Why do you need a private sale checklist?
Selling your house privately — without an estate agent — means you take on the responsibilities an agent would normally handle: pricing, marketing, viewings, negotiations, and coordinating with your conveyancer. That is a significant amount of administrative and legal work, and there is no professional in the background catching what you miss.
A structured checklist makes sure you do not miss a critical step. The most expensive private sale mistakes — a missing compliance certificate, an incomplete offer to purchase, or a failure to give your bank 90 days’ notice of bond cancellation — are all preventable with proper planning. This page walks you through every stage, in order, from the moment you decide to sell until the day ownership transfers at the Deeds Office.
Phase 1: Preparation — before you list
These steps should be completed before the property goes on the market, and typically take 2–6 weeks. Skipping preparation is the single most common reason private sales stall or fall through.
- Research comparable sales in your suburb — check Property24 and Private Property for recently sold properties similar to yours.
- Request a free property report to confirm your property details, ownership history, and recent sales in your area.
- Consider a professional valuation (R3,000–R5,000) for properties above R2 million.
- Set a realistic asking price based on comparable sales data — not on your outstanding bond balance.
- Identify a conveyancer early — they can advise on compliance requirements and draft your OTP when the time comes.
Legal and compliance preparation
Two legal workstreams must start now, not when a buyer appears. First, the mandatory disclosure form: the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019 made the disclosure form compulsory in agent-mediated sales, and it must be completed and signed before the OTP and attached to it — a private seller should follow the same discipline, because a written disclosure is also your best protection against a later defect dispute. Second, the compliance certificates: the transfer cannot lodge without them, and inspections can reveal remedial work that takes weeks. Our seller’s guide has the full certificate breakdown.
- Complete the mandatory disclosure form — list all known defects and conditions of the property, before the OTP is signed.
- Arrange an electrical compliance certificate (CoC) inspection — mandatory for every property sale, typically R850–R1,500 for the inspection, and valid for 2 years.
- Arrange a gas compliance certificate — required if the property has any fixed gas installation.
- Arrange an electric fence system certificate — required if the property has an electric fence.
- Check whether a beetle (wood-borer) certificate is needed — it is a coastal convention; in Gauteng it is usually only required when the buyer’s bank insists on one.
- Note that a separate plumbing certificate is required in the City of Cape Town only — it is a common misconception that it applies nationally.
- Rectify any defects found during compliance inspections — this can take 1–4 weeks depending on severity.
- Contact your bank for a bond cancellation quotation and outstanding balance — and give your 90 days’ written notice (see below).
- Obtain a copy of your title deed from the Deeds Office, or from your bank if it holds the deed as security.
- Complete any minor repairs — leaky taps, cracked tiles, faulty light switches, chipped paint.
- Deep clean the property, including windows, gutters, and outdoor areas.
- Declutter and depersonalise — remove family photos, excess furniture, and personal items.
- Attend to the garden and curb appeal — first impressions matter.
- Hire a professional photographer (R1,500–R3,000) for 15–20 high-quality listing photos.
- Prepare a property information sheet — bedrooms, bathrooms, garages, erf size, rates, levy (if applicable), recent improvements.
Phase 2: Marketing and viewings
With the property prepared and the compliance certificates in motion, you are ready to go to market. The goal is to reach as many qualified buyers as possible while keeping your marketing costs low.
- List on Private Property (privateproperty.co.za) — private seller packages from R240–R4,100.
- List on Property24 (property24.com) — South Africa’s largest property portal.
- Post on Facebook Marketplace and local property groups in your area.
- List on Gumtree — free, with wide reach.
- Install a professional “For Sale” signboard outside the property.
- Share the listing on WhatsApp neighbourhood and community groups.
- Write a compelling listing description — lead with bedrooms, bathrooms, and garages, then highlight location and features.
- Screen prospective buyers before granting access — request a copy of their ID and proof of bond pre-qualification.
- Schedule appointment-only viewings rather than open show days, for better security and buyer screening.
- Ensure the property is clean, well-lit, and ventilated for every viewing.
- Accompany buyers throughout the viewing — never leave them unattended.
- Keep a log of all visitors with names, contact details, and feedback.
- Follow up with interested buyers within 24–48 hours.
Phase 3: Negotiation and the Offer to Purchase
Once a buyer makes an offer, the negotiation begins. In a private sale you negotiate directly — there is no agent acting as intermediary. That can be faster and more transparent, but it requires discipline. Remember that a sale of land is only valid if it is in writing and signed, per section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981 — a handshake or WhatsApp agreement binds nobody. Our guide to the Offer to Purchase covers what the document must contain, and the buyer can preview their full cost picture with the transfer cost calculator.
- Know your minimum acceptable price before entering negotiations.
- Respond to offers promptly — delays can cause buyers to lose interest.
- Counter-offer in writing, referencing comparable sales data to justify your price.
- Agree the key terms: purchase price, occupation date, fixtures included/excluded, and suspensive conditions.
- Draft or generate the Offer to Purchase — use an attorney-drafted OTP template or have your conveyancer prepare one.
- Have a conveyancer review the OTP before both parties sign — this is the single most important step in the entire checklist.
- Ensure the OTP includes: a bond approval suspensive condition, an occupation and occupational rent clause, the voetstoots clause and disclosure form annexure, compliance certificate obligations, and a dispute resolution mechanism.
- Both parties sign the OTP — the agreement is now legally binding.
Phase 4: Conveyancing — from signed OTP to registration
Once the OTP is signed, the conveyancing process takes over — typically 6–10 weeks to registration. The work is handled by the appointed conveyancer (transfer attorney), but you need to fulfil your obligations as seller promptly: the seller controls the three classic bottlenecks of bond cancellation, compliance certificates, and rates clearance.
- Submit the signed OTP to your conveyancer within 24 hours.
- Provide FICA documents to the conveyancer — certified ID, proof of address, SARS tax number, and marital status documentation.
- Deliver all compliance certificates to the conveyancer.
- Sign the transfer duty declaration provided by the conveyancer.
- Apply for rates clearance — your conveyancer handles this but may need your municipal account number. In Tshwane, the clearance figures typically take 10–15 working days to issue and the certificate is valid for 60 days, so timing matters.
- Obtain a levy clearance certificate from your body corporate (sectional title and estate properties only).
- Sign the deed of transfer and any ancillary documents at the conveyancer’s office when called.
- Ensure your bank’s cancellation attorney has the bond cancellation notice and settlement figures.
What is happening on the buyer’s side?
- The buyer applies for bond approval (if financing) — this typically takes 5–10 working days.
- The buyer pays the deposit into the conveyancer’s trust account (if the OTP stipulates one).
- The buyer pays transfer duty to SARS via the conveyancer.
- The buyer’s bank appoints a bond registration attorney to register the new bond.
- The conveyancer coordinates simultaneous lodgement of the transfer, bond registration, and bond cancellation documents.
Phase 5: After registration
Registration is not quite the end. A handful of practical tasks close the sale out cleanly and stop municipal bills, insurance premiums, and levies accruing in your name.
- Receive the purchase price from the conveyancer’s trust account, minus any bond settlement and costs.
- Hand the property over to the buyer on the agreed occupation date.
- Provide the buyer with all keys, gate remotes, alarm codes, and appliance manuals.
- Close or transfer your municipal account (the City of Tshwane, for Pretoria properties).
- Cancel or transfer your home insurance policy.
- Notify the body corporate of the ownership change (sectional title and estate properties).
- Update your address with SARS, your bank, and other service providers.
Selling privately requires effort, but the financial reward — saving R100,000 or more in agent commission on a typical sale — makes it worthwhile for many homeowners. Follow this checklist methodically and you will run the process with the same rigour a professional agent would bring, while keeping the savings in your pocket.
Frequently asked questions
From the moment you decide to sell until registration at the Deeds Office, budget 3–5 months. That breaks down into preparing the property and marketing it (2–6 weeks), finding a buyer and signing the OTP (varies with the market), and the conveyancing process (6–10 weeks from signed OTP to registration). Sellers who start the bond cancellation notice, compliance certificates and rates clearance early sit at the short end of that range; sellers who wait for the attorney to ask sit at the long end.
You do not legally need a conveyancer before listing, but it is strongly recommended to identify one early. A conveyancer can draft or review the Offer to Purchase, advise on which compliance certificates your property needs, and make sure you understand the costs and timeline before you commit to a sale. In a private sale there is no estate agent to coordinate the paperwork — your conveyancer fills that gap, and the earlier they are involved, the fewer surprises at lodgement stage.
The transfer attorney cannot lodge the transfer documents at the Deeds Office without the required compliance certificates. If you only discover a missing certificate at lodgement stage, the transfer will be delayed by weeks while you arrange the inspection and any remedial work the inspector picks up — rectifying defects can take 1–4 weeks depending on severity. Always arrange certificates early, ideally before you list.
Yes. Most sellers still have an outstanding home loan. When you sell, the cancellation attorney (appointed by your bank) cancels your existing bond simultaneously with the transfer. The sale proceeds are used to settle the outstanding balance, and any surplus is paid to you. Make sure you give your bank 90 days’ written notice of cancellation under s 125 of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 — skipping the notice triggers penalty interest that can run to tens of thousands of rand.
The buyer must provide certified copies of their identity document, proof of current residential address (utility bill or bank statement not older than 3 months), their SARS tax number, proof of marital status (marriage certificate or divorce order, where applicable), and — if financing — a bond approval letter from their bank. These feed the conveyancer’s FICA verification, which must be completed before the transfer documents are signed.
A professional valuation is not legally required, but it is highly recommended for properties valued above R2 million. A sworn valuer’s report (R3,000–R5,000 in Pretoria) gives you a defensible price point and helps you negotiate with confidence. For lower-value properties, a comparative market analysis using recent Deeds Office transfer data may be sufficient — and pricing off real sales data, not your outstanding bond balance, is what keeps a private sale moving.