most commonly asked questions !

1. What is transfer duty?

Transfer duty is a form of tax that is payable by the purchaser to the Receiver of Revenue for every transfer of land unless he/she is exempted from doing so by the Transfer Duty Act. One instance is, for example, where a surviving spouse is acquiring property from the estate of his/her deceased spouse, no transfer duty will be payable.
There are numerous exemptions which our firm will gladly assist you with when taking you through the process.

If, however, you have to pay transfer duty there is a formula that needs to be followed depending on the purchase price of the property and the date of transaction. If the purchase price of the property is R 140 000-00 or less, the purchaser will be exempt from paying transfer duty.

2. How long does the procedure take?

Where the property has been sold with the help of an estate agent, the Offer to Purchase will normally stipulate that the conveyancer is to be appointed by the seller. Once instructed by the seller, the conveyancer will begin the first stage of the process which normally takes up to 5 weeks.

3. What is the first stage of the process?

During the first stage, the conveyancer will do the following:

• liaise with the estate agent in respect of transferring all monies paid by the purchaser into the
  conveyancer's Trust Account.
• liaise with the seller's bondholder, if there is an existing bond over the property, in respect of furnishing the conveyancer with the old title deed.
• liaise with the purchaser's bond attorney in respect of furnishing the conveyancer with a guarantee that
  the purchase price will be paid on date of registration.
• proceed to pay transfer duty and obtain a transfer duty receipt from the Receiver of Revenue.
• pay the rates due on the property and obtain a rates clearance certificate from the municipality.
• draft the new title deed in favour of the purchaser together with other documents and call for both the seller and purchaser to sign same.
• lodge documents at the Deeds Office.

4. What is the second stage of the process?

When the documents are lodged at the Deeds Office, it takes up to 14 working days for it to be registered and microfilmed. This stage of the process is "out of the hands" of the conveyancer as the documents have to be examined by the Deeds Office.