While it can be thrilling to finally receive the news from your Estate Agent that your house has been bought by an approved Buyer, a few important steps still need to be taken before the money is transferred to you. After the transfer has been registered, you need to start considering how the municipal accounts should be approached.
Since every municipality in South Africa works slightly differently, and changes to processes occur from time to time, your Conveyancer/Transferring Attorney should alert you to any important changes.
You’ll have to wait until you receive confirmation that the property has been registered in the new owner’s name before you can go to the municipality to sort out the account. The Purchaser must open their account first before you can close yours.
Before you can close your account, you need to pay all outstanding amounts due to the Municipality. It should take 2-3 weeks for your account to be closed, but delays can often be expected. Once your account is closed, no further charges will be made to your account.
The Transferring Attorney will notify you (as Purchaser) once the property is registered in your name. They will also send correspondence to the relevant Municipality to inform them that a transfer of property has taken place and has been registered.
The Deeds Office sends this information to the Municipality no later than 10 weeks after the registration of the property. The Municipality can then update their own records. Problems may arise should the Municipality fail to update their own records, which is why the Seller must close their account before you (as Purchaser) open your account.
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)