Sale of Property Agreement
Key Takeaways:
A sale of property agreement formalises the terms between a buyer and seller.
It includes price, conditions, and timelines for a transparent transaction.
Legal review and clear communication ensure a smooth and mutually beneficial property sale.
Conveyancing relates to the legal process that transfers ownership of the home from the seller to the buyer. The conveyancer (who is an attorney) is usually appointed by the seller, but paid for by the buyer (the fact that the fees are normally covered by the buyer is simply a rule of thumb.
It’s not something that is necessarily set in stone and a different arrangement can be negotiated in your agreement of sale).
What is Conveyancing?
Conveyancing is not only a complicated process, but a time consuming one as well. Particularly in transactions related to the subdivision or consolidation of properties, the registration of servitudes or transfers of both divorce or deceased estates.
What does the transfer of property entail?
Once a seller has accepted an offer to purchase (meaning the transfer process has officially begun), the buyer must produce proof that that their bond application has been successful.
Following that, the seller must then appoint a transfer attorney, (who is a conveyancing attorney) to handle the transfer process. Transferring attorneys are one of three attorneys who will play an important role in the home buying process. This team of attorneys includes
the transfer attorney, or the conveyancer who is responsible for registering the property in the new owner’s name,
the bond attorney (appointed by the bank) who is responsible for registering the bond in the home buyer’s name, and
the cancellation attorney (appointed by the bank) who is responsible for attending to the existing bond cancellation.
Once the transfer duty has been paid, all documents have been lodged at the Deeds Office and the transfer attorney has finalised their accounts and paid over all proceeds to the seller, commission to the agent and refunded any credit that is due to the seller (within 12 months), registration of the property (meaning the purchaser is now the new rightful owner of the home) should then occur.
What does a Conveyancer do?
Firstly, it must be noted that no property sale or transfer can be concluded without having a qualified conveyancer on board.
A conveyancer is a lawyer that has passed an additional conveyancing qualification exam and is a specialist in the field of property and conveyancing. They perform a vital function where completing a property transaction is concerned.
Conveyancers attend to the process of transferring legal ownership of fixed property from one person (or a company or trust) to another. In a nutshell, this process amongst other things, involves ensuring the deed of sale meets all the legal requirements, including requesting and collecting supporting information (such the mortgage bond, cancellation figures, title deeds from the seller’s bank, compliance certificates from the seller, and the amounts from the municipality for a rates clearance certificate).
The conveyancer is also tasked with drafting all the necessary documentation (such as a “power of attorney to pass transfer” for the seller to sign, a declaration in respect of marital status, ID Number as well as the bond registration documentation for the purchaser when registering the bond) that needs to be lodged with the deeds office to finalise the registration of the sale.
What is a sale of property agreement?
A sale of property agreement is essential for the proper transfer of property in all property transfer instances. Essentially, whenever you buy or sell a property you will require a sale of property agreement.
A sale of property agreement and offer to purchase are sometimes used interchangeably. But they are not the same thing.
A sale of property agreement is a written agreement entered into and signed by both the buyer and the seller (and also by the seller’s spouse if he/she is married in community of property or subject to the laws of a foreign country) and covers the terms and conditions governing the sale of the property.
An offer to purchase may be either oral or written. If it is in writing and signed by the buyer and accepted by the seller, an offer to purchase constitutes a binding agreement of sale, whereas an oral offer is not.
A sale of property agreement should include the following (although this not a standard format and can include other items related to the sale of the property):
The name, address, identity numbers and marital status of the buyer and seller;
If a company is buying the property, details of the position or capacity of the signatory must be provided;
A clear description of the property;
The selling price and the form of payment (if a deposit is to be paid, the agreement must specify that it must be held in a trust account by the named conveyancer or estate agent);
When the sale is subject to the buyer obtaining a loan, the amount of the loan, the institution applied to and the date by which the loan must be approved;
When the sale is subject to the sale of the buyer’s property, a description of the property, the amount for which it is to be sold and the date by which it must be sold;
Confirmation that the buyer must pay all transfer costs, taxes and municipal charges on the property from the date of possession;
The dates on which the transfer of ownership is to take place and the buyer is to take possession (if occupation is to take place before the transfer of ownership, the buyer must pay interest or rent from that date, in which case the amount and method of payment must be specified);
The name of the conveyancer who will deal with the transfer;
Confirmation that commission is due to a named estate agent and the amount due;
Whether all certificates relating to electricity, waterproofing or a ‘borer-free’ certificate is required, who must pay for the inspection and details of any work required;
Who will pay for the electrical certificate confirming that the electrical installation meets statutory safety requirements – generally the seller – and details of any work needed;
A list of fixtures and fittings included in the sale;
Confirmation that no amendments to the agreement of sale are valid unless in writing and signed by both the buyer and seller.
Why should you trust Benaters to draft your sale of property agreement?
With a wealth of experience in conveyancing and everything related to property, we are able to draft valid and enforceable sale of property agreements which are essential for the proper transfer of property in almost any and all property transfer instances.
You could say that we are experienced. To the nth degree.
We believe in taking a proactive approach and are happy to hold your hand, guiding you through the entire property transfer process, including that of drafting all necessary agreements and documents to ensure the process proceeds smoothly from beginning right to the very end.
We are proud to be Conveyancers. We enjoy what we do and being able to offer such a specialised niche service to our clients, makes us brim with pride and enthusiasm.
We take our duties as Conveyancers very seriously (always keeping in mind the impact a property transfer can have on an individual or family) and therefore hold our work to very high standards. You can trust us with your property, because we treat the entire process as if we were going through it ourselves.
We are here to help you. In any way we can!
So please, get in touch and let us handle your property transfer in the best way we know how – professionally and with the utmost due care.