The Cost of Selling a Property

Estate Agent

Their commission is negotiable, but you can expect to pay about six to seven percent excluding VAT of the selling price of your property.

Capital gain tax

The first R 1 million of a capital gain made on your residence is exempt from capital gain tax. If you have owned your property for many years, there is a good change you could make a profit of more than R 1 million. If you do, you are on the top marginal tax rate of 40 percent and you can bank on paying the taxman an effective 10 percent on your profit.

Electrical and beetle certificates

The seller is obligated to give the buyer an electrical compliance certificate and is liable to pay the cost of any repairs to the electrical installation. The cost of the certificate may vary depending on the area and contractor, but you should set aside about R 450.00 for the certificate alone. You will also have to provide a certificate stating that your home is free of borer beetles.

Bond cancellation cost

If you are cancelling your Home Loan within the first two years of taking it up, it is likely that your bank will charge you a cancellation fee. This fee amounts to one percent of the outstanding balance of your bond. Whenever you cancel a bond, your bank may require three months notice of your intention to cancel the bond. If you do not give notice the bank may charge you interest for up to three months. Cancelling a bond with an outstanding value of R 500 000 could cost you R 18 700 in cancellation fees and notice interest. In addition your bank’s attorney will charge you a fee of about R 900.00 to cancel your bond.

(All abovementioned fees are subject to change, but give you an estimate of what you may expect.)