Seller’s prerogative to appoint conveyancer.

It is a Seller’s prerogative to appoint his/her conveyancing attorney to transfer the property sold. Often, however, as with most negotiation it can be agreed that the Purchaser will use their attorney.

This often occurs over the issue of discounting of fees where the Purchaser’s conveyancer will give a discount to the Purchaser for procuring the transfer. However, Sellers must approach this with caution. If a Seller is comfortable with his/her conveyancer do not be lulled into giving away the transfer of your most valuable asset just because a Purchaser is getting a discount.

However, if a Seller is battling to sell and the offer is a decent offer but with the Purchaser using his/her conveyancer as a condition of sale, then the Seller must at least ensure that the Deed of Sale still reads as “the Seller’s conveyancer shall be………” ( and one then inserts the name of the law firm of the Purchaser’s choosing). That way the Purchaser’s nominated conveyancer still represents the Seller as the Seller’s conveyancer in the Deed of Sale. Do not therefore allow the estate agent or buyer to delete the words Seller’s Conveyancer in the Deed of Sale and replace with “Purchaser’s Conveyancer”.

The effect of this is that even though the Seller is using a conveyancer of the Purchaser’s choosing, the Deed of Sale strictly states that the conveyancer is still the Seller’s conveyancer.

Contact Mark Witzmann at mark@oostco.co.za or 021 461 0065 for more information on this topic.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.