Property Lawyers

Attorney:	Telephone Number:
Amanda de Wet	012 – 460 5317 / 083 – 412 6208
Anton van Zyl	011 – 704 0383
VVM	011 – 329 8529
Brits van Rheede Muller	011 – 483 3211
Young & Davis	011 – 994 6000
Burt Meaden Inc.	011 – 455 6868
Masilo Inc.	011 – 958 0488
Chapman Dyer Inc.	031 – 319 7816
Chimes/Adele van Wyk	044 – 874 1621
Cliff Dekker Hofmeyr	011 – 286 1107
Chris Kotse	011 – 475 8080
Mannetjies Strydom	011 – 789 7869
De Wet Reitz	011 – 888 7815
Deon Rens	011 – 285 0082
Lowe & Heyl	011 – 475 5090
De Klerk & Van Gend	021 – 914 4020
KGT Att.	082 – 928 1643
Du Plooy Inc.	011 – 679 4500
Dykes van Heerden	011 – 279 5000
Erasmus Motung Attorneys	011 – 475 9422
Friendland Hart Solomon	012 – 424 0200
Johan van Niekerk	011 – 791 7455
Joshila Inc. (FNB)	011 – 326 4453

 

Articles regarding Real Estate Law and Property Transfer procedures

   

The Importance of Rates in the Transferring Process

A Rates Clearance Certificate is required by law and must be lodged in the Deeds Office along with the transfer documents. As it is with SARS and the transfer duty receipt, the Rates Clearance Certificate ensures and protects the Council’s interests are secured and there are no outstanding funds that aren’t paid.    

Things You should be aware of   

• If the property is a sectional title – there will be a Levy Clearance Certificate and Rates Clearance Certificate required.
• If the property is in an estate or complex – there will be a Home Owners Certificate and a Rates Clearance Certificate required.
• If the Seller is in arrears, the Council will take longer to provide Rates Clearance Figures as they need to ensure they have taken into account all outstanding funds.
• Rates Clearance Figures can only be paid via cash or an Attorneys Trust Cheque – no other form of payment is acceptable to Council.
• A Rates Clearance Certificate is only valid for 120 days, should the transfer take longer than expected – new figures will need to be obtained.
• The Rates Clearance Figures are the final amount to be paid to settle the account before Council will issue a Clearance Certificate – the Clearance Certificate confirms that there are no amounts outstanding on the account and that the account may be cancelled.

The Seller
Is reminded to ensure they close their accounts after registration has been effected – the transferring attorney will issue them with a letter confirming the registration of the property.  

The Purchaser
Is required to open their own Rates Account with Council and pay the required deposit.    

Why should the Seller maintain Bond repayments

  

Should the Seller not maintain their Bond instalments during the transfer process – the process may be delayed. The transfer is complicated by the fact that the bond cancellation figures obtained by the Seller bank will not coincide with the guarantees issued. Therefore the bond cancellation attorney will not be in a position to lodge and register their transaction. A transfer cannot take place unless the bond over the property is cancelled first, thus the bond cancellation attorney will be required to request new guarantees from the bond attorneys or if it is a cash transaction from the transferring attorney (who in turn needs to obtain a guarantee from the purchase price which would be invested in the transferring attorney’s money market account).  

Furthermore, what happens if there are not enough funds available to cover the new bond cancellation figures? The transfer will not be able to proceed until such time as the debt can be secured. The Seller will need to make an alternate arrangement if their banking institution will not look at an acknowledgement of debt, for the shortfall now caused – either way this causes a huge delay on the transferring process.

The Rates Process- What is Required and How it Works?

• Upon signing the Offer to purchase the client is advised to obtain a copy of the rates clearance account – if possible take photo’s of the meter readings as the council is only required to do actual readings once every 3 months.
• The transferring attorney will request the Seller to pay the application fee, upon receipt thereof the attorney completes the application form in full and applies for the rates clearance figures –  the majority of attorney use the service of a Rates Consultant who can chase up the application on a daily basis to speed up the process.
• Figures are charged +- 4 months in advance, however council is allowed to charge up to 6 months as per Gazetted Municipal Bylaws instituted by the Constitutional Court.
• Figures are valid for 30 days and the Seller is requested to make payment promptly to the attorneys.
• Once rates figures are paid, it normally takes approx. 4 working days to obtain the Clearance Certificates – this certificate is only valid the period of time specified on the certificate.
• The Rates Clearance Certificate is lodged in the Deeds Office along with the transfer documents.
• Once the transaction has registered the Seller is required to immediatley notify Council and give proof of the current meter readings;
• The Deeds Office and the transferring attorney – will notify Council from their offices and the transferring attorneywill supply the Seller and Purchaser with a letter as proof of registration;
• The Purchaser (now the new owner) – is required to go to Council and complete an application form and open a new rates account. Should this not be done immediately Council will in it’s own time open and send out an account and there will be a huge outstanding amount which the new owner will have to pay, in one huge lump sum.