South Africa Property Guide / Property Investors Information / Real Estate Investment

LEGAL DOCUMENTS All contracts must be in writing, contain certain prescribed information and be signed by both the buyer and seller to be valid and legally binding. Contracts usually take the form of an Agreement of Sale or Offer to Purchase. Once an Agreement of Sale has been signed by both parties, it represents a valid and binding document from which neither party can withdraw without legal consequences, save for certain instances where The agreement is subject to certain suspensive conditions which are not fulfilled; The purchase price is less than R250,000 and certain additional criteria in terms of the Alienation of Land Amendment Act are present entitling the Purchaser to "cool off". "Cooling Off" clause In terms of Article 29A of the Alienation of Land Amendment Act 104 of 1998, a Purchaser has 5 days to revoke or terminate a Offer to Purchase / Agreement of Sale by notifying the Seller in writing that the Offer to Purchase/Agreement of Sale has been unconditionally revoked or terminated. A non-resident must open a ‘non-resident’ account at a South African commercial bank, to facilitate loan repayments. This account would normally be funded from abroad or from rentals received on the property purchased, subject to the bank holding the account being provided with a copy of any rental agreement. LAND REGISTRATION South Africa is reputed to have one of the best deeds registration systems worldwide, with an exceptional degree of accuracy and of tenure being guaranteed