Conveyancing guidelines

1. What is Conveyancing?
  Conveyancing describes the legal procedure whereby ownership of immovable property is changed (i.e ownership is "conveyed" from the existing owner to the purchaser).
2. Conveyancer's actions on Receipt of Deed of Sale
  1. It is self-explanatory that the Conveyancer in performing his duty will be guided by the contents of the Agreement concluded between the buyer and the seller as recorded in the Deed of Sale. The Conveyancer therefore, is compelled to "Bake the Cake" in accordance with the "Recipe" prepared for us in advance!
  2. On receipt of the Deed of Sale, the Conveyancer will immediately conduct a Deeds Office Search. This Search will reveal the following
    1. The full Deed Office description of the property being sold.
    2. The full details of the currant registered owner.
    3. The full details of any bonds held over the property.
    4. The full details of any interdicts recorded against the property
3. Existing Bond on the Property
  1. The Conveyancer will simultaneously with the above, address a letter to the current bondholder advising the bondholder of the fact that the property has been sold and is calling upon the bondholder to forward the Title Deed to the Conveyancer. He will simultaneously ask the bondholder to advise the Conveyancer of the amount required to pay off the existing bond on registration of the transfer and request of the bondholder to instruct his own attorneys to prepare an appropriate Consent to Cancellation of the existing bond. This latter form will be prepared by the bondholders' attorneys, signed by the bondholder and returned to his attorneys for purposes of subsequent lodgement at the Deed Office. As most financial institutions are unable to trace the file in which the Title Deed and Bond are retained without an account number, it is important that the particulars of the bond account number be reflected in the information section of the Deed Sale
  2. The Conveyancing Attorney will in due course receive a response to his letter to the existing bondholder. This letter would have enclosed the Title Deed and would have stated the amounts required by the purchase price be sufficient, the Conveyancing Attorney will address a letter to the attorneys representing the bondholder promising payment of the amount required on date of registration at the Deeds Office.
4. The Role of The Municipality
  The Conveyancer will simultaneously write to the Municipal Authority having jurisdiction over the area in which the property is situated and will request from the following information/ documentation:
  1. A Valuation Certificate in which the Municipal Valuation of the property is stated - this document is required for purposes of obtaining a Transfer Duty Receipt from the Receiver of Revenue
  2. The amount which the Municipal Authority requires payment of as a prerequisite to issuing a Rates Clearance Certificate-in terms of Law no transfer of any property may be registered in the Deed Office unless the relevant Municipal Authority has provided permission. This permission is termed a "Rates Clearance". It is important to note that in obtaining a Rates Clearance one is compelled (regardless of any arrangements which the Seller might otherwise have had with the Municipal Authority) to pay the full amount of the rates payable on the property to the end of the current rates year. Municipal Authorities furthermore demand various other categories of the payment in advance e.g water and service charges. Part of the amount payable to the Municipal Authority will be for the account of the seller and part for the account of the purchaser.
5. Preparation of Preliminary Documents
  On receipt of the Deed Office particulars and subject to all suspensive conditions having been fulfilled, the Conveyancing Attorney will proceed to prepare his "preliminary documentation". These documentations comprise the following.
  1. A Power of Attorney in terms of which the Seller authorizes the Conveyancing Attorney to act on his behalf and appear at the Deeds Office for purposes of registering the transfer of ownership at the end of the day. The document will have to be signed by the seller personally or by somebody authorized in terms of a written Powers of Attorney to sign such documentation on behalf of the Seller. It is therefore self-explanatory that if the Seller is going to be away during the relevant period the transfer will be delayed unless adequate arrangements are made before his departure.
  2. Declarations by Purchaser and Seller to the Receiver of Revenue. As you are no doubt aware transfer duty is payable to the Receiver of Revenue arising from sales of immovable property. This transfer duty is a percentage of the purchase price. The Receiver of Revenue is therefore quite anxious to ensure that he is fully advised of the actual purchase price and that such purchase price furthermore amounts to a fair and market related price. The declarations which the buyer and seller will therefore have to sign serve to confirm all the above facts. Should the purchaser and seller therefore have reached some "private agreement" in terms of which the purchase price as stated in the Deed of Sale is not a proper reflection of the actual purchase price, and then these Declarations will serve to frustrate the endeavors of the parties as stated above.
  3. Affidavits to be signed by the purchaser and the seller, confirming their correct names, identity numbers, marital status and solvency.
6. Signature and Costs
  When these documents are ready, the parties will be contacted by the Conveyancing Attorneys with a view to arranging an appointment for the signature of the documents. On signature of the documents, the Coveyancing Attorneys will ask the purchaser to settle the transfer costs. The account which the Conveyancer will present will comprise four elements being the following:
  1. The Conveyancer's own fee plus Vat thereon
  2. The cost of the Valuation Certificate.
  3. The transfer duty.
  4. Deeds Office Fee.