You’ve scoured the web for what feels like weeks, and you’ve finally found your dream home! You’ve put in your offer, and it’s been accepted. But before you can pack your boxes and move into your dream home, there are certain requirements needed when buying a home in South Africa.

Property sales are usually handled by estate agents. They will assist in preparing the necessary documents and put the transfer and registration process into motion. In some cases, owners will buy and sell property privately, as this is legal in South Africa.

Once you want to purchase a property, the following will happen:

1. A document titled, “Offer to Purchase” will be signed by the purchaser as soon as the purchaser and seller have come to a mutual decision.
2. The purchaser signs the Offer to Purchase, after which it is submitted to the seller.
3. The signed Offer to Purchase becomes the new Deed of Sale. In the Deed of Sale, there may be certain suspensive conditions such as raising a mortgage bond, and once these conditions have been met, the contract between the purchaser and the seller will be binding.
4. The Deed of Sale is then sent to a conveyancer, who will take care of all the financial arrangements and ensure that all finances are in place and secure.
5. Before the transaction can be submitted to the Deeds Office, the conveyancer will prepare all the documents. Once these documents have been submitted, the transfer process will begin.
6. A Municipal Clearance Certificate for rates and taxes is then requested by the conveyancer from the municipality.
7. The purchaser is required to pay the transfer duty and registration costs before the documents will be submitted to the Deeds Office, while the seller will have to provide a Tax Clearance Certificate acquired from SARS.
8. At the time agreed upon in the Offer to Purchase, a cash deposit for the balance of the purchase price will have to be made into the conveyancer’s trust account.
9. If the property has a mortgage bond, a bond attorney will have to cancel the bond registration.
10. The transfer process can take two to three months to be finalised and the purchaser will be kept up to date on the progress of the transfer by either the agent or the conveyancer.

Once the property is registered in the purchaser’s name, the property officially has a new owner, and you can start moving into your newly-bought dream home!

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

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The transfer process can take up to three-months, sometimes longer. There are different steps involved in the transfer of a property, these include:

1. Instruction

A conveyancer receives the instruction to transfer the property.

2. Communication

The conveyancer communicates with the various role-players involved in the transfer process, such as the seller, purchaser, transfer and bond attorneys, municipality, bank, South African Revenue Service (SARS).

3. Collection

Certain information and documents are required, such as the agreement of sale, deeds office search, existing deed, bond cancellation figures from the bank and so on. The conveyancer should continuously report to the various role-players about the progress being made.

4. Drafting and signing

As soon as all the information and documents have been collected, the conveyancer will draft the transfer documents and request the seller and purchaser to sign them. These transfer documents will include a power of attorney and various affidavits.

5. Finances

Financial arrangements include requesting an advance payment for the conveyancer’s interim account for certain expenses, requesting the bank guarantee, collecting the purchase price or deposit and so on.

6. Transfer duty

Obtaining a transfer duty receipt from SARS, confirming that the tax relating to the transfer of the property has been paid by the purchaser.

7. Clearance certificate

Obtaining a clearance certificate from the municipality, confirming that all amounts in respect of property have been paid for the last two years.

8. Prep

The conveyancer prepares for lodgement (submission) of the deed of transfer and other documents necessary for registration at the deeds office.

9. Registration

Once the deed of transfer and other documents have been lodged it, takes the deeds office about 7 – 10 working days to examine these documents. If the deeds office is satisfied that the requirement for the transfer of property has been met, the deed of property is registered. The conveyancer will notify the various role-players of the registration.

10. Accounts

Once registered, the conveyancer makes the necessary calculations and payments relating to the sale, for example, the estate agent’s commission, purchase price and so on. The conveyancer’s final account is also drawn up and sent to the purchaser and the seller for payment.

Having an experienced and expert conveyancer is extremely important to ensure that the transfer of property takes place quickly and efficiently.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE).

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The Deeds Office is responsible for the registration, management and maintenance of the property registry of South Africa. If you are planning on buying a house, it can be useful knowing about the Deeds Office. However, you would use the services of a conveyancer when buying or selling a house. Your estate agent should be able to recommend a conveyancing attorney to register your home loan and transfer a property into your name.

What is Conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the legal term for the process whereby a person, company, close corporation or trust becomes the registered and legal owner of immovable property and ensures that this ownership cannot be challenged. It also covers the process of the registration of mortgage bonds.

Steps taken by the conveyancer:

1. The conveyancer lodges your title deed and other documents in the Deeds Office for registration. These documents will be individually captured on the system. If there is a bond, the conveyancer dealing with the bond will lodge the bond documents with the Deeds Office at the same time as the transfer documents. The transfer, bond and cancellation documents must be lodged in the Deeds Office at the same time to ensure simultaneous registration. If different conveyancers are dealing with registering the purchaser’s bond and cancelling the seller’s bond, then they will need to collaborate.
2. The Deeds Office examiners go through the documentation that has been submitted, and make sure that it complies with the relevant laws and legislations.
3. The examiners then inform the conveyancer that the deeds are ready to be registered.
4. Registration takes place with the conveyancer and Registrar of Deeds present. The transfer of the property is then registered in the purchaser’s name. If there is a bond, it is registered at the same time.
5. Upon registration, the purchaser becomes the lawful owner of the property. The title deed that reflects this ownership is given to the conveyancer by the deeds office after the registration. Unless a bond has been registered as well, in which case the title deed is given to the bond holder.

The time taken to register a property at the Deeds Office depends on various factors and a number of parties. On average, registering a property transfer takes six to eight weeks, although unforeseen difficulties can cause the period to be extended.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

References:

https://www.justlanded.com/english/South-Africa/South-Africa-Guide/Property/Conveyance

http://www.privateproperty.co.za/advice/property/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-registering-a-property/5081

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What is Co-Ownership?

Co-ownership is when one or more people jointly own the same property. In essence, it is when they legally share ownership without dividing the property into physical portions for their exclusive use. It is thus commonly referred to as co-ownership in undivided shares.

It is possible to agree that owners acquire the property in different shares; for instance, one person owns 70 percent and the other 30 percent of the single property. The different shares can be recorded and registered in the title deed by the Deeds Office.

The Benefits

On paper, it’s a great idea. For starters, the bond repayments and costs of maintaining the home are halved. However, there can be problems and although not every friendship or relationship is destined to disintegrate, there does often come a time when one of the parties involved wants to sell up and move on to bigger and better things.

The Risks

If ownership is given to one or more purchasers, without stipulating in what shares they acquire the property, it is legally presumed that they acquired the property in equal shares.

The risks, benefits and the obligations that flow from the property are shared in proportion to each person’s share of ownership in the property. For instance, one of the co-owners fails to contribute his share of the finances as initially agreed, resulting in creditors such as the bank or Body Corporate taking action to recover the shortfall.

Having an Agreement

If two people own property together in undivided shares it is advisable to enter into an agreement which will regulate their rights and obligations if they should decide to go their separate ways.

The practical difficulties that flow from the rights and duties of co-ownership are captured by the expression communio est mater rixarum or “co-ownership is the mother of disputes”. It is therefore important that the agreement which the co-owners enter into assists them in resolving disputes, with certain remedies being available to the parties.

The agreement should address the following issues:

1. In what proportion will the property be shared?
2. Who has the sole right to occupy the property?
3. Who will contribute what initial payments to acquire the property.
4. Who will contribute what amounts to the ongoing future costs and finances.
5. How the profits or losses will be split, should the property or a share be sold?
6. The sale of one party’s share must be restricted or regulated.
7. The right to draw funds out of the access bond must be regulated.
8. A breakdown of the relationship between the parties.
9. Death or incapacity of one of the parties.
10. Dispute resolution options before issuing summons.
11. Termination of the agreement.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

References:

http://igrow.co.za/co-ownership-of-property-what-you-need-to-know/

http://www.privateproperty.co.za/advice/property/articles/the-pitfalls-of-property-co-ownership/5046

http://www.jgs.co.za/index.php/property/owning-prop-jointly-the-do-s-and-dont-s

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You will only become the owner of the property when the Registrar of Deeds signs the transfer. Once it has been signed, a copy of the Title Deed is kept at the Deeds Office closest to you.

A Title Deed is documentary proof of ownership in terms of the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937. Each property has its own separate Title Deed. It is an important document containing all the details pertaining to a particular property.

These details are:

• The name of the existing owner as well as the previous owners.
• A detailed property description which includes its size.
• The purchase price of the property paid by the existing owner.
• Conditions applicable to the zoning, use and sale of the land.
• All real rights registered in respect of the property.

The owner will normally have the Title Deed or a copy thereof in his possession. Before signing an offer to purchase carefully scrutinise the Title Deed.

What is the Deeds Office and the Deeds Registry?

There are numerous Deeds Offices throughout South Africa. Each Deeds Office holds a Deeds Registry, containing filed Title Deeds of all the properties in its particular jurisdiction. All the Deeds Registries are linked to a computer network. Your estate agent can, via a computer-linked facility from his office, examine any Title Deed (registered from 1980) in the country’s combined Deeds Registry.

What’s the Difference Between a Property Deed and a Title?

Title is the legal way of saying you own a right to something. For real estate purposes, title refers to ownership of the property, meaning that you have the rights to use that property. It may be a partial interest in the property or it may be the full. However, because you have title, you can access the land and potentially modify it as you see fit. Title also means that you can transfer that interest or portion that you own to others. However, you can never legally transfer more than you own. Deeds, on the other hand, are the actual legal documents that transfer title from one person to another.

References:

• https://www.westerncape.gov.za/service/title-deeds-proof-property-ownership
• https://www.rocketlawyer.com/article/whats-the-difference-between-a-roperty-deed-and-a-title-ps.rl
• http://www.conveyancing24.co.za/

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