You’ve sold your house or property. Congratulations. Now you need to get through the paperwork and make the necessary payments. That’s right, selling property costs money!
When it comes to selling, there aren’t as many costs as buying a property (or at least not costs as high), but there are items you need to budget for to make sure your sale goes through.
Municipal Clearance.
Your municipal accounts, like rates, water, electricity (if you’re not using pre-paid) will need to be paid in full (that means no arrears) so that the account can be transferred to the new owner. You are also responsible for keeping these up to date until the transfer goes through. Your municipal accounts, like rates, water, electricity (if you’re not using pre-paid) will need to be paid in full (that means no arrears) so that the account can be transferred to the new owner. You are also responsible for keeping these up to date until the transfer goes through.
Levies.
If you live in a sectional title property (such as an apartment or a house in a complex) where you pay monthly levies to a body corporate, you’ll need to make sure these are paid up to date. Any special levies that may be payable after the sale goes through should be transferred to the new owner. If you live in a sectional title property (such as an apartment or a house in a complex) where you pay monthly levies to a body corporate, you’ll need to make sure these are paid up to date. Any special levies that may be payable after the sale goes through should be transferred to the new owner.
Compliance.
A seller is legally obligated to sell their property with all compliances in place. You’ll need to furnish the agent, conveyancers and buyer with certificates confirming that your plumbing, electrical and gas (if you have something like a gas stove) are compliant.
When you bought your property, you’d have been supplied these certificates (and of course you packed them away somewhere safe!). If you haven’t made any major alterations that involved changes to plumbing, electrical or gas then your compliance should be sorted.
If you’ve undergone major alternations or renovations, you should have received updated certificates from the installers. If not, get your compliance assessed to ensure it’s all in order. Check with your agent and if necessary, you’ll need to pay an independent assessor to come out, check and do any work needed.
Agent commission and fees.
Built into the offer to purchase is the agent’s commission. This is the amount the agent will take from the final selling price, as a percentage, for their services. The commission can range from 4% to 7%. You can – and should – negotiate the commission with the agent, especially in the current property market.
Some agents may charge you marketing fees to list and promote the sale of your property. Make sure you know upfront what fees your agent is charging and negotiate!
Legal fees.
To transfer a property to a new owner requires lawyers. Lawyers mean money. So, you’ll need to budget for some legal fees related to the sale. Your agent and conveyancer will be able to advise you, based on the price of the property you’re selling.
Taxes.
When selling a property, you’ll be liable for certain taxes that need to be paid to SARS. One of these is Capital Gains Tax. This may apply to a sale over R2-million for your primary residence and other limits apply if you own more than one property.
According to SARS, a primary residence is:
- A structure, including a boat, caravan or mobile home, which is used as a place of residence by an individual.
- An individual or special trust that owns an interest in the residence.
- The individual with an interest in the residence, beneficiary of the special trust, or spouse of that person or beneficiary must ordinarily reside in the home and use it mainly for domestic purposes as his or her ordinary residence.
Repairs and maintenance.
When trying to sell your property, it’s often appearances that make a big difference. As such, you may need to make a few minor repairs to broken fixtures and touch up paint and other maintenance to make your home as salable as possible.