Alienation Of Property
Alienation Of Property Considerations
Alienation of property in terms of property law refers to the right to sell or transfer property rights from one owner or party to another. There may be some restraints on the alienation of property involved for the particular property ranging from land usage rights, prohibition against the partition of the property, and right to first refusal. Owners in a sectional title scheme may direct the body corporate to alienate common areas of property on their behalf.
Conveyancing lawyers are involved in the alienation of property; thus the transferring of rights from one party to another. It should be noted that there are specific procedures to be followed and the title deed or shareholding in a title deed can only be transferred in writing. Consequently, the transfer of property rights by means of a verbal agreement will not be legal in South Africa. The title deed or person’s property rights must be registered and recorded at the South African Deeds Office. Transfer costs must be paid by the person acquiring the rights to the property before such can be completed.
The process of transferring property rights can take from eight to twelve weeks and even longer, depending on the parties involved, documentation work, transfer costs paid, and the Deeds Office. As such you will want to make use of experienced conveyancing attorneys to handle the process.
The sale of immovable property agreement must be signed by seller and buyer with witnesses. The document must be a legally binding contract. If a seller makes changes to the offer to purchase signed by the purchaser, then the purchaser must sign at the changes as well. If it is not done, then the contract cannot be legally binding on the purchaser as the changes have not been confirmed by the purchaser on the agreement. From the above information one gets an idea of the complexities involved in the alienation of property.
Contact us as experienced conveyancing attorneys to help you through the buying or selling of immovable property process to ensure that the transferring of rights is done correctly.