Once you find your dream home and put in an offer that’s accepted, you’ll need some help with the transfer of ownership. There are certain transfers that need to happen before an immovable property is legally signed over by law. This process is called Property Conveyancing and is where a Conveyancer Attorney comes into play.
What does a Conveyancer Attorney do?
A Conveyancing Attorney is one of the most important people in the home-buying process. They are, by law, the only people who can register property transactions. Conveyancing is the process through which ownership of immovable property is transferred from one party to another. Any related aspects, such as the registration of mortgage bonds, are also handled by a Conveyancer Attorney.
Your Conveyancer Attorney is in-charge of the following:
- Meeting with the seller to explain the process.
- Making sure all the necessary documentation is in order, and signed, to conclude the transaction.
- Protecting the interest of his/her client at all times.
- Keeping the seller informed of all the transfer procedures
- Updating the seller with the progress and status updates of the transaction.
- Keep an open line of communication regarding the seller’s bond, any penalties, notice periods and other administrative changes.
- Do everything in their power to register the transaction on the date agreed to in the offer to purchase.
There are 3 Attorney’s who you will be working with during this process:
- A Transfer Attorney transfers property from the seller to the buyer. They are appointed by the seller to represent them.
- Bond Attorneys register the bond over the property in favour of the bank that is financing the purchase. They represent the buyer and the bank granting the buyer’s home loan.
- And a Cancellation Attorney cancels the seller’s existing home loan on the property.
What does the Conveyancing transaction involve:
A Deed of Sale is the first step when buying and selling property. It then continues through to the registration of transfer of ownership or the registration of the mortgage bond in the Deeds Office. Then the reconciliation of finances and the ultimate payment of the purchase price to the seller.
What are you paying for?:
Conveyancing fees are what the buyer pays the Conveyancer Attorney who conducts this legal process. These fees form part of the extra costs that come with purchasing a property. These fees cover a range of services that your Conveyancer Attorney will complete all ranging from requesting cancellation figures to preparing relevant documentation.
Other than the conveyancing fees that need to be paid, transfer duties also need to be paid to SARS. These transfer duties are a tax levied on the value of any property acquired. They are also statutory and cannot be negotiated.
What can affect the transferring process?
Much of the process, which they have to coordinate, is actually out of their hands. They are heavily dependent on banks, city councils, revenue offices to perform their duties by furnishing them with bond instructions, rates clearances and so on.
Conveyancers and their secretaries are delayed and compromised by buyers who fail to pay deposits or rentals on time. This process can also be delayed by both buyers or sellers wanting to change agreements resulting in inevitable further delays. Often it is just one party that defaults, which results in the other pressuring the conveyancer to remedy the situation.
To Summarize:
A Conveyancer attorney has the necessary knowledge, skill, and attention to detail to aid in the transfer of property. Through protecting the interest of his/her client, a conveyancer attorney, and the legal process called Conveyancing is how ownership of immovable property is transferred from one party to another.
