Professionalism in Real Estate

In the 21^st century business is developing rapidly and most industries have changed a lot, and computer automation has become overwhelmingly prevalent in many instances. Ultimately in an effort to make dealings more efficient for the client and to reduce transaction costs. To briefly define what is meant by that in this context, transaction costs are expenses incurred when buying or selling a good or service. Transaction costs represent the labour required to bring a good or service to market, giving rise to entire industries dedicated to facilitating exchanges. In a financial sense, transaction costs include brokers' commissions and spreads, which are the differences between the price the dealer paid for a security and the price the buyer pays.

Such that transaction costs are at the core of what the functioning of an estate agent is, to broker an agreement between a buyer and a seller. However, in South Africa and in most of the world for that matter, the sale of a house is a complex transaction that requires a high degree of knowledge and expertise. On top of that for most people the purchase of a house is the biggest financial decision of their lives, and therefore requires certainty and assurance in completing the transaction. America has been a good example of how trying to eliminate the property broker and putting the two parties in direct contact using web based technology completely fails, as many unforeseen issues arise, complicating the matter even further.

South Africa follows a system of land registration where every piece of land is reflected on a diagram and ownership is recorded in one of the regionally located Deeds Registries where documents are available for public viewing. In fact South Africa is reputed to have one of the best deeds registration systems worldwide with an exception degree of accuracy and security of tenure being guaranteed. This of course means that the registration process must be done with an elevated level of expertise to ensure that the relevant documents provided are not rejected by the deeds office, potentially delaying the process by weeks or even months.

The conveyancing process is not the only reason why it is important to have a lawyer at every step in the process of buying or selling a house. Through experience we have found that the lack of legal knowledge of an estate agent often causes a lot of confusion and ultimately when there is an issue the estate agent or rental management agent simply puts the two contracting parties in direct contact. This creates the potential for chaos and unnecessary legal costs with unnecessary delays. With 3%.Com Properties there is always the guidance of an attorney to ensure clarity and certainty at every step of the process from the mandate to the registration and beyond.

3%.Com Properties strives to make the sale or purchase as easy, affordable and efficient as possible.

Lawyers selling property, it makes sense.