met in order for the contract to come into force. Should the suspensive condition/s not be met or met within the time frame stipulated in the Agreement of Sale, the contract will be null and void and of no further force or effect.
