Steps to buying a home in South Africa

"The process of buying property generally takes between two and three months. In order to purchase a property in South Africa the buyer must provide the following documents:

• Passport and relevant identity documents
• Pre-nuptial contract (if relevant)
• Marriage certificate (if relevant)
• Divorce decree (if relevant)

Once a suitable property has been found, a prospective purchaser makes an offer and completes an Offer to Purchase/Purchase Agreement through the estate agent. This is a legally binding document and includes most, if not all, of the following information:

• Names of the parties involved in the property purchase
• Address and description of the property in question
• Purchase price and deposits
• Occupation date
• Details of defects and issues that must be rectified before sale
• Clauses relating to mortgages/bonds
• Fixtures to stay/remain
• Deadlines for acceptance/offer expiration date
• All seller and purchaser details
• Whether an Electrical Certificate or Beetle/Woodborer inspection is required

The seller can reject or make a counter offer on the Purchase Agreement, however, all changes must be initialled by both parties.

The transferring attorney

The document becomes the legally binding contract of sale once both parties have accepted. Once completed and signed the Offer to Purchase is given to a transferring attorney who is responsible for coordinating the transfer process and preparing all documents.

The role of the transferring attorney is to:

• Inform the seller's bank/bondholder to obtain the "Cancellation figure" of the existing mortgage and the Title Deeds of the property
• Contact the municipality for a Rates Clearance Certificate and arrange for any outstanding debts to be cleared
• Guarantee payment of the seller's outstanding mortgage/bond to the bondholder and obtain approval of the bond from the financial institution of the purchaser
• Work in conjunction with the Cancelling and Registering Attorneys of the lending institutions
• Organise payment of transfer duty, on behalf of the buyer, to the South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Once all the paperwork has been drafted, signed and the financial guarantees are in place, the deeds are lodged with the Deeds Office by the transferring attorney. Once they have been examined at the Deeds Office, the registration of transfer of property from the seller to the purchaser can take place, this takes approximately 10 to 14 days.

The transferring attorney signs on behalf of the purchaser at the Deeds Office along with the Deeds Registrar and finalises all outstanding financial settlements such as estate agent fees, electrical and beetle inspection charges (if applicable) and clearing the seller's bond.

Payment is then due to be made by the lender to a bank. The transferring attorney then draws a final account and pays the seller the balance owing."