Transfer Process

STEP 1: AGREEMENT OF SALE

An Agreement of Sale consists of, and includes the following documents:

a. Written agreement, signed and dated by both the Seller and the Purchaser.
b. Declaration Report (completed by Seller and accepted by the Purchaser and signed and dated by both parties).
c. FICA (including a questionnaire) documents for both the Seller and the Purchaser.
d. Resolution document, if applicable, if any of the entities is a registered legal entity.
e. Homeowners Association / Body Corporate regulations (if applicable).

The Agent furnishes the Seller, the Purchaser, and the appointed Conveyancer with copies all the relevant documentation.

STEP 2: APPOINTMENT OF THE CONVEYANCER

The Seller appoints a Conveyancing Attorney (“Conveyancer”) to proceed with the transfer of the Property, and the Conveyancer is liable to perform the following duties:

a. Attends to the Deeds Office search and scrutinizes the Title Deed.
b. Applies for FICA documents from all parties concerned.
c. Checks if there are any restrictive and / or suspensive clauses in the Agreement of Sale.
d. Notifies the Seller’s bondholder, if applicable, of the Sale of the Property in order to obtain the original Title Deed.
e. Follows-up on the fulfilment of any suspensive conditions.
f. On confirmation of the fulfilment of all suspensive conditions and securement of the full purchase price, the Seller and the Purchaser are contacted by the Conveyancer to sign all transfer / bond documents.
g. Conveyancer applies for the following documentation, prior to date of transfer:

Transfer duty receipt / exemption certificate form SARS.
Rates Clearance Certificate from the local municipality.
Clearance Certificate from Homeowners Association / Body Corporate (if applicable).
Request the Compliance Certificates from the Seller for beetle, gas, plumbing, and electricity.
Original Deed of Transfer.

h. Lodgement of Deed at the Deeds Office for registration of the Property.

STEP 3: THE DEED OF SALE AND SUSPENSIVE CONDITIONS

Step 3.1:

Deposit:
The Purchaser transfers the deposit (if applicable) into the trust account of the Conveyancer. The deposit shall be held in trust by the Conveyancer and shall be paid to the Seller on transfer. The Conveyancer shall invest such deposit in an interest-bearing account with a bank or other financial institution of their choice. All interest earned shall accrue to the Purchaser.

Step 3.2:

Bond application (if applicable):
The Purchaser applies for financial assistance with a bank of his / her choice and furnishes the Conveyancer with written confirmation, within the time period specified in the Agreement of Sale.

Step 3.3:

Secure Purchase Price – payment of the balance of the Purchase Price:
The Conveyancer ensures that satisfactory guarantees are in place for the full purchase price in terms of the Agreement of Sale.

Step 3.4:

Transfer costs, including transfer duty to SARS:
On confirmation of the fulfilment of all suspensive conditions, the Seller and the Purchaser are called to sign transfer documents.
The Conveyancer applies for clearance figures from the local municipality and the Homeowners Association / Body Corporate (if applicable).
The Conveyancer collects the transfer costs (including transfer duty to SARS) from the Purchaser. The Conveyancer applies for a transfer duty receipt or exemption certificate from SARS, as well as a rates clearance certificate from the local municipality.

STEP 4: LODGEMENT OF DEED AT THE DEEDS OFFICE

Upon receipt of:

a. the transfer duty receipt or exemption certificate from SARS
b. the rates clearance certificate for the local municipality
c. the original Deed of Transfer
d. clearance certificates from the Homeowners Association/Body Corporate (if applicable)
e. certificates of compliance for electricity, plumbing, beetle & gas (if applicable)

The Conveyancer will contact the bond cancellation attorney as well as the new bond attorneys and arrange simultaneous lodgement of the respective transactions at the Deeds Office.

STEP 5: DEEDS OFFICE

Transfer documents, including the duty receipt, rates clearance certificate, and Deed of Transfer, are lodged at the Deeds Office and a barcode is allocated to the transaction for tracking purposes.

The submitted transfer documents are examined at the Deeds Office (examination process is to verify if all data correspond with each other as well as that of the Deeds Office).

The examination process takes approximately 10-12 business days (there are 3 levels of scrutiny at the Deeds Office).

On approximately the 12th business day, the Deeds appear for registration – which implies that the transaction went through all of the abovementioned 3 levels of scrutiny, and all documents / information correspond with each other and the records of the Deeds Office.

The Conveyancer now has five working days to finalise any outstanding issues before the transaction(s) can be registered.

STEP 6: REGISTRATION

Registration takes place at about 10H00 on the day of registration.

On that day ownership passes from the Seller to the Purchaser. The Purchaser’s new bond (if applicable) is registered. The Seller’s existing bond (if applicable) is cancelled.

Final statements of account are prepared for the Seller and Purchaser, the net proceeds are paid to the Seller (after deductions of commission, costs for compliance certificates, as well as outstanding bond cancellation figures, and municipal rates / taxes, and HOA / Body Corporate accounts.

The Purchaser is paid out the interest earned on the investment of the purchase price that was invested with the Conveyancer.

STEP 7: DELIVERY OF DEEDS

Upon registration of the Property, the Deeds are numbered and microfilmed at the Deeds Office, and it can take up to 3 months for the Deeds Office to deliver the original Deed of Transfer to the Conveyancer.

Once the Conveyancer receives the Original Deed of Transfer, it will be delivered to the relevant bank if the Property is bonded, otherwise it is delivered to the Purchaser.