Signing the offer to purchase
Everything starts with the offer to purchase. Once both parties sign it, it is a binding agreement, subject to any suspensive conditions such as bond approval or the sale of your current home. Read it carefully, or have it reviewed, before you sign.
If a deposit is required, it is usually paid into the transferring attorney's trust account shortly after signature and held there until registration.
Bond approval and guarantees
If you are financing the purchase, the bank approves the bond and appoints its own bond attorney. Once the bond documents are signed, the bank issues guarantees to the transferring attorney for the balance of the purchase price, payable on registration.
Transfer duty
Transfer duty is a tax paid by the buyer to SARS. It is calculated on a sliding scale on the purchase price. For purchases from 1 April 2026, no transfer duty is payable on properties up to R1 210 000, and the rate increases in bands above that.
If the seller is a VAT vendor selling in the course of its business, the purchase usually attracts VAT instead of transfer duty. The transferring attorney confirms which applies, and transfer duty must be paid before the documents can be lodged.
Transfer costs and bond costs
The buyer pays the transferring attorney's fee, calculated on the guideline tariff, plus Deeds Office fees and postage and petties. If there is a bond, the buyer also pays the bond attorney's fee and the related Deeds Office fees.
These amounts are usually requested shortly after the transfer documents are signed, because they must be paid before lodgement.
What the seller pays
The seller pays the estate agent's commission, usually on registration, and the costs of cancelling any existing bond. The seller also pays for the compliance certificates required for the property, such as the electrical certificate, and for the rates clearance certificate from the municipality.
Lodgement and registration
When all documents are signed, guarantees are in place and the clearance certificates and transfer duty receipt are ready, the documents are lodged at the Deeds Office. Registration usually follows about eight to ten working days after lodgement. On registration, you become the owner and the seller is paid.
From signature of the offer to purchase to registration, a typical transfer takes about eight to twelve weeks.
