Purchasing Property in South Africa

Visitors to South Africa may find a property they wish to make their new or second home, or to buy property for rental or investment purposes. Bowman Gilfillan Inc has the expertise to assist in negotiating a contract to protect the interests of a buyer or seller. We can supervise or attend the process of registration of transfer of ownership of immovable property and advise purchasers on the security of title. Our international reputation and local market knowledge establishes confidence in our expertise.

The firm was recently awarded the following ACQ Global Awards 2010:

Client Care Law Firm – Africa Deal Maker – Africa Most Trusted Law Firm – Africa M&A Law Firm – Africa

The firm is a member of Lex Mundi, an association of 160 independent law firms, each a pre-eminent law firm in its jurisdiction. Lex Mundi membership provides for the exchange of professional information about local and global practice of law, all of which adds to the peace of mind of a client who may be doing business in South Africa for the first time.

Forms of ownership

There are several forms of property ownership in South Africa:

Freehold land (whether or not in a township, registered as an erf, lot, plot, stand or farm, and demarcated on a diagram or general plan which defines the extent of the land in question, and which ownership includes any permanent fixtures on the land); Sectional Title Units (generally apartments in a multi-unit building offering full ownership of particular areas of the building, joint ownership of the common property of the scheme and membership of a body corporate consisting of all the owners in the scheme); Share Block (the ownership of shares in a company which owns a property, in which the owner of particular shares is allocated the exclusive use of specific areas of building or land, and shares in the costs of the company); Time-share (interests in the use of property is shared between members of a club); The purchase of the interests in a property-owning legal entity, such as a company or close-corporation; Fractional ownership (a general class of shared ownership and usage of property allocated under a number of different schemes and legislation); Syndication (multiple owners grouping together to purchase the property and share in its ownership, either informally or professionally managed). The initial document binding

Visitors tempted to buy property in South Africa may be faced with a standard pre-printed agreement for completion...