Are Deed issuance delays a myth or reality?

Are Deed issuance delays a myth or reality?

MAIN IMAGE: Elaine Uys – bond and conveyancing secretary at MDW INC, Tania Matthee, conveyancer secretary at MDW INC

Senior writer

Timing, as they say in the real estate industry, is everything. Over the past several years, this has been highlighted as a problem in the Deeds Office, where delays in title changes have stretched to six months in some cases. The question is whether this remains the case or if the issue has been blown out of proportion.

“It may have been that there were delays in the Deeds Office some years ago, but at this stage, all the national Deeds Offices are moving quite quickly and generally keeping to the eight-day turnaround time,” says Elaine Uys at legal and conveyancing firm MDW INC. “It is only when there is something incidental to the registration process, such as a Deeds Office moving premises, or for whatever reason is operating under a skeleton staff, that the registrations slow or fall behind. But, from a Cape Town perspective, the local office manages their systems really well.”

Further clarification comes from Tania Matthee, also from DMW INC, who adds that the Kimberley Deeds Office is similarly efficient with turnaround times “as well as the delivery of registered Deeds. However, we have noticed some inconsistency in notes raised and rejections during the examination period in the Cape Town Deeds Office.”

Nationally, though, the average time from when the conveyancers deliver documents to the Deeds Office and the issuance of a Deed is between seven to 10 days, but this is somewhat variable, dependent on the specific office. “Pretoria, for example, is extremely quick, with most transactions registered within 4-5 working days,” confirms Uys. “Cape Town, as mentioned, along with Johannesburg, takes around eight days.

“However, when it comes to rectifications, for example, Johannesburg is far behind, especially when compared to Pretoria and Cape Town, who have this well under control.”

Rectifications are more likely to cause delays in the process than the Deeds Office itself. The most common errors result from interdicts over the property to contradicting client details, says Uys. “Such would be, for example, client details that do not align with those on record at the Deeds Office, for example, ID numbers or insolvency.”

As the last port of call before the last mile to registration and as the motivator for the documentation required by the Deeds Office, conveyancers often take the brunt of buyers’ and sellers’ complaints about delays. Sometimes, these are based on unrealistic expectations, and Uys recommends that property practitioners better manage this aspect.

“Bear in mind that while we, as conveyancers, discuss the registration process with the buyer and seller once instructions are received, the property practitioner is the initial contact between buyer and seller. In our experience, this is where unrealistic expectations can be created. It is only once we have the instructions and can view all the transaction details, indicating where delays may be created, such as bond cancellations, guarantees yet to be issued, rates clearance, etc, that we can provide a more realistic expectation,” says Uys.

Property practitioners can add value by being aware of the turnaround times of the different role-players in the transaction, says Tanya. This includes councils, Deed Offices, existing bondholder paperwork relative to the different banks, and cancelling processes.

“Councils particularly differ hugely in timing, some taking up to four weeks to issue figures only. Deposits can also create timing issues when the purchaser needs to give notice on an investment from where they will pay the deposit.”

“In the end, and if all parties work together, a transaction can run quickly and smoothly, even if there are a couple of bumps along the road,” says Uys. “And, if it is possible to convince buyers and sellers to use one conveyancer in their property transactions simultaneously, time can be more effectively managed to ensure that both transactions run together smoothly at the same pace.

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