Understanding the Property Transfer Process

Buying or selling a property can be a complicated and confusing procedure. Understanding the transfer process does make things easier. Below is a round-up of what to expect:

Step 1: Once the seller has signed the offer to purchase, the purchaser needs to obtain a home loan.

Step 2: The seller has the choice of appointing a transferring attorney (conveyancer), who will obtain the FICA documentation (ID and proof of residence) of both parties and apply for the seller's bond cancellation figures. The bank is then required to send the original Title Deed to the bond cancellation attorneys.

Step 3: After the documents have been prepared by the transferring attorney, the buyer and seller sign the transfer documents. The transferring attorney then requests figures from the municipality to ensure that all the seller's rates and taxes are paid up to date before lodging a clearance certificate which is issued by the municipality.

Step 4: The purchaser must pay the South African Revenue Services (SARS) transfer duty. The transferring attorney will request a transfer duty receipt and also make the payment of the transfer duty on behalf of the buyer.

Step 5: The transferring attorney lodges the required documents, together with the new bond and the old bond cancellation, with the Deeds Office. It takes approximately 10 working days for these to be examined and for the transaction to be registered. The purchaser is now the rightful owner of the property.