Property · Offer to Purchase

Offer to Purchase & property transfer, explained.

Every property transfer in South Africa starts with one document. Here's how it works, who appoints the attorney who handles it, and who actually pays for that.

Legal basis:Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937

01 · Background

The Offer to Purchase is where the transfer begins

A property transfer isn't a single event, it's a process that starts the moment a buyer and seller agree on price and terms, and ends months later when the Deeds Office registers the new owner. The document that starts that process is the Offer to Purchase (OTP).

Once both parties sign, the OTP becomes a binding deed of sale, the legal foundation everything else is built on. The conveyancer who eventually registers the transfer doesn't negotiate the deal; they execute what the OTP already recorded. If the OTP is vague, incomplete, or silent on a key point, that gap follows the transaction all the way to the Deeds Office.

Why it has to be in writing

Section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981 requires a sale of land to be in writing and signed by both parties (or their agents acting on written authority): a verbal agreement to sell property, however clear, is void and unenforceable. This isn't a formality; it's the reason a proper OTP matters from the first conversation, not just once transfer is underway.

02 · The requirement

What a proper OTP actually needs to do

A workable OTP needs to do more than record a price. At minimum, it should set out:

The parties, the property, and the purchase price and payment terms;
Any suspensive conditions (most commonly bond approval and, if relevant, the sale of the purchaser's existing home) with clear deadlines;
Occupation date, occupational rent, and when risk passes from seller to purchaser;
Who is responsible for compliance certificates (electrical, and others where applicable), rates clearance, and existing bond cancellation;
Which attorney is nominated to attend to the transfer, and the cost allocation between the parties.

Once signed and once any suspensive conditions are met, the OTP is handed to the nominated conveyancer, who prepares the documents needed to lodge at the Deeds Office and, ultimately, registers the property in the purchaser's name under the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937.

A common misconception

There is no general statutory cooling-off period for the sale of immovable property in South Africa. Once both parties sign, the agreement is binding immediately, subject only to the suspensive conditions actually recorded in it. Two narrow exceptions exist: section 29A of the Alienation of Land Act gives a natural-person purchaser a five-day right to revoke where the price is R250,000 or less (excluding the signing day, weekends and public holidays); and the Consumer Protection Act's cooling-off applies only where the sale resulted from direct marketing. Outside those, the OTP binds on signature.

03 · Rule of thumb

Who appoints the transferring attorney?

Rule of thumb

The seller nominates the transferring attorney.

Long-standing conveyancing practice in South Africa gives the seller the right to choose the conveyancer who will attend to registration of transfer, it's the seller's title being transferred, and the nomination is usually recorded expressly in the OTP itself. The purchaser's bank, separately, appoints its own bond attorney to register any new mortgage bond, a distinct appointment, often a different firm entirely.

This is a default, not an absolute rule. The parties are free to agree otherwise in the OTP, and in practice an estate agency's mandate or a specific bank panel requirement can influence the choice. But absent agreement to the contrary, the seller's nomination is what governs.

04 · Who actually pays

Appointment and payment are two different questions

Rule of thumb

The purchaser pays the transferring attorney.

Even though the seller nominates the conveyancer, it's the purchaser who pays that attorney's conveyancing fee (plus VAT), the transfer duty payable to SARS, and the Deeds Office registration fee. This is the standard cost allocation in a South African property transaction, and it's usually the single most misunderstood part of the whole process: people assume whoever picks the attorney pays them, and it's the opposite.

The seller isn't cost-free, though. Separately, the seller typically pays for cancelling any existing bond, and for the compliance certificates and clearance figures needed before transfer can register.

Where lawvero fits

lawvero prepares your Offer to Purchase, a comprehensive, properly structured document covering price, conditions, occupation, compliance certificates, cost allocation and everything else this page has walked through, ready for you to take into a negotiation or hand to an estate agent.

What lawvero doesn't do is the registration itself: transfer at the Deeds Office must be handled by a practising conveyancer (a qualified attorney admitted as a conveyancer). If you need advice specific to your transaction, help navigating a dispute, or simply want the transfer itself handled, we'll happily refer you to a trusted, vetted conveyancing attorney rather than leave you to find one cold.

Important: This page provides general information about how property transfers typically proceed in South Africa and does not constitute legal advice on any specific transaction. Practice can vary by region, bank-panel requirements, and the specific terms parties agree to in their OTP. lawvero (Pty) Ltd provides document-preparation services and is not a law firm; registration of transfer must be carried out by a practising conveyancer, which lawvero does not itself do. Key legislation: Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981 (ss 2(1), 29A); Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937. © lawvero (Pty) Ltd 2026 · law, verified.

Property · Offer to Purchase

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