The Seller Checklist: What Agents Should Check Before Listing

Every agent knows to prequalify a buyer. Far fewer prequalify the seller. Yet in our conveyancing practice, most delayed and collapsed transfers trace back to something on the seller's side that could have been picked up before the mandate was signed.

A seller who cannot give transfer, cannot afford to give transfer, or is not authorised to sell is a problem no amount of buyer qualification will fix. Here is what to check, and what to tell your seller, before the property goes to market.

1. Confirm who actually owns the property

Pull a deeds office search before you list. It takes minutes and answers the questions that matter most: who the registered owner is, whether there is a bond over the property, and whether any interdicts, caveats or attachments are noted against it.

Then match the search to the person in front of you.

• Married in community of property? Both spouses must sign the offer to purchase. One signature is not a valid sale.
• Married out of community? Ask to see the antenuptial contract. If the property is jointly owned, both owners sign.
• Divorced or separated? You need the divorce order and settlement agreement. Until the property is formally transferred in terms of that order, the other spouse may still be a registered owner.
• Trust, company or close corporation? Get the trust deed or founding documents and a signed resolution authorising the sale and the signatory. Trustees must all have current letters of authority.
• Deceased estate? Only the executor holding letters of executorship may sell, and the Master's endorsement is needed before transfer. Estates take longer, and your buyer should know that upfront.

2. Check the bond and the numbers

The deeds search shows the registered bond amount, not the outstanding balance. Ask the seller for a current bond statement. Then do a rough proceeds calculation: expected sale price, less the bond balance, less commission, less compliance certificates, less rates clearance and levy clearance figures, less any early settlement penalty.

Two things come out of this exercise.

First, you find out whether the seller can afford to sell. Negative equity is more common than agents assume, and a shortfall discovered at transfer stage stalls everything while the seller finds the money.

Second, you set the price conversation on real numbers rather than on what the seller hopes to walk away with.

Remind the seller to give their bank written notice of intention to cancel the bond. Most banks require 90 days' notice to waive penalty interest. Notice given on the day of listing costs nothing and can save the seller a meaningful sum.

3. Municipal accounts and levies

Transfer cannot register without a rates clearance certificate from the municipality, and the municipality will not issue one until arrears are settled and an advance payment is made. Sectional title and HOA properties need a levy clearance certificate on the same basis.

Ask the seller for their latest municipal account and levy statement. Arrears, disputed accounts and unread meters are a regular cause of delay. A seller who is three months behind on rates needs to know now that those funds must be found before registration, not after.

4. Compliance certificates and building plans

Electrical, gas, electric fence and, in some areas, beetle and water certificates are the seller's responsibility. Older properties often fail the electrical inspection and the repair bill can run into tens of thousands of rand. Get the inspections done early so the cost is known and the seller is not negotiating from a position of surprise.

Ask whether all structures are on approved plans. Unapproved additions can derail a buyer's bond, trigger municipal action, or become a post-transfer dispute. It is far better to disclose and price accordingly than to have it surface at bond valuation stage.

5. Tenants and occupation

If the property is tenanted, get the lease. The tenant's rights survive the sale and the buyer takes the property subject to that lease. Confirm the lease term, notice provisions and whether the tenant has been informed. A buyer expecting vacant occupation and a tenant with eight months left on a lease is a dispute waiting to happen.

6. Tax and residency

Ask whether the seller is a South African tax resident. If not, and the sale price is above R2 million, the buyer must withhold a portion of the purchase price and pay it to SARS on the seller's behalf. This affects the seller's proceeds and the transaction timeline, and it needs to be reflected in the offer to purchase.

Confirm that the seller's tax affairs are in order. SARS must issue a transfer duty receipt before registration, and a seller with unresolved tax compliance issues can hold that up.

Where a primary residence exclusion does not apply, capital gains tax will be payable. The seller should get advice on this before agreeing a price, not after.

7. FICA readiness

The conveyancer cannot proceed until the seller is FICA verified. Have the seller gather their ID, proof of address, income tax number, marriage certificate or antenuptial contract, and entity documents if applicable. Having this ready on the day of sale saves a week at the start of the transfer.

Setting the seller's expectations

Once you have done these checks, you can have an honest conversation with the seller about three things: what they will actually net, how long the transfer will realistically take, and what they need to do in the meantime.

A standard transfer with a bond cancellation and a new bond registration takes roughly eight to twelve weeks from a signed offer, assuming nothing goes wrong. Estates, trusts, non-resident sellers and municipal disputes add time. A seller who has been told this at mandate stage does not phone the agent in a panic in week six.

Sellers who understand their obligations early are cooperative sellers. They pay the rates advance without argument, sign documents on time and do not hold up the transfer over a certificate they were never told they needed.

How we can help

VDM Attorneys runs deeds office searches, entity and estate checks, and preliminary proceeds calculations for agents before a mandate is signed. If you want a seller checked before you list, contact our conveyancing team and we will turn it around quickly.