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Private Residence

Overall guide to buying & selling property in South Africa

THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Dealing with all your conveyancing and Mortgage Bond requirements effectively and efficiently.
strb Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes have a team of highly specialised Public Relations Officers, who collectively have over 100 years of financial experience, to assist you and your clients with professional service.

CHOOSING A CONVEYANCING ATTORNEY

strb Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes have over 10 branches within South Africa and take pride in in providing a truly professional service.

Our commitment to you is to get the job done in as short a time as possible.
Our attorneys have extensive knowledge of the property market and in-depth experience of the conveyancing process within South Africa
Whether you are an individual Purchaser, Seller or Developer of property, we have tailored services to meet your needs
We offer a 24 hour property "Hot Line" service to all existing and future clientele. All of our Attorneys can be contacted via their mobile phones.
We offer on-line website reporting to individual, corporation or company to view detailed progress of their transactions.

Purchasing Property in South Africa as a Foreigner

We are fully geared to advise you on all the latest laws and acts governing the purchase of property as a foreigner. Our offices are completely electronic and dealing this way has become second nature, distance has become the norm not an anomaly.

TIPS FOR PURCHASING PROPERTY
The term Immovable Property includes amongst others:

vacant erf or erven;
houses;
flats and townhouses forming part of a sectional title scheme in terms of the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986;
houses forming part of a group housing scheme;
flats and townhouses forming part of a share block scheme in terms of the Share Blocks Control Act 59 of 1980; and
accommodation in a housing development scheme as defined in the Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act 65 of 1988.
Ensure that you deal with a reputable Estate Agent
The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), which has recently been promulgated, calls for all persons entering into financial transactions to disclose all their personal particulars.
Prior to signing an Offer to Purchase where there are clauses in the contract that you do not understand, please refer to an Attorney for legal advice.
In all property transactions the following costs are usually paid for by the Purchaser of the property: Conveyancing Fees which include Transfer Duty, Transfer Fees, Deeds Office Levies, Stamp Duty (if applicable), Pro-Rata Rates and Taxes, Rates Clearance Certificate Costs.
Coupled to the above, should a Mortgage Bond be required, the Bank will charge the Purchaser (Mortgagor) the following costs: Initiation Fee, Valuation Fee, Administration Fee and the Attorney will charge a fee to register a Mortgage Bond.
The Seller of the property is liable for the following costs unless another arrangement is made: Estate Agents Commission, Entomologist Certificate, Electrical Compliance Certificate, Cancellation Fees for any bonds registered over the property.
Usually the Seller of the property nominates the Conveyancing Attorney.

MORTGAGE BONDS

A Mortgage Bond is an agreement in terms whereof a Mortgagor (Purchaser) borrows money from the Mortgagee (Bondholder) and agrees to pass a Mortgage Bond over specific immovable property in favour of the Mortgagee as security for the repayment of the money.
The Mortgagor then repays the Capital amount plus interest back to the Mortgagee in terms of the loan agreement.
In most cases the Mortgagee is a Bank or Financial Institution. The Mortgage Bond is registered in the Deeds Office against the Title Deed and a Conveyancing Attorney must be appointed to deal with the registration of the Mortgage Bond in the Deeds Office.

THE CONVEYANCING PROCESS

“CONVEYANCING” describes the legal process whereby a person, company, close corporation or trust becomes the registered and lawful owner of fixed property and ensures that such ownership cannot be challenged. It also encompasses the process of the registration of Mortgage Bonds.

Conveyancer is an attorney who by law is the only person who can register fixed property transfers. This is necessary to ensure the protection of the various interests the parties have in the transaction and to maintain the high standard applicable to land registration.

The first requirement is a valid Agreement of Sale. This is a written agreement which is signed by both the Purchaser and the Seller (and by the Seller’s spouse in cases where the parties are married in community of property, or account to the laws of a foreign country).

A written “Offer to Purchase” signed by a Purchaser and accepted by a Seller also constitutes a binding agreement. An oral contract for the sale of fixed property is invalid.

The Agreement of Sale/Offer to Purchase is handed to the appointed Conveyancer, who will draft the necessary documents. Both the Seller and the Purchaser will be required to call at the offices of the Conveyancer to sign the necessary documents.

The documents to be signed include the following:
A Power of Attorney to Pass Transfer
Declaration in respect of Marital Status, Identity Number and Insolvency
Transfer Duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) Declaration
FICA Documents
Bond Documents, if a Mortgage Bond is to be registered

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