The Ultimate Guide To Standard Property Transfer Process

The first and most important requirement to transfer immovable property is a written agreement between the seller and the purchaser or their agents acting on their written authority. The written agreement can be referred to as a sale agreement, a deed of sale, or an offer to purchase, but it is essentially the same thing.

Once the sale agreement has been signed by seller and purchaser, it can only be changed with the written consent of both parties. So, if there is any uncertainty, it is important that you consult with your attorney prior to signing the agreement.

After the sale agreement has been signed


The transferring attorney:

• Receives the signed agreement from the estate agent or seller and opens a file;
• Checks for suspensive conditions such as approval of the purchaser’s bond or sale of the purchaser’s existing property and transfer deadlines in order to correctly diarise the file;
• Sends acknowledgement letter to the seller requesting copies of identity documents, marriage certificates and antenuptial contracts or statutory company documents from the seller including FICA and income tax numbers and confirms the marital status of the seller;
• Sends acknowledgement letter to the purchaser re sale obligations, requesting payment of the deposit (if applicable), statutory documents including FICA, income tax number, Authority to Invest the deposit and requests that the purchaser confirm his/her marital status and the intended use of the property;
• Sends acknowledgement letter to the estate agency and requests the VAT number of the agency and the agent’s full names and income tax registration number;
• Obtains print outs of the seller and purchaser and the property from the deeds office;
• Applies for a copy of the title deed from the deeds office;
• Receives and checks the title deed and confirms the details of the property;
• Receives and receipts the purchaser’s deposit and invests the deposit in an interest-bearing account for the benefit of the purchaser pending transfer;
• The file is diarised to the date on which the purchaser’s bond approval is to be in place.

If the purchaser is unsuccessful in his/her application to obtain a bond, the sale agreement fails, and the parties are restored to their respective positions before the sale agreement was signed (also known as the status quo ante).


Bond approval is received:

• The estate agent or purchaser confirms to the transfer attorney that the bond has been granted and the transfer is now to proceed;
• The transfer attorney:
  • Requests the seller’s current bondholder bank to issue instructions to their attorney to attend to the cancellation of the existing bond/s registered over the property;
  • Proceeds to prepare the transfer documents, namely:
    • power of attorney – seller
    • SARS Datasheet – seller and purchaser
    • personal affidavit – seller and purchaser or a resolution if a company
    • solvency affidavit – seller and purchaser
    • FICA affidavit – seller and purchaser
    • POPIA consent – seller and purchaser
    • draft deed of transfer/flysheet
    • statement of transfer costs
    • application for rates clearance is created.
• An appointment for both the seller and purchaser is arranged to sign transfer documents. At the meeting, the following is dealt with:
  • Transfer documents are signed, and all statutory documents of the seller and purchaser are certified by the conveyancer;
  • The seller is requested to arrange for the issue of the certificates of compliance (i.e. electrical, plumbing, beetle, gas) and to ensure that same is furnished to the transferring attorney as soon as possible;
  • statement of account in respect of transfer costs inclusive of transfer duty is handed to the purchaser and payment requested.
•  A rates application is made, and the figures are submitted to the seller for settlement to the attorney’s trust account. Payment of rates is made to the municipality and proof of payment uploaded together with all supporting documents namely, deeds office search, proof of payment of the rates, identity documents for both the seller and purchaser, power of attorney and rates schedule. The rates clearance certificate is issued shortly thereafter.
  • The transfer duty application is uploaded to SARS and transfer duty paid once the purchaser has paid the cost account, the transfer duty receipt is issued shortly after payment is made to SARS.
  • Receive and check the certificates of compliance i.e. electrical, plumbing, beetle, gas.
  • Bond attorney confirms that they are in receipt of their instruction to attend to the registration of the bond over the property and set out their requirements.

Guarantee requirements received from the bond cancellation attorney:

• Bond cancellation attorneys confirm receipt of the cancellation instruction from the seller’s bank and furnishes the transferring attorney with the bank’s guarantee requirements to consent to cancellation of the seller’s bond.
• A copy of the draft deed of transfer/flysheet is furnished to the bond attorney, together with the bank’s guarantee requirements, requesting that a guarantee for the balance of the bond proceeds be made payable to the transferring attorney and any additional requirements the bond attorney may have, for example, a copy of the deed of sale, electrical certificate of compliance and so on.
• Guarantees are issued by the bond attorney once their documents are signed; they then proceed to upload their signed documents to the new bondholder bank and request a proceed to lodge from the bank.
• The guarantee in favour of the bondholder is furnished to the cancellation attorney together with an undertaking that their cancellation costs will be settled on date of registration. Cancellation attorneys are now in a position to upload the guarantee to the bank and obtain a proceed to lodge.

All linked transactions are lodged:

• The transfer attorney prepares the linking and arranges simultaneous lodgement with the bond cancellation attorney and the bond attorney;
• The deeds are lodged at the deeds office linked as a batch. There is a 7-to-10-day examination period during which time the deeds are examined by the deeds office examiners to ensure all documents are correctly drafted and comply with deeds office requirements and records.
• During the examination period, the transfer attorney finalises the purchaser’s statement of account and notifies the purchaser the transfer is lodged and that any shortfall be paid prior to date of registration.
• In the event that the deposit was paid to the estate agency, the attorney confirms lodgement to the agent and requests that they arrange for closure of the purchaser’s investment account and release of the deposit to the attorney’s trust account.
• Confirmation of lodgement is sent to the seller.

Deeds come up on prep:

• Once examination of the deeds is completed, the deeds office puts the linked transfer, bond and cancellation bond on prep to give the attorneys time to attend to any minor examination notes raised and to make the final financial arrangements.
• From the date on which the deeds are put up on prep, the attorney has 5 days in which to attend to any examiners’ notes raised against the documents, if any and ensure that payment of any shortfall has been received in trust.
• If there are no issues to attend to the transfer attorney arranges to hand in the transfer and liaises with both the bond cancellation and new bond registration attorneys to hand in their respective matters for registration the following day.
• Closure of the purchaser’s investment account is requested.

Registration takes place:

• The transfer attorney, cancellation attorney and new bond attorney meet at the office of the Registrar of Deeds to sign their deeds and hand them to the Registrar to execute.
• On date of registration, an email is sent to the seller, purchaser and agent confirming registration and advising them that the finances will be finalised as soon as the guarantee for the balance of the bond proceeds pays out in the attorney’s trust account.
• Balance of the bond proceeds and the funds invested on behalf of the purchaser is received in the transferring attorney’s trust account;
• The seller’s account is finalised;
• The purchaser’s account is finalised;
• The trust ledger is balanced;
• EFT requests are prepared for the following payments;
• Cancellation costs to the bond cancellation attorneys;
• Proceeds of the sale to the seller;
• Refund of interest to the purchaser;
• Estate agents commission is paid;
• Payment of the inspection/repairs costs for the issue of the certificates of compliance;
• Formal letters confirming registration and attaching final statements of account and proof of payment is prepared and emailed to the seller and purchaser;
• Proof of payment of commission is sent to the estate agent;
• Proof of payment of the cancellation costs is sent to the bond cancellation attorneys;
• Transfer fees are transferred to the business account and fees are passed.

After registration has taken place:

• The registered deeds are numbered and then scanned by the deeds office for record keeping purposes.
• The registered Deed of Transfer is delivered back to the transferring attorney after the deeds office has completed its administrative process.
• The transferring attorney forwards the original Deed of Transfer to the bond attorney for onward transmission to the bank;
• A copy is made for the file and a copy sent to the purchaser.
• A final check of the finances is made whereafter the file is closed and kept in storage for five years before it may be destroyed.

The above procedure estimates the standard steps taken by a transferring attorney to transfer a property and excludes the additional steps taken by the bond cancellation and bond registering attorneys.

The above procedure also excludes the additional steps which may become necessary in the event of the transferring attorney resolving related problems arising from the sale and transfer of the property.

As you can see from the above, the process for transferring property is a complex one that requires careful planning and extensive understanding of the intricacies of the field. To discuss your impending transfer with professionals with a wealth of experience in conveyancing, send us an email on solutions@adriaansattorneys.com.

While every reasonable effort is taken to ensure the accuracy and soundness of the contents of this publication, neither writers of the articles nor the publisher will bear any responsibility for the consequences of any actions based on information or recommendations contained herein. Our material is for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice.