Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July/August 2019 | Page 11

Q & A
What are the costs of
purchasing property?
ANIEL JEAVEN,
Founder and CEO of
Aniel Jeaven Attorneys
Question:
I am looking to purchase my first property and
would like to find out what costs are involved in
purchasing a property?
Expert answer:
Costs in a conventional or sectional title transfer of an immovable property would entail the fees
payable to a conveyancer for the transfer of ownership to a new owner. There could be transfer
costs, bond costs or bond cancellation costs. The said transfer and bond costs would normally be
paid by the purchaser of the property, if however a bond is registered against the property being
sold, the seller would be responsible to pay a fee to cancel the existing bond.
The fees recommended are set out in the guidelines set by the Legal Practice Council (previously
the Law Society). The guidelines can be amended from time to time.The costs are determined on
a basis of the purchase price or the value of the property as set out in the guidelines. In addition to
the transfer and bond costs a deeds office fee is also payable t the deeds office.Then there will be
disbursements which will be added to the costs mentioned above such as post & petties, electronic
generation costs, deed search fees, rates clearance fees and transfer duty submission fees, VAT
could be added to the above fees and disbursements as well.The conveyancer attending to the
bond cancellation would also charge a fee to cancel the bond on behalf of the bank plus a deeds
office fee plus disbursements. The fees are in respect of and inclusive inter alia the general duties
performed by a conveyancer for procuring the due and proper execution and eventual registration
of the particular deed or document or the filing thereof or cancellation thereof in addition to
the responsibility on him/her for the accuracy of the facts mentioned in the applicable deeds or
documents. The conveyancer has to also ensure that copies of any deeds are identical as at date of
lodgement that all applicable conditions of title including endorsements and township conditions
are correctly brought forward in any deed of transfer.
The conveyancer also has to verify that any person signing a document as principal or representative
has been appointed and is acting accordance to the powers granted to him or her. The conveyancer
also has to confirm that the parties mentioned in the deeds are correctly reflected and that the
necessary authority has been obtained for the signing of the documents.
The conveyancer then also has the duty to ensure that all the financial arrangements are in place
including the issuing of the guarantees on behalf of the bond holders, checking of guarantees and
attending to the payment in terms thereof.
Finally the conveyancer has to arrange simultaneous lodgement and registration with other
conveyancers who are linked to the particular transaction.
In conclusion this is a short summary of the services rendered by a conveyancer which justifies the
fees that are due in respect of costs.
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine JULY/AUGUST 2019
9