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As  a public service to you, the people in South Africa who wish to sell and buy property, listed below is a VERY basic understanding of the Realty Buy and Sell process and some guidelines to help you.

The Main People Involved.

The parties ACTUALLY involved in the sale or purchase of a property (or business)are:

• The Seller - OF THE PROPERTY is the person (or people or company) who own the property and wishes to sell to make a profit and probably move somewhere else. The owner of a property is recorded in the TITLE DEED. If the owner is married IN COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY then his/her spouse automatically owns HALF THE PROPERTY and BOTH signatures will be required on the Offer to Purchase document before the property can be sold legally. But if the partners are married by ANC (Ante Nuptial Contract) then only the person who is recorded on the Title Deed owns the property; 

          IF YOU ARE SELLING A BUSINESS the situation is somewhat different with or without a         

          property. Both the seller and the purchaser remain jointly and severally liable for a period of 12 months   

          after the date of the sale of the business. Hence, it becomes necessary that  the seller ensures that the

          business complies with all statutory laws - ie a Manual in terms of PAIA; Codes of Conduct for     

          Discipline, Grievance and Sexual Harassment (at least); All documents in terms of Skills Development

          and its Levies Acts etc. For this purpose, both the seller and the buyer need to obtain PROFESSIONAL

          advice before before proceeding. PLEASE CONTACT US WITH ANY QUERIES.

• The Purchaser (Buyer). The person, (people or company) that wants to buy a property. Similarly to the above, if YOU want to buy a property and are married IN COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY then the ownership of any property purchased is owned by both Husband and Wife. Only if a couple are married by ANC can one of them only be an owner of the property being bought.    Often, a man will want to place the ownership of a house in the name of his wife as seems to happen quite often in South Africa. So the above becomes VERY IMPORTANT to know.     Also, a company may own a property and wish to sell that property. This can be done in 2 ways:-

                  1) The property is sold as it stands and as an entity on its own;

                  2)  The actual Company or close corporation is sold as a business.

                       The only asset would be the property.

Other people who would be involved; 

• The Transferring Attorney (Conveyancer) who would normally represent and be appointed by the seller. The job of this Attorney would be to transfer the ownership of the property from the name of the Seller to the name of the Buyer.  This Attorney will charge a set fee for doing the work and it is always wise to check with him or her BEFORE you proceed as to the charges involved and how he/she gets paid. Normally it is this Attorney that sees to it that the SELLER receives all the balance of the purchase price of the property after the Estate Agent has been paid owed commissions.                                                                                 We do have very exclusive list of Conveyancing Attorneys for you to choose from but you must speak to a few of them before deciding which one to choose.                                                                                              If in any doubt, do not hesitate to email us realtybuy@problemsolvers.co.za or info@problemsolvers.co.za; 

• THE Realtor (Real Estate Agent or Property Consultant). No matter who you decide to deal with ALWAYS ensure that the Property Agent you are dealing with is both qualified and licensed by the South African Estate Agency Affairs Board and is in possession of what is called a VALID FIDELITY ACCOUNT. There are many Estate agents running around all fighting for the same "piece of pie" so you must be in a position not only to choose wisely but to know when you are being spun a yarn by anyone. We are always available to you to answer any queries you may have.As with the Attorneys we only deal with reputable, fully qualified and approved Realtors  so anyone that we recommend can be counted on to be fully professional and to protect your best interests at all times; 
• The Valuer -An Estate Agent may be able to give an owner a basic market related idea of the Property worth and clearly this value does have relevance in the market place. But unless that Estate Agent is a bone fide and fully qualified VALUER they will not be able to provide a competent and legal appraisement and valuation on your property.Especially with the introduction of the CAPITAL GAINS TAX it is a very wise idea to allow us to secure a qualified Appraiser and Valuer to initiate a proper and Legal Valuation;
• The Bond Attorney. This Attorney is appointed by the bank receiving the bond and none of the parties bar the bank have any control or jurisdiction over this person. His job is to Register the actual Bond;
• The Cancellation Attorney This Attorney is also appointed by the bank  and the job of this Attorney is to cancel the existing bond of the seller on the property that has been sold
• Beetle & Electrical Inspectors. Before selling a property, the seller must ensure that the electrics of the property have been inspected and that a Clearance Certificate is issued. Sometimes, before this Certificate is issued, certain repairs and maintenance must be implemented and this has to be for the cost of the Seller.   Also, sometimes the ceiling of a house may contain certain infestations and the buyer can ask for a Beetle Inspector to check the premises as well. As always, we are actively involved in this type of service and deal with exclusive inspectors who can not only do the Inspections but and issue Certificates but also render any repairs and amendments as are necessary; 
• Bond Consultant. Sometimes a purchaser has difficulty negotiating with banks and securing a Bond. A Bond Consultant is a specialist at helping the purchaser secure a Bond.
• PROBLEM SOLVERS - because we are here to help you establish a proper price for your property whether you are a Seller or Purchaser;  Ensure that your Property is Properly  Valued; Ensure that you do not get ripped by anyone; See to it that the property being sold and purchased has all the required clearances; and that the Attorneys are doing what they are supposed to do; 

How the system works.  

• The Seller of a property decides that it is necessary to sell the owned property - either because money is needed or because the family may need a bigger or small house;
• It is better if the Seller goes on line and into the Problem Solvers web site because we have everything here that a seller will need to sell a property;
• With the help of Problem Solvers, the property is viewed by a PROFESSIONAL and a market related purchase is worked out;
• A we have said all along, it is sometimes better to get a LEGAL VALUATION but this is unnecessary to sell the property.
• Any commission due to the consultant and Agent should then be negotiated and finalized IN WRITING. Normally, this would be 7% of the purchase price but this percentage is negotiable;
• Digitised photos are then taken of the inside and outside of the house and placed on Problem Solvers web site in the TO BUY data base viewed by thousands of people;
• The property will also be marketed in the traditional way through newspapers, signboards and similar;
• An attorney or Problem Solvers should be contacted to Check on all Offers to Purchase used by the Agents BEFORE the property is marketed;
• At PROBLEM SOLVERS - we have a number of pre-designed Offers to Purchase;
• If a buyer wants to view the property through either Problem Solvers or the Agent, this will be arranged with the Seller;
• If the purchaser likes what he/she sees then it will be up to the Agent to arrange for the buyer to sign the Offer to Purchase and then take this signed offer to the Seller;
• The Seller must again carefully read through the offer and may not be forced to sign under any circumstances. It is always advisable for the Seller to have the document checked by an Attorney before signing, especially if the Purchaser has made any amendments; 
• With the Offer signed by both parties, normally a deposit must be paid by this buyer and held in an interest bearing TRUST account. Often, Estate Agents will demand that this Deposit is paid into their Trust account and this is because at the end of the sale they know that they can take their Commissions automatically. However, the deposit can also be paid into the Trust account of your own Attorney or the Conveyancer.
• It is then up to the buyer to ensure that the balance outstanding on the purchase price cwill be paid to the Seller on Regisitration and Transfer either by way of cash or to apply for a bond with the bank. It is advisable that the buyer does discuss the matter with a  Bond Consultant. Problem Solvers also has a service where we can help a purchaser secure Bonds;
• If all goes well with the Bond Application, whatever bank is chosen then approves the bond and instructs the Bond Attorney to register the bond.
• The Seller meanwhile (normally either the Realtor or Problem Solvers handles this) instructs the Transferring Attorney to transfer the property;
• If the property being sold is a SECTIONAL TITLE, it is up to the seller to ensure that all LEVIES are paid up until the date of transfer of ownership and that a CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE is issued to the Transferring Attorney;
• The title deed and cancellation figures are requested from the bank which currently has a bond over the property; and a statement of rates and taxes is requested from the local authority.
• The Transferring Attorney then prepares the Draft Deed and guarantee requirements and sends these to the Bond Attorney;
• upon receipt of a guarantee for the amount owing the Cancellation Attorney is instructed to cancel the seller's bond;
• The Transferring Attorney requests the Seller and Purchaser to sign the transfer documents; and the buyer then pays the transfer costs and the Transferring Attorney in turn pays the rates and taxes and transfer duty.
• The Bond Attorney advises the Transferring Attorney of the amount available for guarantees and requests the draft deed of transfer and the Transferring Attorney receives the title deed and cancellation figures and sends a copy of the deed of transfer and the guarantee requirements to the Bond Attorney;
• The Bond Attorney prepares the Bond Documentation together with the relevant account & the buyer then signs the documents and pays the costs; 
• The Bond Attorney prepares and issues the necessary guarantees, forwards them to the Transferring Attorney and prepares the Bond Documents for service on the Deeds Office.
• Once the Transferring Attorney has received the guarantees, they are forwarded to the Cancellation Attorney who then obtains a consent to cancellation from the bank which holds the seller's bond.
• After all the documentation has been signed and the costs paid, the transfer, new bond and cancellation bond documents are prepared by all the attorneys involved the documents SHOULD be "lodged" simultaneously in the Deeds Office who take approximately 10 to 14 days (but always allow for longer) to check and then make ready for Registration;
• On the day of registration, the bank pays out the loan in accordance with the guarantees issued;