BestFSBOGuide.com team
Kwame Osei
Africa research editor
Kwame's brief is the narrowest on the masthead and, for now, the deepest. Africa coverage on the site means South Africa, where a sale lives or dies on the transfer file rather than the asking price: the conveyancing attorney who lodges it at the Deeds Office, the rates clearance that has to be current, the compliance certificates a seller cannot close without. He would rather the site cover one market properly than five thinly.
South African sellers routinely underestimate the clearance stage. Rates and levies have to be paid up and certified, the electrical compliance certificate has to be in hand, and the conveyancer cannot lodge until the file is complete. None of that is difficult, but all of it takes calendar time, and it runs in parallel with a buyer’s bond approval rather than after it. A guide that presents the transfer as a single step at the end sets sellers up to be surprised twice.
The other thing Kwame is careful about is the line between what the statute settles and what is simply common practice. Who customarily appoints the conveyancer is a convention and negotiable. Who owes transfer duty is not. Guides that blur those two leave a seller arguing about the wrong thing.
Where the site has no reviewed data for a market, his position is that it should say nothing rather than generalize from a neighbor. That is why the Africa section is one country deep instead of a continent wide.
Areas of focus
- Works through the South African transfer sequence, from conveyancer instruction to Deeds Office registration
- Sources transfer duty and capital-gains figures from SARS and the deeds registry
Join the team
Want to write or fact-check for us?
We are always glad to hear from experienced writers, editors, and local property experts who care about getting the facts right. If you would like to contribute to or review for BestFSBOGuide.com, send a note about your background and the markets you know to editors@bestfsboguide.com.