A property transaction starts with an offer made by the seller and the acceptance of the buyer by signing the contract for property reservation. Both parties must be legally able to sell or transfer the property before the process begins. At this stage we recommend seeking because the buyer’s legal advisor will review and possibly amend the contract of sale safeguarding the interests of the buyer as well as carry out a number of investigations on the documentation and licensing of the property.
Once both parties have signed the contract, four copies are made and stamped at the District Land’s Office. One of them is stamped with the word ‘Original’ and will be kept by the buyer’s lawyer on the buyer’s behalf. The remaining 3 copies are stamped with a currency stamp and certified as true copies of the original. One of the copies of the Sale Agreement is registered with the District Land Registry Office for reasons of ‘Specific Performance’. If there is a mortgage provider then a copy of the Agreement is given to it and the final copy is given to the seller.
The ‘Law of Specific Performance’ stipulates that once the Sale Agreement is deposited with the District Land Registry Office and providing that both parties are in a position to give effect to the transfer, then up to 6 months of notification can apply by the buyer to the seller, after which the seller must effect the transfer. Once the Agreement is deposited with the District Land Registry, the seller cannot sell it to someone else. When the Sale & purchase Agreement has been registered to the District Land Registry Office, the transfer fees are calculated on the property value on the date that the Agreement was signed.
In order to transfer freehold ownership into the name of the purchaser, transfer fees must be paid. The buyer/transferee is responsible for the payment of the transfer fees and it is payable to the Government at the time of the transfer of the property and the issue of a title deed in the name of the buyer. The property cannot be transferred into the name of the purchaser until the relevant Government authority has issued the Title Deed.