Property Network Advice Centre - Property Registration Process

PROPERTY REGISTRATION PROCESS

The registration of transfer is triggered by the acceptance of an offer to purchase by the seller. The Offer to Purchase should contain all the essential details regarding the Purchaser, the Seller, the property description and the payment of the purchase price. The said document should contain particulars of the existing bondholder over the property.

Almost immediately after the acceptance of the Offer to Purchase an application for the finance of the purchase price must be made by the Purchaser or his representative to a financial institution. The Bond originator who had you pre-qualified will do this for you.
On receiving the signed sale agreement, the Attorney writes to both parties introducing themselves and asking for their marriage certificates, Ante-Nuptial Contracts, ID and other documents required. Your agent will probably have already had you fill in an information sheet as well as obtained these documents from you, to deliver to the attorneys in order to speed up the process.
After opening the file by the Transfer Attorney, they immediately request cancellation figures from the Seller's existing bondholder. Upon the receipt request the existing bondholder will supply the outstanding amount required for the cancellation of the bond and simultaneously instruct the attorneys (or other attorneys of their choice) to attend to the cancellation thereof.
Attorney writes to the existing Bond-holder asking for the Title Deed. If the house is not bonded, the seller should be in possession of the title deed and must deliver this to the attorney. If the original Title Deeds has been misplaced etc, the Attorneys has to request a copy from the Deeds office and this process takes at least two weeks.
Electrical and entomologists inspections must be arranged, and the necessary Clearance Certificates obtained.
Bond Attorneys are appointed by the concerned banks regarding both / and or bond cancellation and bond registration. They have a preferred list they work off and your attorney might not be the same person. The Bond Attorneys can only draw up their documents once they receive a ‘fly sheet’ from the Transferring Attorney. It is therefore preferable to use one of our recommended attorneys as they transferring and bond attorney could then be the same person, saving time.
Upon approval by the financial institution of the purchasers' finance an instruction will be forwarded to the attorney of their choice (usually the transferring attorneys) to attend to the registration of the necessary bond.
On receipt of documents, the official bond documents and Title Deeds, the Transferring Attorney can draw up the necessary documents for transfer.
Arrange cancellation of existing bond and wait for cancellation certificate. Cancellation of existing bond will require guarantees and a cancellation certificate. Similarly, for registering the new bond, attorneys require certain guarantees etc. Once these papers are received the attorney can proceed.
The Seller and Purchaser are notified to come and sign the relevant documents, and the Purchaser to pay costs. See the costs schedule for details of these.
Attorney will write to Municipality asking for outstanding rates and Taxes.
Rates are paid from July - June (one year) or the pro rate balance must be paid over. A Rates Clearance Certificate has to be issued before the documents can be lodged at the Deeds Office. In KZN, a water clearance certificate is required before lodging as well.
For a Sectional Title unit, a Levies Clearance Certificate must also be obtained
A Transfer Duty receipt has to be issued before Lodging. If money is coming from a sale of a house, the Attorney will be unable to get Transfer Duty receipt until the first house is registered and money becomes available, unless Purchaser has additional funds.
Bond Attorneys can only draw up their documents once they receive a Fly Sheet from the Transferring Attorneys.
Once everything is ready, the transferring attorney then contacts the bond attorney as well as the cancellation attorney in order to effect the simultaneous lodgement of the various deeds in the Deeds Office. The transferring attorney attends to the registration of transfer of the property from the name of the Seller to the Purchaser whilst the cancellation attorney attends to the cancellation of the existing bond of the Seller and the bond attorney on the other hand sees to the registration of the new bond to be registered over the property as security for the Purchasers' loan. The set of three registrations is then submitted simultaneously in the Deeds Office.
There is always a chance that the Deeds Office rejects something, and whatever it is must be amended and re-lodged. If no objections are raised, registration will generally take place within 10 days of being lodged.
The entire process takes anything from 8 to 12 weeks and on occasion months! Both the seller and buyer can assist by being prepared, having necessary documents and funds ready and responding swiftly to any requests from the attorneys.
Upon registration the attorneys involved attend to the following:

Present the guarantees for payment of the purchase price, which is then allocated towards the payment of the existing bond in the balance in favour of the Sellers, being the proceeds of the sale.
Adjustment and apportionment of rates payments are made and the various parties debited or credited as the case may be. The local authority is advised of the registration.
Agent's commission is paid to the estate agent.
The transfer attorney then forwards the Title Deed to the Bond attorney/Bond holder who retains the same together with the registered bond document as secured.

The buyer and Seller are advised that the property has been registered and the buyer can take occupancy

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