SABWil Conveyancing: the First-time Buyer
Part 3 – The Transferring and Bond Attorneys and the Deeds Office
The Transferring and Bond Attorney
ImageThe transferring and bond attorneys are two different sets of attorneys who will contact you and request certain documents and information – usually your ID, proof of residence, income tax number, marriage certificate (if you’re married) and ante-nuptial contract (if applicable).
You will need to sign documents relating to the transfer, home loan and bond respectively, and both attorneys will give you their Pro Forma Statement of Account which is payable before the documents are lodged at the Deeds Office (except when the bank has included legal costs in the loan amount). Transfer Duty (due on sales above R750,000.00) will however always be immediately payable, as the transferring attorney needs to pay this amount over to SARS, who will issue a Transfer Duty Receipt, which has to be lodged at the Deeds Office.
The Deeds Office
Once all the bond and transfer documents are signed, the full purchase price is secured (by cash deposit into the Transferring attorney’s trust account or Bank guarantee) and the Rates Clearance Certificate and Transfer Duty Receipt are issued, and for Sectional Title Properties, once the Sectional Title Insurance Certificate and Levy Clearance Certificate are issued as well, the transaction should be ready for lodgement at the relevant Deeds Office. The Bond attorney and Bond Cancellation attorney (where the Seller has a bond/bonds registered over the property) will first need to obtain the Bank’s permission to lodge, which can take up to 2 weeks from submission to the Bank of all the required documents. The turnaround time for registration in the Deeds Office is approximately 2 weeks.
Authoress: Conveyancer – Marlene Heppes