Buying a property starts with a decision about where to live, work or invest. Completing the purchase requires another set of decisions: what to sign, when to pay, whose instructions to follow and which documents must be ready before ownership can change.
A rushed signature or an unchecked payment can undermine an otherwise sensible purchase. The useful approach is not to become an expert in conveyancing overnight. It is to understand the important checkpoints and ask the right questions before an assumption becomes an expensive problem.
For buyers and sellers preparing a transaction, the following guide explains how contractual terms, finance, payment verification and registration fit together.
Start with the agreement, not the moving date
Section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981 (“the Alienation of Land Act”) generally requires a sale of land to be recorded in a written agreement signed by the parties, or their agents acting on written authority. A document described as an offer to purchase can therefore have substantial legal consequences once properly accepted.
Before signing, identify the property accurately and read the agreement as a whole. Ask what must happen before the transaction can proceed, who must do it and by which date. Pay particular attention to finance, the deposit, guarantees, occupation and the consequences of a breach.
Consider a hypothetical buyer who expects to finance the full purchase price. The agreement instead requires a substantial cash contribution within a week. Discovering that mismatch after acceptance creates a problem that could have been identified while the terms were still being negotiated.
A practical recommendation is to write a short summary of the commitments before signing. If the buyer, seller and adviser cannot explain the same timetable consistently, resolve the uncertainty rather than assuming that the paperwork will eventually catch up.
Make financing conditions understandable
A financing condition should be examined against the actual funding plan. Check the amount required, the deadline and what the agreement says about approval, fulfilment, waiver or extension. Do not assume that an application, a preliminary indication and satisfaction of a contractual condition are equivalent.
For example, imagine a bank indicating that it may lend less than the buyer expected. The immediate question is not simply whether the buyer likes the property enough to continue. It is whether the shortfall can be funded and what must happen under the signed agreement.
Ask the conveyancer to explain the position while there is still time to take appropriate steps. Keep written confirmation of any agreed change with the original agreement.
Understand why several attorneys may be involved
A financed transfer can involve the transferring attorney, the attorney registering the buyer’s mortgage bond and the attorney cancelling the seller’s existing bond. Wessels & Smith describes this coordination expressly as part of its conveyancing work, alongside document preparation and registration.
Their involvement should not be mistaken for duplication without purpose. Ask which office needs which information and who will provide the overall progress update. Keep one record of the responsible contacts and matter references.
Under section 56 of the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937 (“the Deeds Registries Act”), property subject to a registered mortgage bond ordinarily cannot be transferred without the necessary cancellation or release, subject to statutory exceptions. Settling the loan balance and completing the registration-related cancellation work are therefore not identical steps.
A seller should ask about cancellation requirements early, especially where the sale proceeds are expected to discharge the existing loan. The buyer should separately establish what the financing bank still requires before guarantees and registration documents can be finalised.
Prepare a complete transaction file
The firm’s property-services page explains that required documents depend on the parties and transaction. Its office advises clients what is needed when the matter is opened. That is preferable to assuming that every transfer follows an identical checklist.
For preparation, gather the signed agreement, identification records, available title information, finance correspondence and the documents explaining who is authorised to act. Where a trust, company or deceased estate is involved, tell the conveyancer immediately rather than presenting the transaction as an ordinary sale by an individual.
Suppose the person negotiating the sale is travelling when signatures are required. Discuss the arrangements in advance. A document signed quickly abroad should not be assumed suitable merely because it resembles the document emailed from the attorney’s office.
Good preparation also means resolving inconsistencies. Different spellings of names, outdated contact details and uncertainty over the contracting party should be raised rather than silently repeated across forms.
Separate the purchase price from transaction costs
Transfer duty, where payable, is a tax governed by the Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949 (“the Transfer Duty Act”). It is not the same as the conveyancer’s fees, bond-registration costs or other transaction expenses. SARS explains that conveyancers submit the relevant declarations and obtain a receipt or exemption documentation.
The tax treatment requires attention to the transaction itself. SARS also explains the distinction between transactions attracting transfer duty and those subject to VAT; the buyer should not simply budget for both as though they always apply together.
Request an itemised estimate rather than relying on a single informal figure for “transfer costs”. Ask which amounts are estimates, which depend on information still outstanding and when payment will be requested.
For a hypothetical buyer using savings for both the deposit and expenses, a funding worksheet can prevent double-counting. Record the purchase contribution, anticipated legal costs and a separate allowance for moving. The aim is to see whether the available cash matches the proposed commitments.
SARS warns that tax-compliance issues can affect property transactions. Provide accurate tax-reference details when requested and raise unresolved problems early rather than discovering them when registration is approaching.
Clarify the deposit and the seller’s expected proceeds
Before paying a deposit, ask where it will be held, how it will be identified against the transaction and what instructions govern its release. Discuss whether any investment arrangement is proposed and what written authority or explanation is required. Do not assume that every amount described as a deposit is held or dealt with in exactly the same way.
Keep the payment request, verified account details, reference and receipt together. If somebody suggests releasing money earlier than expected, ask the conveyancer to explain the request against the agreement before consenting. A reassuring description such as “just an administrative step” should not replace an understandable explanation of what happens to the money.
For sellers, prepare a separate estimate of the proceeds expected after the transaction’s applicable deductions. Ask how the outstanding mortgage, agreed selling expenses and other amounts affect the figure. This is a budgeting exercise, not a final settlement statement.
Consider a seller planning to use the proceeds as the deposit on another purchase. The important questions are both how much will be available and when it can be used. Discuss the linked transactions before accepting commitments that depend on money arriving on an assumed date.
Keep estimates clearly labelled as estimates. Update the worksheet when reliable information changes, and ask which figures remain provisional. A difference between the advertised sale price and the amount available afterwards should not first become apparent when the seller is expected to fund the next transaction.
The purpose of these conversations is straightforward: both parties should understand their cash position and the instructions governing money held during the transfer, rather than discover important differences only after payment.
Verify payment instructions before transferring money
A payment request should be checked against the agreement and independently verified. Standard Bank’s fraud guidance warns that criminals can impersonate attorneys, estate agents and other businesses, using convincing emails and altered banking details to divert funds. A familiar logo does not authenticate the account.
Use a contact number obtained independently or already verified, not a replacement number supplied in the suspicious message. Confirm the account details and payment reference with the appropriate person. Treat urgency or unexpected changes as reasons to pause, not reasons to skip checks.
A practical household arrangement is to have one person verify the instructions and another check the payment screen against the verified details before authorisation. This is an extra checking step, not a guarantee against fraud.
After paying, ask the intended recipient to confirm actual receipt. Retain the confirmation with the transaction record. If something appears wrong, contact the bank’s fraud channel and the conveyancer immediately; do not wait for another reassuring email from the disputed address.
What the Hawarden case teaches buyers
In Edward Nathan Sonnenberg Inc v Hawarden (421/2023) [2024] ZASCA 90 (10 June 2024) (“Hawarden”), a purchaser’s email was compromised and R5.5 million intended for a property transaction was diverted to fraudsters. The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed her damages claim against the seller’s conveyancing firm.
The decision turned on the legal requirements for liability and the particular facts, including the absence of an attorney-client relationship at the relevant time and the purchaser’s ability to verify the payment details. It did not declare that attorneys can never be liable for payment fraud.
The practical lesson is narrower and more useful: do not build a purchase around the assumption that somebody else will necessarily reimburse a misdirected payment. Prevention and verification deserve attention before the money leaves the account.
Do not confuse occupation with completed transfer
For an ordinary sale, section 16 of the Deeds Registries Act provides the registration mechanism through which ownership is transferred. Receiving keys or paying the purchase price is not itself registration of ownership.
Where occupation is intended before registration, ask how the agreement deals with occupation payments, utilities, insurance-related arrangements, maintenance and the possibility that transfer does not proceed as expected. Avoid assuming that possession answers every question about responsibility.
Imagine a buyer wanting to start renovations immediately after moving in. Before work begins, clarify authority, approvals, insurance and the consequences if the transaction encounters difficulty. Permission to occupy should not be treated as an unlimited permission to alter the property.
A written handover record is also useful. Record meter readings, keys, remotes and any agreed outstanding work. Photographs and an agreed list can provide a clearer reference than competing recollections later.
Ask better questions about delays
Instead of asking only whether transfer is “almost done”, request the current outstanding requirement, the party responsible for it and the next expected milestone. This makes an update actionable without demanding a registration promise that the available information cannot support.
For example, a hypothetical transaction may be waiting for a buyer’s signature, a financing instruction or information from an outside institution. Each problem calls for a different response. Sending the same urgent message to everybody may create activity without resolving the actual obstacle.
Keep communications focused. When supplying a missing document, identify it clearly and request confirmation that it addresses the outstanding requirement. Where a deadline in the sale agreement is involved, ask for advice on that deadline specifically.
Avoid making irreversible arrangements around an unconfirmed estimate. Discuss removals, temporary accommodation and handover logistics using the information actually available, and decide what contingency is affordable if the expected date changes.
Three questions buyers regularly ask
Is an emailed bank letter enough to verify a payment?
No. Treat it as information that still needs checking. The payment-verification steps above are designed to avoid relying on the same communication channel that may have been compromised.
Does paying the bond settle every cancellation requirement?
Not necessarily. Ask the bank and relevant attorneys what remains to complete the cancellation connected with the transaction. Loan settlement and registered security must be dealt with in their proper context.
Should legal advice wait until the offer is signed?
A useful approach is to obtain advice before committing to terms that are unclear. Give the adviser the complete proposed agreement and explain how the purchase will be funded, rather than asking about an isolated clause without its context.
Conclusion: a secure purchase needs a coordinated process
A well-managed transfer brings together the agreement, funding, payment arrangements and registration work. The most useful protection for a buyer or seller is to understand those connections, disclose relevant information early and verify important instructions before acting on them.
Treat uncertainty as a question to resolve, not something that must remain hidden to keep the deal moving. A careful conversation before signing or paying can be more valuable than an argument after an avoidable problem has emerged. A clear record also gives everyone a shared reference when questions arise later in the process.
Wessels & Smith Inc assists with property transfers, bond registrations and bond cancellations. Its conveyancing team can explain the requirements of the particular transaction and coordinate the legal steps needed to move it towards registration.
Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information, not advice on a particular matter. Individual facts, documents and applicable legal requirements must be assessed before action is taken. Legal sources reviewed on 29 September 2026.
