---
title: "How to buy a house privately in South Africa"
description: "Buying straight from the owner, step by step: what a R2 000 000 home costs, how to confirm the seller owns it, where your deposit must sit, and red flags."
url: "https://privately.co.za/guides/how-to-buy-a-house-privately-in-south-africa"
country: "South Africa"
updated: "2026-10-20"
published: "2026-08-14"
author: "Chandre Niemand"
source: "Privately"
---

# How to buy a house privately in South Africa

*Chandre Niemand, Founder, Privately. Published: 2026-08-14.*

## Summary

Yes. You can buy a house in South Africa without an estate agent, and the legal steps are the same: a signed offer to purchase, then a conveyancing attorney takes the sale to registration at the Deeds Office. The safer place for a deposit is the attorney's trust account named in the offer, not the seller's, after phoning the firm on a number you found yourself. Transfer duty is the same either way: R33 786 on a R2 000 000 home in the 2026/27 tax year.

## Can you buy a house without an estate agent?

Yes. You can buy a house from a private seller, an owner who is selling without an agent. The rule that makes a sale of land valid asks for a signed written agreement, not for an agent. Section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act says a sale of land has no force or effect unless it is contained in a deed of alienation signed by the parties, or by agents acting on their written authority. A verbal agreement does not count, however sincere. (Sales at a public auction are treated differently.) After the signed offer, a conveyancing attorney takes the sale through to registration at the Deeds Office, and does the same work whoever sold you the home.

**Is it cheaper? Not by itself.** Your own costs, set out in the next section, are the same whether or not the seller used an agent. Commission follows the agent's mandate and the offer to purchase. It is normally the seller's cost, usually taken from the sale price when the transfer registers, but an offer can say otherwise, so read any commission clause before you sign. With no agent, there is usually no commission for anyone to pay.

Any saving to you therefore comes from the price. Some private sellers price to reflect the commission they are not paying, but that is the seller's choice, not a rule. Ask directly rather than assuming it. A bank's seller guide gives a range of 5% to 7.5% of the sale price (cited below), with VAT on top where the agency is registered for it, and the [cost of selling guide](/guides/cost-of-selling-a-house-in-south-africa) sets out the arithmetic, which is the seller's, not yours.

**What it asks of you.** The agent's work does not disappear when there is no agent. Screening enquiries, arranging viewings and managing the back-and-forth of an offer land on you and the seller, so expect to do more of your own scheduling and negotiating. The table sets out who does what.

**Who does what, with an agent and without**

| Task | With an agent | Buying privately |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Finding the home | Agency listings and the property portals | Listings by owners, such as [homes for sale direct from owners on Privately](/browse), and word of mouth |
| Viewings and questions | The agent usually arranges the viewing and answers the first questions | You arrange it with the owner and ask the questions yourself |
| Price talks | Through the agent | Directly with the owner |
| The offer to purchase | Often the agent's standard form | You or a conveyancing attorney draft it. Have an attorney read it before you sign |
| Where the deposit goes | As your offer says: the agency's trust account or the attorney's | The conveyancing attorney's trust account named in your offer, not the seller's own account |
| Transfer at the Deeds Office | A conveyancing attorney | A conveyancing attorney, doing the same work |
| Transfer duty, attorney's fees and bond costs | SARS sets the duty; attorneys' fees follow a non-binding Law Society guideline; your bank sets its own fees | The same |
| Commission | Follows the agent's mandate and your offer. The seller usually pays it from the sale price | Usually none, because no agent was appointed |

## What you pay on a R2 000 000 home

The table below shows the buyer's costs on a R2 000 000 purchase with a 10% deposit and a R1 800 000 bond. None of them changes because the seller sold privately. SARS sets the transfer duty, the Law Society publishes a non-binding fee guideline for attorneys, and the Deeds Office fees are in a government notice.

The Law Society's scale is a guideline, not a tariff. Attorneys may charge more or less, so ask for a written quote before you appoint one. Who pays the transferring attorney is a term of your offer to purchase, not a rule of law. Usually it is the buyer, but that is practice and we have no source that fixes it, so read that clause.

The table leaves out the bank's bond initiation fee, which the lender sets and states in its quote, and the small items on an attorney's statement, such as searches and the cost of verifying identities. Ask the attorney for a quote that lists everything.

Transfer duty is nil up to R1 210 000 and rises by band after that, so the figure does not scale in a straight line. [Transfer duty and transfer costs](/guides/transfer-duty-and-transfer-costs) shows the bill at other prices, and the [bond and transfer calculators](/calculators) let you try your own numbers before you make an offer. The [house deposit guide](/guides/house-deposit-south-africa) covers how much to put down, and [how much you need to earn](/guides/first-time-home-buyer-guide-south-africa) depends on the price, your deposit and your other debt.

**Buyer's costs on a R2 000 000 home with a 10% deposit and a R1 800 000 bond, 2026/27 tax year**

| Cost | Paid to | Amount |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Transfer duty | SARS, through the transferring attorney | R33 786 |
| Transferring attorney's fee (Law Society guideline R36 875 plus VAT) | The attorney who transfers the property (usually the buyer's cost, as your offer says) | R42 406 |
| Bond attorney's fee on the R1 800 000 bond (Law Society guideline R34 755 plus VAT) | The attorney who registers your bond | R39 968 |
| Deeds Office fee to register the transfer (R1 738 fee plus R52 lodgement) | Deeds Office | R1 790 |
| Deeds Office fee to register the bond (R1 738 fee plus R52 lodgement) | Deeds Office | R1 790 |
| **Total of these five costs** |  | **R119 740** |
| Deposit (10% of the price) | Held in trust as your offer says | R200 000 |
| **Deposit plus these five costs** |  | **R319 740** |

## The steps, in order

This is the usual order. Where a step is practice rather than law, we say so.

On Privately, finding the home and talking to the seller happen in the app. You verify your identity, which is what lets you message sellers, book viewings and make offers, and you talk to the seller in the in-app chat. A seller's phone number and email stay private unless the seller chooses to share them. Privately does not draw up your offer or give legal advice.

- **Step 1: Work out what you can spend.** Ask your bank or a [bond originator](/bond-originators) for a pre-approval before you start viewing, so you do not fall for a home you cannot finance. [Bond pre-approval](/guides/bond-pre-approval-south-africa) explains what a certificate does and does not promise. Treat an in-principle approval as provisional until the bank has approved the bond on the home you are actually buying.
- **Step 2: Find owners who are selling.** [Browse homes for sale direct from owners](/browse), or [tell us what you are looking for](/brief) so we can tell you about new matches. You are looking for owners selling their own homes, not agency mandates. Buying a new home from a developer is a different sale, which [buying off-plan](/guides/buying-off-plan-south-africa) covers.
- **Step 3: View with the owner.** Ask what an agent would normally screen for you: why they are selling, how long the home has been on the market, what has been repaired or replaced, and what the monthly rates and levies are. Go in daylight and take someone with you. Before you talk price, compare the asking price with what similar homes nearby have recently sold for: the Deeds Office says a property's title deed shows its previous purchase amount, and our [pricing guide](/guides/how-to-price-your-house-south-africa) covers comparable sales from the seller's side.
- **Step 4: Do your homework before you fall for the place.** Ask for the title deed, the latest rates and levy statements, the approved building plans and a written [disclosure of known defects](/guides/seller-disclosure-and-voetstoots) signed by the seller, and attach it to your offer. Many resales are sold voetstoots, which means "as is", so ask what is wrong before you sign rather than after. Hidden problems, such as a leaking roof or rising damp that does not show in a dry month, are what an inspection is for. [Seller disclosure and the voetstoots clause](/guides/seller-disclosure-and-voetstoots) explains what the clause does and where it stops. Consider a home inspection: one inspection company, HouseCheck, puts a comprehensive report on a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at about R4 200 and says its fees follow the number of rooms. Inspection fees are set by each company, so ask for quotes.
- **Step 5: Check that the seller owns the house.** Do this before you make an offer or pay anything. The next section sets out how.
- **Step 6: Make a written offer to purchase.** It needs to be signed by both parties, or by agents acting on their written authority, as section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act requires. Ask a conveyancing attorney to draft it or read it before you sign (browse [conveyancing attorneys on Privately](/attorneys)). The offer to purchase governs everything that follows. It should name the price, the deposit and the attorney who holds it, the fixtures and fittings that stay, the occupation date and who pays rent if it is not the transfer date, and the suspensive conditions with their dates. [The offer to purchase guide](/guides/offer-to-purchase-south-africa) explains what goes in it, and [occupational rent](/guides/occupational-rent-south-africa) explains how rent for that gap is set. On Privately, an offer made in the app is not a signed offer to purchase: the written agreement comes next, outside the app, and an attorney can draw it up or read it before you sign.
- **Step 7: Add suspensive conditions.** A suspensive condition makes the sale depend on something happening by a date, most often the bank approving your bond. [Subject to bond approval](/guides/suspensive-conditions-subject-to-bond) explains how the clause works and what happens if the date passes. Your offer sets the deadline, so read the date before you sign: applying for the bond soon after you sign keeps you inside it. Offers often give a few weeks, but the length is whatever you and the seller agree. Some offers also carry a 72-hour clause, which lets the seller keep looking for another buyer while yours is still conditional, and the same guide explains how it works.
- **Step 8: Pay any deposit into the trust account your offer names.** Where your offer calls for a deposit, it is usually the conveyancing attorney's trust account; confirm the banking details by phone before you pay. See the deposit section below.
- **Step 9: Let the attorney run the transfer.** The attorney collects the clearance figures, has the transfer duty paid and lodges the transfer at the Deeds Office. If you are borrowing, a second attorney registers your bond. How long it takes depends on the Deeds Office, the banks and the municipality. It is usually a matter of months rather than days, but that is practice, not a legal deadline, and nobody can promise a date. [Conveyancing and the transfer process](/guides/conveyancing-and-the-transfer-process) shows each stage.

## Check that the seller owns the house

Do this before you make an offer, and certainly before you pay a deposit. Start with the simple check: ask to see the seller's ID and compare the name with the name on the title deed. A mismatch is the first thing to query, not the last thing you notice.

Then check the register. The Deeds Office says the title deed shows the registered owner, the bonds endorsed on the property, the title deed restrictions, the current and former owner and the previous purchase amount, and a deeds search is how you see it. Your conveyancing attorney will run a deeds search once appointed, but ask for it before you pay a deposit, not after. The Deeds Office also says a buyer or a seller can do a deeds search at any Deeds Registry Office Information Centre or through an online system such as DeedsWEB. The Deeds Office's own fee schedule lists R19 for an enquiry relating to a person, property or deed and R109 to view or download a deed through an electronic system (Government Notice 7180, items 5(a) and 5(f)). Private online services search the registries too and set their own prices, so check what they charge before you use one.

Then match the three together: the person in front of you, their ID and the registered owner. If the owner is a company or a trust, or the seller is married, ask who has to sign for the sale to be valid. Your attorney will check this as well.

Buying through a platform that verifies sellers' identity narrows one risk. Privately asks every seller to verify their identity before a listing can be published. That confirms who the person is, not that this specific property is theirs to sell. Run the deeds search regardless: it is the step that confirms title.

## Deposit fraud: where your deposit should sit

The safe place for a deposit is the trust account of the conveyancing attorney named in your offer to purchase, not the seller and not a personal account. A trust account is a separate bank account that a law practice must keep for money it holds for other people (Legal Practice Act, section 86).

Why a trust account rather than the seller's own account: it is the account a law practice keeps for other people's money, and the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund's own page says trust account practices must send an audit report on their trust accounts to the provincial Legal Practice Council each year, and that the Fund exists to protect people against loss from misappropriation of trust money. That is a description, not a promise. We do not say what the Fund would cover in a particular case, including a payment sent to a fraudster's account, which is one more reason to confirm the details before you pay.

In a private sale there is no agent, so the offer should name the attorney's trust account. Where an estate agent is involved, a property practitioner who holds money for others must keep it in a separate trust account (Property Practitioners Act, section 54), and your offer may name the agency's account instead. Either way it is a trust account, not the seller's own. We read the Acts as published on gov.za. They may have been amended, so ask your attorney to confirm the current text.

Your offer says when the deposit is released. It is common for it to stay in trust until the transfer registers, but your contract decides. Do not assume a deposit held in trust earns interest for you: ask the attorney whether it will be invested, and on whose instruction. The [house deposit guide](/guides/house-deposit-south-africa) goes through who holds a deposit and what the Legal Practice Act says about interest.

The scam to know about is the changed-banking-details email. A fraudster sends a message that looks as if it came from the firm and says the trust account details have changed. The Law Society of South Africa published one reported example in December 2015. A client was emailed a firm's trust account details, and the next morning a second email said that, because it was year end, payment should go to a different bank's trust account. The client was suspicious and phoned to check, and the second email turned out not to be from the firm. The firm then began adding a note to its emails that its account details would not change, followed by a call to confirm. That is one reported case, not a measure of how common the scam is.

Before you pay, phone the firm on a number you found yourself, such as one from its own website or an earlier letter, not the number in the email, and confirm the account name, number and branch. Do it even if the email looks perfect. [Is it safe to sell privately](/guides/is-it-safe-to-sell-your-house-privately) describes the same scam from the seller's side.

## Red flags in a private sale

- The seller will not allow an in-person viewing, or will only show you the exterior and photos, claiming they are unavailable.
- You are asked to pay a deposit before you have seen the title deed and signed an offer, or into a personal account instead of the conveyancing attorney's trust account.
- Banking details change late in the process, or the correspondence moves to a new email address or phone number partway through. That is the pattern of the changed-banking-details scam described above.
- Pressure to move fast: sign today, skip the due diligence you would normally do.
- The seller's ID does not match the name on the title deed, or they cannot produce ID at all.
- The asking price is well below comparable sales in the area with no clear explanation.
- Reluctance to put anything in writing, or resistance to a proper offer to purchase in favour of a verbal understanding.

## Buying in an estate or complex

If the home is in a sectional title complex or an estate, you also buy into a scheme with monthly levies and rules. Ask for the latest levy statement, the scheme's rules and its most recent financial statements before you sign. [Sectional title versus freehold](/guides/sectional-title-vs-freehold-south-africa) explains levies, the body corporate and homeowners' associations, and what to check.

The transferring attorney also asks the municipality for rates clearance figures and the scheme for a levy clearance before the transfer is lodged. [Rates clearance certificates](/guides/rates-clearance-certificate-south-africa) explains how that works.

## Buying cash, without a bond

Yes, you can buy a house without a bond. A bond is a loan, and nothing in a sale requires you to take one. If you are paying cash, your offer has no bond condition, and the two bond lines in the cost table, R41 758 between them on a R2 000 000 home, fall away.

What remains is transfer duty (R33 786), the transferring attorney (R42 406) and the Deeds Office fee for the transfer (R1 790). On a R2 000 000 home that is R77 982 on top of the price, before the small items an attorney's statement adds.

A cash purchase still needs a signed offer, a conveyancing attorney and transfer duty. Expect the attorney to ask both of you for identity documents, and the attorney may also ask where the money is coming from ([our FICA guide](/guides/fica-when-selling-property-south-africa) lists what is usually asked). Your offer sets when the full price must be in the attorney's trust account, so confirm that date and the account the same way you would a deposit. If the money depends on selling your own home, that is a different suspensive condition: see the section on a buyer's own property in [subject to bond approval](/guides/suspensive-conditions-subject-to-bond).

## How the conveyancer protects you

Buying without an agent does not mean buying without professional checks. The transferring attorney does the same work whoever sold you the home.

Who chooses the attorney is a term of the sale, not a rule of law. The Deeds Office's own guide says the seller typically chooses the conveyancer but either party can. Your offer should name the attorney, so settle the name and ask who pays the fee before you sign.

- **A conveyancer is part of every transfer.** The Deeds Office's own guide says the law requires a conveyancer to transfer property, and quotes section 15 of the Deeds Registries Act as amended: except in so far as another law provides otherwise, a deed of transfer, mortgage bond or certificate of title is not attested, executed or registered by a registrar unless a conveyancer prepared it. That is the office's quotation, not our legal opinion, so ask an attorney to confirm how it applies to your sale. In practice a conveyancing attorney attends to every transfer, agent or no agent.
- **Identity documents are checked.** The Deeds Office's guide says the conveyancer considers the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) and asks for certified copies of identity documents and proof of residential address, plus a marriage certificate or ante-nuptial contract and a company's memorandum of incorporation where they apply. The attorney may also ask where the money is coming from; [our FICA guide](/guides/fica-when-selling-property-south-africa) explains what is usually asked.
- **The title is checked.** The Deeds Office says the conveyancer conducts a deeds search once appointed, which shows the registered owner, the bonds on the property and the title deed restrictions.
- **The money moves through trust.** The Deeds Office describes the transfer costs, the transfer duty and any outstanding rates and levies being paid to the conveyancer's trust account, and the conveyancer then paying the relevant bodies and obtaining the clearances, including the transfer duty receipt.
- **The signed offer is the starting point.** The attorney works from the signed offer to purchase, not from a verbal deal.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can you buy a house from a private seller without an agent in South Africa?

Yes. A sale of land needs a deed of alienation signed by the parties (section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act), not an agent. A conveyancing attorney then takes the sale through to registration at the Deeds Office. Without an agent you do the agent's work yourself: viewings, price talks and the offer. Your deposit should go into the attorney's trust account, and your transfer costs are the same.

### Is it cheaper to buy a house without an agent?

Not by itself. Your transfer duty, attorney's fees and bond costs are the same whether or not the seller used an agent. Commission follows the agent's mandate and the offer to purchase. It is normally the seller's cost, but an offer can say otherwise, so read any commission clause. Any saving depends on whether the seller passes on part of what they avoid in commission through a lower price, which is their choice, not a rule.

### How do I make an offer on a house privately?

Put it in writing and sign it. Under section 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act a sale of land has no force or effect unless it is in a deed of alienation signed by the parties, or by agents acting on their written authority. Use a proper offer to purchase with suspensive conditions such as bond approval, attach the seller's written disclosure of known defects, and have a conveyancing attorney read it before you sign, even though no agent is drafting it for you.

### Who pays the transfer costs when buying privately?

The buyer pays transfer duty to SARS. The transferring attorney's fee is usually the buyer's, but that is practice, not a rule of law, and we have no source that fixes it, so read that clause in your offer. A bond attorney's fee and a bank initiation fee are added if you are financing. SARS sets the duty and the Law Society publishes a non-binding fee guideline, and none of it depends on whether the seller used an agent.

### How do I know the seller actually owns the house?

Check the seller's ID against the name on the title deed, then have a conveyancing attorney run a deeds search against the property before you pay any deposit. It shows the registered owner and any bonds registered over the property. The Deeds Office says a buyer can also do a deeds search at a Deeds Registry Office Information Centre or through an online system such as DeedsWEB.

### Where does my deposit go when I buy privately?

The safe place is the trust account of the conveyancing attorney named in your signed offer to purchase, not the seller or a personal account. Before you pay, phone the firm on a number you found yourself to confirm the banking details, because fraudsters send emails saying the details have changed. If an agent is involved, the offer may name the agency's trust account instead. Your offer says when the deposit is released, and whether it earns you interest depends on how the attorney holds it, so ask.

### Do I need a lawyer to buy a house privately in South Africa?

You do not need one to find a home, agree a price or negotiate. For the transfer itself, the Deeds Office's own guide says the law requires a conveyancer, and quotes section 15 of the Deeds Registries Act as amended, which makes an exception where another law provides otherwise. Ask an attorney to confirm how it applies to your sale. In practice a conveyancing attorney attends to every transfer, agent or no agent. Having an attorney read your offer before you sign is not compulsory, and it is the document that governs everything that follows.

### Can I buy a house without a bond?

Yes. A bond is a loan, and nothing in a sale requires you to take one. A cash purchase still needs a signed offer, a conveyancing attorney and transfer duty. On a R2 000 000 home the costs that remain are R77 982 on top of the price (transfer duty, the transferring attorney and the Deeds Office fee), before small items such as searches. The attorney may ask where the money is coming from.

## Sources

- [SARS: Transfer duty rates, the 2026/27 table, accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.sars.gov.za/tax-rates/transfer-duty/)
- [Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981, section 2(1) (the gov.za PDF of the Act as gazetted), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201503/act-68-1981.pdf)
- [Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, section 15 (the gov.za PDF is the 1937 gazette text; the Deeds Office's guide quotes section 15 as amended), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201505/act47of1937.pdf)
- [Deeds Office: Property transfer process (who prepares the transfer, the deeds search, who chooses the conveyancer, payments through trust; the office's own guide, not law), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.deeds.gov.za/property-transfer-process.php)
- [Deeds Registries Act schedule of fees, Government Notice 7180, Government Gazette 54225 (Deeds Office fees from 27 March 2026: registration items 1(a) to 1(c), and the look-up fees in items 5(a) and 5(f)), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202603/54225gon7180.pdf)
- [LSSA: Guideline of Fees, Conveyancing, effective 1 July 2026 (a professional body's non-binding guideline), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.lssa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CONVEYANCING-FEE-GUIDELINES-2026-FINAL.pdf)
- [Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, section 86 (trust accounts; the gazetted text, Government Gazette 38022 of 22 September 2014), accessed 19 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/3802222-9act28of2014legalpracticeacta.pdf)
- [Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, section 54 (a property practitioner's trust account; Government Gazette 42746 of 3 October 2019), accessed 19 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/documents/acts/property-practitioners-act-22-2019-english-tshivenda-03-oct-2019)
- [Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (gov.za summary page and PDF link: the Act the Deeds Office's guide says the conveyancer considers; the verification steps on this page come from that guide), accessed 19 October 2026](https://www.gov.za/documents/financial-intelligence-centre-act)
- [LSSA: Conveyancing trust account year-end scam (notice of 22 December 2015: one reported example of a changed-account email and a phone check, not a statistic), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.lssa.org.za/news/conveyancing-trust-account-year-end-scam/)
- [Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund: Trust accounts (what the Fund exists for, and the annual audit report a trust account practice sends to the Legal Practice Council), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.fidfund.co.za/trust-accounts/)
- [Nedbank: What will it cost you to sell your house? (a bank's seller guide that gives the usual commission range; not a primary source), accessed 20 October 2026](https://personal.nedbank.co.za/learn/blog/cost-of-selling-your-home.html)
- [HouseCheck: Home inspection fees (one inspection company's own price for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home; an example, not a market range), accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.housecheck.co.za/home-inspection-fees/)

## Related guides

- [Transfer duty and transfer costs in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/transfer-duty-and-transfer-costs)
- [Conveyancing and the property transfer process](https://privately.co.za/guides/conveyancing-and-the-transfer-process)
- [What is an offer to purchase in South Africa?](https://privately.co.za/guides/offer-to-purchase-south-africa)
- [Suspensive conditions and 'subject to bond approval'](https://privately.co.za/guides/suspensive-conditions-subject-to-bond)
- [How much deposit do you need to buy a house in South Africa?](https://privately.co.za/guides/house-deposit-south-africa)
- [Bond pre-qualification and pre-approval in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/bond-pre-approval-south-africa)
- [Sectional title vs freehold in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/sectional-title-vs-freehold-south-africa)
- [Seller disclosure and the voetstoots clause](https://privately.co.za/guides/seller-disclosure-and-voetstoots)
- [How to sell your house privately in South Africa](https://privately.co.za/guides/how-to-sell-your-house-privately-in-south-africa)

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Figures verified 2026-10-20. General information about South African property practice, not legal or financial advice.

Source: Privately, https://privately.co.za/guides/how-to-buy-a-house-privately-in-south-africa