In addition to the seller and the purchaser, there are various agents, government institutions and attorneys involved in the transaction. The purpose of this article is to clarify the roles that different attorneys play in the sale of a property.
Attorneys who are responsible for the preparation and registration of deeds of transfer, mortgage bonds or any deeds of title are known as conveyancers.
Conveyancers are specialised in property transfers and have a vast and in-depth knowledge of property transfer procedures and property law in general.
After being admitted as an attorney of the High Court, these attorneys must undergo additional training followed by a stringent competency based exam, before being admitted as conveyancers.
In every transaction, more than one conveyancer may be involved in the process. It is certain that there will be a conveyancer who will attend to the transfer of the property from the seller to the purchaser.
These conveyancers are also known as the transferring attorneys. Although it is customary for estate agents to recommend which transferring attorney should be appointed, the seller is at liberty to appoint a suitable attorney of his or her choice.
If the purchaser wishes to fund the purchase price with a home loan, the financial institution will register a mortgage bond over the title deed of the property.
A mortgage bond simply confirms that the property itself serves as security for the home loan in favour of the financial institution. In this instance, another conveyancer will become involved, also known as the bond registration attorney.
The bond registration attorney is appointed by the financial institution and not by the seller or purchaser.
If the seller initially purchased the property with the assistance of a financial institution, there may still be a bond registered over the property in favour of that financial institution.
Before the transfer of the property can take place, or a new bond be registered, the existing bond must first be cancelled. In this instance, another conveyancer will become involved, also known as the bond cancellation attorney. The bond cancellation attorney is appointed by the bond holder and not by the seller of purchaser.
Article by Coenie Bezuidenhout, candidate attorney at Lagarto Inc (attorneys and conveyancers).
If you would like more information regarding the conveyancing process, contact them on 011 568 9326 or at coenie@lagartoinc.co.za
