Sellers Guide 02
Sellers Guide 02
Sellers Guide 02
Who we are
Our business was established by Robert Wareley Snr in 1989 and has been going ever since. After working for an Estate Agency out in the Woodstock area for a couple of years in the mid 80's, and building valuable experience, Robert was encouraged to sit for the then non-compulsory board exam. Being one who never shies away from a challenge, He saw this as an opportunity to qualify himself in order to eventually own and manage his own Estate Agency. After seeing many of his colleagues attempt and fail the exam, Robert hit the books and promised himself that he would make it no matter what the cost. As history would tell it, He completed his exam and aced it at his very first attempt! Bearing in mind that all this happened under the old apartheid" laws prior to our country becoming free and open to all the citizens who live in it - Robert knew it would be no easy task to steer his own ship through previously uncharted waters. He however rose handsomely to the challenge and amidst various market slumps over the years and seeing many of his colleagues who started out with him falling by the wayside, He endured and has managed to build a successful brand and leave a legacy for his children and grandchildren. In April of 2007 his youngest son Rob Jnr who later in the same year also completed his Estate Agency Affairs Board exam to become the second qualified agent in the business joined him. Since then two other agents have joined the business including Robert's eldest son Daryl who brought with him valuable expertise in the finance area after many years of working in the banking sector. Wareley Homes is now a family run business and continues to build on all the good work done over the years by Robert Wareley Snr.
Sellers Guide
Page 2 of 4
Pricing
The issue of price is probably the most important factor determining if and/or when (how long before) your property will be sold on the open market. This is where your chosen agent plays a huge role in guiding your decision based on a comparative market analysis, current trends in your area, and general knowledge and experience in his field. A fair market price is usually what a prospective buyer is prepared to pay for a property currently on the market. Buyers therefore have a big influence on price.
Mandate
The Mandate is a very important document, which ensures that your chosen agent performs his duties as agreed upon by the parties in the signed document. The most common forms of mandates are; the sole & exclusive mandate and the open mandate. The primary difference between the two is that the open mandate allows for many agents to work on your property while the sole & exclusive mandate, critically, allows you the seller to employ and hold accountable your chosen agent. Often, there is the misconception that having an open mandate would produce a quicker sale as many agents would be working on the property simultaneously. The problem here is that when many agents converge on a property they are often reluctant to put in extra effort and costs (advertising) to sell your property as at any given time one of the other agents could make the sale and thus they would be the loser. However, it has been shown time and again that when one agent is employed he/she works much harder at trying to conclude the sale as they are obligated to perform as described in the signed mandate.
Efficiency is doing things right; Effectiveness is doing the right things. Peter Drucker
Sellers costs
The seller has to take careful consideration of all the costs related to the sale of his property before he has it listed on the open market. There are certain unavoidable costs which is borne by the seller, they are: 1. Bond cancellation fees (If a bond is registered over the property) 2. Outstanding bond 3. Agents fees 4. Outstanding rates 5. Beetle, Electrical, Plumbing & Gas (where applicable) certificates
Page 3 of 4
Sellers Guide
by them failing which they charge a penalty. Sufficient time should therefore be allowed for this notice period. Permission from Municipality (Rates Clearance Certificate): It is not permitted in law for any property to be transferred without the written permission of the municipality. This permission will only be given by the municipality if all money owing to it has been paid. The Conveyancer will therefore write to the municipality and will request from it a statement of all money due to it. This statement [besides taking longer and longer to obtain] seldom bears any resemblance to the monthly statement that the seller has been receiving and is invariably a potential source of debate. The statement will include particulars of all arrears in respect of rates and services, the balance of rates for the rest of the current financial year [the privilege of paying the rates off on a monthly basis goes out the window] and furthermore an estimate for approximately 3 months in advance of the average services bill. Although it is often a bitter pill to swallow it is invariably in the best interests of the transaction for the seller to pay the bill and argue later. This will at least enable the transfer process to proceed to finality without unnecessary delays. Part of the amount paid [the rates for the period from transfer to the end of the financial year of the municipality normally 1 July to 30 June] will be for the account of the buyer who will be required to pay his share to the Conveyancer on request. Preparation of preliminary documents: On receipt of the Deeds Office particulars and subject to all suspensive conditions having being fulfilled, the Conveyancer will proceed to prepare documentation which is required for Deeds Office and South African Revenue Service purposes to be signed by the seller and the buyer. It is therefore self-explanatory that if either of the parties is going to be away during the relevant period the transfer will be delayed unless adequate arrangements are made for signature before their departure. Signature and costs: On signature of the preliminary documents, the Conveyancer will ask the buyer to settle the transfer costs account. The account which the Conveyancer will present will include the Conveyancer's own fee plus Vat thereon, the transfer duty [if applicable transfer duty is the sales tax applicable to property sales] and the fee charged by the Deeds Office for processing the transaction. It is important that the buyer settle these costs at least one month before the scheduled date of transfer as the Conveyancer is required to pay the transfer duty due on the transaction to the South African Revenue Service before the Deeds Office can be approached for the registration of the transfer. Transfer duty is payable [at varying rates] on all sales where the property is not part of a VAT registered enterprise and where the purchase price is more than R600 000.
Wareley Homes
21 Bluff Crescent Bayview, Strandfontein 7798 Phone: 021 3932410 Fax: 021 3932410 E-Mail:
wareleyhomes@telko msa.net
Buyers bond: If the buyer is relying on a bond to pay for the property then the bank granting the bond will appoint attorneys of their choosing to prepare the standard bond documentation required by the bank. These attorneys will liaise with the Conveyancer to obtain information that they require to enable them to prepare their bond documents. The bond attorneys will make independent arrangements with the buyer for signature of their documents and will present their own bill for their services to the buyer. It is very important that the buyer understand clearly the conditions set by the bank as part and parcel of the bond as failure to comply with the conditions could cause the bond to become useless and thereby expose the buyer to last minute financial embarrassment. Final phase: When everybody is ready (i.e. the bond attorneys documents are signed, the bond cancellations attorneys consent to cancellation is in their possession and duly signed by the bondholder, the transfer duty receipt and rates clearance have been received), the Conveyancer will contact all the other attorneys involved and arrange simultaneous "lodgement" at the Deeds Office. On the pre-arranged date all the attorneys simultaneously hand their folders of papers into the Deeds Office. These papers are then collated by the Deeds Office and allocated to a specific Deeds Office
Examiner. The Examiner inspects all the documents, and if found to be in order, approves the documents for registration. This procedure in the Deeds Office takes approximately ten days [it can vary]. If any difficulties are discovered in any of the papers, the documents are "rejected". If the documents are approved for registration the Conveyancer, after ensuring that all the finances for the transaction have either been paid or alternatively secured, will arrange with all the attorneys concerned for actual registration to take place. At the moment of registration ownership passes from the seller to the buyer. On that day the seller receives his purchase price and the transaction is complete. How long does it take? It is very difficult to estimate precisely how long a transfer takes from the time that the Conveyancer receives his instructions. If one is forced to make an estimate, then one can assume that if all the parties involved in the transaction, perform their function timeously, that the entire transaction could be completed within a period of three months from the time of receipt of the initial Sale Agreement. Consequences of registration of transfer: Once transfer of ownership of the property is recorded in the Deeds Registry, the buyer has full rights of ownership and can deal with the property as he sees fit subject only to such restrictions as might appear within the title deed to the property or the restrictions of the municipal zoning scheme. Zoning schemes constitute a set of rules and regulations that regulate the use of any property within a particular area for the mutual benefit of all.
* Property valuations are free for the purpose of selling. Written valuations for other purposes such as insurance or divorce etc will be charged for.