What Happens Between "Offer Accepted" and Registration

You've signed. Champagne feelings aside, "offer accepted" is the start of a process, not the finish line — and most buyers have no idea what happens in the weeks between a signature and a title deed in their name. Here's the actual sequence.

1. The offer becomes a contract

Once both sides have signed the Offer to Purchase and any suspensive conditions (bond approval, sale of another property, and so on) are met, you have a binding contract. The seller's attorney — usually the one who handles the transfer — gets appointed here.

2. Bond approval and attorney appointments

If you're financing the purchase, your bank issues formal approval, typically within 5–10 working days of a complete application. Three attorneys can now be in motion at once: the transfer attorney (seller's choice, buyer usually pays), the bond attorney (registers your new bond), and — if the seller has an existing bond — a cancellation attorney.

3. FICA and documentation

Both parties sign FICA paperwork and supply the documents the transfer attorney needs: ID, proof of address, marital status, tax number, and — for a company or trust purchase — registration documents, a resolution authorising the purchase, and the entity's own FICA pack. This is the stage most delays come from, so the faster you return documents, the faster everything else moves.

4. Transfer duty and clearance certificates

The transfer attorney calculates and pays transfer duty to SARS and obtains the duty receipt — registration cannot happen without it. In parallel, they apply for a rates clearance certificate from the municipality (confirming the seller owes nothing) and, where applicable, compliance certificates: electrical is mandatory nationwide, with gas, electric fence, plumbing, or beetle certificates required depending on the property and province.

5. Lodgment at the Deeds Office

Once every document is in hand and any existing bond is ready to be settled, the attorneys lodge the full set of documents at the Deeds Office together — the sale, the new bond, and the old bond's cancellation are always registered simultaneously, which is why one slow document can hold up everyone.

6. Registration

The Deeds Office examines the lodged documents, a process that typically takes 8–10 working days once lodged. When it clears, the property registers in your name, your new bond is activated, the seller's bond is cancelled, and the title deed is issued.

So, how long does it actually take?

Realistically: 6–10 weeks from a signed offer to a registered title deed, assuming no hiccups. Add time for a slow bond approval, outstanding compliance certificates, or a seller whose own bond settlement is tangled up. None of this is a reason to panic — it's a reason to have your documents ready before the attorney asks twice.

Timelines and transfer duty figures above are indicative — your conveyancer and SARS have the numbers that apply to your specific deal.