Buying A Property
The purchase of property – particularly if one falls prey to an unethical estate agent or unprincipled seller – can prove to be as threatening as walking through a minefield.
The prospective buyer – especially the eager and innocent first-timer – can emerge from what should be a potentially enjoyable experience with badly burnt fingers, a severely bruised ego and a badly dented chequebook.
The basic procedure applicable to purchasing a property is relatively straightfoward, but we cannot over-emphasise the importance of dealing with a reputable and properly licensed estate agent to navigate you past the pitfalls to a successful conclusion. Hopefully this article will assist you in ensuring that the trip is as rewarding and painless as possible.
Bear in mind, an “Offer to Purchase” and an “Agreement of Sale” of immovable property is invalid unless recorded in writing and signed by both parties or their duly authorised agents.
Once you have made a firm decision to make an offer to purchase a particular property, your estate agent will assist you in drawing up what is known as an “Offer to Purchase” – a document which will include such details as the description of the property, the purchase price, how the purchase price must be paid and whether the purchase is subject to the procuring of a loan secured by a mortgage bond to be registered over the property, the date of occupancy, the occupational rental, whether the property is being purchased voetstoots or not, vacation of the property by tenants, and any other matters deemed necessary.
When this offer has been signed by yourself, but has not yet been accepted and signed by the seller, you are a “prospective purchaser”. The moment that your “Offer to Purchase” has been presented to the seller, and the seller signs it, it becomes an Agreement of Sale. At this stage – now that an agreement is in existence – you become the “purchaser”.
The purchase of your family home – or the sale of your existing property and the purchase of a bigger and better one – will probably be the most expensive and significant investment of your life.
It is therefore of the utmost importance that you make the right decisions along the way. Your signature on a piece of paper is merely the tip of the iceberg in making an offer to purchase a property. There are many issues to be considered, studied and decided and you must make the correct decisions.
To succeed, ensure that you are working with a reputable, reliable, effective and efficient estate agent, and do not shy away from consulting your attorney with any questions that may arise. They will play a key role in ensuring that you make the right decisions.
In this way you can avoid the many risks and pitfalls that face prospective owners, and can turn a potential nightmare into a dream come true.
Disclaimer: This article is for information purpose only and does not constitute legal advice. Call on our attorneys for legal advice, rather than relying on the information herein to make any decisions. The information is relevant to the date of publishing.