Dictionary Conveyancing Terms
Property Law and Conveyancing Glossary of Terms
Term | Definition |
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Lease Agreement | |
Legal Entity | |
Lessee | A person who occupies a property (also known as a tenant), but does not own it and pays rent in return. Afrikaans - Huurder |
Lessor | The person who rents out a property to someone else. Afrikaans - Verhuurder |
Levy | Levy is the owner of a sectional title unit’s proportionate share of the costs incurred by the complex for the month. Afrikaans - Heffing |
Levy Clearance Certificate | Issued by the body corporate of a sectional title scheme stating that the levy has been paid to a future date in respect of the property. Afrikaans - Heffing Klaring Sertifikaat |
Liabilities | A person's long-term and short-term financial obligations. Afrikaans - Aanspreeklikheid |
Lien | Where a person has improved someone else’s property or has incurred certain expenses in respect thereof, he may retain possession of such property until the debt due to him has been discharged, it is the right to retain possession. |
Limited Real Right | A registered right over someone else’s property, such as servitudes and mortgage bonds. Afrikaans - Beprekte Saaklike Reg |
Loan | A sum of borrowed money (principal) that is generally repaid with interest. Afrikaans - Lening |
Lodgement | The act of handing in the necessary documents at the Deeds Office for examination and registration of transfer. Afrikaans - Indiening |
Mandate | An instruction, authority or agreement given to a realtor by a seller, to market their property. Afrikaans - Mandaat |
Mark Value | The price that a willing and financially able buyer would pay, to a willing seller, for a property in a particular area at a given time. Afrikaans - Markwaarde |
Married in Community of Property | Parties have a joint estate and any immovable property will be registered in both spouses’ names. Afrikaans - Getroud Binne Gemeenskap Van Goedere |
Maturity | The date on which the principal balance of a loan becomes due and payable. |
Memorandum | This document forms part of the constitution of a company and contains valuable information about the company. |
Minor | A person who is unmarried and under the age of 21. Afrikaans - Minderjarige |
Mortgage | |
Mortgage Originator | An individual or company that assist buyers in applying for a mortgage, homeloan or building loan, with the different banks. Afrikaans - Verband Skepper |
Mortgagee | The lender usually a bank, that advances or lends money on the security of a property purchased. |
Mortgagor | The borrower, who borrows from a lender by mortgaging his property to the lender as security. Afrikaans - Verbandgewer |
Net Assets | What you own. Movable and immovable property plus investments such as shares; and all other belongings less total liabilities such as loans bonds etc. |
Net Income | The borrower's gross income minus tax and other deductions. Afrikaans - Netto Inkomste |
Nominee | The person nominated or appointed by another person for a specific purpose. Afrikaans - Genomineerde |
Null and Void | A legal expression, meaning a final cancellation or lapse of an agreement without any legal effect. |
Occupation | The date when the buyer is entitled to physically occupy the new property. Afrikaans - Beroep |
Occupational Rent | An amount paid by the person occupying the property to the party in whose name the property is registered, if the registration of transfer does not take place at the same time as the occupation date. Afrikaans - Okkupasiehuur |
Office To Purchase | See Agreement of Sale. Afrikaans - Koop Kontrak van Grond |
Option | An offer made to a person coupled with an undertaking by the person making the offer not to revoke his offer for a specific period. Afrikaans - Opsie |
Participation Quota | Participation Quota Used to calculate the individual owner’s monthly levy in a sectional title, it is determined by dividing the size of each section into the total floor area of all the sections. Afrikaans - Deelnemings Quota |
Partnership | A contact between a minimum of two and a maximum of twenty persons, to carry on business in common. There are no formalities required to start a partnership and it is not a separate legal entity. Partners are personally liable for partnership debts. Afrikaans - Vennootskap |
patent defect | A patent defect is a defect which is clearly visible on a normal property inspection and it is a purchaser’s duty to satisfy himself with regard to a property’s general condition prior to concluding a sale agreement. |
Possession | It passes to the buyer on registration of transfer, with all obligations and rights to the property passed to the new owner. Afrikaans - Besitting |
Power Of Attorney | A legal document authorizing one person to act on behalf of another. Afrikaans - Volmag |
Pre-approval Certificate | Issued to you by a financial institution, it states the amount of the homeloan a person qualifies for. |
Professional Fee | Remuneration paid to a realtor by their client. Afrikaans - Professionele Koste |
Progress Payment | Payments made to the building contractor, by the bank, from the customer’s building loan account, as building work progresses. The assessor does an inspection and releases the retention accordingly. Afrikaans - Vordering Betaling |
Qualifying Ratios | Calculations used to determine if a borrower can qualify for a mortgage. They consist of two separate calculations: a housing expense as a percent of income ratio and total debt obligations as a percent of income ratio. |
Rates and Taxes | Taxes are levied on all property owners by the municipality. Rates are included in the levy if you buy Sectional Title. They are payable on a monthly basis and are calculated as a percentage of the value of the property. Afrikaans - Eiendomsbelasting |
Rates Clearance Certificate | Issued by the local authority stating that the rates and taxes have been paid to a future date in respect of the property. Afrikaans - Munisipale Heffings Sertifikaat |
Real Estate Agent | See realtor. Afrikaans - Eiendomsagent |
Real Righ | A right over or in respect of immovable property and registered against the title deed of the property. Afrikaans - Saaklike Reg |
Realtor | A person licensed to negotiate and transact the sale of real estate on behalf of the property owner. Afrikaans - Makelaar |
Registering Attorney | This attorney attends to the registration of the new bond into the name of the buyer. Afrikaans - Registreerde Prokureur |
Registration of Transfer | The process whereby ownership of property transfers from the seller to the buyer via a Deed of Transfer. Afrikaans - Registrasie Van Oordrag |
Repo Rate | A credit management tool used by the South African Reserve Bank to regulate customer spending in the country. Afrikaans - Repo Koers |
Repossession of Property | See foreclosure. Afrikaans - Terugneming van Eiendom |
Resolutive Condition | The contract is immediately binding and will remain binding unless the condition is not fulfilled. |
Risk Profile | A person’s credit worthiness. Afrikaans - Risikoprofiel |
Second Bond or Mortgage | An additional loan on a home. |
Sectional Title | A development made up of sections, whereby all section owners are members of a Body Corporate. Each section owner is responsible for their own section. Afrikaans - Deursnee Titel |
Sectional Title Register | A register of sections in a sectional title scheme registered in the deeds office. |
Security | Collateral for the bank that a client pledges in case they default on their mortgage payment. Afrikaans - Sekuriteit |
Semi-detached House | Two separate homes, joined with one common dividing wall. |
Sequestrated | When a creditor seizes assets to recover unpaid debt. Afrikaans - Gesekwestreer |
Servitude | A registered right (as per the title deed) that a person has over the immovable property of another. |
Shareblock | A buyer acquires a share in a company that owns the shareblock scheme, which entitles the buyer to use and occupy a specific unit. A shareblock buyer never receives the title to the unit. Afrikaans - Aandeleblok |
Simplex | A sectional title unit on one level with no stairs. Afrikaans - Simpleks |
Smallholding | A property of maximum 20 hectares situated within close to a built-up area. Afrikaans - Kleinhoewe |
Stamp Duty | A tax imposed by the government. |
Statutory Law | Written law of the country. Afrikaans - Statutêre Wet |
Subdivision | Dividing of property into two or more portions, whereby a specific legal and technical procedure must be followed. Afrikaans - Onderverdeling |
Subject-to Sale | A term used to describe that the sale will only become unconditional if and when the stipulated conditions are met. |
Subsidy | A housing allowance. Afrikaans - Subsidie |
Surety | A person who stands as guarantor for a loan for someone else. Afrikaans - Borg |
Survey | A measurement of land, prepared by a registered land surveyor, showing the location of the land with reference to known points, its dimensions, and the location and dimensions of any buildings. Afrikaans - Opmeet |
Surveyor General's Diagram | A diagram that shows sub-divisions, servitudes and expropriations. |
Suspensive Conditions | Conditions written into the Offer to Purchase by either party that must be fulfilled for the agreement to become unconditional and legally binding. Afrikaans - Ontbindende Voorwaardes |
Tax Certificate | A breakdown of how much interest and insurance was paid, as well as total repayments to the home loan account over a certain period. Afrikaans - Belastingsertifikaat |
Tenant | A person who occupies a property, but does not own it and pays rent in return. Afrikaans - Huurder |
Timeshare | A property development where occupancy time is sold. |
Title Deed | A document that gives evidence of an individual's ownership of property. It includes the following information about the property: names of the current and previous owners; a full description including it’s square meterage; the purchase price paid by the existing owner; all conditions restricting the use; and all limited real rights registered. Afrikaans - Titelakte |
Townhouse | |
Transfer Cost | Costs payable for the registration of a property and include transfer duty, conveyancing fees, and registration fees. Afrikaans - Oordrag Koste |
Transfer Duty | A tax levied by the government on the transfer of land. If the purchase price includes VAT no transfer duty is payable. Afrikaans - Hereregte |
Transferring Attorney |
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Transferring Attorney | Appointed by the seller to attend to the transfer of the property into the name of the buyer. Afrikaans - Oordragprokureur |
Trust | A contract between the founder and the trustee in terms of which the trustee is to administer the trust fund for the benefit of the beneficiaries. |
Trust Account | The separate interest bearing accounts used when attorneys and/or realty companies hold money for people, until these monies and interest have to be paid out to whom they are owed. |
Trustee | A person appointed to manage the affairs and assets of a trust. In terms of sectional title, the trustees attend to the day-to-day running of the scheme, which includes the collection of levies and the employment and management of staff. |
Underwriting | The decision whether to make a loan to a potential home buyer based on credit, employment, assets, and other factors and the matching of this risk to an appropriate rate and term or loan amount. Afrikaans - Onderskrywing |
Valuation Fee | The amount that a financial institution charges to assess the property prior to granting the finance that has applied for. Afrikaans - Waardasie Fooi |
Value Added Tax | (VAT) Tax on goods that is levied on the value added that results from each exchange. If the seller is a "VAT Vendor", VAT may be payable and not transfer duty, or, if the Purchaser is a Vendor, transfer duty may be payable. Afrikaans - Belasting op Toegevoegde Waarde |
Variable Rate | Fluctuates according to the Interest Rate. Afrikaans - Veranderlike Koers |
voetstoots | The voetstoots clause absolves the seller from liability for any latent defects after the sale of a property; however, it only protects the seller if he was unaware of the latent defect at the time of the sale. If the seller fraudulently conceals or fails to disclose a latent defect of which he had knowledge, he may be liable towards the purchaser. (Note that in those instances where the Consumer Protection Act applies to a sale agreement, further considerations apply.) |
Voetstoots | “To sell it as it stands” without any guarantees given by the seller as to the condition of the property, the seller therefore cannot be held responsible for latent or patent defects. The property is sold "as is". |
Waiver of Lien | A legal document where a contractor waives his common law right to hold control over a property if he is not paid in full. |
Zoning | The purpose for which your property may be used, for example, residential or business as deemed by your local authority. Afrikaans - Sonering |