SUSPENSIVE CONDITIONS

The most common suspensive conditions are:

• Bond approval: Most purchasers purchase a property by applying for a home loan from a financial institution. The purchasers are provided a certain number of days to obtain the loan and it is imperative that you know the date by which the purchaser must obtain the necessary finance.
• Sale of the purchaser’s property: It often happens that purchasers are in the process of selling their existing home and this will be contained in the Agreement of Sale, this clause provides the purchasers a number of days to sell their property.

FICA DOCUMENTS

Ensure that you provide the necessary FICA documentation to your estate agent as these documents will be required by the transferring attorneys.

These documents will include:

1. Identification documentation
2. Proof of residence (Rates and taxes account of the local municipal council)
3. Income tax number
4. Proof of marital status

DUTY TO DISCLOSE

A seller has a legal duty and obligation to disclose any and all defects of the property to the purchaser. This is done via a seller’s disclosure form which will be made part of the offer to purchase in terms of the Property Practitioners Act.

It is important to note that if the disclosure form is not signed and provided to a purchaser it will be assumed that there are no defects to the property, this will have the effect that you will have no defense towards defects found at a later stage.

COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATES

The seller of a property has to obtain certain compliance certificates in respect of a property when selling same, the costs and repairs (if necessary) for these certificates will be for the sellers’ account. Ensure you use a reputable and registered service provider at all times. The most common compliance certificates are:

• Electrical compliance certificate
• Electric fence compliance certificate
• Gas compliance certificate