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In this guide
By Onah Attorneys Inc • Updated July 2026 • Legal information, not a substitute for advice on your specific matter.
No agent means no commission — real savings on a R2m home. It also means nobody is steering the paperwork, and private sales fail (or bite years later) on documents a conveyancer would have caught in minutes. Here is the safe private-sale route from handshake to registration.
The offer to purchase is everything
Property sales MUST be written and signed (Alienation of Land Act) — no verbal deal binds. The OTP is the entire transaction: price and deposit terms, suspensive conditions (bond approval by a DATE, sale of buyer’s property), fixtures list, occupation date and occupational rent, voetstoots and disclosure, compliance certificate allocation, breach clauses. Never sign a template neither side understands — this single document is where we prevent every later dispute, cheaply.
Deposits: never to the seller
A deposit paid straight to a private seller is a leap of faith with no net. Route it to the conveyancer’s trust account (interest for the buyer on instruction) — protected, audited, refundable per the OTP’s terms. Any seller resisting trust-account handling is telling you something.
The disclosure regime
Since the Property Practitioners Act, a signed defects-disclosure form should accompany sales; voetstoots still protects sellers — but NOT against latent defects fraudulently concealed. Buyers: inspect hard (roof, damp, plans for that lapa), ask in writing, keep answers. Sellers: disclose honestly in writing — the R40k damp claim two years later is beaten by the disclosure you made at signature.
Certificates and municipal reality
Seller’s usual burden: electrical CoC (mandatory), plus gas/electric-fence where applicable. Check BUILDING PLANS at the municipality match reality — unapproved structures block bonds and haunt buyers. Rates clearance is part of transfer; historic municipal debt disputes are the classic private-sale delay.
Transfer works the same
Agent or not, a conveyancer must execute transfer — the seller conventionally nominates (negotiable). Timeline: 8–12 weeks post-conditions. Total buyer costs beyond price: transfer duty (above R1.21m), conveyancing fees, bond costs. The money saved on commission is real; spend a sliver of it on an OTP review and the private sale is strictly better.
Frequently asked questions
Is a private sale legal without any agent?
Completely — agents are optional; the written OTP and conveyancer transfer are the legal essentials.
Who draws up the offer to purchase?
Anyone can — but have a conveyancing attorney draft or review it before signature. Fixed fee, prevents the disputes that consume private sales.
Can the seller cancel after signing if a better offer arrives?
Not lawfully — a signed OTP binds. Breach exposes the seller to enforcement (transfer compelled) or damages.
What happens if my bond isn’t approved in time?
The suspensive condition fails and the deal lapses automatically — deposits return. Extensions must be agreed in writing BEFORE the deadline.
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