Check Estate Agent License in South Africa

A client had saved up a sizable amount of money, and had begun searching for a house to purchase. His concern was that he had no way of knowing whether the estate agents he was dealing with were legitimate, and not trying to scam him. The fear he expressed was that when he found a house he wanted to purchase, he would ultimately need to EFT the purchase amount to a bank account supplied by the estate agent; and would be at risk of getting scammed if the estate agent was a fraudster.

Estate agent standing in front of house which is for sale, confronted by policemen, symbolising the checks which need to be carried out over an agent's credentials

Never EFT money to Estate Agents

It's important to note that the property purchase process usually does not involve the purchaser EFT'ing money to an estate agent; so if they ask you to do that; it may be a scam. There have been instances where agents have run off with the full purchase price! For safety's sake, we suggest that you never EFT money to real estate agents, and insist that the arrangement be that it be EFT'd instead to the appointed conveyancing attorneys, who can pay the estate agent what they are due when they are due it. Insisting on EFT'ing money only to conveyancing attorneys reduces the purchaser's risk somewhat (although it's also possible to get scammed when EFT'ing the lawyer - more on this further below). The deposit on the property and subsequently the remainder of the purchase price would be EFT'd to a trust account being looked after by the conveyancing attorneys. At the end of the process the conveyancing attorneys would transfer the commission owing to the estate agents. Doing things this way means that the purchaser never has to EFT money to estate agents.

Person at desk and on computer it says How to sell your house urgently using CapeTownLawyer

How the property purchase process works

There are several ways that a seller of a property might sell a house:

on her own without the assistance of property practitioners.
hire an estate agent to help her sell the property
hire a lawyer to sell the property (this is possible these days, and an increasing number of sellers are feeling that using a legal professional is the less risky option.

Once a purchaser has been found, the purchaser would initiate the legal process by signing a document called an "offer to purchase". The "offer to purchase" document specifies who the conveyancing attorneys are. Usually the seller select the conveyancing attorney, but there's nothing stopping the purchaser from suggesting a conveyancing attorney whom they trust. Indeed, if peace of mind is important to you, you might even insist on using your own conveyancing attorney (ie make it a condition of sale). Hiring your own trusted lawyer to guide you through the process, will ensure that you are led safely through the process of buying or selling property.

Click here to learn more about the property transfer process in South Africa.

Check license of conveyancing attorney

You can ask the conveyancing attorney for their Legal Practice Council number; and then do a search to see that they are listed on the Legal Practice Council's website.

Confirm everything telephonically

Fraudsters run what is called the "man in the middle scam"; where they hack emails and then pretend to be the conveyancing attorney; and give the purchaser fake bank details to deposit the purchase amount into. This is such a serious problem that law firms either struggle to get insurance to protect themselves against this scam, or find that the premiums are very high. A recent case in the Supreme Court, Edward Nathan Sonnenberg Inc v Judith Mary Hawarden; involved Ms Hawarden making a transfer into what she thought was Edward Nathan Sonnenberg's bank account...in making the payment, Ms Hawarden used the banking details provided in a fraudulent email and transferred the money into the fraudster’s First National Bank account, in the belief that she was making a payment into the banking account of Edward Nathan Sonnenberg.

To reduce your risk of being a victim of a "man in the middle scam":

NEVER rely soley on emailed instructions to do EFTs.
Insist on using trusted conveyancing attorneys from a reputable firm.
ALWAYS phone the conveyancing attorney to double check before doing the EFT.
Check that the email address you are corresponding with, is exactly the correct one. In the Hawarden vs ENS case, she failed to notice that the word "africa" in the email she received had been changed to "afirca".
EFT a smaller amount first, and confirm telephonically that it went through successfully, before EFT'ing the larger amount.

Check license of estate agent

So, it's vital to check the credentials of the conveyancing attorney and never to EFT money to an estate agent. However, you should always also check the credentials of the estate agent. Ask them for their licensing number, and also the license number of their firm; and then check that they are listed on the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority website (the PPRA replaced the old Estate Agents Affairs Board).

Just because an estate agent has a number with the PPRA does not mean that they are ethical, and some say you cannot always rely on the effectiveness of the PPRA.

Check online reviews of estate agent

Check whether the estate agent has an online presence and online reviews. Check spaces such as HelloPeter and Google business profiles to see what reviews have been like. Are you dealing with a completely unknown entity or do they have something of an online presence? How many reviews and what do the reviews look like?

Contact Conveyancers at Start of Process

Whether you are the potential purchaser or the seller of a property; our best advice is that you contact a reputable law firm with conveyancing attorneys at the start of the process, and let them guide you through the process; especially if it's your first house purchase/sale. When getting into contact with estate agents, you can ask the lawyers to also check that they are legitimate. You will require attorneys anyway at the end of the process to do the transfer (so you'll in any event have to pay them), but it makes for a safer process to get in touch at the start of the purchase/sale process.

Property Buy/Sell/Transfer/Usufruct

Conveyancing attorney shaking hands with property buyer, symbolising her thanks for checking the credentials of the real estate agent.

Property transfer & sale Info

Sellers of property & buyers, speak to a property lawyer before you hire an estate agent!

The property transfer process in South Africa - protect your interests.
Conveyancing lawyers in Cape Town.
- Checklist to help you identify the best conveyancer near you.
- Bellville conveyancing attorneys
- Blouberg conveyancing attorneys
- Milnerton conveyancing attorneys
- Pinelands conveyancing attorneys
- Tableview conveyancing attorneys
Transfer costs calculator for property anywhere in South Africa.
Deeds Registeries Act.
Servitudes
- Usufruct Agreement on Property in South African law.
  - Usufruct value calculator (only one in South Africa)
Land conveyancing
Transfer attorney vs bond attorney.
Commercial Property:
- Transferring property as a going concern.
- Commercial Property conveyancing quote
Marriage/Divorce-related:
- How to transfer property from husband to wife (or vice versa); whilst still married (ie not getting divorced).
  - Donation of property agreement not followed through.
  - When property is erroneously in your spouse's name.
- "Protection" of fixed property using a trust.
- Conveyancers conduct the transfer of property ownership from one spouse to another (or to a third party, if relevant).
- Liquidator to sell property & divide proceeds as part of divorce.
Property sales
- Use conveyancer to guide your private property sale.
- Instead of using real estate agents rather use professional lawyers to sell your property.
- Urgent house sale.
- How to check whether an estate agent is licensed.
- Example of a property sales agreement.
- FLISP Housing subsidies.
- Property practitioner's Act.
- Code to guide conduct of property practitioners.
Property purchases
- Scams property purchasers should watch out for.
- Home loan repayments calculator, with an estimate of the adjustment to prime to reflect the borrower's credit risk profile.
Terminology

Conveyancing & property transfer discussion forum

Note that this is a public forum - exercise caution before acting on info and use at own risk. Anybody may ask and answer, and you don't know what their level of expertise is. No information on this website should be acted on without first consulting with a lawyer to test its validity. Do not share private details here.