How to Find Good Tenants in Brackenfell
How to Find Good Tenants in Brackenfell A property that generates strong rent is only half the story. The tenant...
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The sale price of your home is not what you walk away with. Most of the costs involved in selling fall to the seller, and knowing what to expect before you list means fewer surprises on your final settlement statement.
This is general information rather than legal or financial advice, and every figure below is a range rather than a quote, so confirm exact costs with your agent, bank, and conveyancing attorney once you have a specific offer on the table.
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Commission is not fixed by law in South Africa, and the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority does not prescribe a rate.
The market range is typically 5% to 7.5% of the sale price, plus 15% VAT on top of whatever percentage is agreed, and it is entirely negotiable between you and your agent. A sole mandate, where one agent has exclusive rights to sell for an agreed period, often comes with more room to negotiate a lower rate than an open mandate, since the agent has guaranteed exclusivity and can invest more confidently in marketing.
Commission is only paid once the sale registers at the Deeds Office, the conveyancing attorney deducts it from the proceeds and pays the agent directly, so nothing is due upfront.
As the seller, you are responsible for arranging and paying for the compliance certificates the Deeds Office requires before transfer can register.
An Electrical Certificate of Compliance is required on every sale, and typically costs somewhere in the R900 to R2,750 range depending on the size of the property and the number of distribution boards.
A Plumbing Certificate, required in the Cape Town area, usually falls between roughly R800 and R1,500. If the property has a fixed gas installation, a Gas Certificate is required too, generally in the R750 to R950 range, and an Electric Fence Certificate, if you have electrified perimeter fencing, typically costs R1,200 to R2,500. A Beetle Certificate, standard practice across the Western Cape, tends to cost between about R400 and R800.
Budget a few thousand rand in total for a typical Brackenfell home, and more if an inspection turns up something that needs fixing before the certificate can be issued.
If your property is bonded, most banks require 90 days’ written notice before the bond is cancelled.
Give less notice than that, and the bank is entitled to charge penalty interest on the outstanding balance for the shortfall, calculated pro rata for however many days of the 90 you did not give.
The simplest way to avoid this cost entirely is to notify your bank of your intention to sell as soon as you decide to, ideally before the property even goes on the market, so the notice period has already run its course by the time you find a buyer.
Your conveyancing attorney requests the final settlement figures from the bank once a sale is agreed, and the cancellation costs are deducted from your proceeds at registration.
The City of Cape Town will not allow transfer to register until your rates, water, and other municipal charges are settled and a rates clearance certificate has been issued. Your conveyancing attorney applies for the clearance figures on your behalf, which usually include any outstanding balance plus an advance amount to cover a few months of charges while the transfer is finalised.
This amount needs to be paid to the attorney, not directly into your municipal account, since paying the municipality directly can cause processing delays.
Any portion of the advance amount that is not used gets refunded to you after the property has registered in the buyer’s name.
It helps to know what you are not responsible for. Transfer duty, the tax SARS levies on the buyer for acquiring the property, is the purchaser’s cost, as detailed on the SARS transfer duty page.
Conveyancing or transfer attorney fees, and bond registration attorney fees if the buyer is financing the purchase, are also the buyer’s responsibility. Sellers sometimes budget for these unnecessarily, so it is worth being clear on the split from the outset.
For illustration only, on a bonded Brackenfell home selling for R2,000,000 with a 6% plus VAT commission agreed, you might see roughly R138,000 in commission, R3,000 to R6,000 in compliance certificates, a rates clearance advance of a few thousand rand (largely refundable), and no bond cancellation penalty if 90 days’ notice was given in good time.
That is a rough total of R145,000 to R150,000 in costs before you know your net proceeds, though the real figure for your specific property could sit meaningfully above or below this depending on your certificates, your bond balance, and the commission you negotiate.
An experienced Brackenfell agent or your conveyancer can give you an accurate figure once your specific details are known.
A free property valuation in Brackenfell is the best starting point, it gives you a realistic sale price to work these costs against, rather than guessing.
For the full process from listing to transfer, our complete guide to selling your house in Brackenfell covers each stage in detail, and local estate agents who work in the area daily can walk you through exactly what to expect for your specific property before you commit to a mandate.
The most important step you can take before doing anything else is getting a professional assessment of your property's value in the current market. Our free Brackenfell property appraisal is data-backed, honest, and carries no obligation. Contact our team to arrange yours today.
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