Are you thinking of selling your property without the assistance of an estate agent? The legal and conveyancing process is simplified by using an experienced property lawyer, while social media platforms and property apps make marketing and engaging with potential buyers very easy.
Points to consider when selling your home privately:
● Take photos of your home to ensure it is well presented.
● Determine the correct selling price for your home.
● Arrange individual viewings or host a show day for all interested buyers.
● Always be careful when inviting strangers into your house.
● Understand and accept the right offer.
When you contact our property team, we will request you to provide us with the property description, the purchase price and a copy of the current owner’s identity document / card.
We will then assist you by drafting the offer to purchase agreement, which the purchaser can complete and sign to submit his/her offer.
Once the owner has signed the interested party’s offer, the offer to purchase agreement becomes a Deed of Sale and forms the basis of the transaction and the conveyancing attorneys will manage the whole process from receipt of the duly signed offer to purchase agreement to registration at the Office of the Registrar of Deeds.
Remember it is the Seller’s privilege to appoint his/her own conveyancing attorneys.
What is the cost of selling my house?
The answer is easy since all transfer costs are payable by the Purchaser. The Seller is only liable to pay for the following:
● Clearance figures for Municipal rates, taxes and refuse removal which consists of three months’ contribution of your current municipal charges payable on the property.
● Clearance figures from the Body Corporate and/or Homeowners Association which consist of three months’ contribution of your current levies and charges payable to such Body Corporate and/or Homeowners association.
● Attorney fees for attending to the cancellation of your bond over the property (if applicable) – this normally ranges between R3900 and R4500 per bond cancellation.
● Electrical Compliance Certificate, Gas Certificate (if applicable) and Beetle and Plumbing Certificates if you are in any of the coastal areas.
It is important to note that the Seller will be required to pay these clearance figures at once in order to obtain a clearance certificate for transfer. Any credit at the date of registration will be calculated on a pro-rata basis as at the date of registration and the credit will be refunded to the Seller by the applicable Municipality and Body Corporate and/or Homeowners association.
The Purchaser goes to the bank and presents the signed offer with the application for a bond (if applicable).
Once the Purchaser receives a successful bond grant and the bank has instructed the appropriate bond panel attorneys, the process of transfer can begin.
Your Conveyancing Attorneys manage the following processes:
● Requesting the Seller’s bond settlement figures from the Seller’s bank.
● Request guarantees from the Purchaser’s bank.
● Providing the Seller’s bond cancellation attorneys with the issued settlement guarantee and bond cancellation attorney fee guarantee as discussed above.
● Apply to SARS for the Transfer Duty, which is calculated on a rate prescribed by SARS and based on the purchase price or value of the Property. This duty is payable by the Purchaser and forms part of his/her transfer fees.
● Apply to the Municipality for the Rates clearance figures as discussed above and any Body Corporate and/or Homeowners Association figures applicable. On receipt of the figures, the Seller will be requested to make payment thereof and the required certificates will be issued.
● On receipt of the Transfer Duty Receipt and the Municipal Rates clearance certificate and Homeowners Association consent (if applicable) the documents are ready to be lodged provided the Purchaser’s bond attorneys and the Seller’s bond cancellation attorneys have both received proceed to lodge from their respective banks.
●All three of the attorneys arrange lodgement of their documents simultaneously and the documents are lodged at the Registrar of Deeds Office of the applicable area.
● The Registrar’s examiners then scrutinise the documents within their system levels and after an approximate period of 10 working days, the documents are registered.
This means the transfer is registered from Seller to the Purchaser, the Seller’s bond is cancelled, and the Purchaser’s bond is registered.
Once you have an interested buyer please contact us for assistance by e-mailing us at property@barnardinc.co.za.
