Quick answer
Ask for seven separate written headings: transfer duty or the verified VAT treatment; the transferring attorney's professional fee and VAT; the bond attorney's professional fee and VAT; Deeds Office charges; lender charges; transaction disbursements; and sale-agreement adjustments. Under every heading, require the calculation base, source, payee, due date and whether the figure is estimated or final.
How to use this guide
The document should also separate the deposit and purchase-price balance from costs. Those amounts fund the property itself and can affect cash flow, but they are not legal fees or transfer duty.
Transfer duty or VAT treatment
The transfer duty glossary explains the tax. Ask the conveyancer to record the acquisition date, consideration or value used, applicable SARS table and calculated duty. If an exemption is claimed, the written explanation should name its basis and supporting document.
Where the sale is said to be a taxable VAT supply, ask why VAT applies, whether the price includes it and why transfer duty does not. Do not accept a schedule that silently adds both taxes or leaves the tax line blank without an explanation.
Transfer professional fee and VAT
The transfer fee pays for the professional conveyancing instruction; it is not the tax or government registry charge. Ask which purchase or property value was used, which current guideline or agreed method informed the figure and which services fall within the mandate.
Current LSSA guidance describes negotiable recommended amounts. The quote should not call them legally fixed minimum tariffs. VAT on the firm's taxable services must be shown clearly, whether included in the displayed total or added as a separate line.
Bond-registration professional fee and VAT
If a mortgage bond will be registered, obtain a separate bond account. Ask for the final bond amount used in the calculation and whether the estimate was updated after approval changed. The bond firm may differ from the transfer firm.
The lender's quotation and the bond attorney's account are not interchangeable. One describes credit terms and lender charges; the other describes legal registration work and related disbursements.
Deeds Office charges
Registry charges are official amounts prescribed for deeds acts. A transfer and a bond can each attract a charge, using their respective values and the schedule applicable at the relevant time. Ask the quote to identify the current schedule rather than hiding registry amounts within “fees”.
If lodgement is delayed across a new official schedule, request a refreshed calculation. An updated government amount should be explained as such, not presented as an unexplained attorney fee increase.
Lender charges and conditions
Use the bank's pre-agreement statement and quotation to identify initiation, valuation, recurring, insurance or other credit-related amounts. Record which are payable upfront, financed, recurring or supplied by another provider.
Ask whether the approved loan covers only the price or includes any costs. The answer must come from the actual loan documents, not an estate agent's affordability worksheet.
Disbursements and adjustments
Require a useful description for each search, certificate, electronic platform, courier or supplier amount. Ask whether it is fixed, estimated, incurred, refundable or subject to later reconciliation. The buyer cost guide provides a more extensive cost ledger.
Then list occupational rent, rates or levy adjustments, guarantees and other sale-agreement cash flows separately. Their allocation depends on the signed terms and actual dates; they should not be relabelled as universal conveyancing charges.
Label the status of every amount
Require each line to be marked as an estimate, requested advance, incurred disbursement, assessed tax amount, invoiced professional fee, agreement adjustment or final reconciled figure. These labels describe different stages. Money requested before a third-party charge is final may later produce an additional payment or refund, while an official assessment should be traced to its own record.
Add the issue date and source effective date where a SARS rate, professional-fee guideline or Deeds Office schedule is used. If the acquisition date, property value, final bond amount or date of the relevant registry act differs from the quote’s assumption, ask for a fresh calculation. Preserve both versions and require the variance to be explained line by line.
The written schedule should identify whether VAT has already been included in each taxable service line. A grand total that says “including VAT” is difficult to audit if tax and non-tax items have been combined without detail.
Payment and final-account wording
The schedule should say when each amount becomes payable, where it will be held and how bank details must be verified. Use the property transfer checklist to connect payment requests with transaction milestones.
After registration or termination, require a final account showing advances, actual charges, disbursements, interest or refunds where applicable, and the remaining balance. Preserve each version so the final total can be traced.
Ask what happens if the transaction does not register
Before paying a large advance, ask which professional work and external expenses may remain payable if a condition fails, finance is not secured, the sale is cancelled or the instruction ends before registration. The answer should come from the mandate and transaction documents, not a general promise that every payment will be refunded.
Request the process for closing the file, settling incurred suppliers and returning any unused balance. If a cancellation or breach dispute affects who ultimately bears a cost, require the account to distinguish the immediate trust or billing position from the unresolved claim between the parties.
Also ask who may authorise extra work or a new disbursement while the transaction is uncertain. A defined approval threshold prevents a provisional quote from expanding through instructions the buyer did not knowingly approve.
A written reconciliation request
Ask: “Please identify the calculation base, source, VAT treatment, payee, due date and finality of every line, and explain each change from the previous version.” That question is more useful than asking whether the total is “normal”.
The conveyancing services route can support transaction-specific help. A clear written schedule does not prove that every amount is reasonable, but it creates the evidence needed to ask a focused question before payment.
FAQs
Should transfer duty appear on an attorney fee quote?
It may appear in the same transaction estimate, but it should be clearly labelled as tax payable to SARS rather than part of the firm's professional fee.
Are current LSSA conveyancing amounts compulsory tariffs?
No. The guidelines state that recommended amounts are negotiable. Ask which version and value basis were used and what fee was actually agreed.
Why are there two Deeds Office charges?
A financed purchase can involve registration of the transfer and registration of a mortgage bond. Each registry act may have its own prescribed charge.
What should happen to an unused advance?
Ask the firm to provide a final account that reconciles actual amounts against advances and identifies any balance or refund due.
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Legal note
This article is general legal information for South African readers. It is not legal advice. Speak to a qualified legal professional about your specific facts before taking action.