The conveyancing process explained
The conveyancing process starts with a signed Offer to Purchase and ends with the property being registered in the Deeds Office. But, there are numerous steps that need to be completed in between. Here’s a look at how the process unfolds.
1) The Seller and Purchaser sign the Offer to Purchase and enter into an agreement.
2) Unless the Purchaser is paying cash for the property, he or she applies for a bond with a financial institution.
3) The financial institution selected to provide the mortgage loan appoints bond attorneys and contacts the transferring attorneys.
4) The transferring attorneys and bond attorneys send out welcome letters and highlight any special conditions that must be met.
5) The transferring attorneys facilitate the following prior to registration:
- Collect FICA documents from clients.
- Apply to the municipality for rates clearance.
- Request levy figures from the body corporate, if applicable.
- Request cancellation figures from the cancellation attorney if there is an existing bond over the property.
- Send draft deed and guarantee requirements to the bond attorneys.
- Get the Seller and Purchaser to sign the transfer documents.
- Request that the Purchaser pays the costs.
- Arrange for the Seller to pay any outstanding levies and rates.
- Obtain the necessary certificates from the municipality and body corporate as well as the transfer duty certificate (if the property is worth more that R1 million).
- Ensure that the Seller obtains the electrical compliance certificate or gas certificate, if applicable.
6) While the above is taking place, the bond attorneys attend to the following:
- Collect FICA documents from clients.
- Liaise with the transferring attorneys for guarantee requirements.
- Draft documents.
- Attend to signing with the Purchaser.
- Ensure that the Purchaser pays costs.
- Submit a compliance pack to the bank.
- Obtain proceeds from the bank.
7) The bond cancellation attorneys:
- Receive the title deed from the bank.
- Send a copy of the cancellation figures to the transferring attorneys.
- Receive guarantees for the cancellation amount and their costs.
- Submit guarantee received from the transferring attorneys to the bank.
- Sign consent.
8) Once the three sets of attorneys involved in the process have attended to all of the above, they are ready to lodge at the Deeds Office.
9) The registration process at the Deeds Office unfolds as follows:
- Day 1 – All documents are lodged.
- Day 2 – The documents are given to a junior examiner.
- Day 3 – The documents are distributed to senior examiners.
- Day 4 – Senior examiners receive the documents.
- Day 5 – The documents are sent for monitoring.
- Day 6 – The documents are either rejected or continue to the next level. Documents that are successful are checked before the finances are completed.
- Day 7 – The documents go for numbering, execution and dating – the Registrar puts a seal of approval on the documents.
- Day 8 – The documents are sent for final checking.
- Day 9 – Registration takes place.
Written by Wessel de Kock
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