The Transaction Support Centre has been open for just over a year. In the beginning, the TSC team at the Desmond Tutu Sports and Recreation Centre in Makahaza, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, met with local community groups, the local councillor, estate agents, conveyancers and residents themselves, to explain the services they offered: assisting buyers and sellers transact formally, and ensuring that property owners can realise the asset-value of their housing by legally owning their claim with a title deed. It has been difficult but rewarding and they are starting to gain traction and see some successes.
On 4 September 2019, Mr Cube received the title deed to his property in Khayelitsha. Image credit: Housing Finance Africa
As at 17 September 2019, the TSC has facilitated seven title deed handovers and has another five transfers currently lodged in the Deeds Office. The process to regularise title and hand over a title deed to the rightful property owner is complex, time consuming and expensive. It takes months and depends on the active participation of so many of our partners: officials at the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements, lenders, our conveying partners Norton Rose Fulbright and Abrahams & Gross, and others. We are therefore delighted to report that the TSC was able to regularise four informal cash sales, provide the first transfer on a property for three properties, and facilitate two intestate transfers and one donation transfer.
This is the first of five stories of the TSC’s clients who are now the proud, legal owners of their properties:
Mr Cube: Intestate / Donation transfer
In November 2018, Mr Cube approached the TSC asking for assistance with transferring his deceased father’s property into his name. On investigation the TSC discovered that this would not be a simple transfer as the estate had already been transferred to the deceased’s attorney in 2005. The TSC contacted the attorney involved and after extensive engagement managed to negotiate a donation agreement to transfer the property back to our client. In May 2019 the donation agreement was signed by all parties concerned, and the transfer could proceed. By August 2019 the transfer was lodged in the Deeds Office and on 4 September 2019, Mr Cube received the title deed to his property in Khayelitsha.
The TSC has subsequently assisted Mr Cube with a will and are in the process of assisting him access a building subsidy to complete a top structure on his plot.
